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Easing you into
a healthy and happy meat-free world
These
opening
introductions may suggest a typically, flowery "Isn't life
wonderful when your a lentil-bound ageing hippie dancing bare-bottomed
around a tree!"...
Eeuuww!
Let's wipe
the slate clean and move into the 21st century!
VeggieGlobal
aims not to fall into any of the stereotypical lentil pots of
vegetarianism. Although there's nothing wrong with hippies with
nut-roast hangovers, let's just say that the "veggie"
in VeggieGlobal indicates peace and harmony, and the "global"
means that everyone, everywhere can join in! ... Here, you can
even shake off those visions of pale, fainting rakes in dreary
cardigans!
Instead,
VeggieGlobal stands for everything that's simply natural about
being veggie, without the segregation!
In fact, in an ideal world, VeggieGlobal would chuck out all "veggie"
and "arian" type descriptions altogether - That is if
humanity was a cruelty-free society. But until then, we'll have
to make do with old-fashioned terms that dissect the ethics of
compassion. Of course, we will always take our hats off to the
old regimes who originally pioneered the vegetarian ethic and
who still do provided very practical information, but unfortunately
today, even the word "society", by definition makes
vegetarianism sound separatist and even rather self-righteous.
VeggieGlobal is passionate about its mission and doesn't hide
the fact that it would ideally love to see the whole world turn
veggie! ... But at the same time it cuts through outdated boundaries
and always aims to give you resources, friendly inspiration and
fun without the pomposity.
With
zillions of pages oozing original, inspiring editorials, campaigns
and good-cause programmes, VeggieGlobal is creating total transparency
between current veggies and meaty people who are beginning to
realize that an ethically based lifestyle is becoming a prerequisite
in how to survive the environmental turmoil which our entire planet
is now facing.
You may also notice that this isn't exactly a hacked-together
website with nothing but a few borrowed veggie facts and recipes,
a couple of novel website tricks, and then adverts ... and more
adverts! Instead, with years of dedicated research and intuitive
foresight, VeggieGlobal lays down a labyrinth of paths to help
you achieve a natural sense of realization; how outward compassion
and inner-healing are so closely entwined.
However, to reach this realization, meat-eaters do have to jump
a few hurdles to eventually feel comfortable about an animal-free
diet, and even then a diet which doesn't destroy rain forests
and habitats. So, if you are a "meatie" thinking of
becoming veggie, there is a slight telling-of bit in one or two
areas, but it's all part of the natural flow and there's no self-righteous
malice intended!
Don't forget, VeggieGlobal, along with its sister site Looking-Glass
is a web "retreat", so whether you are veggie or just
thinking about it, this is a place to chill and soak in the atmosphere.
On your travels here, VeggieGlobal hopes that you'll discover
the possibility of a meat and fish free diet as being the best
and most satisfying decision you have ever made!
Important Statement
VeggieGlobal is the only vegetarian
based organization which states the following as its mission statement:
"VeggieGlobal accepts and respects individuals and associated
indigenous cultures their choice - and often necessity - to eat
meat - that is, if he or she is prepared to kill the animal themselves."
In other words, that means those in more remote regions of the
planet who aren't having this evening's dinner killed and prepared
by slaughterhouses, butchers, meat-packers and supermarket shelf-fillers.
For example, some indigenous cultures like Inuits or Eskimos (a
race of people who live around the polar regions) have no choice
but to eat the animals and fish that inhabit their icy environments
where vegetation doesn't even grow. Such cultures, along with
indigenous peoples
in other remote parts the world, have historically
harmonized with nature, which automatically retains the natural
balance of the food chain and its associated ecology. They have
evolved to respect the environment and therefore the animal population
around them, only to kill and eat what they personally require,
as part of the circle of day to day life for themselves and the
fragile environment around them.
It is often only the interference of the developed world - and
the destructive technology it brings - that destroys the natural
balance of those almost-forgotten cultures and the delicate balance
they have achieved between animal and human.
"Compassionate
living, such as vegetarianism is not just an inner cleansing
exercise. Its rationale should extend outside the body - to
engage in the active healing and protection of every precious
thing within and even beyond the world's biosphere.
Therefore achieving the true harmonic of peace and well-being
must be far further reaching than simply moving the furniture
around, meditatively chanting or knocking back a seaweed and
banana smoothie." - creator of VeggieGlobal
and Looking-Glass |
OK ... so what do I do now?
If you have already decided, without
hesitation to become veggie then go straight
to the free subscription form ... then on to the
"New Veggies Information Path".
If you are still unsure, then
you are invited to read on.
Beside the huge health benefits to be gained when becoming vegetarian,
you may also need to reaffirm the moral / ethical reasons as to
why vegetarianism is such a great way to feel at peace with the
natural world around you.
