What would Gandhi do?

On Sept. 11, 2006, a coalition of local organizations celebrated the anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi's nonviolent peace and justice movement which was born 100 years earlier. A couple hundred people filled Pritchard Park to hear speeches and music, and many then proceeded to a potluck dinner. The speakers embraced multiple social justice issues from a living wage to environmental concerns. But there was almost no mention of extending compassion to animals, which Gandhi also saw as a social justice issue. He was a devout vegetarian who believed that peace should be extended to all who live. Most are familiar with his famous quote, "The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated." But many don't realize he was talking about ALL animals, not just the ones kept as "pets." He also said: "The most violent weapon on earth is the table fork." I believe that Gandhi would have been deeply saddened to know that a non-vegetarian potluck took place as part of a celebration in his name. He abhorred the taking of all life, but especially for such a trivial reason as to satisfy one's taste buds. And that was well before the advent of factory farming. I can only imagine how appalled he would be today, had he lived to see animals reduced to food units. Animals are denied every natural instinct in order to squeeze more profits from their miserable suffering. The event ended with a release of white doves. Before being released, the birds spent much of the celebration imprisoned in front of a blaring loudspeaker. It's common for birds released to collide with cell phone towers and power lines, die flying into glass windows of downtown office buildings, and be killed by predators. Is their pain and suffering acceptable because it made a handful of humans feel all warm and fuzzy? If you don't believe that might makes right when it comes to how we treat other humans, why is it okay when it comes to animals used for food or entertainment? What would Gandhi do? Stewart David Asheville, NC