Hi Sean, I agree with a lot of what you’re saying EXCEPT please explain what you mean by ethical omnivorism? How is it ever ethical to kill animals, especially when they’re not only not needed in our diet but actually unhealthy for us? There is nothing ethical about killing animals for humans to eat.
Hey Laurie, certainly a contentious issue, with strong arguments on both sides, and one that I've thought and read a lot about. I don't think the comments section is the place to get into it, though. Now that I plan to be writing regularly on this newsletter, I'm sure I'll answer your question in a not-too-distant future post. It's an important question. Thanks for reading!
Thanks so much for these reflections Sean. I cannot wait to read your follow up posts on this subject that touches my depths. I have followed a similar path of exploration around food and lifestyle. I feel into what you are sharing when you (putting your neck on the block) use the term "ethical omnivorism". Through my travel experiences (80s and 90s)when I was young (er) I learned more about where my vegetarian/vegan diet was coming from (eg: Avocado, coconut, and almond plantations)....eye opener for sure...hard on the local biodiversity and so industrial ....lacking vitality.
Now with our evolving understanding around food transportation...ponderings on eating more locally..supporting local food producers that I actually can say "Hi" to....encourages an opening to something more holistic. For me, I struggle with killing animals and have for a while now....never liked putting the worm on the hook. BUT...so much to consider here...especially when I feel like taking responsability for my eating/lifestyle habits. Now I feel cornered to consider growing, butchering and eating "ethically raised and killed" meat. Pigs are every bit as sweet as my wonderful dog and can connect on a level that is in the realms of Love (in my experience). Also I feel this particular Love connection with several trees close to me. Trees are extremely slow and I often lack the patience to connect with them...but I feel their life force every bit as much as my dogs and pigs. And some of those beautiful green giants end up in my home as a sturdy timber. And I continue to Love them.
So I feel as a northerner...it is pretty tough to get through the winter...without some yummy fatty Avocados( those perfect Costco ones) or some local pig fat (like my grandmother's vat beside the woodstove). Maybe next year I will go back to the yummy Avocados ....but for now I have been successful in my own little world... eating locally ALL year round (Quebec grown...and mostly within 10 km of where I live. For now that feels good for me.
No, it's an overlay of complication I just don't need. If I were to save seeds, I'd want to do it in a way that selected the best seeds from the best plants. That often means letting the first plants that ripen - say, the first peas - to go to seed, rather than eating them and saving a few from the stragglers, which is what my stomach wants to do but wouldn't result in selecting for the best traits. I want to eat the best traits. So this is one thing I leave to the experts - and fortunately, in the past few years, a couple of excellent local seed companies have sprung up: Junco Seeds and Northern Seeds.
Hi Sean, I agree with a lot of what you’re saying EXCEPT please explain what you mean by ethical omnivorism? How is it ever ethical to kill animals, especially when they’re not only not needed in our diet but actually unhealthy for us? There is nothing ethical about killing animals for humans to eat.
Hey Laurie, certainly a contentious issue, with strong arguments on both sides, and one that I've thought and read a lot about. I don't think the comments section is the place to get into it, though. Now that I plan to be writing regularly on this newsletter, I'm sure I'll answer your question in a not-too-distant future post. It's an important question. Thanks for reading!
Thanks so much for these reflections Sean. I cannot wait to read your follow up posts on this subject that touches my depths. I have followed a similar path of exploration around food and lifestyle. I feel into what you are sharing when you (putting your neck on the block) use the term "ethical omnivorism". Through my travel experiences (80s and 90s)when I was young (er) I learned more about where my vegetarian/vegan diet was coming from (eg: Avocado, coconut, and almond plantations)....eye opener for sure...hard on the local biodiversity and so industrial ....lacking vitality.
Now with our evolving understanding around food transportation...ponderings on eating more locally..supporting local food producers that I actually can say "Hi" to....encourages an opening to something more holistic. For me, I struggle with killing animals and have for a while now....never liked putting the worm on the hook. BUT...so much to consider here...especially when I feel like taking responsability for my eating/lifestyle habits. Now I feel cornered to consider growing, butchering and eating "ethically raised and killed" meat. Pigs are every bit as sweet as my wonderful dog and can connect on a level that is in the realms of Love (in my experience). Also I feel this particular Love connection with several trees close to me. Trees are extremely slow and I often lack the patience to connect with them...but I feel their life force every bit as much as my dogs and pigs. And some of those beautiful green giants end up in my home as a sturdy timber. And I continue to Love them.
So I feel as a northerner...it is pretty tough to get through the winter...without some yummy fatty Avocados( those perfect Costco ones) or some local pig fat (like my grandmother's vat beside the woodstove). Maybe next year I will go back to the yummy Avocados ....but for now I have been successful in my own little world... eating locally ALL year round (Quebec grown...and mostly within 10 km of where I live. For now that feels good for me.
Hi Sean. Nice article. Are you still saving your own heritage seeds?
No, it's an overlay of complication I just don't need. If I were to save seeds, I'd want to do it in a way that selected the best seeds from the best plants. That often means letting the first plants that ripen - say, the first peas - to go to seed, rather than eating them and saving a few from the stragglers, which is what my stomach wants to do but wouldn't result in selecting for the best traits. I want to eat the best traits. So this is one thing I leave to the experts - and fortunately, in the past few years, a couple of excellent local seed companies have sprung up: Junco Seeds and Northern Seeds.