Right action involves mindfulness first. It might start with questioning the benefits we get in an economy based on extraction of resources from Earth.
Discerning right action involves following the Quaker testimony of simplicity, as we strive to live within our ethical means on a finite planet. So we seek to simplify our lives, and support each other’s efforts to do so.
Right action considers vulnerable people, and present and future generations of all living beings. We acknowledge that what Earth produces are not the fair spoils of the privileged. Nor are they humanity’s resources alone.
We’re asking ourselves: Are we prioritizing energy-use reduction and groundskeeping in harmony with nature? Are we promoting respect for untamed life in and around our township, county, and region? Can we promote efforts to reduce car dependency in our community? Could animal-free offerings be the default in our food-sharing plans?
Wait. But isn’t food (to those who can afford to make decisions about it) an individual choice? How can we judge something so traditional, yet so personal? This is not about saying what people are doing is bad, so much as inspiring ourselves and others by imagining how we might align daily actions with our strongest respect for planetary systems and deepest empathy with living communities.
Adopting an animal-free diet slashes our emissions, and frees up land for nature’s untamed life. Shifting from animal proteins to plant proteins also helps us feed each other healthfully. And it can change a status quo wherein most plantings on U.S. farms become feed, not food.
How do we do this? We’re making a start with a Fellowship Food Guide.
How can we contribute to other Quaker initiatives on climate, food security, and ecojustice working groups? How can we help climate refugees?
As a basis for this work, we imagine a humanity that understands community, the web of life, our connection to all beings and to spirit as indispensable joys! Committed to this possible future, we envision our EMERGEnce—from a human-driven crisis into a deeply committed love for our planet, its systems, and all its precious life.