PETA V.P. to Cardinal George: Go vegan for Lent
Friday, February 12, 2010
Comments (30)
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) vice president Bruce Friedrich sent this public letter to Cardinal George this week asking him to consider going vegan for Lent. The first paragraph is intriguing. Apparently the two have a history of correspondence.
I know, whenever someone brings up the word "vegan" 9 out of 10 people in a room shudder to think at what their lives would be like without even eggs and dairy. And the thought of the Archbishop of Chicago going vegan seems implausible at first. But with all this push for a recoverd "orthodoxy" in the church, the idea isn't so crazy. Lenten fasting in the Orthodox church requires abstinence from meat, dairy, and eggs (also olive oil and alcohol).
Full disclosure: I am an animal lover and a vegetarian myself. But I tend to shy away from soap box explanations as to why I choose not to eat meat, so you're not going to get that here. Chances are, you've heard others' rationales elsewhere. And if you haven't, the Internet is a great place to search for reasons why one would take on this lifestyle. Friedrich's brief letter gives plenty of good, even Christian , reasons.
I hope that Cardinal George seriously considers Friedrich's challenge. While I'm not a strict vegan (although my dairy sensitivity makes me pretty close) and am not planning to become one, I call upon my Christian values daily to help me make food choices that are respectful of the earth, of animals, of other humans, and of myself. I would be strengthened in this if I knew that the Cardinal was making a similar journey during Lent.
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I'm Vegan for Lent
By Bogdan (not verified) on Tuesday, March 15, 2011Orthodox Christians go vegan for Lent. It's not that difficult actually.
And fasting for 50 days on a vegan diet is not unhealthy. Plenty of monks have fasted for decades on far stricter diets. All Christians in ancient times fasted far more rigorously than we do. Christ ate and drank nothing for 40 days (and many saints did as well), sustained with communion with the Trinity.
If our efforts are combined with prayer and almsgiving (which is the only true way to fast), our Lord will sustain our bodies.
The Truth About PETA, Vegans and Organic Foods
By The_Truth (not verified) on Saturday, April 3, 2010First off, let me disclose that I am also a big animal lover & have rescued countless animals, including all the ones I personally have as pets. With that said, I wanted to present some realities about the following issues that may be big eye openers for some of you:
***PETA: They are a HORRIBLE organization. In fact, they are a TERRORIST group that has been labeled as such by the FBI (and PETA even admits to this on their own website). The militant wing of PETA is known as the ALF (Animal Liberation Front) to which PETA provides substantial funding, including direct payments to felons. They actually have people on the payroll that go around teaching kids how to construct crude Molotov Cocktail-like bombs (videos exist of this). PETA's founder & mentally unstable nutcase leader called one of those guys (convicted of arson who started at least 7 fires) "a fine young man."
Moreover, in their 2002 tax filings, they purchased a giant $10K freezer. For what? Yep, for the animals that THEY kill. Yes, PETA KILLS animals. That year, PETA took in 2,103 animals and they KILLED 1,325 of those... thus, more animals died than were saved by PETA.
***VEGANS: It is overtly obvious that God intended us to be omnivores. How do I know this? Besides the fact that Jesus wasn't a vegan, the structure of our teeth clearly shows that we were intended to eat meat. That is precisely what our canine teeth are for. In mammals that are herbivores, they have more molars to chew on.
The Truth About PETA, Vegans and Organic Foods (Part 2)
By The_Truth (not verified) on Saturday, April 3, 2010Continued:
Over the course of human evolution, our jaws have become smaller (via our use of tools and thus meat) and so we now end up with too many teeth for our jaws to handle (e.g. wisdom teeth). This is precisely why dental work is basically the only part of our bodies that needs regular attention & surgery in the vast majority of people. If you look at other mammals in the wild, virtually all of them have perfect sets of teeth in terms of alignment where as in humans this is rarely seen without dental work.
***ORGANIC: Eating organic is one of the most selfish things that anyone can do. Besides the fact that it actually HARMS our planet and that it is simply a great marketing tool by major corporations who produce the vast majority of it (in fact a large percentage of organic food in the US comes from China), it kills people. Yes, that's right, it kills people.
If humans were to switch to 100% organic farming tomorrow and use all the available land for organic farming, THREE BILLION PEOPLE WOULD DIE!!!! So which 3 Billion should we kill off? I mean after all, it only around half the planet's population, so no big deal.
In any event, my wife doesn't eat meat & she purchases some of her foods as organic, so I'm not judging anyone here, I'm merely pointing out facts so that people understand the reality and aren't having the wool pulled over their own eyes. When we hold false belief schemas, the only people we are really fooling are ourselves.
Peace!
PETA V.P. to Cardinal George: Go vegan for Lent
By Bob Moore (not verified) on Monday, February 22, 2010The suggestion from a representative of PETA to Cardinal George brings up many interesting points. As part of our Lenten journey, we are called to increase our practices of prayer, alms giving and fasting. A decision to give up meat for Lent as part of our Lenten practices may be commendable, but it is not biblically mandated. The Last Supper was a traditional Seder, which would have included lamb.
