Laetitia has written a really good response in that post last week about veganism, and gives a thorough explanation of her Christian reasoning to be a vegan. It's worth a read. Here's a bit of it-
'With respect to not killing creatures by taking these things, sorry, but that doesn't necessarily apply. It is a common dairy farming practice for calves to be taken away from their mothers so that the milk goes to humans. The boys are taken away and fed a low-iron gruel and kept from exercise in order to keep their flesh white and soft so they can become veal. Their stomach linings are used for rennet to produce cheese. The girls are kept to become the next generation of "milkers". Should I go on about what happens to get the sperm for artificial insemination?'
'I don't believe that eating meat is a sin (otherwise I'd be in a lot of trouble since Jesus ate it); if we were to go to a restaurant together, I'd no more give you a hard time for eating steak than I would expect you to give me a hard time for not eating steak or for asking for no cream sauces or cheese to be added to my meal. However, since God only gave us plants for food in Eden and all animal death is a result of the Fall, I do believe that His original best for us is a plant-based diet.'
Huldra Forsvant (Theodor Kittelsen)
Huldra Forsvant (Theodor Kittelsen)
5 comments:
There's an assumption in that thinking, that the garden (pre-fall) is something we're trying to 'get back to'. The garden was good, but the new creation will be better. And we live now in anticipation of the new creation. So an argument from creation shouldn't be the end of our thinking. We're not going back to Eden we're going forward to a new creation - so our thinking needs to be shaped by looking ahead too!
One quick thought on that front:
Jesus likens the new creation to a banquet where the fattened ox has been killed (matt 22)! Chowing down with Jesus over a steak is what we're looking forward to...
I think the best argument for being a vegetarian or vegan is because it is loving your neighbour.
People will argue that the world's consumption of meat causes starvation and oppression. I don't know if it is true or not, but if it is, I'd say we all have a responsibility to at least cut down on mean.
I love vegans. More meat for me.
I guess that's true too geoff
I appreciate what SamR says - that we're looking forward to a new creation. I'm interested in readers' thoughts on how Isaiah described the new creation, vis:
The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand into the viper's nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. (Isaiah 11:6-9)
Personally, I think we have a very limited understanding of what heaven will be like for us, let alone our bodies there or the "physical" nature of the things we will experience - all of these pictures are just to give us an idea that it's going to be marvellous - Isaiah describes it terms of the original creation (an idyllic place that sin hadn't spoilt, where animals co-existed happily and, if there had been any, a child could have played with all the creatures we now consider dangerous) while Jesus describes it as a big party.
Touching on what geoffc says about the poor (the starved and oppressed), the consumption of meat on a regular basis is a fairly Western and certainly materially-rich cultural activity. I had an ex-misso tell me once that certain Asian countries are great for vegetarians / vegans - they don't eat meat often as that would require killing their plough or wool producing animals. Killing an animal (generally a goat) for a meal is reserved for big celebrations, which would also have been the case in Jesus' culture.
I'm not sure if starvation and oppression is a result of meat production (I think it has more to do with greed - the world can produce enough food now but certain countries pay farmers not to in order to keep prices high - and religious persecution) however, in Australia at least, cattle and sheep can cause great environmental damage through their hooves, eating habits, exotic diseases and potential for overgrazing leading to a cycle of loss of topsoil, loss of vegetation, drought, loss of topsoil...so in that sense, reducing meat consumption (and thereby the market for non-native animals) may be a way of loving one's neighbour.
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