End War, Choose Peace, Spread Love, Go Vegan
Part 2 of "End War on Gaza, Free Palestine, Choose Peace" (with Audio)
For PART 1 “End War on Gaza, Free Palestine, Choose Peace” click HERE.
What can wake us from this nightmare of constant wars? In recognition of the profound suffering inflicted by them, I propose a comprehensive solution. Can I hear an amen?
After immersing myself in books such as "An Unnatural Order: The Roots of Our Domination and Destruction of Nature and Each Other" by Jim Mason, "Eternal Treblinka: Our Treatment of Animals and the Holocaust," by Charles Patterson and "Beyond Beef: The Rise and Fall of the Cattle Culture," by Jeremy Rifkin and numerous other works, I’ve reached a conclusion. The key to ending all wars and ushering in global peace lies in the widespread adoption of a plant-based vegan lifestyle and diet. Does this sound deceptively simple? That's because it is!
What makes veganism the linchpin of a peaceful world? First, let's define veganism. According to The Vegan Society, it is "a philosophy and way of living that seeks to exclude, as far as is possible and practicable, all forms of exploitation and cruelty toward animals."
What is it about relating to our animal kin in a non-exploitative and cruelty-free manner that can have such a profound impact, potentially ending all wars? Often celebrated as a multifaceted solution, veganism has gained recognition for its capacity to address a wide range of global issues. Philip Wollen, former Vice President of Citibank and a passionate animal rights advocate, views it as a Swiss army knife solution. Its benefits encompass the alleviation of animal suffering and deaths, and for human beings, it brings an end to the literal and metaphorical hardening of our hearts. Additionally, abstaining from killing and consuming animals, as well as from stealing and consuming their milk and eggs, has a significantly positive effect on our health, our increased energy and longevity. Furthermore, it offers a means to stop the destruction of our living planet; reverse the catastrophic climate crisis, (which annually claims the lives of more than 250,000 people through floods, hurricanes, extreme weather, droughts, and fires). And lastly, it has the potential to alleviate global hunger as well as bridge class disparities, addressing a fundamental injustice deeply rooted in capitalism.
While these are all crucial aspects, can the benefits of veganism extend even further and play a role in ending all wars and fostering enduring global peace? Let's explore.
It appears evident to many that wars, since their inception, have been driven primarily by the pursuit of land and resources. Groups and eventually nations have sought to acquire these by clashing with their neighbors who are driven by the same pursuit. Given that in order to feed animals exploited for food, animal agri-torture uses 18 times the land, 13 times the water, 11 times the oil, and generates twice the carbon dioxide emissions compared to plant food grown for humans it becomes clear that there is a direct link between excessive and wasteful land and resource use and the animal agri-torture industry.
If it holds true that animal agri-torture consumes more land, water, and resources than all other industries combined, and many times more than necessary for a plant-based diet and lifestyle, doesn't it make sense that eliminating this constant, ever-expanding use and wastage of land and resources would eliminate the need for war?
This violent industry not only squanders the most land, water, petroleum, and other resources but also causes most of the deforestation and soil erosion; is the largest source of air, land, and water pollution; is by far the biggest contributor to ocean dead zones, species extinction, and the catastrophic climate crisis, all of which further deplete natural resources, create global instability and generate wars.
How absurd is this?
And how glaringly absurd and unnecessary is this when one considers humans are natural herbivores (plant eating animals)? Hunting, stalking, killing, and eating animals is as contradictory to our natures as is picking and eating apples, berries, stalks, roots and leaves to carnivores (flesh-eating animals).
The extreme rupture with our reality:
For 5-10 million years our ancestors ate from the abundance of the plant universe. Our anatomy and physiology adapted to living in trees with readily available fruit. Even for the hundreds of thousands of years after we came down, we ate plants. Our brains developed figuring out which plants we could eat while at the same time devising ways to escape from being eaten. The size and complexity of our brains also developed in relation to other animals - from observing their particularities, their similarities to and differences from us; we were in awe of their speed, beauty, extraordinary senses of hearing and smell.
Hunting was a most profound disruption and wrenching from our true natures, both physiologically/anatomically as herbivores and psychologically as gentle, social, cooperative creatures. Compared to the 5-10 million years eating plants, the phenomenon of hunting was relatively recent, beginning only 70-40,000 years ago. We had no idea how detrimental would be its consequences, how far-reaching and persistent its wreckage.
The book "Man the Hunted - Primates, Predators and Human Evolution” by Robert Sussman, PhD, challenges the notion humans were and are by instinct predatory, aggressive, bloodthirsty killers. In it, Dr. Sussman describes the different varieties of land, water and air creatures who’ve long been hungry for and preyed upon human flesh. He shows how we were the hunted and like all prey animals constantly alert to danger while devising ways to hide or escape. Since tigers and lions tend to lung onto their prey only from behind, people in India, for example, travel outside crowded cities wearing human face-masks on the backs of their heads.
We are natural prey animals, not predators. You can also look at it this way, if we were by nature predatory, bloodthirsty killers, certainly we and our children would delight in a family outing to and snack at a slaughterhouse rather than enjoying a refreshing picnic at an apple orchard.
