It causes grief, yes, if we let ourselves become ruthlessly aware of the cruelty afoot in the world this minute. The limited contents of our consciousness serve us well, as exemplified by an attachment in my e-mail by a person working on their MBA sitting in a cheerful cafe marveling at how good life on earth is…Pleasant, no big wars, etc….We just don’t stop to enjoy it.

I would probably go crazy if I were to personally witness one half of the cruelty  existing all over the world today, even in the USA.  I couldn’t stand to see a babe ripped screaming from his mother’s arms and…Then I realize how I protect myself from awareness that the meat I eat may be someone’s pet grown up or, worse, an animal that was never anyone’s pet.  I am not strong enough yet to quit paying others who raise, butcher and sell to the likes of me.  I was reading an article in an old issue of Utne magazine that observed that “We could feed one billion more people if we used land to grow food rather than feed.” Utne Mar-Apr 1992 (#59).  I hope black beans and brown rice don’t feel pain.