Christianity and Vegetariansim

[Allie Short]

Hello all!

I am a vegetarian- I'm not saying that this is the one right way to live, but I do believe that vegetarianism/veganism is currently the best way to improve climate change and animal rights.

I'll quote a post from Focus on the Family (link below), about animal rights here:
"In certain cases, they make this choice in response to reports of the way animals are raised and handled in the food industry. This is a point worth considering. God gave us dominion over all the earth (Genesis 1:28). But He also expects us to behave responsibly and to be accountable for the way we treat His creation. Cruelty to animals is inconsistent with a Christian world view. Proverbs 12:10 says, "A righteous man regards the life of his animal." To this extent, animal advocacy groups have a perfectly valid point."

I'm not sure how many of you are aware of how badly animals are treated in factory farming. I know some people are defensive of smaller farms where animals are treated with dignity until their death, but the VAST majority of meat today comes from huge factory farms. If you wish to look into this further, I would suggest watching a documentary on how horrible the conditions of livestock are.

We have dominion over the earth, this is clear from Genesis. We have the right to eat meat, as "Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you." (Genesis 9:3, ESV). But we currently are not doing it the right way. We do not act as selfless and loving leaders, like God commanded us to be. We abuse, mistreat, and act selfishly towards animals.

In addition to this, the factory farming of meat is TERRIBLE for the environment. Factory farming accounts for 18% of greenhouse gas emissions. From Stanford research (link below), "If the entire world population were to consume as much meat as the Western world does-176 pounds of meat per capita per year- the global land required would be two-thirds more than what is presently used". We eat far too much meat to sustain production. Transportation accounts for 13% of all greenhouse gas emissions. Meat production contributes more to global warming than all trains, planes, cars, buses. If you recycle or carpool in an attempt to help the environment, reducing your meat intake would be more beneficial.

From the UN (link below), "livestock now use 30 per cent of the earth’s entire land surface", and "70 per cent of former forests in the Amazon have been turned over to grazing". We are destroying the lungs of the world, the Amazon, to produce cattle and food for cattle. We are acidifying the oceans, and causing global temperatures to rise because of a Western obsession with meat.

I'm not saying you have to drop everything you know and become a vegetarian or vegan. I just ask that you look more deeply into the subject. God gave us this earth and the animals on it. We are helping destroy the environment and abusing the animals he gave to us. Reducing your meat intake, like Meatless Mondays, or overall reduction, is a great first step!

Thank you everyone, and God Bless.



Links
Vegans, Vegetarians, and the Bible
https://woods.stanford.edu/news-events/news/meats-environmental-impact
UN News - Rearing cattle produces more greenhouse gases than driving cars, UN report warns

 

[EnergonWaffles]

I also have a Christian friend who feels the same way. She became vegan.

I'll never be vegan/vegetarian, but I have started to think more about where my food comes from. For those who feel pricked by their conscience, I've wondered if buying halal or kosher meat would be better? (Halal is the Muslim form of kosher). To my knowledge, it's more expensive but the conditions and slaughtering methods are a little better.

 

[Allie Short]

I also have a Christian friend who feels the same way. She became vegan.

I'll never be vegan/vegetarian, but I have started to think more about where my food comes from. For those who feel pricked by their conscience, I've wondered if buying halal or kosher meat would be better? (Halal is the Muslim form of kosher). To my knowledge, it's more expensive but the conditions and slaughtering methods are a little better.

I haven't looked into that much, but I believe those conditions may be better for the animals.

Looking into your food sources and/or even slightly reducing your meat intake would be better for the environment. Our meat consumption has gone up tremendously from the past, and we eat almost unhealthy amounts of meat.

 

[Phil 1:21]

For those who feel pricked by their conscience, I've wondered if buying halal or kosher meat would be better? (Halal is the Muslim form of kosher). To my knowledge, it's more expensive but the conditions and slaughtering methods are a little better.

I can't speak to Halal, but I have seen Kosher butchering. As far as beef is concerned, conventional slaughter generally involves a bolt to the head, which provides an instantaneous death. Kosher butchering is not so immediate, nor as "clean" as the animal is killed by slitting it's throat. If you are interested (and don't have a weak stomach), there is at least one video on YouTube of the process. But again, it is not for the squeamish.

 

[NothingIsImpossible]

Eh. I know how animals are treated but know there is not much I can do. So I still eat steak, burgers...etc. Now if the bible commanded us to only eat veggies, then I would. THankfully we are free to eat anything.

 

[Shempster]

Some people can see God in the life of animals and they simply prefer to respond by not harming them if at all possible.

 

[com7fy8]

I think I have heard that dairy cattle produce a lot of gas.

 

[Phil 1:21]

I think I have heard that dairy cattle produce a lot of gas.

Only if you’re lactose intolerant.

