I overheard a mother telling her son yesterday to “eat that apple or you’re not going anywhere”. It made me think about the relationship with food that we develop from an early age.
Being told to sit at the table until there isn’t a pea left on the plate. Gagging as gluey strings of pumpkin tormented the back of your throat. Thinking defiantly how you’d rather sit there forever than eat those brussel sprouts.
It prompted me to turn to Dr Gabriel Cousens and one of my favourite books written by him, Conscious Eating. How, I wondered, is the body affected when you’re eating something you’re having a physical aversion to, regardless whether it’s nutritious or not?
Dr Cousens says avoid eating when you’re sad, angry or under stress, as those emotions are assimilated into your food. “Eating when you’re calm and able to focus on your food is a way to love yourself,” he says. “Remember, food is love and life is love.” I wish someone had mentioned that little golden nugget of information to my well-meaning mother.
I also wonder if being forced to eat certain foods as a child means you’re less likely to try those foods as an adult, or at least take longer to develop a liking for those peas. While I’ve mended my relationship with pumpkin, the prior is still a point of contention.
While I continue to ponder, I’ll leave you with an excerpt from Conscious Eating.
A primary, ongoing way that we all consciously or unconsciously relate to nature is through our food. Eating is an intimate way to extract life-sustaining energy from Mother Nature. In the process of digestive assimilation, the food, as part of Mother Nature, gives up its identity and takes on the identity of the one who has ingested it. We are actually assimilating the forces of nature—stored in our food—whenever we eat. Each bite we take brings us the experience of our loving connection with Mother Nature.
Food is a love note from God. Its letters are written by the rays of the sun. It says I love you and I shall take care of you and sustain you with the offerings of my earth. If we take time to read the love letter, by chewing carefully and feeling the messages that are stored in food by the sun, earth, wind, water, and even by those who have grown, harvested and prepared the food, its assimilation takes on a whole new meaning. This is a specific way of receiving God’s grace, a holy sacrament to be experienced slowly, carefully and consciously.
"The physical and energetic forces of food interact with us on physical, emotional, mental and spiritual levels."—Dr Gabriel Cousens
As Christmas day nears, I’ve been thinking about jolly ol’ Santa and his love for milk and cookies … how his turning vegan could be the biggest gift to vegan activists everywhere.
Imagine the influence he’d have. Children worldwide would be begging their parents for freshly-made almond milk with a side of raw vegan truffle balls, forget the cows, thank you very much.
So, without further ado, here is my letter to Santa this year—10 reasons he should go vegan. I just hope he gets it on time…
1. Your cholesterol levels, Santa, would be back to normal. No more need for those pesky GP visits and poisonous pharmaceuticals;
2. Your energy levels would skyrocket, especially if you adopt a mostly raw diet. Raw, live foods are packed with enzymes, which are the givers of life. Kids everywhere want to see you around for a long time to come. Eating raw and vegan is healthy for you, animals and the planet.
3. Santa, I know you love animals. What bigger gift could you give to them than not eating or wearing them?
4. I don’t mean to be rude, Santa, but being overweight is a serious risk to your health. Did you know tummy fat raises your risk for high blood cholesterol by about 50 percent? A healthy vegan diet will have you at your optimal weight in no time.
5. Most cookies are laden with butter and processed sugar. Many of the mass-produced kind are even worse, with ingredients made up of numbers and boasting names impossible to pronounce. Santa, do you know where your cookies came from?
6. Drinking cows milk has been linked to all sorts of dis-eases, including asthma, osteoporosis, heart disease, diabetes and more. Making milk from nuts is a cinch and doesn’t require harming animals or using massive amounts of the earth’s energy.
7. I hate to be the one to break it to you Santa, but that big fur collar that keeps you warm as you deliver your presents once belonged to real, live animals — defenseless creatures who were tortured and skinned without a second thought. I’ve also been told that fur has formaldehyde in it, which has been known to cause cancers. I don’t want you getting sick, Santa.
8. I know eating on the run must be tempting to a busy man like you, Santa. But I think you should know that fast food meats have thousands of additives that are addictive and fattening. Much of the meat on menus today are also full of pesticides and hormones.
9. Bacon and pork may be tempting, but did you know that pigs are more intelligent than dogs? Word has it they are intelligent as a three year old. I know you’d never eat a three year old, would you, Santa?
10. Those fancy leather seats in your sleigh may be comfy Santa, but did you know how many cows died to make them? If you compare your ride to the average Mercedes Benz, my guess is around seven.
So Santa, if you’re reading this, I urge you to take the pledge. Go vegan in 2010. Imagine the energy you’d have delivering presents next year. Those rosy cheeks would have a truly healthy glow, Mrs Claus could learn new culinary skills, whipping up raw vegan recipes to share with the elves. I’m certain Rudolph would be grateful too, knowing for certain he won’t be re-named venison when it’s time for retirement.
And to PETA, I think I’m onto something. I’ll let you take it from here.
