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May 22, 2015
Octupus Gnocchi- Anyone?
By Suzana Megles
This may be the shortest post on why we should adopt a vegetarian lifestyle, but I believe it's the most honest and sincere one you will ever read because it comes from the heart of a 3-year old.
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Most of you have probably already seen this incredible heart-warming video of an adorable 3-year old whose name is Luis Antonio. This youngster actually wants to eat his veggies - but definitely not any animals or fish. I think there are a lot of people out there who could learn from him as I did in the Huffington Post and Take Part sites.
I never heard of anyone so young and so intelligent as to make up his mind
that killing animals for food is wrong. Poor mom. She had to answer his
perceptive questions as to why there there were parts of an octopus' legs
on his dinner plate among the gnocchi.
Luis wanted to know where the octopus' head was, and asked if it was still
in the sea. No, his mom answered - that it was at the fish market.
He then asked if the man chopped it. Mom realized then that she had to tell
him that all animals we eat for food are chopped up. This upset Luis, and he responded: Those are animals! And then he enlarged on his thoughts on
this subject:
"So why do they die? I don't like that they die. I like that they stay standing up....These animals -- you gotta take care of them....and not eat them!"
I don't think I have ever heard any better argument for why we shouldn't
eat meat or fish. How about you? And to think that a 3 -year old has already realized which some of us may never learn even if we live to be 100.
This little boy's amazing compassion and sensitivity brought tears to his mother's eyes. He asked her why she was crying. And mom replied that she was not crying, but that she was touched by his thoughts. And then she tells this amazing 3-year old --- now eat -- no need to eat the octopus-all right?
On Take Part -- writer Andri Antoniades titled her own account of Luis in June of 2013 - "Vegetarianism Demystified by a Toddler." Quite so, and she also made a point of what is often discussed in Sociology classes re the Nature versus Nurture argument in child rearing. I think she quite aptly deduces from this account that this little boy- Luiz Antonio, may have just scored another point for NATURE.
I had to smile reading this- because after all these years, I do remember being in a Sociology class where this nature versus nurture argument was being discussed. I also remember siding with the nature argument. Thanks Luis for making my point.
Authors Bio:
I have been concerned about animal suffering ever since
I received my first puppy Peaches in 1975. She made me take a good look at the animal kingdom and I was shocked to see how badly we treat so many animals. At 77, I've been a vegan for the past 30 years and I thank God every day that I am. I am most disturbed at how little the Catholic Church and Christian churches generally give to concern re animal suffering in their ministry. I wrote to 350 bishops in 2001 and only 10-13 responded. I feel that the very least they can do is to instruct that the priests give one sermon a year on compassion to animals. I am still waiting for that sermon. I also belong to Catholic Concern for Animals - founded in England in 1929. (They are on the internet) I recently sent a sample copy of their bi-monthly publication called the ARK to the 8 Catholic bishops of Ohio. Only ONE kindly responded. Somehow we have to reach the Christian teaching magisterium. There is next to nothing re animal concerns and compassion for them. They basically believe that animals are the lesser of God's creation and that gives us the right to do anything we want to them. Way wrong. We need to change their mindsets. The animals are God's first and He expects us to treat them compassionately.