St. Francis (wasRe: Setting the record straight / How we kill what we eat

[Guest guest]

--- In , " Nenah Sylver " <nenah@b...>

wrote:

> Re: Setting the record straight / How we kill what we

eat

> Dear Nenah:

>

> I was particularly touched by your account so that I felt tears

> coming to my eyes. One second later, however, I was reminded of ...

> how can I put it? Because I don't want by any means to disparage the

> beauty of your experience ... the irony of the situation. Singing to

> someone you are about to kill, as if it were a lullaby. Well, I

> couldn't help remembering an expression we have in our language, for

> which I ignore the English equivalent: the tears of a crocodile, who

> is said to cry while killing his prey.

>

> Thanks for sharing this and please don't be upset by my untimely

> interference.

>

> Best regards,

> José

> ==============

> ,

> I am not offended at all, and I don't perceive what you wrote as

> interfering.

>

> I used to get very upset that I needed to have animals die so that

I could

> live. But, as has been said by others on this list (as I recall),

plants

> have consciousness too. This has been proven by Clive Backster and

others

> who have hooked up lie detectors to plants and seen the plants'

responses to

> our thoughts and feelings and intentions. Therefore, why do we get

upset

> when we kill animals and not plants?

>

> Animals have more of a discernible conscousness, and can respond to

us in

> ways that we understand. So personally, I relate to animals as

beings who

> are like me more than I relate to plants as life that is like me.

>

> Nevertheless, regarding the killing of animals...I have learned to

make

> peace with this. I try to remember to give thanks to the animal

before I

> kill or eat it. Killing other life forms so that we can sustain

ourselves is

> the way of the world right now.

>

> Best,

> Nenah

Nenah:

Thank you. I also remembered about St. Francis of Assisi. Wasn't he

the epitome of generosity towards the beast? He felt sorry even for

lice. I can't imagine St. Francis as a meat-eater, at least not in

his later life. He certainly was a vegan and probably very frugal at

that. But you are right to point that plants are also sensitive.

Now, St. Francis, with all due respect, was probably mentally ill or

insane. I mean he was not a normal person. I wonder if any

nutritional deficiency might have led him to and kept him in that

bizarre (albeit enlightening) condition.

Best wishes,

José