blog-maryBlog - Joyful Curmudgeon - Blog
A Mary T. Hoffman Commentary from All-Creatures.org

 

"Joyful Curmudgeon" An oxymoron?
No! I see all the beauty of God's creation and I'm joyful.  At the same time, I see all the suffering and corruption going on in the world, and feel called to help expose and end it so that we may have true peace and compassion.

 


Be Patriotic: Go Vegan – 6 July 2008
By Mary T. Hoffman

In anticipation of the celebration of Independence Day this year, there was a lot of publicity about the eating of hotdogs (and not vegan ones – that’s for sure!). A champion eater of the most hotdogs was described as a “hero” (that’s right – the word “hero” was used).

All this mindless hoop-la concerns an activity that in reality has a detrimental effect on our country and, in my opinion, is the opposite of patriotism:

“Cutting back on meat is also good for our country and the rest of the planet in a number of ways. In 2006, for example, the United Nations released a report showing that raising animals for food generates 40 percent more greenhouse-gas emissions than all the cars, SUVs, trucks and airplanes in the world combined. People who go vegetarian miss fewer days of work and have fewer health problems, meaning that our nation's healthcare costs decrease. Changing our diet would also help the hungry. It takes about 16 pounds of grain to produce one pound of meat. That grain would go much farther feeding humans; indeed, if we were to divert the grain used in livestock production to human use, there would be enough food for everyone in the country – and the world. The environmental cost of animal agribusiness is also staggering, filling our waterways with pesticides, antibiotics and the powerful growth hormones used on farmed animals. An EPA report from 2004 states that chicken, hog and cattle excrement have polluted 35,000 miles of rivers in 22 states and contaminated groundwater in 17 states.”

From “Compassion Is Patriotic: Go Veggie” by Mark Hawthorne. To read the entire article, please visit:
http://www.all-creatures.org/articles/ar-CompassionPatriotic.html 

Also read “Independence Day? For Whom?” at:
http://www.all-creatures.org/sermons98/s20080706.html

Furthermore, I believe that making a hero out of someone who can eat more hotdogs than others is simply another example of glorifying evil in a fallen world. In Genesis 8:21 of the Hebrew Bible, God says that “…the intent of man's heart is evil from his youth.”

Ecclesiastes 9:3 states: “Furthermore, the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil, and insanity is in their hearts throughout their lives.” And in Isaiah 5:20 we find: “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil.”

Since the King James Version of the Bible mentions the word “evil” 613 times and the New American Standard Bible, 505 times, I could go on and on (but I won’t).

Go on to: Our 47th Wedding Anniversary – 7 July 2008
Return to: Don’t Apologize – 5 July 2008
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