Cruelty-free diet

Andrew has an excellent post up on a Cruelty-Free Diet, and why his family watches what they eat.

In recent years I've tended more and more toward not only knowing what's in my food, but where it comes from and how it was produced. Although the organic movement is still fledgling here in SA, it is possible to find foods grown and produced as naturally as possible, and without a month-long journey to the table - losing nutrients all the way.

I'm a lacto-ovo vegetarian by choice (really don't like the taste of meat, generally speaking). I've had a veggie garden for years and love being able to pick my meal from right outside my door. I've gone over to free-range, grain-fed eggs only (after reading of the horrific treatement of birds, and noticing "ordinary" eggs becoming more and more fishy in taste...). I'm trying to buy local and find the good quality things to eat - yes, even if it takes a bit more cash to do so. But it isn't always possible, with many suppliers and producers dominating the market, making it hard to find something they HAVEN'T created in the unknown obscurity of a far-off factory. And I'm well-aware that I could do more toward eating right/better.

This is an issue that can't be seperated from your care for God's world, or your dominance of it. It's an integral part of how you view your relation to his creation, his creatures and your place in the world. And it's a view that cuts across religions (and outside of them too). I was amazed at how seriously Jews, Muslims and others take care for the world - while Christians often can't care less, even though all the God-talk is there, asking them to.

Anyway, enough waffle. Go read his post. And follow a few of the links he's mentioned too.