How to explain?
So, what can explain this radical shift from a diet of plants to one of animals, and from men and women foraging together to men venturing out alone in pursuit of a kill?
The groundbreaking ability to control and use fire, developed around 200,000 years ago, made it possible for humans to travel long distances. With it they could ward off predators; find shelter in caves; stay warm; and extend their productive hours. About 70,000 years ago some humans wandered so far as to make it out of Africa. When I asked Dr. Sussman, author of "Man the Hunted," why early humans ventured so far away from their lush tropical environments, a place filled with abundant fruits and vegetables, he said it was likely because 1) as we just explained, humans had to constantly move to evade predators; and 2) curiosity, the strong desire to explore and discover what lay beyond the next hill.
Some humans even ventured as far north as the frigid Eurasian steppes. There the cold, snow, and ice made the growth of plant life inhospitable. This in turn made consuming animals the only way to survive. Thus, one possible explanation for why humans turned away from plant eating and began hunting and eating animals was the scarcity of plant-based foods.
There is another theory that may help make even more sense of this unusual and extreme divergence from our true natures and nature itself. This involves the relationship between men and women. Compared to men, women, with the children, were more efficient and effective foragers. They were adept at observing the changing seasons; knowing which fruits were the most delicious and nourishing and remembering when and where specific plant foods could be found. This greatly raised women’s status in the eyes of men. Even more than that however, what most impressed men was their ability to give birth to new humans. Initially, neither men nor women associated intercourse with baby making. To the developing human mind, it seemed magical and miraculous. To men, women were Creators. In their eyes, they were god-like.
This heightened ability to forage, nurture the tribe, make new humans; nurse and nurture them constituted a gift, a benefit to the tribe. The fact that men lacked these abilities made them feel inadequate. The positive attributes they saw in women constituted the deficit they felt in themselves.
There was a strong need to compensate for this perceived deficiency. They looked at the other animals and were impressed by the hunting prowess of tigers, lions and other big cats. These predators were able to stalk, chase, outrun animals such as deer and gazelles, pounce on their backs, sink their fangs into and rip their necks, bring them down, gorge on loose bowels and most importantly carry home to their waiting families the large carcasses. This was thrilling, extraordinary and monumental! Men wanted to be like them. They decided to imitate the mighty predatory, meat eating cats (and became copy cats) and went out to hunt.
After being away on these week-long hunting expeditions, the women were excited when they returned. They celebrated and feasted. Whereas foraging seemed mundane, to see the men marching back victoriously carrying an inert creature was exciting. Little did the women suspect that this machismo conquest of “the beast,” would not only reverse the millennia-long relationship of awe and respect for other creatures to one of disdain and feelings of superiority, but it would simultaneously upend the centuries-long relationship of respect, awe, mutuality, and cooperation between men and women. Since it was the men whose strength was needed for hunting, killing, and bringing back animals, the position of women as godlike figures receded. They were demoted to secondary status. Men, brimming with pride in their hunting skills, became dominant and domineering. The same attitude of superiority and disdain towards animals was adopted towards women, thrusting them into a subservient and subordinate position.
This pattern of hunting continued for perhaps thousands of years. As humans imitated the predatory and bloodthirsty behavior of wildcats, their natural gentle herbivorous attitudes, feelings and behaviors were replaced by brutal, uncaring, selfish, individualistic, competitive, egotistical and domineering ones. Cooperation and interdependence were diminished.
These predatory,"might makes right" attitudes were further magnified when some of these hunters stumbled upon the idea of herding. Instead of going on the long, tedious and often unsuccessful hunts, they realized how much easier it would be to follow a particular herd of say goats or sheep. When hungry, they simply killed and ate as they wished, considering their meal "food on the hoof." These actions marked the first steps down a dark path that normalized predation and violence against "the other," leading to the expansion of violence to humans, eventually to a massive scale, namely wars.
When these goat and sheep-herders, or "shepherds," encountered other humans who had settled near green pastures and water, they employed the same violence against them as they’d inflicted on animals. In the minds of these herders, that land and water was meant for “their” herd.
Eventually, the herder who displayed the most violence became the leader, the "big man," who eventually became the ruler – the pharaoh, king, dictator. The various tribes, including Hebrews, Samaritans, Ammonites, Moabites, or Hittites, all emerged from the culture of herding … hoarding, and hurting animals. Herders overwhelmed, raped, pillaged and killed those who stood in their way or resisted their acquisition of land, water and life necessities meant they thought for themselves and, in greater quantities, for their cattle.
As people began to domesticate both plants and animals, a process some refer to as "domes-secration," they settled down. The exploitation, abuse, and killing of animals, along with the practice and mindset of the strong dominating the weak (in the human sphere), did not diminish but rather intensified. Animals were confined, castrated, exploited and sacrificed in the name of domination. The wars waged to rid land of people and designate it as grazing pasture for cattle eventually led to the taking of captives, who were used as slaves to build monuments for kings and pharaohs. Women were taken as sex slaves and concubines, further solidifying the domineering culture. The domino effect of this initial distancing from nature, the use of violence, and the domination of other animals persisted throughout our entire uncivilized history.
