December 27, 2007    Force Feeding


GREETINGS AND SALUTATIONS from Arnold's Way!

It was one of those lazy, hazy, crazy days of winter when you keep waiting for the snow, and I wasn't quite sure whether I should give my short sleeve shirts away. It was one of those days when you know, that with the holiday season, also comes all of that food, all of those parties, all of those yummy cakes and cookies adding inches to your waistline. And it's around this time that we say to ourselves that enough is enough before the first day began. It was one of those lazy days of winter when the tomatoes are sweet and oh so red; and the cucumbers are just sitting there waiting to be eaten. It is that time when we spend time thinking about our lives, of evolving, and exploring the inner souls of our being. It is at this time that we become aware of our every decision we make about what we eat, what we say, what we do, and how we react to this, that and the other. It is at this time that we determine what is really oh so important. It is on this note that I begin this week's newsletter.

I could be writing about anything. My brain is somewhat frazzled, yet somewhat clear in trying to figure out what direction this article should go. There are so many subjects, so many possibilities, and so many thoughts roaming around in my mind. We, as a people, are being inundated with all of these statistics, all of these facts, all of these radio newscasts, and all of these TV reports. There are all kinds of reports about their truth, their facts, their information that was literally handed to them from the powers that abound, and they just read these reports as facts, as real truth, and make us believe that what they are telling us is real information that is really necessary for the public to read. They read this stuff as if it were facts. They read it as truth. They read it as if nothing else matters except for the words that they speak. It is this matter that I begin, feeling a bit scattered, not too sure, and wondering where these thoughts will lead.

It was just barely a week ago that if attended a Gala Event where "NO Foie Gras" was to be served or eaten in any restaurant in Philadelphia. To those in know, I don't need to explain what the making of "Foie Gras" entails. But for those of us who don't know about how this dish is made, including me, here is a little description of it. This dish is made by force-feeding ducks through a tube that is placed down a duck's throat so that their liver will expand. If I remember correctly, I understand why those who attended were mad and angry, and why they wanted this inhumane action to stop for the sake of the ducks, but not for the sake of those that partake in eating this literally poisonous duck liver food. In my opinion, it will do just as much harm, if not worse to those who are foolish enough to eat a dead duck liver on a regular basis. We are talking about cancer. We are talking about depression. We are talking about being under a siege of anger at one's every thought, every decision, every moment of one's existence for eating one of the most powerful organs of another animal, for eating the chemical factory that stores every antibiotic that the duck ate. We're talking about every chemical that was force-fed down its throat, every thought it had, every moment of fear that it had that does not just disappear when it is killed, when it is cooked, or when it is eaten.

My friends, what happens to the duck, happen to us. In "Food and Behavior" by Barbara Stiles, the whole book is based on criminal, and the deciding factor on whether they go back to jail is what they had eaten. If they continue eating dead animals, their chances of going back to jail were very good. If they became Vegetarians, their chances were almost nil. I close my eyes and envision the ducks being force fed with this long pipe. I can't even begin to imagine my thoughts of this happening to me every moment of every day for the rest of my life. I would have to end my life. No questions asked, I would have no choice in the matter. To make matters worse, try to imagine every one of your friends, your relatives, your mother, your father, your cousins, your sisters, your brother, everyone that you know, all of these loved ones with a tube being shoved down their throats, or having the manufacturers gently place a tube down their throats to fatten their liver. I can't imagine that type of day in and day out atrocity. It is beyond my ability to comprehend. There would be no reason for living life. This, my friends, is what I heard.

I was told that this just doesn't happen to the ducks, but to the cows, chickens, pigs, fish, turkeys and any other animal food that we put in our mouth. The bottom line is this every time we are putting this dead animal carcass into our mouths, we are eating all of the suffering, all of the pain, and all of the horrific atrocities that these animals went through in order for us to eat it. I heard the words of speaker after speaker speaking about the atrocities of the ducks, but not of the other animals. I thought of the other animals that are being horrifically raised, horrifically killed, and horrifically eaten. Is there a difference in the eating of Foie Gras and in the eating of chicken that is served at school lunches? Is there an uproar every time a chicken gets killed under the most horrendous conditions possible, and then killed, sliced, cleaned and then loaded with perfumes and dyes so that they won't turn purple and smell because of their slow dying putrefaction process? Is there uproar about the cows that should be lying down on the green pastures enjoying life as a reason to be alive and as a reason to be given birth in this world?

I think of the death rate of children who are dying of cancer. Is there a correlation, ("China Study" by Colin Campbell)? I think of the death rate of seniors, who by the age of 60 are more and more likely on some kind of medication for high blood pressure, arthritis, or any other of the 24 thousand diseases that have been named, branded and placed on their forehead as a lifelong addiction that can't be healed. I think of people walking around in their twenties with the slightly large tummy, slightly sagging body, and slightly looking forward to the holidays when family and friends get together. And then they begin the process all over again for the upcoming year, partaking in the fine delicacies that cause disease and sickness.

