The World Peace Diet
Will Tuttle

Reviewed by Eve Spencer

Apart from the author’s master’s degree in humanities and PhD in the philosophy of education, he is also a professional pianist who trained in Korea as a Zen Buddhist monk, worked in tai chi, yoga, meditation, intuition development and spiritual healing, and lives a vegan lifestyle.

The World Peace Diet is not a diet in the sense of a fad diet to lose weight, but the author illustrates clearly how the social, psychological and spiritual consequences of our meals “ripple through all aspects of our lives.”

The book is systematically developed to reveal the connection between what we daily put on our plates, and peace in the world and in our lives. Some of the chapters covered include the power of food, the herding culture, the nature of intelligence, domination of the feminine, the metaphysics of food, science and religion, profiting from destruction, the journey of transformation, and in the final chapter—living the revolution—is “the last days of eating animal.”

Many people we talk with about food insist that we all make individual choices about the foods we eat, resisting being told that we are indoctrinated. But as Tuttle points out, we never chose an omnivorous diet; we were fed this way by our herding culture. We were told by our parents, doctors, church leaders, teachers, as well as by government, advertising and the media, the meat, dairy and egg businesses, and big pharma, as well as most nutritionists, that nonhuman animals are there for us to eat and make us strong. Those forces continue to manipulate consumers who still believe they are making free choices, while the terror and suffering of other animals remain hidden from view. If we could only look with enlightened eyes at the meat on our plates, and see beyond the appearance, we would surely shrink, horrified. Are we not aware of the interdependence of consciousness, energy and matter? Pythagoras taught, many years ago, that eating animal foods has negative effects on our consciousness. The toxins such as trans fats, pathogens, pesticides, and drug and hormone residues that are present in animal foods, besides injuring the animals, also injure our bodies, and can also disturb us emotionally. When humans eat the flesh of beings who have endured fear, terror and agony, their sufferings are literally ingested into our bodies. How then can we live with inner peace?

As the author points out, calves, steers, lambs, chickens and even dairy cows, who would easily live 20 to 30 years in the wild, are all pushed to grow abnormally quickly, then slaughtered as infants and children. Similarly in the various wars around the globe, children suffer and die the most. The eggs, bacon and cheese that we eat are living vibratory embodiments of cruelty, violence, enslavement, terror and despair—the tormented consciousness of the animals.

Dr Tuttle reminds us that we talk about stopping the cycle of violence; children who are violated and abused will often, when they become adults, tend to perpetuate the cycle of violence through the generations. We can see this; yet fail to see the deeper dynamic. We will always be violent towards each other as long as we are violent towards other animals—how can it be otherwise?

The World Peace Diet portrays how a vegan life offers compassion for all beings, including for ourselves and for the planet. The author reveals how such a revolution of heart, mind and body can enable us to transform our world to one of peace, harmony, loving kindness, respect and reverence for the interconnectedness and sacredness of all life. For anyone wanting to grow spiritually, who wants to wake up and live a compassionate life, and contribute to world peace, this book will help. How rare to come across a book that clearly depicts the problems arising from a meat-based diet entirely cut off from the spiritual aspects of our lives.

I cannot do justice to this wonderful book—you have to read every page for yourself, and I thoroughly recommend that you do.