A Wise Choice
If this is your first taster in
all things vegetarian then we hope you'll find a comfortable path
through this site which, although doesn't preach vegetarianism,
treats the practice of a meat free diet as the norm rather than
the exception. However, VeggieGlobal is mainly designed for those
who wish to live a meat free life mainly for compassionate and
ethical reasons and not just for personal health improvement.
You may find a lot of useful dietary and nutritional information
here and, let's face it, anyone becoming veggie for whatever reason
means the lives and welfare of a few more animals have been saved.
But as we say, this is a place for those who don't eat any creatures
with a pulse and a pair of eyes. And, because VeggieGlobal.com
is part of the Looking-Glass web retreat, it therefore covers
many issues linked to animal, environmental and humanitarian issues
as part of its overall philosophy towards extended consciousness
- and the sense of natural compassion such a journey brings. So
please read on and consider embracing the ethical considerations
raised here in this introduction and throughout this site.
Stuff to Think About
The VeggieGlobal quote further up
this page suggests that vegetarianism, animal welfare, humanitarianism
and conservation is not simply about whimsical displays
of concern during one human's life cycle ... It's not about
chasing an alternative, self comfort lifestyle whilst the commercial
world around you continues to bulldoze its way across the planet
for a quick buck ... Vegetarianism, animal welfare, humanitarianism
and conservation are signatures of the earth's natural harmonic
... And these signatures can emanate from you, by rooting yourself
into the planet - feeling, listening, living and truly responding
- synchronized to the pulse of your homeworld.
For those who have already climbed
to this next plane of human evolution, a natural affinity with
such issues of compassion is part of a normal existence ... and
its integration in your social life is completely transparent.
You have earned the role of a "Global Compassionate"
when almost everything you do - even without having to think too
hard about it - creates a positive and healing effect to this
planet.
Putting things in perspective
It's all to easy for a veggie site
to sound a little self-righteous but you'll find that enlightening
considerations are directed at both meat-eaters and veggies alike
at VeggieGlobal. Because being veggie certainly doesn't make one
perfect! So we are not being self-righteousness here ... just
simply stating facts and a common-sense philosophy to aid realignment
towards a compassionate lifestyle. But just to cut through the
moral maze of meat-eating, there is a "telling off bit" in this
introduction! So here we go! ...
The telling off bit!
There is a
point to this telling off bit. Even though you may be making steps
to become veggie, it's helpful to understand the ethics that are
leading you towards this decision as clearly as possible. Think
of these introduction pages as a cleansing process to help you
stay vegetarian once you have begun.
As
a (past) meat eater, you need to face some very straight forward
questions and some which could make you feel uncomfortable.
And please remember, this is almost the only time throughout the
entire site, where we will lay out such strong ethics about modern
day meat eating for you to chew on ... so to speak.
After this, you can take it or leave it, but if you are going
to succeed in your quest for personal change then facing cold
facts and coming out the other side ethically enlightened
can only be considered a wonderfully positive thing.
You may also feel that some of the
following questions are pretty obvious - but nonetheless poignant
if you are personally going to understand and purge yourself of
your role in past years as an indirect animal killer, and hence
reinitialize yourself.
Yes, harsh that may sound, but consider this comparison:
A mobster pays his henchmen to do the dirty deeds ... murder for
example. He never has to get his hands dirty - and neither does
a meat eater! The meat-eater is the supermarket consumer who is
paying someone else to do the job of killing a living entity.
The meat-eater is so used to this arrangement that a guilty conscience
shows no sign of activity ... no remorse.
Eating an animal that's conveniently killed and prepared for your
consumption is an easy cop out - removing you from the scene of
the murder ... You don't feel responsible ... but it's
a false and therefore shameful feeling.
The mobster is evil and with no guilty conscience. Of course,
you as a meat-eater isn't "evil", but what you have
done all these years is simply lost a sense of guilt through never
having to come face to face with the once-living creature being
ripped apart on your dinner plate ... this is because you as a
meat-eater have become anaesthetized to the reality of the crime
you are indirectly committing.
But first you must also ask yourself, "is killing an animal
a crime?" Or in other words, a human meat-eater justifies
him or herself by presuming that killing each other is murder
but killing another species is not! ...
How convenient!
Does this mean that if we were visited by a non-human species
from outerspace, we would think it's OK to eat them just because
they are not "human"?! Or what if they were carnivores
themselves and considered the human race an inferior species and
a potential food source, wouldn't you be horrified? What gives
us or even little green men from Mars the right to quantify what
species of this universe deserve to be murdered and eaten
and which don't?
Meanwhile, back on Earth ...
... there is also a crazy social
unbalance relating to which animals can be eaten and which can't.
In one country it may be OK for meat eaters to to eat swans or
monkeys, while another country would throw-up at the thought.