MY friends, where do I start when there is so much wrong in a country where there should be only that which is right? I live in a world where, everyday, people are reaching out for help. Last night, I answered a young man his late twenties who is largely overweight (320 lbs) who did not want to die at an early age. He wanted to see his children grow and prosper. He wanted to run with the wind, and feel the ground beneath his feet. He wanted that every moment should be a blessed moment, and not some times, and not just on holidays. He wanted it all of the time. I spoke my words of death, of killing the animals, and understanding that they have their place in the world as we have ours. The body understands that on an intimate level of truth or lies. It lives by a code of eternal wisdom. It does whatever it can to savior each moment, and each and every second. It would never ever stop for the tiniest of milliseconds to rest. Our hearts never ever stop beating otherwise we would die. It is that simple and that pure. Our eyes want to see all of the time all of the beauty that exists-the trees, the grass, the pictures on the wall, the children running, the old man walking, and the young girl pushing a baby carriage. We are not born as a people, who like the animals, go to the farm factory and suffer. We are not genetically designed to see cows being inoculated with deadly growth hormones, steroids, and antibiotics just so we can have a tastier meal. We are not generically designed to see chickens that are de-beaked, de-clawed, and killed at the tender age of five months, just so we can eat a fryer chicken. I sit in idle quiet rethinking my thoughts. I write these same thoughts words to another young man with asthma. I write about a young man who was just sick and tired of depending on the inhaler, and who did not want to take the medicine anymore. He did not want to fear every single moment that he would be one breath away from death. He wanted to experience the graciousness of life being so grand that he could hardly wait for the next second. I think of those that are ill. I think of those that have these so-called diseases. I think about how what they put into their bodies directly affects what they feel, what they think, what they do, and how they react when an illness strikes them.

I sit in quiet admiration of myself for being who I am. I am not dependant on the medical field for a drug. I know deep down my truth. I know how life works, and of the importance placed on drugs as a cure all for all diseases just ain't so. I know that drugs are not recognized by the body. There isn't any ' intelligence' in the drugs. There is no innate wisdom which will direct itself through the body's 98,000 miles of arteries. I know deep down within my truth that every moment is a blessed event that has to be honored. I know deep down within my truth that the horrific feeding of the Foie Gras has rippling consequences to not only the duck but to those who partake in their killing, in their processing, in their eating, in man's approval of allowing this to happen. MY friends, there is a price to be paid when we partake in eating death day in and day out, week in and week out. It has no boundaries as to the destruction it will do in our bodies as far as age, color, race or sex. It affects all with equal devastation, pain, suffering and finally death.

I write my words of hope and compassion for I have seen the other side of what is possible when the mindset of eating death stops. I told the young man weighing 320 lbs to be on the lookout for my next YOU tube video /arnoldsway featuring Michelle, our current chef, who was also weighed down by excessive weight (420 lbs), by food addictions, by life being so strenuous and hard. Her every single task was so monumental in her everyday living. She had reached the point of enough's enough. She decided that going raw was her only option. She knew that she had to go away from her family, her friends, her food addictions, the family gatherings, the parities, all of those restaurants, and all of those fast food joints. She knew that if she was going to live a somewhat normal life, she had to make some drastic changes. Michele, who knew me from way back, turned to a raw Vegan diet as her only answer that would literally save her life from the trenches of illness, despair and depression. Michelle went raw in a big way. She left her boyfriend. She left her job. She left her family. She left everything that had meaning, connection, and volunteered at a Living Food Rejuvenation Center. She had no choice in the matter. She wanted to get her health back. She wanted children. She wanted to spend the rest of her life with her boyfriend together, healthy, happy, and enjoying every moment. Nine months later, 160 pounds lighter, Michele began to experience joy in her new life, to shed her past, and to focus on her future. So I took her story, and shared it with the young man who was looking for direction.

I think of this Saturday when Francesco Barron will give a food prep class at my store. I think of Francesco and his asthma that he once had who was also faced with the same dilemma about life and about his health, and wondering whether or not he wanted his whole life to be centered on taking medicines or not. Did he literally want to be dependant on a drug that supposedly knew how to travel 98,000 miles and not only get to place where he was having problems, but that knew what he had to do. Am I missing something? In my infinite wisdom, can I understand a drug that is essentially dead with no form of intelligence knows what to do in a body that sees it as a foreign invader and wants to destroy it as having a magical power to overcome all of this body's defense mechanisms and make one better? My friends, it does not make sense. In our infinite wisdom, we would never take medicine if we are healthy and feeling good, because it would make us sick. The same logic applies in reverse. Why in the world, if we are sick, would one take a drug and think that it can make you feel better or take the pain away? Am I missing something? In any case, Frank followed his truth and gave up the dead animals, and slowly his asthma got better. He became a raw Vegan, and the asthma that was bothering him for years, including emergency visits to the hospital, simply disappeared.

The bottom line is that the eating of Foie Gras is absolutely horrendous. Force feeding a duck so that we can eat Foie Gras is absolutely horrendous. What the public does not understand is, that as much is this act is absolutely horrendous, the fact of the matter is, that cancer is even more devastating into our country. There is absolutely no reason for cancer, asthma, prostrate cancer, or for gall bladder attacks and even crime in the street. When Dr. Kristine Knofti made the statement, "breast cancer disappears on a raw food diet" in her book entitled: "The treatment of Cancer." These words were her truth, her infinite wisdom, her innate understanding how life works, and what is supposed to happen when we eat them without the ripple effects on the way we see (cataracts, glaucoma), the way we speak (thyroid and esophagus cancer), the way we breathe (asthma), and the way we walk (Parkinson). My friends, there is cause and effect. The same thought process that thinks the force-feeding of ducks is criminal should be the same thought process that should glorified by our right to be disease-free, and should be glorified by the fact that cancer will disappear on a raw vegan food diet. We should publicize that those countries that eat no meat have no cancer (China Study).

MY friends, we are living in a world where choice is either an option or not. The truth of who we are is based on love of ourselves. The truth of who we are is based on whether our bodies can easily handle ingestion of all of this poisonous material. The nature of food, whether it is good or bad for you, is based on the fact of its vital life force. As soon as a food is cooked above a temperature of 105 degrees, the life force is destroyed. I close my eyes and meditate on death and living, the sick and the healthy having fun or being slowly destroyed by our dietary habits. I close my eyes, and give thanks for who I am, and I give thanks for what I believe to be the truth.

I thank you for your time.

Arnold