McCoy, if Nature intended us to drink cow's milk, indeed we would all be drinking from udders !!
Milk is meant for babies. I cannot believe that Nature intended us to separate babies from their mothers and steal their milk ! It goes against every law of nature that I can think of. That is what we do when we eat dairy products.
None of us can live a perfect life the way Nature intended, but we can do our best to cause the least amount of harm to other Beings.
I find it interesting that Divine Mother is supplying us with more alternatives to meat and dairy products, at the same time as the horrific abuse of animals in factory farms all around the world are being made public. I don't think it's a coincidence. People need other choices and they are being presented to us. Who is to say that supplements like B12 was not created as an inspiration from the Divine mind ? Or tofu, almond milk, etc.? The soy beans, nuts, grains, etc. that are the basis of vegan diets are totally natural. We just rearrange the food to be more palatable. A vegan diet is much more natural than processed meat and dairy products. If Nature intended us to be meat-eaters we would have the same emotional reaction to seeing a rabbit as our dog ! And we would have the ability to run after it and kill it with our teeth. Sri Yukteswar talks about this in The Holy Science.
My two cents for today !
PS: If you're into body-building (I think you said you were at one time ?) this may be interesting to you. I am not too familiar with Jared Leto but it seems he is popular in Hollywood these days …….. (I much prefer foreign movies, but that's another topic).
http://www.peta.org/living/food/jared-leto-vegan-diet-build-muscle/ Laila i see some good points u have made here about the evolution of our eating habits. I believe at this point though that a farmer takes care of chickens and cows all winter by providing them with shelter, hay, corn, water and other foods that required much work to provide. In this sense I see dairy products and eggs as an exchange of services for keeping the animals alive.
I belive u could also make the point that if corn was meant to be eaten from the stalk it would be a food source. Yet we do 'steal' the corn from the stalk and later boil it and eat it. We do not eat it from the 'utter' of the corn stalk. The same can be said of squash or maple syrup.
It is one thing to be against a cruel industry and another to be against the exchanged services between a farmer and the animals he/she takes care of. I am quite happy about a wool blanket that i set on when I meditate. Yet i am much more aware and hesitant to buy leather products.
In this sense I believe the 'gopis' fed Krishna cheese yet they loved and took care of their animals. You may have a valid point though in the sense that as we evolve spiritually in the higher ages we will most likely not eat or drink dairy products. But perhaps we will depend very little on any living food from nature.
