--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We depend upon other creatures and…" description: "\"“We depend upon other creatures and survive by their deaths. To live, we must daily break the body and shed the blood of Creation. When we do this know..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/857/wendell-berry-236_creation_we-depend-upon-other-creatures-and-survi_1155522.jpg" --- # We depend upon other creatures and survive by their… ![“We depend upon other creatures and survive by their deaths. To live, we must daily break the body and shed the blood of Creation. When we do this knowingly, lovingly, skillfully, reverently, it is a sacrament. When we do it ignorantly, greedily, clumsily, destructively, it is a desecration. In…” quote by Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/857/wendell-berry-236_creation_we-depend-upon-other-creatures-and-survi_1155522.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/857/wendell-berry-236_creation_we-depend-upon-other-creatures-and-survi_1155522.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/857/wendell-berry-236_creation_we-depend-upon-other-creatures-and-survi_1155522.jpg) > ““We depend upon other creatures and survive by their deaths. To live, we must daily break the body and shed the blood of Creation. When we do this knowingly, lovingly, skillfully, reverently, it is a sacrament. When we do it ignorantly, greedily, clumsily, destructively, it is a desecration. In such desecration we condemn ourselves to spiritual and moral loneliness, and others to want.”” [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human survival depends on consuming other beings; doing so reverently is a sacred act, while careless consumption leads to moral isolation and spiritual emptiness. **In simple terms:** Respectful consumption is sacred; careless use is destructive. Key Takeaway Approach consumption with reverence and mindfulness. Themes ethics environment spirituality interdependence responsibility Mood reflective somber Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - food production - resource management - wildlife stewardship - industrial agriculture - personal habits Key Concepts sacramental view eco‑ethics moral philosophy Questions to Reflect On - How does reverent consumption change our relationship with nature? - What practices embody mindful use of resources? A Different Perspective Modern industrial practices often ignore reverence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Condemn Spiritual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/condemn-spiritual-2518838/) [Creation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creation/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Desecration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desecration/) [Desecration Condemn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desecration-condemn-2518836/) [Desecration Desecration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desecration-desecration-3285612/) [Destructively Desecration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/destructively-desecration-2518837/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Stewardship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stewardship/) ## Related quotes > [To live, we must daily break the body and shed the blood of Creation. When we do this knowingly, lovingly, skillfully, reverently, it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/to-live-we-must-daily-break-the-body-and-shed-the-blood-of-creation/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [I always felt mean, jogging back over the logging road,As if I had broken the natural order of things in that swampland;Disturbed some rhythm,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roethke/i-always-felt-mean-jogging-back-over-the-logging-road-as-if-i-had/) [Theodore Roethke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roethke/) > [Desecration is the smile on my face.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-kiedis/desecration-is-the-smile-on-my-face/) [Anthony Kiedis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-kiedis/) > [Punishing desecration of the flag dilutes the very freedom that makes this emblem so revered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-brennan/punishing-desecration-of-the-flag-dilutes-the-very-freedom-that-makes/) [William J. Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-brennan/) > [“Nationalization of Naskar is desecration of Naskar.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/nationalization-of-naskar-is-desecration-of-naskar/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [“Many people under the influence of science, and particularly neuro-nonsense, will say the sacred is an old concept, it’s just a hangover, but you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/many-people-under-the-influence-of-science-and-particularly-neuro/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [“So I close this long reflection on what I hope is a not-too-quaveringly semi-Semitic note. When I am at home, I will only enter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/so-i-close-this-long-reflection-on-what-i-hope-is-a-not-too/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“violation, desecration, and penetration.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-rose/violation-desecration-and-penetration/) [A.J. Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-rose/) > [“The noble old synagogue had been profaned and turned into a stable by the Nazis, and left open to the elements by the Communists,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/the-noble-old-synagogue-had-been-profaned-and-turned-into-a-stable-by/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [We know there are poets who are chosen: by what or whom, we no more know than what lies beyond our final breath, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franz-wright/we-know-there-are-poets-who-are-chosen-by-what-or-whom-we-no-more/) [Franz Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franz-wright/) > [It was almost a desecration to put a building on the Boulder Turnpike, which is now U.S.-36 and is almost backyards and even junkyards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-lamm/it-was-almost-a-desecration-to-put-a-building-on-the-boulder-turnpike/) [Richard Lamm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-lamm/) > [“... The desecration of women indicated the failure of human beings to honor and protect life and that this failing would, if we did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-ensler/the-desecration-of-women-indicated-the-failure-of-human-beings-to/) [Eve Ensler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-ensler/) > [“We do not need to plan or devise a "world of the future"; if we take care of the world of the present, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/we-do-not-need-to-plan-or-devise-a-world-of-the-future-if-we-take/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [In the loss of skill, we lose stewardship; in losing stewardship we lose fellowship; we become outcasts from the great neighborhood of Creation. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/in-the-loss-of-skill-we-lose-stewardship-in-losing-stewardship-we/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“In relation to the natural world, the pleasure of Americans can be destructive in the same way that their work has already proved to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/in-relation-to-the-natural-world-the-pleasure-of-americans-can-be/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) ## More by Wendell Berry > [During the last 17 years... I have been working at the restoration of a once exhausted hillside. Its scars are now healed over, though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/during-the-last-17-years-i-have-been-working-at-the-restoration-of-a/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Like the water of a deep stream, love is always too much. We did not make it. 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Time does not stop for love, but it does not stop for death and grief, either.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-mercy-of-the-world-is-time-time-does-not-stop-for-love-but-it/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The soil is the great connector of our lives, the source and destination of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-soil-is-the-great-connector-of-our-lives-the-source-and/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [I dislike the thought that some animal has been made miserable to feed me. If I am going to eat meat, I want it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/i-dislike-the-thought-that-some-animal-has-been-made-miserable-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/laughter-is-immeasurable-be-joyful/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [These are people who are capable of devotion, public devotion, to justice. They meant what they said and every day that passes, they mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/these-are-people-who-are-capable-of-devotion-public-devotion-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) [Explore all 847 Wendell Berry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) ## More Creation quotes > [“am not suggesting that successes in academics, athletics, or vocation somehow stand outside God’s good plan. Learning and play are joys that God himself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-paul-jones/am-not-suggesting-that-successes-in-academics-athletics-or-vocation/) [Timothy Paul Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-paul-jones/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [Let me tell you that atheism has never painted a masterpiece. Atheism has never dispelled fear. Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/) [John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/) > [Perhaps no order of mammals presents us with so extraordinary a series of gradations as this \[step by step, from humans to apes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/perhaps-no-order-of-mammals-presents-us-with-so-extraordinary-a/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [Like many other scientists who hold the Catholic faith, I see the Creator's plan and purpose fulfilled in our universe. I see a planet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-r-miller/like-many-other-scientists-who-hold-the-catholic-faith-i-see-the/) [Kenneth R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-r-miller/) > [And wheresoever, in his rich creation, Sweet music breathes--in wave, or bird, or soul-- 'Tis but the faint and far reverberation Of that great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-sargent-osgood/and-wheresoever-in-his-rich-creation-sweet-music-breathes-in-wave-or/) [Frances Sargent Osgood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-sargent-osgood/) > [I believe if there is a creator it will basically ask me two questions, how well did you enjoy my creation and what did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-victor-paskavich/i-believe-if-there-is-a-creator-it-will-basically-ask-me-two/) [Stanley Victor Paskavich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-victor-paskavich/) > [With no other choices open to us, we'd turned our gaze seaward. 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