183 Days to Copenhagen - Sharing the Voices of Others ("Cannibal Culture")

Today, I would like to share something that a dear loved one — and one of the world's best climate change research synthesizers — wrote recently in response to some vegetarian and vegan compatriots who are despairing about the global climate change emergency.

(As I mentioned on Day 201, going veg is the quickest, easiest and most impactful change you can make right now.)

From Dr. Peter D. Carter:
"Hello all, it is encouraging to know there are some good humane beings out there. You are perhaps the only group on the planet right now having the humane integrity to face the terrible truth about global climate change.

The rest of the world is in deep, dumb denial.

As a group knowing the truth, you are in a powerful and unique position right now. Someone asked how can it be that people don't/can't see what is happening. I have asked myself the same question a million times.

First, ethics practically no longer exist, having been taken over by The Market Economy that makes all decisions for all in our culture.

Also, we are a thoroughly desensitized culture raised on violence and cruelty - and distraction and entertainment.

Next, people in general only respond to strong leadership on a big issue. They regard the scientists as the leaders on climate change and the scientists are in as great denial as anyone. Apart from James Hansen, most of them say and do nothing.

And finally, there is the main psychological reason for denial. While it is now so painfully clear that our EuroAmerican consumer culture is literally killing life on Earth, because we are (so people deeply believe) the best there has ever been, our belief tells us we really can't be as insanely evil as to be murdering the Earth. The belief and reality don't match and people are rejecting the reality to keep the belief.

I think the reason why animal rights / vegan folks can see this is that they have a counterculture belief. They don't believe we are the best there is because they believe murdering other animals to eat their flesh is a stupid and bad thing to do. (And climate change research is bearing that out.)

It takes a critical thinking, deep thinking and deep feeling individual to go against our culture's big ritual of meat eating.

The dominant EuroAmerican consumer culture has a history of terrible evil deeds — of ruthless oppression, torture and murder to exploit other far better human cultures over many hundreds of years. Our culture has become the Cannibal Culture as people are now killing their children."

Thank you, Peter. I call it progenycide.