I’m finally home from my epic journey to the Parliament of World Religions in Toronto, ON. The Parliament was a week-long conference with religious and spiritual leaders, as well as scientists, from around the world.
I attended rituals, ceremonies, and workshops. One common theme predominated throughout the conference – climate change. The Indigenous peoples of the world don’t call it climate change, though. They call it climate crisis.
This past summer, Arch Priestess Belladonna Laveau of the Aquarian Tabernacle Church traveled around the United States on a World Love Tour, spreading the message of the Goddess Demeter. Her message is that our food is no longer nourishing us. Agriculture has been taken over by pharmaceutical companies whose purpose is to keep us sick, so that we have to spend more money on medicines. We need to take back our food sovereignty by growing our own food.
I’ll admit, I didn’t take Demeter’s message very seriously. I mean, I have tried to garden in the past, and I’m just not good at it. I’ve got too many other important responsibilities.
I took it a lot more seriously when I heard the same message repeated by First Nations elders and leaders from other spiritual traditions. None of these people had been to Demeter’s rituals, yet they were all sharing the same message: clean up our waters, and grow our own food. Some of them suggested going as far as everyone needing to become vegan right away.
Scientists agree that the climate is changing around the world at an alarming rate. Their research and data do not seem to be concerning the general population, so at Parliament, they asked the spiritual leaders to talk to their congregations in an effort to convey the seriousness of the situation.
Food is a very sensitive issue for a lot of people. There is a lot of shame and contradictory information about what we eat. I personally am not ready to become a vegan. I am not even sure I’m ready to plant a garden, though I am thinking about it. I AM willing to eat more local and organic food – shopping at the local butcher shop and farmers markets. Every little bit helps.
Below is the video I recorded at the end of the event. Make a change, even a small one. You really can make a difference!
Blessings,
Mary