We are called to be stewards of all of God’s creation. We have to recognize other species as having value, but they are not of equal importance. We have the obligation to treat all of creation humanely, and with respect. This has been part of the Judeo-Christian ethic, and is shown in Torah. Animals may be used, for meat, shelter, or research under the proper conditions.
Because the focus of this e-mail thread is a letter to Cardinal George from PETA, I feel compelled to point to a basic premise of PETA: opposition to the use of animals in biomedical research- which is essential for human and animal health. I don’t doubt the sincerity of the members of this organization, but I question their suggestion of a
Christian religious ethic.
Fasting from meat may have beneficial health and ecological benefits. Many of us have reduced our dependence on meat in recent years. This is a providential decision, but ultimately not a religious choice.
"...if it remains within reasonable limits..."
By Erik Carlsson (not verified) on Wednesday, February 24, 2010The Church's tolerance of SOME animal experiments comes with a caveat, according to the Catechism: "Medical and scientific experimentation on animals is a morally acceptable practice if it remains within reasonable limits and contributes to caring for or saving human lives." (pt 3, sec 2, ch 2, art 7)
Laboratories investigated and exposed by PETA and other animal protection groups have found countless instances of experiments that are neither reasonable nor lifesaving. 12,800 animals, including beagles and monkeys, were killed to bring us Splenda - hardly a lifesaving medical breakthrough. In 2006, UCLA professor Edythe London received $6 million from tobacco giant Philip Morris to study smoking, despite the blatant conflict of interest and the fact that the dangers of smoking are already known. Last year, an undercover investigation by the Humane Society of the United States revealed psychological suffering of primates in research laboratories.
The Church also calls for compassion for farm animals. Our Holy Father strongly condemned factory farming, saying: "hens live so packed together that they become just caricatures of birds, this degrading of living creatures to a commodity seems to me in fact to contradict the relationship of mutuality that comes across in the Bible."
http://www.humanesociety.org/about/departments/faith/facts/statements/pr...
Sacramentality (in response to Jim)
By Sr Anne Flanagan (not verified) on Wednesday, February 17, 2010Jim, I was a bit taken aback by your comment that "The laws of Kosher govern nearly every action and give it a religious significance. A very holistic approach to spirituality that Christianity doesn't have."
While the specifics of Kosher law were not required in the early Church (Jesus having fulfilled everything in himself), Catholics actually do have a "holistic approach to spirituality," even if many in our culture have lost track of it to a great degree. We find it in our sacramental principle. While this is especially lived in the liturgy, the sacramental principle basically means that the invisible is manifested through the physical. Pope John Paul II emphasized this in his Theology of the Body, but it is also why Catholics say grace before meals, use ashes (and fast!) on Ash Wednesday, wear medals and scapulars and bless themselves with holy water (or candles, on St. Blaise's feast day).
Sadly, many of the day to day expressions of this holistic spirituality have been lost in the past two generations; they were thought to be archaic and their true depth was unrecognized. However, young adult Catholics seem to be looking for such an embodied expression of faith, so we may see the sacramental principle again come to full expression.
Sr Anne-
By Jim (not verified) on Wednesday, February 17, 2010I guess maybe what I meant to say was that, for me, when I compare what a faithful Jew is obligated to do-613 Mitzvot-and what I am obligated to do - 4 precepts-it just seems to me that the Law of Moses governed a lot more of daily life.
The dietary Laws apply to every meal, every day, everyone. It is commanded by God-required.
Wearing sacramentals, saying grace, wearing ashes-all optional.
I understand that the Law is not required for Christians. I am just thinking about the wisdom that is under the Law, and part of it is the idea of having God on your mind constantly.
Vegan for Lent?
By Mary Derschan (not verified) on Wednesday, February 17, 2010One should be very careful in urging people to become Vegan without advising them of the dangers. A Vegan diet is good only if you know how to get the proper vitamins and mineral for your body. Proper education on a Vegan Diet is essential before starting this diet. It is not an easy way to go and still remain healthy.
Dangers?
By Maya (not verified) on Thursday, February 18, 2010The average American meat-eater's diet is what's dangerous, as well as being incompatible with the Holy Father's condemnation of factory farming. It's not the vegan diet that needs to be supplemented with laxatives, blood pressure pills, the lactase enzyme, antacids, cholesterol-lowering drugs, blood thinners, heart medication, pacemakers and bypass surgery.
This Lent, we should consider the words of Saint Basil:
"The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof. O God, enlarge within us the sense of fellowship with all living things, our brothers the animals to whom thou hast given the earth as their home in common with us. We remember with shame that in the past we have exercised the high dominion of man with ruthless cruelty, so that the voice of the earth, which should have gone up to thee in song, has been a groan of travail. May we realize that they live, not for us alone, but for themselves and for thee, and that they have the sweetness of life."
prayer of St. Basil: vegan diet
By kathy (not verified) on Friday, April 2, 2010What a beautiful prayer! I have been trying to find the original text, but can't. What is the source?
It so perfectly expresses my own thoughts.
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