Back To Nature? [100% veg*n ] Digest Number 480

[Guest guest]

> > Veganism is very definately part of my religion. I'm Wiccan, and when I

> > initiated I made a vow to eat no animal product ever again. I've since

> > re-affirmed that vow each year. Wiccans believe that it is our

> > responsibility to think for ourselves, and to " Harm None " , not to

> > interfere with the rightsof others, and many Wiccans interpret the " Harm

> > None " belief in terms of vegetarianism and veganism.

 

I found this post very interesting Dharja- I'm not quite sure what the

distinction

between paganism & wican is, but my own pathway is taking me towards something

close to anarcho-pagan taoist (or something!). Anyway, my understanding of

paganism

is that it's about reconnecting with and honouring nature's patterns. The

following

is an exploration of what this might mean from a permacultural/holistic

perspective, and what the implications might be ethically regarding

veganism/animal

rights...

 

It's extracted from an offlist discussion I'm having with somebody else who

s here (vegan network), and is more an 'airing of ideas' than anything

'laid down in stone', and an attempt at articulating some of the thoughts that

have

been running around in my head lately, so I'd welcome any comments or

feedback...

 

" There is a need for a unification of strands or a

holistic approach to issues of environmentalism, respect for non human species

and

human rights. The permaculture ethics of Earthcare, Peoplecare & Fairshares

comes

closest to a synthesis in my view, although there is of course much debate as to

what these all actually mean, and it's healthy that they are open to

interpretation.

 

Of course the industrialisation of animal farming (and agriculture in general)

is

an abomination, and I certainly wouldn't be trying to justify that (and nor

would

Bill Mollison, author of the 'Permaculture Designer's Manual'), but I don't

think

that embracing the 'Earthcare' ethic necessarily

excludes animals from designed permacultural systems, being that permaculture

systems are modelled on observation and replication of natural patterns...

 

The usual Animal Rights arguement seems to run that by eating/using animals we

(by

'we' I mean peoplekind in general) are assuming that we are 'superior' to other

animals and thus have the 'right' to use them as we see fit, and that this is

both

arrogance and intrinsically ethically wrong. Perhaps so. But by accepting that

we

are a part of the earth and it's natural systems, and not apart from it, we need

to

realise that we are but players within a constant cycle of birth, life, growth,

death,

and decay... matter and energy is constantly changing state and form...

There is no 'superior' or 'inferior', everything has it's part to play and is

essential in the order of things... The fox that eats the rabbit does not

consider

itself 'superior' to that rabbit, just as the rabbit does not consider itself

'superior' to the grass that it grazes. When the fox or rabbit dies or shits, do

the worms, bacteria and insects which break down those bodily 'wastes' into

soil,

humus and nutrients consider themselves 'superior' to the fox? Does the plant

which

absorbs those nutrients consider itself 'superior' before it too is devoured by

the

next generation of rabbits???

 

Just as the idea of 'superiority' is a very human, flawed and narrow construct,

so

to is the notion that we can stand outside of such cycles, however hard we may

try... Our assumption that we are at the 'top' of a 'food chain' (whether vegan

or

omnivorous), rather than an integral part of a holistic and interconnected web

has

led us to what can only be described as pathological cultural behaviours like

flushing our shit out to sea and burning our dead rather than letting them be

returned to the earth for re-absorption. As a (modern) species we truly do only

take from the Gaian bank account and never put anything back (same analogy holds

for our usage of fossil fuels rather than renewables, and resource usage in

general).

 

To me this issue of re-entering the ecosystem, reconnecting with gaia and it's

cycles is more crucial than than the vegan/omnivore dichotomy. As I've stated

elsewhere, many cultures and peoples have used and coexisted with animals in

ways

that are sustainable and respectful, and it does seem a little incongruous for

somebody like Ben Law, who is truly connected to and supports himself from the

woodland he manages, or indeed the pastoral Masai of East africa, to be

described

as 'animal exploiters' by vegans primarily living on a diet based around over

packaged, imported, resource guzzling soya products...

 

I suspect that at the end of the day there is no 'Truth', but many many versions

of

the truth, and that each of us will find our own once we at least begin the

processes of overcoming our alienation and reconnecting, in both a physical and

spiritual/ethical sense "

 

Some background;

 

Article I've written on permaculture & veganism

http://pages.unisonfree.net/gburnett/essay/veganperm.htm

 

Article I've written on permaculture & food production for 'The Raven'

Anarchist

quarterly

http://pages.unisonfree.net/gburnett/raven/Ravenpc.htm

 

Permaculture for beginners- a graphic guide

http://pages.unisonfree.net/gburnett/Perma/

 

Cheers for now,

 

Graham Burnett

www.landandliberty.co.uk

Now available-

'Permaculture A Beginner's Guide'

also

tee shirts- 'Permaculture Manadala'

&

'Land Is Liberty- Plant A Seed Today...'Graham Burnett