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How our Food Choices Can Restore or Destroy God’s Creation
Monday,
June 27, 2011 Blog
2. Famous Quote – Vesanto Melina
3. Humanity’s Role in Creation
4. Bible verse – Luke 6:36
5. “Globally Significant” Marine Extinction
6. This Week’s Video – Why Vegan? By EVOLVE! Campaigns
1. Howard Lyman’s Message
Howard Lyman, vegan, former fourth-generation Montana farmer, rancher and feedlot operator, and a Montana State University agriculture graduate, made sure his message was loud and clear during his Earth Day talk at the Emerson Cultural Center in Montana: There is nothing good about beef!
Lyman rightly points out that raising cattle for food is taking a huge environmental toll on the planet by its inefficient use of energy (it takes 40 to 80 calories to grow one calorie of animal food vs. just two calories to grow one calorie of plant food) and the exorbitant amounts of fossil fuel needed (250 gallons to bring a fat steer to market). He also pointed out that the world's livestock produce more greenhouse gases than all transportation combined. To read the article please search online for
Earth Day speaker: beef is bad for the planetThe Bible tells us in Genesis 2:15 that God instructed Adam to “till” and “keep” the Garden of Eden, and by analogy we may see caring for God’s Creation as our sacred task. The evidence indicating that animal agriculture is contributing to environmental devastation is undeniable. We cannot claim we love God’s Creation while, at the same time, supporting the meat, dairy or egg industries! Adopting a plant-based diet helps us participate in the restoration and healing of God’s Creation.
2. This Week’s Famous Quote
"To the greatest extent possible, I try to make choices that involve the least amount of cruelty and environmental damage. I'm interested in sustainable agriculture, environmental issues, human rights, and my interconnectedness in the web of life. It is a great pleasure for me to find products and practices that have a positive effect on living beings and the environment, rather than a negative one."
~ Vesanto Melina, registered dietitian and co-author of books that have become classics in the field of vegetarian, vegan, and raw foods nutrition.
3. Humanity’s Role in Creation
Rabbi Lawrence Troster, the Rabbinic Advisor for Hazon, the largest Jewish environmental organization in the American Jewish Community, and Rabbinic Scholar-in-Residence for GreenFaith, the interfaith environmental coalition in New Jersey, explains the four different models in his view exist in the Hebrew Bible about the human relationship to Creation. These are:
- The Caretaker: where humans are viewed as stewards of Creation on behalf of God.
- The Farmer: where humans work and serve the land as the source of all humanity's life-giving
sustenance.
- The Citizen: where humans are considered part of a Creation community in which they are
"citizens and not conquerors."
- The Creature: where humans have neither primacy nor even a special place in God's eyes.
To read the article please search online for
Four Biblical Voices on our Relationship to CreationI think these four models explaining our role in God’s Creation highlight the sacredness and privilege of being stewards of it. Sadly, we have become instead tyrants and victimizers as it shows in our relationship to other humans and God’s animals. I truly believe there is still hope for humanity if we realize soon that a path of compassion and love is conducive to healing and reconciliation. Only then we can call ourselves good stewards of God’s Creation.
4. This Week’s Bible Verse
(RSV) Luke 6:36
"Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful."
We are made in the image of God, who is a God of Love and Mercy. Therefore, since we share this essence of love and mercy we are called to reflect these traits onto all Creation. Love and cruelty cannot coexist together. Either we love and show mercy, or we don't. Each Christian should ask him/herself this question at the time of making food choices.
5. “Globally Significant” Marine Extinction
Overfishing, pollution, loss of habitat and climate change are causing devastation in the ocean where many species are at the brink of commercial extinction. The International Programme on the State of the Ocean.org has issued a report stating the catastrophic effects of irresponsible human activity that may cause much hardship to the generations to come. This report urges authorities and people everywhere to act rapidly and accordingly in order to prevent "globally significant" marine extinction. To read the article, please search online for
Our legacy: a dead ocean?We might be at a point of no return, where the consequences of our actions will prove too detrimental for our planet and its inhabitants. What does it say about us, stewards of God’s Creation, that we would rather seek pleasure, profit and power - in spite of the suffering we cause - than to make mindful choices that would benefit everyone? Our actions and choices ought to be aligned with our Faith, and clearly, what we are doing to the ocean and marine creatures goes against Christ’s teachings of compassion, mercy, love and justice. In fact, we should be ashamed of how trivially we have handled the sacred task of caring for God’s Creation!
6. This Week’s Video – Why Vegan? By EVOLVE! Campaigns
This is a great video from
Evolve! Campaigns that helps the viewer understand, very clearly I might add, the many reasons why people choose to adopt a plant-based diet and a compassionate lifestyle. To watch it please visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GrbYVsK7vs&feature=share and share with friends and family!.Return to CVA Blog - Home Page
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