Socrates, as excerpted from Plato's "The Republic" (469-399 BC), perceived our changed relationship with other animals and the troubled state it brought us:
Socrates: Would the habit of eating animals not require us to slaughter animals we knew as individuals, and in whose eyes we could gaze and see ourselves reflected, only a few hours before our meal?
Glaucon: This habit would indeed require that of us.
Socrates: Wouldn't this knowledge hinder us in achieving happiness?
Glaucon: It could indeed hinder us in our quest for happiness.
To the herders, animals were a symbol of wealth, and the more one possessed, the better. The Sanskrit translation of the word "war," "Gavisti," reflected the desire for more cows or the act of stealing cattle from others. Socrates, in his critique of the hoarding, hurting, and herding culture and its connection to wars, stated:
Socrates: If we persist in our habit of eating animals, and if our neighbors follow a similar path, will we not be compelled to go to war against them to secure more pasturage, as our own resources will prove insufficient to sustain us, and our neighbors will they not have the same need to wage war on us for the same reason?
Glaucon: We would indeed be compelled to do so.
Socrates: Would not these circumstances prevent us from achieving a just society?
Glaucon: Yes, they would indeed prevent us.
Further, capitalism reflected and expanded upon this concept, viewing animals as inanimate objects, as property and a form of wealth measured by the number of cattle owned. The word "capital" itself is derived from the Latin "capitalis," meaning "of the head," a way of measuring wealth by how many heads of cattle one owned. Capitalism underlines the historical connection between wealth and ownership of cattle. It's worth noting that the seeds of capitalism were sown long before the medieval master-apprentice relationship evolved into the modern boss/owner-worker relationship of “wage-slavery.” Through this historic lens, we can understand that the entire concept of wealth, private ownership and capitalism began with the measurement of wealth by counting “caps” or “heads” of cattle owned. All this lead to the assembly of fences as well as of armies to protect this wealth and venture out to steal pasture land and water to maintain and gain more of it.
In the industrial age, mechanization accelerated and expanded the normalization of violence to an unimaginable scale. Behind windowless walls, land animals were and are confined, mutilated, tortured, and killed at rates reaching millions per hour and tens of billions per year. Meanwhile, sentient sea creatures, such as fishes, shrimps, lobsters, octopuses, dolphins, sea turtles, panicked and gasping for air, were and are extracted from their aquatic homes and killed at the rate of millions per minute and hundreds of trillions per year.
This raises the question: How can we advocate for peace on our planet and in our hearts when we have blood, suffering, and violence on our plates? Whether we consider violence to these animals or violence towards human animals, violence is taking place. Violence is violence irrespective of the victims against whom it is perpetrated.
The acceptance and ignorance of this mass killing and suffering desensitizes us to violence in all its forms, making it difficult to denounce violence against humans when violence towards other animals is considered acceptable. In this regard, adopting a vegan lifestyle can contribute to a mindset that rejects violence and, by extension, war.
Veganism also exerts a positive impact on human intelligence and emotional well-being. In contrast to consuming plant food, consuming animal products, high in saturated fat and cholesterol, clogs the brain and heart, leading to cloudy thinking and emotional imbalance. Pharmaceutical corporations, seen by many as big time (legal) "drug dealers," use their influence to bribe. threaten and in-doctor-inate doctors to promote drugs affecting the brain's feel-good hormones. Instead of advocating for a plant-based, vegan diet and lifestyle, they push pills, which often come with detrimental side effects and frequently exacerbate the very symptoms they were initially meant to alleviate. Notably, the third listed side effect of the COVID vaccine is COVID! These legal drug cartels in collusion with governments worldwide, promote drugs that can lead to drug abuse, addiction, and iatrogenic illnesses, which rank as the third leading cause of death, following heart disease and cancer.
Driven by drug-induced effects, these emotional imbalances, often lead to suicides, homicides, and mass killings, with the latter occurring in the U.S. at an alarming rate of almost two per day.
From all this, we can understand that Veganism is more than a dietary choice; it represents a lifestyle with the potential to bring about massive transformative changes on multiple fronts. The enslavement, killing, trapping, theft of milk and eggs, domination and domes-secration of our animal companions in fur, fins, and feathers forms the foundation of numerous societal ills.
By addressing the root causes of these ills, by eliminating our involvement in animal agri-torture that wastes land, depletes resources and perpetuates violence, we can transform the vision of a peace loving planet into a reality. With this compelling perspective, we recognize the interconnectedness of global challenges and through individual and collective action, can acknowledge our true herbivorous loving natures, grab hold of the comprehensive vital tool of veganism and ensure peace and love reign supreme forevermore, everywhere, as it was always meant to be.
Thank you I love you Nancy
Nancy, Good article. But one correction: the Homestead Act was passed during the Civil War from 1861-1865. Lincoln was assassinated in 1865, and was long gone by the 1980s.