Every seed-bearing plant

I was surprised but happy to finally see a post on the Catholic Climate Covenant website about the relationship between meat eating and climate change. I am surprised because it is so hard to find anyone in the Catholic context talking about such a connection.  The issue of food/climate/health/compassionate living and my faith are interconnected. I found some important sections of the new encyclical by Pope Francis that point in the direction I feel called... but they are yet to be reflected upon within the wider faith community. For example consider paragraph 92.

"Moreover, when our hearts are authentically open to universal communion, this sense of fraternity excludes nothing and no one. It follows that our indifference or cruelty towards fellow creatures of this world sooner or later affects the treatment we mete out to other human beings. We have only one heart, and the same wretchedness which leads us to mistreat an animal will not be long in showing itself in our relationships with other people. Every act of cruelty towards any creature is “contrary to human dignity”. We can hardly consider ourselves to be fully loving if we disregard any aspect of reality: “Peace, justice and the preservation of creation are three absolutely interconnected themes, which cannot be separated and treated individually without once again falling into reductionism.
 Everything is related, and we human beings are united as brothers and sisters on a wonderful pilgrimage, woven together by the love God has for each of his creatures and which also unites us in fond affection with brother sun, sister moon, brother river and mother earth."

I am particularly interested in the implications for acting on this paragraph in light of what is known about the animal agriculture industry. 

In the current edition of the local Catholic Sentinel there is a letter to the editor from a writer who makes the claim that "animals were created for us to eat." This sentiment is simply astounding to me. In Genesis God creates all of the animals and God says they are good... not good to eat. God also says humans are good... and not as a food supplement either. The writer of the letter seemed to think that increased meat production would help to solve world hunger.

Scripture does tell us that God gave all the creatures food to eat. To humans 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." (Genesis 1:19) God also planned for the animals saying. "And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.”

So in the beginning no living creatures were eaten. Then fast forward to the great flood, (Noah's Ark) and we discover that after this major calamity God gave some new instructions. (Genesis 9: 2-4)
"The fear and dread of you will fall on all the beasts of the earth, and on all the birds in the sky, on every creature that moves along the ground, and on all the fish in the sea; they are given into your hands. 3Everything that lives and moves about will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything.4“But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it."

Unfortunately for the animal world, humans have been living as if they are just coming off the ark for thousands of years now. And clearly, animals live in dread of us. The vast majority of creatures that live today are under the direct control of humans. Billions of animals are raised under horrible circumstances with short miserable lives so that the wealthy of the world can eat them. Even with all the artificial growth hormones and nutrients animals still need to eat in their short lives and the food that they eat is grown on land that could be growing food directly for human consumption. It takes enormous amounts of water and land to feed the billions of animals incarcerated on the animal death row of the food world.

If someone were to argue that some meat eating is ok... I would challenge them regarding how much and what kind. In scripture there are stories of killing a fattened calf for celebratory events, but these events did not take place three times a day. The shear quantity of animals killed to be eaten and the enormous amount of waste left along with water and land for feed, render meat eating a taste only for those who desire conspicuous consumption.

No, brother. Animals were not created just to be eaten. They are a marvelous part of our amazing Earth... and they are our brothers and sisters in creation. They have lives, enjoy eating and drinking fresh water, playing in the water and laying in the sun. They raise families, seek to protect their young and learn new things as they continue to evolve.