“Our inherited meal traditions require a mentality of violence and denial that silently radiates into every aspect of our private and public lives, permeating our institutions and generating the crises, dilemmas, inequities, and suffering that we seek in vain to understand and effectively address.”
~ from The World Peace Diet
Vegan is not a word you hear often in Kaitaia, New Zealand. But on February 23rd, Gentle World and Dr. Will Tuttle, author of The World Peace Diet, came together for a free public event, to plant the seeds of a vegan awakening in this fertile area. (In the Maori language, after all, the name Kaitaia means “Plenty of Food”.)
“An Afternoon with Will Tuttle” was a blend of philosophy and delicious food. Dr. Tuttle provided the philosophy; speaking to over 100 attendees about the profound connection between veganism and world peace, as Gentle World provided the delicious food that is the reward for living in alignment with that philosophy.
At moments during Dr. Tuttle’s speech, muffled sobs could be heard throughout the room and heads gently nodded in agreement with his words. The audience participants came from all walks of life: they were animal farmers, established vegans, schoolteachers, health care professionals and councilors. There were mothers, fathers and even a few children who sat and listened to his speech.
Each felt the impact of his words in a different way…
“What if it was my child who was taken away?”
“The rainforest is being cut down to feed grain to imprisoned animals?”
“I never thought how the violence we inflict on animals might be causing violence in our own lives.”
For some, these were the first tastes they had had of the truth behind our commodification of animals. And some of the truths were hard to hear, but the final message was one of hope and change.
Dishes included hummus wraps, GMO-free corn chips, tangy coleslaw, chickpea curry and scalloped potatoes, followed by home-made Peacetime Cake and gluten-free Leda Cookies.
As always, responses were overwhelmingly positive, as attendees experienced the joy of being deeply nourished by truly peaceful food.
Gentle World wishes to thank the kind staff at the Te Ahu Centre in Kaitaia, as well as our generous sponsors who helped to make this event possible:
Abe’s Bagels, Angel Foods, Bells Produce, Blissful Vege, Champion Flour, Chantal Organics, Cinderella Dates, Combined Equipment Rental, Crombie Price, Dovedale Bread, Earthwise, Eco Store, Farrah Breads, Healtheries, The Herb Shack, Leda Cookies, Mexicano Corn Chips, Printing.com Kaitaia, Mountain Bread, Real Foods Corn Thins, Smart Foods Vogel Cereal, Sun Rice, Sun Valley Foods, and The Warehouse Kaitaia.