To Natalie if you're still here!

Natalie,

If you're still here, I've recently been reading "Through our eyes only?: The search for animal consciousness." By Marian Stamp Dawkins.

I'm only a third of the way through it but finding it a detailed and thorough look at deducing consciousness from animal behaviour.

I'm a meat eater myself, but pay $20/kg for "biodynamic" mince that comes from well looked after and humanely slaughtered cows. Their waste is used as fertiliser on farmland. I try to teach my children that "Meat is a Treat" and we need to pay the full cost of meat production rather than the environment bearing a cost that the consumer doesn't pay to get cleaned up! Don't get me started on the horrors of dairy production... Peter Singer's "The Ethics of What We Eat" was a strong influence there.

It's a compromise I know, but I've yet to find a way to be vegan without horrible effects on my mental health. I've tried twice and endured prolonged PMT like symptoms. My brother thinks the reason is that I overdosed on tofu. He could have a point! I shall try again at some stage.

Cheers
Emervents