I am a Christian Vegetarian

After my conversion to Catholicism, I could tell people I knew wondered if I was going to give up my vegan eating habits. Perhaps because, for many people, vegetarians and the even stricter vegans are associated with the most liberal and radical fringes of our society. A born-again Christian like me does not usually belong in this category.

So have my views changed? Yes.

Am I going to give up being a vegan? No.

So, what is it to be a Christian vegan?

The Value of An Animal's Life -

"The animals possess a soul and men must love and feel solidarity with our smaller brethren'. [Animals are the] fruit of the creative action of the Holy Spirit and merit respect [and that they are] as near to God as men are" - Pope John Paul II

Some animal activists believe that the value of animal lives are equal to that of a human life. They base this belief on the fact that both animals and humans can feel pain. Now, some might argue that the pain that humans feel is qualitatively different from the pain that animals might feel because most humans are more intelligent than animals.

However, this argument falls apart when we consider a baby's suffering or a mentally challenged adult's suffering. It is not their intelligence that makes their pain any different from an animal's pain. Why then do we believe that human life is more precious than animal life, and that the pain of a human should be avoided more than the pain of an animal?

Arguing from the Christian point of view, some philosophers counter that since human beings are made in the image and likeness of God, human lives are therefore more valuable than the lives of an animal. I am not here to argue that this is not true. Though I believe that humans are capable of far greater evil than animals, they are also capable of far greater good because they are made in the image of God. Does this make their lives more valuable? Possibly.

But, my argument is that even if it is true that human life is more valuable than animal life, it only becomes relevant in the most extreme of circumstances. For example, in the kind of situation that is only relevant to ethical philosophers - i.e. being forced to choose whether to shoot a human or an animal with equal intelligence. Or, the more likely situation of having to eat an animal because your survival depends on it. In both of these cases, my instinct has always clearly told me that the human should win out.

But please don't cheer and run to your nearby fast food joint for a juicy hamburger yet.

The important question is, what does this give humans the right to do in terms of the animal world?

The following Bible passage from Genesis has been widely misused to justify using animals any way we see fit:

Genesis i: 26, 27, 28.

26 And God said, Let us make man in our image after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth

Dominion - what does this word mean? Some argue, when God gave us dominion, he gave us the power to do whatever we want to the animal kingdom.

But I would argue that God calls us to a Dominion of Love. God calls us every day to create heaven here on earth, to be perfect just like His Father. What is this perfection in terms of our diet? I would argue that it is the diet of those in the Garden of Eden - vegetarian:

Genesis 1:29

Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.

More Reasons -

I know most of you are not convinced. You are sitting at your computers with hundreds of arguments running through your mind as to why I am not right. And maybe I am wrong, maybe humans do have the right to eat animals simply to satisfy a craving. Maybe animals are on the Earth purely for our enjoyment, to eat and use as we see fit. Unfortunately, there are many other reasons why I believe a vegetarian diet is the diet Christians should strive for.

The Vatican sees an “underlying moral imperative that all, without exception, have a grave responsibility to protect the environment” Msgr. Parolin said, Vatican undersecretary for relations with states.

1. The Environment -

• More that 1/3 of all fossil fuels produced in the United States go towards animal agriculture.
• Animal production consumes an amount of water roughly equivalent to all other uses of water in the United States combined.With the water used to produce a single hamburger, you could take a luxurious shower every day for two and a half weeks.

I Corinthians 6:19-20

"Know you not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which you have of God, and you are not your own? For you were bought with a price: Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit which are God's."

2. Your Health-

The American Dietetic Association states that vegetarians have “lower rates of death from ischemic heart disease; … lower blood cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure, and lower rates of hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and prostate and colon cancer” and that vegetarians are less likely than meat-eaters to be obese.¹ Research has shown that vegetarians are 50 percent less likely to develop heart disease, and they have 40 percent of the cancer rate of meat-eaters.^3,4

Matthew 25:34

For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat.

3. World Hunger -

There is more than enough food in the world to feed the entire human population. So why are more than 840 million people still going hungry?

Our meat-based diet is partly to blame, as land, water, and other resources that could be used to grow food for human beings are being used to grow crops for farmed animals instead. It takes up to 16 pounds of grain (that could be feeding hungry people) to produce just 1 pound of edible animal flesh.

Changing Views -

So how have my views changed? Well, my behavior is very similar to what it was before. I do eat non-vegan food from time to time, and this is related to my new world view. I try to act out of love for everyone around me and sometimes I believe it is the more loving thing to keep my mouth shut and eat a cookie that someone is offering me than tell them I am vegan and bring the focus entirely on me and my eating habits, (rarely does the conversation come even close to the reasons why I am vegan). So I am less strict out of a desire to show love for my friends and family and a sincere wish not to have attention focused on me that will not help animals anyway. I also do not want people to spend energy trying to accommodate my vegan diet because then it begins to become about me rather than about the animals.

So am I less militant? Yes. Am I any less passionate about trying to be the most loving person I can be to everyone, including animals? No.