What are you putting in your body? dead, carcass, pain, suffering, fear
Can I have all of my vegans go into that pool of light and my non-vegans in that pool of light
First statement, taste plays a big factor in my eating choices
Yeah, I mean, that's a huge thing for me, I think it's one of my weaknesses actually like butter, salt
It's one of my weaknesses. [Aubrey] I love food
and i think my relationship with food actually deepened when I became vegan, I don't think I appreciated it as much as I did before I was vegan
my name is Aubrey Davis, and I have been vegetarian for 24 years and a vegan for 13 years
I believe that humans are the top of the food chain
Is a human at the same level of equivalence as like a fish, right?
There's probably a big reason why I'm not vegan
anymore right is I didn't I could I didn't see that I had to see myself
I don't moral equivalent of a fish, and it gets into moral questions like you know why should we have a pet?
that's a dog rather than eat the dog
And I think the most important question is why should I love my neighbor rather than eat my neighbor?
My name is Steve Micelski. I was a vegan for a year. I was vegetarian for two years. I'm a meat-eater now
I've been so for over five years
Like I don't even see like what is like a food chain
You know I'm saying that's just some contract some guy made and put a little diagram and put us the human beings on the top
So I don't think it's a question of whether we're at the top
I think it's a question of what do you do with that if you have a more conscious energy?
Than an animal what do you do with that power?
Do you choose to take a life or do you choose to live in?
love
i put a lot of thought into my meals
The way I support my body and my health is extremely important
I don't find that I can function at my best either healthy, productive,
Emotionally stable or intellectually capable unless I have a lot of proper nutrients in my diet
Six years ago I became vegan because I got sick
I started to realize that my health was directly attached to what I ate
Since then my friends and family have supported me to feeling better, and I'm better than I once before I got sick
I don't really like cook or anything, so I don't really put too much thought into what I eat, I guess
I live a fast paced kind of like I'm working late night, so I'm waking up early so sometimes. It's easier to grab this quick
processed sandwich, or, I wish I planned my meals out more. I think I would be a lot
I would feel a lot better
I think it's really powerful no matter what you're eating to put your intentions into whether it's prayer
Invocation and there's such great power and presence versus just like scarfing something down
But like can I just really be present with this meal take my time and chew it slowly so that's the first thing that i
Resonate with and what I choose to do.
i would kill an animal
i think there'd be tons of context where I'd kill an animal like if a lion's gonna go kill a baby
I'd probably kill an animal I'd kill an animal to save a human life
And I get the vegans probably wouldn't do that if I could do something to prevent killing them
besides eating them like if I was protecting myself, and we had to we had it like a
Something that we could do to
Get that animal away. I would definitely try to not kill it
I mean I feel like- if it  comes down to you with the animal you killing the animal? I would I would
Give up their life for the fish why is it always the
extreme case when talking about would I kill an animal like exactly if you were in the situation
there aren't lions running around downtown LA when I was in the hiking there's mountain lions that coming and kill people you known that right?
That's in Orange County. That's not that's not in the jungle in Africa
That's not an everyday situation of would you kill an animal
But it's Orange County, mountain lions have killed hikers, kids
would you just let the kid die? yes. we're hiking in the mountains and there's a mountain lion
I have to be aware of the fact that I'm in mountain lion territory and be like I'm okay with the risk
Because to be honest I'm not hiking with a gun I have no way to defend my friend
You don't hike with a hiking pole. I mean I can pole against a mountain lion?
I don't think you're winning. I just, I just want to say like even if I did and even if my
attempt were to be successful. I would feel awful
Having killed the mountain lion. What way your feelings or your foundation  and for your beliefs, then?
100% are human beings animals?
Yes, yes sure would you kill another human being to save another human being?
Yes, what makes one person more valuable to another is it your relationship to that person it?
it would yeah it would probably be. so if for example I
Raised an animal in the wild it's like an animal I've built a relationship with and that animal now
Threatens the life of a human being that I don't know, but I've known the animal its entire life
What makes killing that animal as just cause okay as opposed to saving that life?
