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The Fellowship of Life |
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By Margaret Lawson Animals Because: "billions of our fellow animals are abused and slaughtered
each year for human consumption; millions of people die each year of
chronic diseases associated with consumption of animal flesh; our soil,
water, forests and other vital and largely irreplaceable natural
resources are being destroyed by the insatiable demands of agriculture;
and, vegetarianism represents the only effective solution to these
critical problems that threaten our very existence" (e.g. the land
required to support one meat-eater would support seven to ten
vegetarians and there is a loss of 90 per cent of the protein feed fed
to animals) the International Vegetarian Union in 1982 declared October
to be "reverence for life" month - "life" including all living
creatures, human and animal, plants and their environment. Already in October we have the Week of Prayer for World Peace from
the 21st, World Food Day on the 16th, supported by a great variety of
organisations, World Day of Prayer for Animals on the nearest suitable
Sunday to October 4th, the birthday of St Francis of Assisi. It was also
in October that one of the greatest of modern vegetarians and
humanitarians was born, namely, Gandhi. Faced with such widespread injustice it is tempting to sit back and
do nothing, but there is something each one can do and, of all people,
Christians ought to do, and that is to refuse to eat the bodies of
slaughtered animals, or, if this is too much to ask all at once, at
least to cut down on the amount of meat consumed in a week, and support
where possible the work of one or more organisations which are concerned
with the betterment of God's creation. Life and Work http://www.churchofscotland.org.uk/lifework/index.htm Return to Margaret Lawson: Letters |
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