This is in answer to a friend who would like to discuss priciples of vegetarianism and certain Buddhist beliefs that we incarnate via the animal kingdom.

Interesting premise and we are not unfamiliar with Buddhist philosophy. This theory of "atma" is to our knowledge not consistent though in all Buddhist thought. The Dalai Llama is not averse to a bacon sandwich according to previous interviews we have read, though having not met him we cannot assess the truth of this.

In scientific (and Halal/Kosher) terms the manner of slaughter is most important, due to "fear" hormones, effectively toxins, being released into the bloodstream first - hence the propensity to drain the blood at slaughter and to bless the animal for its life.

"You are what you eat" has never been more pertinent. As "developed" nations we have by and large transferred the mass control, imprisonment and slaughter of our fellow citizens to the animal kingdom. The invention of mechanised mass slaughter is merely a diversion by those responsible from the now unacceptable herding and slaughter of people in concentration camps, there is a blood letting mentality still endemic in the human race it appears and we are all culpable as we were 60 odd years ago in Nazi Germany and Japan. Similarly, in Rwanda in recent years and now Darfur, the human race still pontificates and wrings its hands in mock political anguish whilst the wholesale slaughter of our brothers and sisters continues.

We are realists and stopping all consumption of the animal kingdom is not for us a viable option. Island races are heavily fish dependent, whilst land locked countries are more dependent on livestock, goats, cows, sheep, pigs and poultry. This is not going to stop because some of us don't agree with it. Nor should it, for these are personal decisions that come with Spiritual growth and maturity.

What we can do however is stop buying factory farmed food - period! We should be boycotting all forms of food produced under this neo-fascist feeding regimen and not buying shares in the multi-nationals that propagate this foul system. All animals should be allowed natural conditions to thrive in and live social lives. And slaughter should be to humane, ancient traditions which are now proving to have much scientific merit. Slaughter should be localised so the "karma" is shared by the local community and animals are not distressed when travelling hundreds of miles in trucks to be stunned and killed without thought or prayer. The horrible realities of cattle truck trains of people going off to Auschwitz and the like still goes on to this day, only the occupants now have four legs and not even the grim hope of being selected for slave labour and the possibilty of life, or even escape.

Recently, we have seen the new Spiderman film being marketed/advertised with Bernard Matthews turkey slices. A fouler more dis-spiriting enterprise would be hard to find and yet kids movies are routinely linked to these monsters of death and butchery. Macdonalds, Burger King, KFC are all similarly culpable. This is mass mind manipulation of our young and it is no wonder because without ripe new converts the whole industry would collapse.

Education that is balanced, honest and untainted by industry influence is the best solution we can find and we vainly look to Govt to initiate this, which is no easy task considering half our politicians are investors in such sorry enterprises. That and the subjugation of WalMart/Tesco and the like who have destroyed our means of living off the land in any meaningful way, in the pursuit of cheap mass adulterated food to boost profits beyond the aspirations of most people.

Our maxim is if you must eat our animal friends then at least allow them the dignity of a life first, a death that respects the sanctity of that life and our devout prayers in thanks for that life given to sustain our own. That for us means organic and possibly free range too, with Imams, Rabbis and other devout men and women in attendance at slaughter. If we are what we eat, then surely it is better to eat that that has been blessed under God given principles rather than been routinely fed heavily chemicalised farm feed, pumped full of steroids and anti-biotics, before being mass murdered without any Spiritual or religious undertaking, to be presented in an array of processed foods that are purposely presented to avoid any such thought of how it got there to an increasingly mindless consumer - you are what you eat - fait accompli...

Love and Light
CHI-QI crew