 

[GandalfTheWise]

My wife and daughter are vegan (no animal products). I've read a lot on both sides. I'm an analyst by trade and am used to sorting through reams of information trying to figure out the real story on things. Here's my take on things.

The real challenge is sorting through extreme vegan (aka animal rights being equal to human rights) hype and actual data. Many of the environmental claims I've seen do some cherry picking of data but are based on reasonable criticisms of mass production agricultural practices. From what I can see is that extensive *sustainable* grass pasture lands are generally good environmentally speaking and animals raised in that environment are healthier and much better treated than in mass production practices where the goal is rapid weight gain for the minimal cost (which usually involves lots of grain and nutrient dense crops raised in unsustainable ways). Raising smaller numbers of cattle on grass based pastures has a very different environmental impact than packing large numbers of cattle into small areas and raising grain crops to feed them. We've gotten our beef and eggs from some friends that run a farm and treat their animals well. The cattle are pastured and eat mostly grass and pasture plants and live a rather calm and sedate life and the chickens basically have free run in a large fenced pen (which is to keep predators out) and occasionally the yard when they get out.

I've looked closely at the data underlying such books as the China Study. My sense is that the data is being cherry picked to prove a point. These types of books and materials point to many studies. But when I sampled some of the studies they quoted, they are often picking and choosing results from the studies that match what they want to prove. From what I can see, I think a very strong case can be made that moving away from processed mass produced food products is a good thing. I find it much harder to find a strong case for a 100% natural plant based diet based on health reasons.

Now, I pretty much agree with many of the criticisms of agricultural policy, big ag, and the impact of monetary donations to governments to implement policies favoring big ag. However, I think this does have to be balanced by noting in the western world (that is largely fed through big ag) that drought and other pestilences no longer bring the immediate threat of starvation that they did even a few hundred years ago. We need to figure out a way to transition to organic and sustainable practices to feed billions of people that are NOT susceptible to drought and pestilence. For now, those of us wanting to be counter cultural and eat different stuff from the mainstream can do it free from worry of drought or pestilence because we can always fall back on mass produced food if something goes wrong with our normal supply.

My primary interest in the subject is trying to figure out what is the healthiest lifestyle and diet as well as exhibiting good stewardship and humanity toward the earth and its creatures. The two biggest things I see health wise are eliminating stress from our life and eliminating highly processed foods from our diet. My sense is that a primarily natural (not processed!) plant based diet with a moderate amount of animal products is reasonably well balanced for health. I am unhappy with many of the practices of mass production agriculture which in my opinion is unsustainable and reduces the health content of various foods as well as are largely mistreating animals.

I eat a primarily plant based diet (primarily from organic and local sources) usually as stir fry, salads, and wraps. I usually have perhaps a serving or two of meat (usually grass fed pasture beef or fish) per week along with some cheese and occasionally eggs. I've completely cut out added salt in my food. I've largely cut out added sugars of various types. However, the biggest thing that has improved my health in the past 5 to 10 years is reducing stress in my life.

 

[Shempster]

However, the biggest thing that has improved my health in the past 5 to 10 years is reducing stress in my life.

But couldn't a low-animal products lifestyle actually reduce stress?
I see your point about cherry picking data. Its simply not possible to get ahold of data from EVERYTHING so that outcomes are true and correct. So with that in mind, there is data that shows that animal products contain excess hormones excreted by the animals themselves. If you are consuming stress hormones then wouldn't they act similarly in the human body?

 

[GandalfTheWise]

But couldn't a low-animal products lifestyle actually reduce stress?
I see your point about cherry picking data. Its simply not possible to get ahold of data from EVERYTHING so that outcomes are true and correct. So with that in mind, there is data that shows that animal products contain excess hormones excreted by the animals themselves. If you are consuming stress hormones then wouldn't they act similarly in the human body?

That's a good point. There are definitely a lot of things floating around in mass produced animal products that are not healthy, especially when their diets and living conditions are highly stressful. I could see it having some contribution to some problems people have.

Speaking for myself, I don't think that the stress was too related to food in my situation. It had more to do with an overzealous work ethic and an unhealthy unwillingness to let things go that were out of my control. In the past few years, I left a couple jobs because they were too stressful. I had never done that before. I had just kept hanging in there for years. God also brought some information and material across my path that I realized I had been getting angry and frustrated about things that were outside my control. Had I been getting angry at people, I'd have been aware I had a problem. But I was getting angry at stuff that wasn't changing and problems at work. I never saw that as an anger problem before but mistakenly as a positive attitude toward trying to improve things and caring. Now that I can look at many things, shrug my shoulders, and forget it because it's not my responsibility, I have a lot less stress.

I've lost about 60 pounds in the past 3 years or so. Most of that weight loss was before I reduced animal product consumption. Since then, I've talked with a surprising number of people who casually commented how they lost weight (without changing diet) when they left a stressful job. My sense is that reducing animal product consumption is healthier, but the big thing for me was going from being employed full time to being semi-retired.