THANKFUL FOR WHAT THE LAND PROVIDES

We get our turkey and mashed potatoes, bless our family and friends then watch the game. Disconnected from the real harvest and the cycles of abundance, we rely on artificial abundance. This artificial abundance is dependent on slavery and abuse. Ever seen a turnkey farm? It is a sad and not a thankful situation. Turkeys are intelligent and sensitive creatures, yet they are treated like meat. They suffer for your table setting.

Turkeys often peck and claw at each other when kept in crowded conditions.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. It is proven that when people eat or use an animal or plant, that creature thrives. We actually perpetuate the species. What would happen if we loved wild foods? What would happen if instead of turkeys, we ate geese. Geese are one of the last large migrations that are still in existence. Yet we treat the geese like flying rats because they compete with cows for grass. But if we ate geese and got rid of the cows, we would welcome the flying migrations and live with the cycles of plenty provided by the Earth. Animals having healthy free lives before we eat them is better than keeping animals in unhealthy and unhappy situations.

And what about Acorns? These nuts are falling by the thousands all around yet we think of it as squirrel food and then go buy wheat flour. Acorn is delicious and nutritious.

The oak trees are struggling to survive, mostly because humans don’t value them. They are poisoned and chopped down to make way for such crops as corn and grapes that make far less food per acre. But if we ate acorn bread for the holidays our industries would value them and they would be fertilized instead of decimated.

Traditions are difficult to change, but as we start to be aware of how we create problems in this world through our choices, we can also create solutions. What we eat is one of the most powerful choices we have. Eating nature is how we become part of nature. You can’t buy acorns or geese in the store. This is also part of the solution - we have to go out and get it ourselves. We have to connect to the creatures we eat. It is a sacred act and one we have forgotten how to do.