I feel I must comment on J. White's letter when he states that God
intended animals for us to eat. Man does not need to kill to live.
If the majority of people had to slaughter I am sure they would
never be able to eat meat again.
Most people associate animals bred for food with pleasant fields
and hens pecking in farmyards. This is a myth perpetuated by vast
companies whose profit seeking has blinded them to the fact that
animals have a right to decent conditions. After all, eggs and bacon
would not sell as well if the truth emerged.
Animals do not only suffer at the slaughter-house. They are
denied freedom of movement, exercise, and even the natural food for
which they crave, to mention just a few cruelties.
If we are aware of these crimes against innocent creatures,
remain indifferent or turn a blind eye, then we are guilty of the
sin of omission.
Incidentally, it is grossly uneconomic to produce animal based
protein. If we abstain from flesh eating we are sharing the world's
food supply more fairly. England could be self-supporting on
first-hand vegan foods, while neither England nor the world can
support 'two population explosions' - that of man and of the
millions of animals deliberately bred to satisfy the short-sighted
greed of meat-eaters.
To sum up, as the modern German theologian, Fr. Ruland states,
'Like us, the animals desire to live, shrink from pain, and seek
pleasure.'
Irene Casey
(7/10/79)
