The challenge of responsible citizenship

​The challenge of responsible citizenship
 
This human is acutely aware of the challenge of being a responsible citizen while not becoming a zealot or self-righteous.
 
I am well aware of the fact that I put some issues on the back burner. Doing so  means I take no action, but the issue hovers on the edge of my consciousness and periodically calls out for my attention.  One of those issues is related to diet which is related to what the animals who end up on my kitchen table endure prior to their arrival.  I know, for example:
 

• Some animals are prophylactically given huge amounts of antibiotics which may be affecting the how our bodies react to antibiotics when we need them and why they are becoming less effective.
• The actual product which arrives in my kitchen may not be very nutritious or healthy
• The waste products of animals being raised for food is often problematic for the environment.
• Slaughterhouses often do not have humane practices and may, in fact, have very cruel practices.

 
In order to support this current system which allows me to, at will, (as long as I have money and means to purchase) have that meat in my home:
 

• I pretend as if I can eat the product or feed it to friends and family without causing me or them harm.
• I pretend as if I believe that animals have no experience of pain or other negative emotions.
• I pretend as If the needs of us humans supersede any pain the animals might suffer.
• I pretend as if I believe that climate change or overall health of the planet is something which can safely be ignored.
• I pretend that as long as food products are labeled as free range or organic there is no harm to the environment or the animals.
• I pretend that there are no other options for a healthy diet.
•  I pretend as if I am blissfully unaware of the extensive research into plant and cell based “meats” – food which has the taste, texture and nutrition of animal products.
• I pretend that all the meat products I eat have lived in the wild and are killed by skilled hunters who ensure animals do not suffer when being killed.

 
This is a long list of pretends which, if I can write them down, I am not doing very effectively. 
 
I knew full well when I decided to listen to the Ezra Klein rebroadcast of the episode featuring a conversation with Bruce Friedrich head of the Good Food Institute  I would be challenged to  face the disparity/contradiction between what I know and how I behave.    Yet, my intention and commitment for 2021 is to continue to challenge myself to learn and to take another step forward in my spiritual journey.  I am not suggesting that I am ready to make the commitment to becoming a vegetarian or vegan, or to hunt all the meat I serve  in my home, but it does mean that I have made a clear decision to bring this issue to the forefront of my thinking and to be honest with what I know.
 
Written January 5, 2021
Jimmy F Pickett
coachpickett.org