Death row; the sight, the smell and the sounds are all encompassing. The tangibility of death is overwhelming to my senses as the plethora of energies bombard every awareness centre of my body.  An overdose of fresh blood, bone, flesh, faeces and urine spill inside cement walls only a few feet away from the littered sidewalk on which I stand.  

Have you ever been to a slaughterhouse?

This morning I stood witness outside two slaughterhouses, (St. Helens’s Meat Packers and Ryding-Regency Meat Packers Ltd.), located at the intersection of Gunns Road and Glenn Scarlett Avenue, in Toronto. It was my first time witnessing first hand the enslavement and deliverance of an animal — a mammal, like you and me — to their death.

From the manure splattered truck and captive faeces-ridden forms inside, drool escaping from their blessed bovine muzzles and sweaty bodies packed like sardines in a tin can, pulling to a halt in front of the hell they were about to enter; to the truck on the featured picture taking their steaming hides to a local tannery only yards down the street, the process takes less than an hour.  The killing act is preluded with a captive bolt pistol to their forehead, stunning the animal before their throat is slit. Animals meant for kosher dining are saved the pistol; their throat is slit whilst fully aware and are bled out to their death.

I hear an odd sound coming from a semi-trailer parked yards away.  It is explained to me that the hollow plunking sound is a freshly severed head being dropped into the trailer to be hauled away to another facility for processing.  A conveyer belt discarding pieces that are not fit for human consumption is also in view.   I bawled, I wretched, I shrieked and I witnessed as truck after truck arrived to unload their four-legged captives to their fate. I stood in amazement, horror and building incredulity and determination to be the change, as I witnessed these fellow inhabiters of my world heading innocently to their death. Their eyes searched mine through the holes in the vessel that held them hostage, prisoners looking for answers. Fellow inhabiters of planet Earth, life forms with an immense beating heart asking why, why why? Yes, I believe they were looking for an answer.

Are cows any less deserving of life on Earth as Hitler’s victims of the holocaust were?  A strong question to challenge you.  To challenge your belief system.  Is it truly your belief system or is it one that you were force fed since birth? A belief system that you inherited; a belief system your parents laid on the breakfast table with sausage and eggs? One that the pharmaceutical companies and large corporations post on billboards and brainwash with television commercials?  A system that spreads the rot that humans are superior to other creatures of Mother Earth?  A system that continues to blasphemy that humans have more right to live on this beautiful spinning ball of blue and green than any other living creature? The brainwash that humans need to ingest animal proteins to survive? Propaganda published in the National Food Guide that I was brainwashed into believing in Grade School.

The heart houses the soul light of creation, the breath of God. You might wonder the truth of this statement. My belief: Any being that has breath, has a soul — indeed!  To all the meat consuming pet ‘owners’, I challenge you to the truth of this statement when it pertains to ‘your’ dog, ‘your’ cat, ‘your’ horse?  Do you doubt ‘your pet’ has a soul?  Can you see your beloved Trixie or Max on your plate?  Who decided that in some countries cats and dogs were ‘food’ for human consumption while in other countries such mammals were dietary taboo? Why are cattle, chickens, horses and pigs not only a feast for the eyes with their beauty but a feast for oral consumption as well? Who decided? When did the human being first designate that they were above the other beings of creation and were free to pillage and murder them for food? For clothing? For sport?

The human being is a sovereign being, a being who has supreme power or authority over their own blessed life and who and what they choose to be in it. A being designed to be the caretaker of the Earth, to live in harmony with all.  Educate yourself! Be curious. Become aware. Be YOU!

As I look at the leather jacket, leather shoes and boots in my closet, I feel the guilt creeping in, and I remember the biggest word in the human vocabulary… forgiveness. Forgiveness of self.  Awareness is the key to change. 

Thank you to Louise, the organizer of the Toronto Pig Save/Toronto Cow Save Vigil  an organization designed to bring awareness to the public of the plight of our planet and the enslavement of other life forms, for responding to my email request to join, bear witness and take a stand for life. It is through the dedication and open hearts of humans like Louise, and organizations such as Toronto Pig Save/Toronto Cow Save Vigil that the light of awareness travels.

We are beings of unlimited power and potential. Let us wield this power in love ❤