Many of us are so blithely disconnected from our foods that we are unaware of what it takes to bring meat to the table. Reports of cruelty, chemical additives, and unsanitary facilities motivate many meat eaters to become vegetarians. There may be a way we can have a compassionate connection with our food, even when it comes from an animal. Author of The Mindful Carnivore, Tovar Cerulli tells of the emotional and spiritual dilemmas he faced as a longtime vegan who later decided to hunt for his own meat, in this interview with Regina Meredith originally webcast July 16, 2013.Tovar Cerulli became a vegetarian at twenty when he was moved by the compassionate words of Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hanh and concerned about the ecological impacts of the meat industry. After a decade as a vegan, he returned to omnivory and decided to take his dietary ethics for a walk in the woods with deer-rifle in hand.