The Animals We Eat Since humans have evolved as omnivores, the fact that most of us eat animals is not, in itself, to be unexpected. As a culture, however, we have become utterly divorced from an understanding of how food comes to us. (This is true not just about animals, but also growing seasons as well.) The suffering of animals is easily documented and should enter into our thoughts at some level when we think about foods we put into our bodies. After all, no life form is born wrapped in plastic and styrofoam. Their suffering should at be acknowledged, if only with an expression of gratitude for the mortal, unwilling sacrifice they were forced to make. The act of saying "thank you for your sacrifice" is as much for the animal as to remind us in each instance that our choices impact the lives of others.

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Lilac's Book. A book for my daughter.    By Bill Orton. Lilac's Book has been on     continuously since January 3, 1997. Anyone may have a FREE copy of the entire text of Lilac's Book by going to the Download page. Back in 1994, I wrote this book, largely in random order, as a gift for my infant daughter.   When I finished the first version of the book, I made photocopies and handed them out to anyone who was interested.   In 1996, I converted the text of the book into web format and thanks to the gracious and steadfast support from this mighty site, the book has been on Hippyland continuously since January 3, 1997.   As far as I can tell from webstats over the past few years, about 3000 people a year are visiting the page to download the full text of the book.   If just a portion of these visitors are downloading the text, then this free book is now in the hands of thousands of people.   This makes me feel that the gift is not just for Lilac, but for thousands of others, most especially for the teenagers and young adults who so often write to me trying to figure out their place in our world. BEING FREE  |  Table of Contents  |  Readers Comments  |  Download Lilac's Book  |  Return to HIPPYLAND  |  Photo Album Who IS a Hippy  |  The Price of Freedom  |  Following Your Own Heart  |  It Wasn't All Beauty & Lightness  |  Contact Me The original print edition of Lilac's Book © 1994; web editions © 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001.