Harm and Sustainability

The anthropologist Knud Rasmussen said that “the greatest peril of life lies in the fact that human food consists entirely of souls”.  

We can’t avoid harming other souls. Our mere existence causes it. We eat food that was once alive. We take space that would otherwise be inhabited by others - humans or non-humans. When we stop distinguishing between the value of humans and non-humans, we find that what matters is the relationship between another. Harm becomes a question of balance. Instead of nurturing a relationship of exploitation we nurture relationships of exchange. Instead of taking what we want, we take what the other can give and regenerate. Harm becomes reciprocity.