“The World Peace Diet”: Interview with Dr. Will Tuttle (vegan), Part 2 of 4

“We’re starting to question reductionist science and religion. And I think that’s a very healthy thing. The whole idea that we live in a society where cows, and pigs, and chickens are just merely objects and matter, and pretty soon, when we do that for thousands of years, we, ourselves, become just matter. We’re taught in school that when we die, that’s it: it’s over; we’re just a physical body. And that’s a mentality that destroys any hope that we have at a deep level for inner peace and for harmony with each other, because life becomes meaningless. We’re just in this meaningless universe. We’re just here to consume. It really promotes consumerism. It promotes a competition. And the deeper wisdom in the spiritual traditions, the authentic spiritual traditions, is that life is eternal, that what we are is a field of infinite and eternal consciousness. That’s our true nature. We’re expressing, perhaps through a physical body, but what we are is a being that is eternal. And the same is true for all beings. All beings are a reflection of eternal consciousness. So when we understand that at a deeper level, we have a sense of respect for animals and for each other, because we see beyond just this material level.” “So the deep healing that’s happening, I think, with the vegan revolution, is that we’re beginning to connect spirituality with our food, to see that when we pay other people to imprison and kill animals, it’s not only harming the people who are doing the work, the animals, the hungry people who could be fed, but it’s harming ourselves, and it’s reducing our spiritual sensitivity. And the whole idea is to create a society that reflects spirituality and our true nature. And that means, essentially, a religion that is not reductionistic, that is more holistic, a science that is more holistic, that sees the interconnectedness of everything and is not trapped in this prison of reductionism and materialism. And I think when we look deeply into the mystical traditions, even in the West, we can see in the teachings of Jesus, and some of the other deep teachings, that there is this kernel.” “So, it’s part of our human heritage. It’s something that we can, as human beings, we can tap into this wisdom, and we can awaken it within ourselves. And that’s the beautiful thing.”