I don't think there's a simple answer to this one, Voyager. Many cultures have the belief that they are ingesting the spirit of the animal when they eat it, whether lion, tiger or bear. They are taking into themselves the spirit of the animals they have hunted, killed and are eating.
My reasons for not eating meat are ethical, i.e., I see animals as sentient beings on this planet, and I don't find it honorable that they should die so I can eat their flesh. If I can name it, and look it in the eye, I can't eat it. It's not necessary, and I feel unhappy when I do it.
That said, if I WERE to eat something, it would be fish that I have caught myself, and treated honorably and respectfully, from apologizing to it for the pain, to cooking it as deliciously as it deserves. I haven't done that yet, but I have fished in the past, so I consider it a possibility for the future.
Also, many cultures throughout history have had "communication" with vegetable and mineral spirits, in the western hemisphere, the Corn God, tobacco spirit, etc. I think the truth is that everything eats to live, and that's just the way things work. We eat plants and animals, the animals eat plants and animals, the plants take in nutrients from plant sources, including the results of decomposition of other plants. (Compost, etc.) Does that mean that plants are cannibalistic? Probably so, in a way, but it also means that, ultimately, WE ALL are.
The best I can find to do is to bless and thank whatever I eat, animal, vegetable or mineral, and cook it deliciously and respectfully, with as little waste and as much gratitude as possible.
XOXO
herbalista
--
http://www.patriciaresnick.com
"Some say there IS NO true evil in the universe. Obviously, these are people who have never used plastic wrap."
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