Eating and Religion/Spirituality

Like I mentioned, this week was the first week of May term, and I am helping with the Eco-Logical Eating class and reading Eating Animals.


In the first class, Michael Vought mentioned something I had never realized before. He said that in looking at the majority of religions or life philosophies, there are guidelines on what to eat, or how to eat it. And there are spiritual rituals tied to food as well, like fasting, and sacraments in Christian religions.

And Rebecca Brenner, the nutritionist and urban homesteader extraordinaire (who I've blogged about before), was turned onto eating healthy because of yoga and the mindfulness that brings.

I was thinking about the spiritual practice of yoga and its focus on our breath. And I realized that breath and food are some of the most basic things that keep us alive. If life is sacred, those practices that sustain and enrich our lives are spiritual. It just brought eating healthfully and in ways that are conscious of ecological and social justice to a whole new level of importance in my life. And I want to renew my commitment to the process of changing my diet to reflect what I am learning and what I believe.