The Cows · Page 25
Others no longer value our presence and would refuse our gifts altogether.
They do not understand that we are part of the solution!
Many vegans are firmly against any kind of agriculture that includes animals or any use of animal products. This could be seen as throwing the baby out with the bathwater, implying a misunderstanding of how systems ecology works and has evolved through the ages. This attitude shows how disconnected we have become from the life processes that sustain us and all life on earth.
Throughout much of our history, agriculture, as we define it, was unable to sustain human populations due to hostile environmental factors and climate change. Herders probably evolved as a natural extension of the hunter-gatherer. Unlike a crop, an animal herd can be moved on and survive on plant matter that is indigestible by humans. Such a situation may once again confront us if climate change obliges humans to follow a more nomadic way of life.
Many environmental and moral issues need to be addressed, but it may not be so much a question of what we do as how we do it. All of life is sacred, and everything is alive and conscious in its own way.
First Peoples’ absolute respect and care for the co-inhabitants of this planet do not necessarily lead them to refuse the gifts of animals. In our Western society, we have become accustomed to eating far too many animal products from completely disconnected sources. It is not good for us or the environment, and eating none at all could be equally disastrous for our health and the environment.
This same disconnection has also allowed us to turn a blind eye to animal welfare in general.
Respect for and humane treatment of animals, as well as a better understanding of their role in the system, must become part of our culture if it is to survive. Ten thousand years of coevolution cannot be wiped off the slate without psychological, physical, and moral consequences, including the extinction of some of our most longstanding animal companions.