The Episcopal diocese in western Washington state (Diocese of Olympia) passed the following resolution at their annual convention in November 2008:

TITLE

Creation Care: Vegetarian/Vegan Foods at Diocesan Events

Resolved, that this 98th Convention of the Diocese of Olympia commits the diocese to offer vegetarian and /or vegan meals at all diocesan funded events where meals containing meat are served.

EXPLANATION

God created the world and all living creatures, and blessed human beings with the role of the stewardship of all creation. Offering vegetarian/vegan dishes at all diocesan events where dishes containing meat are served is a responsible and visible action of creation care. Reducing our consumption of meat reduces global warming gasses, world hunger, and animal suffering. It also offers hospitality to those who eat vegetarian/vegan for reasons such as spiritual or ethical beliefs, personal health, world hunger and environmental stewardship.

� Reducing meat consumption has a positive effect on the environment because animal agriculture is a significant contributor of global warming gasses (more than all transportation together, including cars, trucks, planes, etc.), as reported by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

� Reducing meat consumption has a positive effect on reducing world hunger because 10 times more people can be fed from a hectare of land used to raise crops to feed people than if that hectare of land were used to grow crops for animal agriculture to feed people meat, as reported by the World Health Organization.

� Reducing meat consumption shows compassion to God�s creatures by reducing the number of animals that suffer in factory farming and responds to Resolution D016 as adopted at the 74th General Convention of the Episcopal Church in 2003.

� Our diocese could extend hospitality to the increasing number of people, many of whom are young, who eat a vegetarian/vegan diet for personal health reasons or as a way of caring for God�s creation.

SUBMITTED BY

The Bishop�s Committee on the Environment

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For more information about this resolution, please contact All-Creatures.

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