DEAR DR. FOX: I want to thank you for your stance on animal welfare -- both for individual dogs and cats and for animals across the planet.
Advertisement
I live in Sonoma County, California, and we recently had a ballot measure here that would have required CAFOs (animal factory farms) in the county to downsize their operations. Before that, I didn’t realize how many Big Ag operations we had here disguised as friendly little family farms (which they might have been at one time). Sadly, the measure was soundly defeated; big money came in from all over the country to fight it. I realized that no matter how eco-conscious our local folks seem to be, very few of them have the empathy or understanding to really make a change on their plates.
Keep doing your good work. You give me hope for a better world. -- L.B., Sonoma County, California
DEAR L.B.: You underscore how money rules, and that even if people care and are environmentally aware, they do not all make the connection between factory farms and what they put on their plates.
Is it any coincidence that the deteriorating condition of the environment mirrors the deteriorating condition of humanity? Extreme weather events due to climate change make home insurance unaffordable for many, and denied altogether in some vulnerable regions. In our consumptive society, medical and mental health costs are escalating, and health insurance and medications are becoming unaffordable while millions suffer hunger, poverty, violence and preventable diseases.
Acts of loving kindness toward all living beings can expand the consciousness and the conscience, bringing the kind of joy that can only come from empathy and from the refusal of anger and judgmental retribution. With an expanded consciousness, there is holistic thinking and awareness -- a more unified, creative sensibility that makes healers and caregivers of us all. We can see the connections between human, nonhuman and environmental care and well-being, as documented in my book "One Health: Veterinary, Ethical and Environmental Perspectives." But we must first listen to nature and experience its sacredness.
I am saddened there are so many who are still ego-bound and causing harm in the world, as emphasized by Father Richard Rohr in his book "The Tears of Things: Prophetic Wisdom for an Age of Outrage." I grieve for all the millions of children surviving in war zones -- terrified -- while others starve, are enslaved or fall ill. I grieve for the billions of animals exploited and killed for food when plant-based diets are within the reach of most consumers.
We must transcend this immature stage of being anthropocentric and instead become Earth-centered. Going from egocentric to eco-centric is an evolutionary step we must all take, and it is a survival imperative. The climate crisis is putting us all on notice: We must either change our ways and evolve or continue to suffer the consequences.
BLUE RIDGE BEEF RECALLS KITTEN FOOD
Blue Ridge Beef has recalled one lot of its Kitten Mix food after tests revealed the presence of salmonella. The testing, conducted by the Massachusetts Department of Agriculture Resources, was prompted by a report of a sick animal. (Full story: FDA.gov, Jan. 3)
(Send all mail to animaldocfox@gmail.com or to Dr. Michael Fox in care of Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106. The volume of mail received prohibits personal replies, but questions and comments of general interest will be discussed in future columns.
Visit Dr. Fox’s website at DrFoxOneHealth.com.)