I became vegan when I learned of the monstrosities that the meat and dairy industry committed against non-human animals. My decision was reinforced when I learned the health benefits of a balanced vegan diet and how it was way more sustainable than animal products.
Throughout my vegan journey, I have mainly acquired my food through capitalism, which means I have been paying money for it. I have become increasingly independent from that system by foraging and growing food, but I haven't reached the point where I can really feed myself 100% that way.
Right now I'm living in the countryside, in a little forest by a creek. I have some fruit trees and bushes, plenty of dandelion and other edible greens, potatoes I planted, and every now and then I score mushrooms if the weather is right. The rest of my food is placed in glass jars and consists of grains and legumes.
This was my lunch today: meadow mushroom and dandelions on top of this bread made with flour, oatmeal, chia, and sesame seeds.
When those jars get emptied I have to travel to the city and pay for them to be refilled. I pay people who have a store which receives the legumes and grains from distant lands, carried by trucks that burn fossil fuels to move. The store needs to keep it's electric lights on most of the day while they are receiving customers. and spend resources on advertising.
The legumes and grains I buy are grown with chemical fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides. Large areas of forest are cut down or burned to make room for the crops. Those forests were home to birds, rabbits, foxes, and a whole lot of other creatures, as well as sustainers of streams and other water sources.
So you see where I'm getting at? To buy food, even if there is no intentional animal harm, is harmful to Life in general. It is violent, because the capitalist system is violent in itself. You might say: what about organic grown food? There is another implicit violence, at least here in Chile, because the prices heavily increase on organic products which creates a social breach, where only the higher classes can access that kind of food. Plus, even if it's organic, it usually is sold with plastic packages which is also very harmful.
I've been asking myself if it is more harmful to hunt a rabbit, a pheasant, or do some fishing, than buying lentils from the market. And my conclusion is that if those animals are right here, in abundance next to my home, there is a lot less violence involved in taking their lives than bringing down entire forests to grow those lentils and burn loads of fuel to bring them to where I live.
Now, the ideal scenario would be for me to grow all of my food and nor buy, nor hunt. But right now I'm still building my house and I still can't find do that with all the dedication it needs. So, meanwhile I reach that point, I have seriously considered to do some hunting and fishing to feed myself. I would do so as respectfully as possible and hope I come out of this phase soon.
I would use everything from the animal, skin, bones, whatever can be given some utility. Despite wanting to skip out from capitalism I also wish to have a balanced diet and I don't think I'll feel comfortable with killing animals on daily basis, so I would continue to buy some things, but depending even less from shops.
Another source of food I also considered where eggs from the hens that my mother raises, but then I remembered she feeds them grain bought from unbalanced capitalist production and so it's not a win. Those eggs are just as harmful as buying the grain and eating it myself.
I think all people who care for animals, Earth, and balanced living have to be conscious of how things really are. The hard truth for idealistic vegans (like myself) is that local and wild is less harmful than mass-produced vegan, even if it's meat. Honestly, a Beyond Meat burger is a thousand times more violent than hunting a wild animal to feed yourself. Plus it's unhealthy.
Well, this was all sounding really good in theory, but here's the twist in the post. I couldn't bring myself to even attempt to kill any animals. I know I'm silently killing many of them by consuming food that has been grown in irresponsible ways, but just to imagine doing it with my hands makes my stomach twist. My neighbor came looking for me so that we went hunting but I just couldn't get myself in the mood for it.
I guess I'll have to be patient and do my best to get to the point where I can grow all the food I need. I know I can do it because I have a lot of good info in my head regarding taking care of the soil and making the most out of a plot, it's just a matter of being patient, perseverant, and getting things done.
Actually, with my current knowledge on foraging, I might be able to be self-sufficient but as I said before, the construction of my place takes a lot of time and energy. There is also the matter of storage, I don't have a proper place to put away large amounts of food. So it's really more about getting both of those things done as soon as possible and then all should be greatly abundant.
Do you know any off-grid vegans? I would be delighted to know of people who have actually managed to go all the way, or at least most of it. Thanks for tuning in!