Can the simple minds of this planet not comprehend that they are
all living beings in one form or another? The morals and
ethics of cultural choice is irrelevant. You either choose to
eat another living creature or you abstain from the act completely
and become vegetarian. As a meat-eater, why should putting a name
to your family pet make he or she any less prone to ending up
on your dinner plate than a lamb torn away from its mother and
killed for your Sunday dinner?
Meat can only be identified in most consumers minds as a shrink-wrapped
item from the chill cabinet at the supermarket - not as a once
living, breathing, sentient creature. You have unwittingly become
completely brainwashed through years of not knowing, or never
considering the past life of the flesh next to the two veg on
your plate.
It is astonishing how many people cannot even associate meat with
a living being. They just shrug their shoulders and try and pretend
such "reality" simply doesn't exist... that they are
all somehow exempt from responsibility... that the meat they eat
wasn't in fact ever a living creature ... it's from the supermarket
... that's where it was made ... in the chill cabinet next to
the breakfast cereal section, doerrrrr!
And so, your past decisions or habitual
demands to purchase parts of dead animals, conveniently "pre-killed"
and shrink wrapped, sets off a backwards chain of arguments and
political discordance which points at meat, fish and farming industries.
Historically the chain is linked but in modern society it begins
with the consumers demand and aesthetic expectations.
This next
bit is a self evaluating test to help you fully establish your
future as vegetarian ...a
most basic, simplistic but challenging question nonetheless:
You
are a meat eater.
You walk into
your richly stocked supermarket and come face to face with live
lambs, calves, ducks and other sentient creatures looking frightened
and confused. They are tethered where the pre-packed meat counter
once stood.
All pre-slaughtered
meat products are no longer available.
There is a
price tag attached to each of these live animals ... and there
is also a large knife.
Would you kill
the animal yourself to eat the meat?...
Before we continue this discussion,
we have no quarrel with those few individuals who take personal
responsibility in a one to one relationship with their
own animal food source ... to eat what they kill themselves.
That philosophy originates from earth-rooted cultures far removed
from the modern world of the frozen meat section and the unethical
pre-packed convenience of the supermarket.
But for the huge majority of meat-eating
consumers, this is where "turn a blind eye" hypocrisy
begins, then moves off into many paths of ignorance.
For example, the public's general condemnation of blood sports
is a fine sentiment but they still eat the products from some
of these activities via the supermarket shelf.
The hypocrisy gets more inane. Those who bet on the Grand National
but "won't watch it because the horses get hurt".
Even the children ... "I'll eat bacon but I won't eat Babe"
(the piglet made famous in the films) All very hypocritical -
and all part of a society, which seems to conveniently anaesthetize
a guilty conscience whenever it suits.
This is mainly demonstrated by a predominantly western society,
which can look into the innocent eyes of a cow grazing by the
roadside, or on an injured deer on a wildlife hospital TV program
and shed an emotional tear. But they will never have to face picking
up that knife and slitting its throat ... they just wait for it
to arrive in a bun with fries.
In 2001 a major outbreak of Foot
and Mouth Disease began in the UK and spread across Europe. Along
with BSE and Bird Flu, these diseases are man-created through
intense chemical based farming methods, unnatural feeding methods
and by crowding animals into enclosed areas.
Although Foot and Mouth has been around for centuries, mans methods
of trying to defeat it have been and still are ignorantly displaced.
If the disease was allowed to spread naturally more than 50% of
animals will survive and therefore build up a natural immunity
from generation to generation. Instead, short sighted farmers
and governments will destroy 100's of thousands of perfectly healthy
animals for the sake of a few hundred confirmed cases. The result
is that the disease continues to be a constant threat to farm
animals from one generation to another.
Yes, it's all about short term recoverability and financial gain.
It's all too easy for a vegetarians to sound self-righteous over
man-made disasters such as these, but the fact is that there is
simply no more time to play diplomatic bat and ball with insensitive,
short sighted people who continue to plough their way through
life with such a self-serving outlook. Is it not plainly obvious
that both meat farmers and meat consumers are equally to blame
for such a disastrous outcome? Ruling humans over animals and
the environment is now taking its toll... and if you suffer the
inconvenience of not being able to have your roast beef or chicken
... is that such a loss when you realize how much good your efforts
to become vegetarian will do for this entire planet?
The less meat you eat, the less
animals will be farmed therefore less animal suffering. The less
fish you eat, the more chance that the dangerously depleted oceans
have a chance of recovery
It's a start ... isn't it?
We hope you have considered these
questions and evaluations, and that they have been a help to you
in understanding the ethics behind a natural path towards a healthier
life in mind, body and clearer conscience.
If so, then we are most glad to extend our welcome to you as a
first step vegetarian.
