Plants respond and react stressfully to being cut and chewed and digested.

To ignore this is just as bad as ignoring the plight of animals.

You don't have to be thankful for the food that you eat and sacrifice for your life, but I will. If you are vegan then you are already aware of some of this plight of life, especially the cruelty of factory farm animals, but I ask you to expand your mind to the plight of all living things.

I know that when I thank my food, especially fresh plants, that I can feel a warmth of gratefulness radiate from my stomach. I recommend you try it with your next salad and when you are at your garden.

I want my animals, plants, fungi, bacteria, and all life that I interact with to live happy and fulfilling lives.

The ones I eat to continue my happy and fulfilling life I am especially grateful for.

It will be a constant struggle to ensure my food and all life I interact with is happy and fulfilled, and to reflect deeply on what I can change and improve when it is not.

Humans are uniquely capable to manage and ensure quality of life for ecosystems . The water, the soil, the air, the plants, the fungi, the animals. We can choose the well trotted path to exploit, or we can choose the harder path to heal and maintain.

My solution is to operate a homestead where I can ensure the food I eat and use have a quality happy fulfilling life, and a simple swift painless transfer of life to me and those I can provide for.