I have  a longer relationship with that animal. Why would I kill the animal before I'd save that person
It's about relationship. You'd kill a person over an animal. It's because I believe human beings are animals now
I see humans at a different level, but maybe you value fish at the same level as a person
I have, we see it very different I do
It costs more than it should to eat healthy
It's more expensive to eat healthy, I don't think it's too expensive
Farmers market is something that I'm trying to frequent more, but sometimes. You know you can go spend twenty dollars
here and definitely not get as much
um, i definitely want to see that, you know,
maybe that'll encourage people to eat a little healthier if you can go grab that fresh fruit those fresh veggies
For five ten bucks. You know? I think
Our culture as a society is just in great towards like the fast food culture  which is cheap and accessible
But now I think we have more of
a Established like medical basis on what's healthy and what's not healthy and to get that
Content and to have it be tasty as well is expensive. I'm running in
i have so much to say, it does not cost more money to be vegan that is a
Myth it takes planning. Yes, the convenience is less
Can you grab a hamburger at McDonalds for sure for 99 cents?
But how much lentils can you buy? the issue is
Capitalism like that is what is keeping us where we are it's not that humans are smarter
And they're gonna come up with this technology the technology exists it is there we can feed so many people it is
capitalism and
Factory farming and most of these these companies that are selling us products that are like shitty food
They don't give a fuck about you at all period someone sitting on the island somewhere
Oh, yeah, like just stacking bread for fast food and they're probably eating really healthy food too- hell yeah they are! they're probably eating real good
they're not eating any of that shit. you go to certain neighborhoods certain areas you don't see the same fast-food
You don't see the same restaurant, and it's all for a reason. They know I mean yeah, that's a good point
It's like they don't have- why isn't there many health food stores in the hood?
Like why can't i get a option, why is there a liquor store everywhere, and it's true. It's like when you break it down
There's like malicious intent to deharmonize and like lower the vibration of certain people in certain
Areas and it's like that's a part of it, too. It's like what am I contributing to?
I'll say this you know when I was 11 years old my father passed away from his second heart attack. He was diabetic
He was pissing out of a tube, i watched him deteriorate my youngest years of my life for like years and years
Just to deteriorate taking pharmaceutical drugs and just kind of basically dying slowly [Audrey] -my mum passed too- because of what he chose to eat, to me
I'd rather spend an extra dollar
and eat organic or something healthy now and live longer than try to cut corners when you know. i'm with you like make the choice
now instead of later
because, My mom was the same thing she died she,she was eating buckets of ice cream when she passed away she died at
49 years old. Wow.
Now, choose now
The more education that we can put out there just like stuff like this is beautiful
That's what I was most anxious about is learning more of what I'm trying to step into
I don't know if I'll ever give up chicken. I'm just gonna be honest with you
I don't know. I want to eat a lot cleaner chicken. Do you guys have like cheat days ever?
hell no, I am vegan
100% at the frontline ethical reasons always always always and that's why I don't think in 24 years. I've ever gone back
It was hard to try new things. things, I didn't like i found tons of vegan food. That was like oh god
what the fuck are you people eating, and then simultaneously
Realizing that there was options. You know there's always choices, and it's always choices we make. like you said you may never give up meat
Fully but it's like you're making a choice or at least thinking for yourself and making a decision and like that's all you can ask
people to do is think for themselves
i really appreciate each and every one of y'all, thank you so much
thank you thank you thank you
[all clapping]
Really appreciate y'all. Thank you for coming out
What's up guys I am Amari, and I am Jason, and Amari I've got a question for you, you have a question for me?
What do you like about Middle Ground?
What I like about Middle Ground is seeing people come together and like realize that their labels are not the whole sum of their
experience. Like taking of the labels, realizing there's so much more than their labels. That's right
I love that all right well tell us in the comments below
Why you love Middle Ground and if you've been a label that you want to take off and throw on the ground tell us that
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