From here on you will learn to understand
that being true vegetarian should become a transparent philosophy
and neither a time consuming issue or inconvenience in your everyday
life. In the 21st century your life can only be less of a hassle,
healthier, smarter and morally clear-headed ...
... as a happy veggie!
On this site, vegetarianism goes hand
in hand with concern towards the environment and also links with
humanitarian issues. So here's a run down of how Veggieglobal draws
together the paths towards global compassion:
Can you become a true Global Compassionate?
Some of us are getting there.
The turning point began with the protests at the 1999 World Trade
Fair Organization in Seattle USA and the IMF / World Bank conference
in Washington. This gave a clear indication that a shift within
main business infrastructure towards environmental considerations
was becoming dangerously overdue. These protests and many since
then are proving that the work of the concerned few who struggle
to keep the natural planet breathing could be having a small but
significant effect.
With that in mind, is there a flicker
of light at the end of a long smog filled tunnel? If so, such
a light needs the power of the Internet to help it grow ever brighter
... illuminating the way through to a greener and more pleasant
future. With the Internet there is now no excuse but for each
and every individual to contribute with one finger on the mouse
button towards a future most of us dream of ... veggieglobal
can provide you with that power.
Awareness and Repair
veggieglobal
is cutting edge, perhaps controversial but level-headed in its
approach ... and we get straight to the point... no peeling grapes
around here... we throw questions and considerations directly
at the consumer as well as encouraging the commercial sector to
explore alternative methods of global management, awareness
and repair.
We prefer to describe this site, (pretentious as it may sound!)
as " a matter of fact 21st century state of conscious
awareness".
Another Telling Off Bit! ... (last
time!)
Bored already?...
not enough easy-fix buzz words and freebies for you? well
then you are a typical, vague, apathetic web surfer who really
needs a slap with a soggy aubergine! Wake up to the fact that
this site strengthens your best hope of seeing yourself and your
surroundings survive over the next 25 years! Yes, in your lifetime
... So, if you've past the stage of getting all excited over the
Internet; clicking buttons, downloading completely inane rubbish,
and going ooh isn't that clever, then pay attention!
But on the other hand we're not going to preach vegetarianism
to you after this intro... There is discussion here for you to
take part in if you want to... read the philosophies that fuel
this site if you want to. But you don't have to read it if it's
all too much of a hassle... however...
... Don't vegetate, cultivate!
As veggieglobal.com
grows, so will global and local issues come into clear focus here.
We call on world environmental, animal, and humanitarian organizations
to consider VeggieGlobal's potential ... Not just as a service
portal but breathing compassion into the on-line mainstream, in
a manner that every generation can tune to. We want to
cultivate the concrete and tarmac of the worlds cities and towns
... spread enough awareness so that those who would otherwise
never be the wiser can take the opportunity to plant themselves
and tune to the earth's natural harmonic.
Until now, media attention on vegetarianism in accord with animal
welfare has been the pilgrimage of a handful of celebrities; often
pampered, slightly delusional and tiresomely self-righteous. A
focus, which does not cut across cultures at street level. Promoting
vegetarianism and animal welfare should not highlight differences
in social status towards the common person. Nor should it seem
that such "idealism" is a luxury privilege for the rich
and famous. (In fact being vegetarian will save you a fortune!)
Become a Global Compassionate and
join the on-line activities that will turn the media on its head,
as the issues and actions raised here become the primary consideration
of 21st century lifestyle and communication.
In harmony with Looking-Glass.co.uk
the bridge from street level to the natural world has been built
for the first time. It's up to the organizations and public surfers
to use this bridge... meet, exchange and be enlightened.
Subscription
Form ... All this for free?!
In a nutshell ... yes.
VeggieGlobal believes that detailed information, which encourages
people to live a more harmonious and environmentally friendly
life, shouldn't be a privilege for only those who can afford it.
But ...
In return for all of this
free, tirelessly researched work covering over 2000 pages and
growing, VeggieGlobal politely asks that you show your appreciation
with a small donation. Funding doesn't come from anywhere else,
so please "put something in the honesty pot" if you
can!
Your feedback is very important.
The form below is for meat-eaters
thinking of turning veggie.
If you are already veggie use
the "already veggie" free subscription form
Based on your comments, we can improve
content and services that we provide here at VeggieGlobal and
throughout the Looking-Glass web retreat.
VeggieGlobal and Looking-Glass would
also like to occasionally keep you up to date with developments
and any vital information that we feel you may find useful. So
please feel free to fill in the form below, then click on the
submit button. Please note: We do not send annoying and unsociable
"graphic heavy" emails which keep trying to dial up
to the Internet. We will only send you plain text e-mails - and
we do not pass your information on to third party "spammers".
(or if you don't want to subscribe
please use the "New Veggies Information Path" here.
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