Like much of my behavior, my business is founded in the principles of yoga. I have this dream of becoming a completely harmless person. In terms of diet, this has lead me to a diet of fruit, dairy, truffle mushrooms and bacteria (i.e. primarily spirulina).
What is the point of being harmless?
Whether we are discussing karma or Newton's Third Law of Motion (every action has an equal and opposite reaction), there seems to be this universal truth in our reality: what goes around comes around. When I do harm to other living things, I believe that harm inevitably comes right back around to me. So being harmless is really a means of self-preservation.
Why these four things?
Fruit is harmless to consume because the plant that produces the fruit is not harmed. Many large animals and fruit trees form a win-win relationship. A peach tree is not harmed when we consume its peaches. In fact it "wants" us to eat the fruit. Peaches are created to nourish us. Fruiting plants try so hard to entice us with their fruit, so that we may eat it and help to spread its seed. There is no downside, as with vegetables, where the plant must be killed, or at least substantially harmed, for the vegetable to be eaten. Same with seeds and nuts. Their nature, the purpose of their creation and structure is to become a new organism. Fruit is unique among plant matter in that it is created for the sole purpose of being consumed (with the exception of nightshades, which I consider to be pseudo-fruit, or proto-fruit).
Milk is similar. It is created to nourish as well. That is the whole purpose of milk. I know, I know, I can hear the vegans in the crowd, I hear all the time: humans are the only animal to consumes another mammal's milk. So what? By that logic, we are the only animal to use iPhones and computers, so should we stop? Cows, goats, and sheep have co-evolved with humans. Many humans have evolved to digest dairy way beyond adolescence, and these animals have evolved to produce far more milk than is required by their offspring. Also, I don't drink milk, I make raw yogurt cheese. Most of the research that vegans and other opponents of dairy use to point out the shortfalls of consuming dairy center around milk, not soured dairy, and also on pasteurized dairy, which is just a sad shadow of what raw milk is. Sadly, raw milk is very difficult, if not illegal, to built a business around in the USA, so I am not able to offer any of the dairy products that I make at this time.
Spirulina is a bit different. Bacteria reproduces asexually. Therefore, within a given mass of bacteria every individual bacterium is virtually genetically identical. The concept is, if one removes half the material and provides nutrient for the other half to replenish itself, there is no harm done. No unique individual has been lost, and things are right back where they started from.
Finally, there are truffle mushrooms. While mushrooms are technically called fruiting bodies, only truffles have a win-win relationship with animals. The point of the fruiting mushroom body is to release spores into the atmosphere. Fungal spores are very small and light and are easily carried by the wind. Therefore, mushrooms need no assistance in the dispersal of their progeny -- hence why they are so often poisonous. Truffles, on the other hand, are distinct in that they form in the ground. In order to release their spores into the environment they must be dug up, and for this they need assistance. This is why they have such an intoxicating and alluring aroma, to entice an animal to come dig them up, and in the process allow them to spread their spores. Again, a win-win relationship. Also, I should note, I don't exactly eat truffles -- they are not very substantive. But they are great for flavoring food and oils.
Who cares?
I truly believe that all things are related and tied to each other. How and what we eat affects our attitude, disposition and our overall experience. When we eat foods that are antagonistic (meat being the prime example), where one participant is the clear winner, and the other the clear loser, then we are more like to be at odds in our reality. However, when consuming foods that are mutualistic at their core, this affects our internal state and how we interact with others. Fruit engenders feelings of cooperation, compassion, and kindness. The win-win nature of fruit, and the other foods I have mentioned, translates into how we interact with others and our experience as a whole. Simply put, it makes us happier, better people.
What is the point of being harmless?
Whether we are discussing karma or Newton's Third Law of Motion (every action has an equal and opposite reaction), there seems to be this universal truth in our reality: what goes around comes around. When I do harm to other living things, I believe that harm inevitably comes right back around to me. So being harmless is really a means of self-preservation.
Why these four things?
Fruit is harmless to consume because the plant that produces the fruit is not harmed. Many large animals and fruit trees form a win-win relationship. A peach tree is not harmed when we consume its peaches. In fact it "wants" us to eat the fruit. Peaches are created to nourish us. Fruiting plants try so hard to entice us with their fruit, so that we may eat it and help to spread its seed. There is no downside, as with vegetables, where the plant must be killed, or at least substantially harmed, for the vegetable to be eaten. Same with seeds and nuts. Their nature, the purpose of their creation and structure is to become a new organism. Fruit is unique among plant matter in that it is created for the sole purpose of being consumed (with the exception of nightshades, which I consider to be pseudo-fruit, or proto-fruit).
Milk is similar. It is created to nourish as well. That is the whole purpose of milk. I know, I know, I can hear the vegans in the crowd, I hear all the time: humans are the only animal to consumes another mammal's milk. So what? By that logic, we are the only animal to use iPhones and computers, so should we stop? Cows, goats, and sheep have co-evolved with humans. Many humans have evolved to digest dairy way beyond adolescence, and these animals have evolved to produce far more milk than is required by their offspring. Also, I don't drink milk, I make raw yogurt cheese. Most of the research that vegans and other opponents of dairy use to point out the shortfalls of consuming dairy center around milk, not soured dairy, and also on pasteurized dairy, which is just a sad shadow of what raw milk is. Sadly, raw milk is very difficult, if not illegal, to built a business around in the USA, so I am not able to offer any of the dairy products that I make at this time.
Spirulina is a bit different. Bacteria reproduces asexually. Therefore, within a given mass of bacteria every individual bacterium is virtually genetically identical. The concept is, if one removes half the material and provides nutrient for the other half to replenish itself, there is no harm done. No unique individual has been lost, and things are right back where they started from.
Finally, there are truffle mushrooms. While mushrooms are technically called fruiting bodies, only truffles have a win-win relationship with animals. The point of the fruiting mushroom body is to release spores into the atmosphere. Fungal spores are very small and light and are easily carried by the wind. Therefore, mushrooms need no assistance in the dispersal of their progeny -- hence why they are so often poisonous. Truffles, on the other hand, are distinct in that they form in the ground. In order to release their spores into the environment they must be dug up, and for this they need assistance. This is why they have such an intoxicating and alluring aroma, to entice an animal to come dig them up, and in the process allow them to spread their spores. Again, a win-win relationship. Also, I should note, I don't exactly eat truffles -- they are not very substantive. But they are great for flavoring food and oils.
Who cares?
I truly believe that all things are related and tied to each other. How and what we eat affects our attitude, disposition and our overall experience. When we eat foods that are antagonistic (meat being the prime example), where one participant is the clear winner, and the other the clear loser, then we are more like to be at odds in our reality. However, when consuming foods that are mutualistic at their core, this affects our internal state and how we interact with others. Fruit engenders feelings of cooperation, compassion, and kindness. The win-win nature of fruit, and the other foods I have mentioned, translates into how we interact with others and our experience as a whole. Simply put, it makes us happier, better people.
