Peace in Our Kingdom

In a special feature in this month’s Mindful Metropolis, Peaceable Kingdom filmmaker, James LaVeck, details his realization of what he calls a “code of silence” about animal farming, practiced not only by consumers but animal farmers themselves. According to LaVeck, this denial of our natural bond with animals prevents our human compassion from surfacing.


You can watch a special screening of Peaceable Kingdom at this month’s Mindful Live community event on June 24.  LaVeck will be on hand to discuss the film with audience members. Attendees will also have a chance to meet local sustainable business owners who will be available to share information about their services and products. Get tickets and learn more here.

The deep connection to animals the film reveals encourages us to reexamine our relationship with animals as sources of food. In a Q and A interview on Green Parent Chicago, Ruby Roth, author of the children’s book “That’s Why We Don’t Eat Animals” says changing our relationship to food is easier if we remember that have the freedom to change our lives:
“I think this is a very important concept for any child or adult to absorb—and one to emphasize when you read the book to a kid: we never have to fear things that we have the power to change."Perhaps you’re currently vegetarian or vegan or contemplating omitting or decreasing animal products from your diet. One major obstacle faced by those new to going “veg” can be dreaming up options for meatless meals, especially when you’ve grown accustomed to making meat the centerpiece of most meals.

For a compendium of supremely creative meat-free lunches you can pack for work, school or on the go, check out the books “Vegan Lunchbox” and “Vegan Lunchbox Around the World” by Jennifer McCann. Both offer hundreds of creative and well balanced meatless meals that kids and adults will love from Chick'n Pot Pie to Pad Thai.