Want
to stick out like a sore thumb? Go to a church potluck and fill your
plate with nothing but fruit. Or veggies and hummus. Or, don't even
bother with a plate—because, as a vegan, there may be nothing you can
eat there.
"Why aren't you eating?"
"Because I'm a vegan."
"A what?"
A vegan is someone who eschews all animal products. Vegetarians don't
eat meat, and vegans take it one step further. As a vegan, I don't eat
meat, fish, eggs, or dairy. No cheese, no ice cream, no omelets. I also
don't eat gelatin or honey, and I don't buy leather. If it comes from an
animal, I don't consume it.
"But why?"
I get that a lot. Why would a person voluntarily give up bacon, pumpkin spice lattes, and macaroni and cheese?
Believe it or not, it all comes down to my faith. I pursue a
plant-based diet so I can better serve God's creation: the animals, our
neighbors, and the earth.
The Toots of Veganism
Let's start from the beginning. In Genesis, humans were given charge or
dominion over the animals. But what does that mean—to have dominion?
Household pets are fed, walked, and cared for; our society is outraged
over animal abuse. So why is it that we ignore our God-given dominion
over animals when it comes to food production?
Most of us know only vague details about the cruelty of factory
farming, but the suffering is impossible to ignore. Cows endure milking
machines latching onto their chapped and infected udders multiple times
per day, extracting milk produced by repeated forced impregnation. Cows
and pigs both experience depression and anxiety from being trapped in
too-small gestation crates and pens, and frequently develop sores and
infection from standing in their own waste. Male chicks, useless to the
egg industry, are discarded en masse in dumpsters, where they either starve to death or suffocate under the weight of the other babies.
These are the creatures created by God, the "livestock, small animals
that scurry along the ground, and wild animals" (Genesis 1:24). These
are the creatures over which God has given us dominion. God tells us,
"clothe yourselves in tenderhearted mercy, kindness . . ." (Colossians 3:12).
There is no compassion in factory farming, no kindness in the treatment
of these poor creatures that God created. As Christians, we are called
to reach out, to protest, to fight—not to affirm this practice for the
sake of our own gain.
Fostering Neighborly Compassion
This compassion extends to our neighbor, as is stated in God's second
greatest commandment: you shall love your neighbor as yourself (Mark 12:31).
It's easy to forget about one's neighbor while standing at the deli
counter or comparing prices on ground beef, but our food choices at the
local grocery store affect our neighbors both near and far. Among those
most heavily impacted are the economic lower classes, both at work and
at home. Slaughterhouse workers face some of the most dangerous working
conditions and lowest wages in America. Injuries incurred in
slaughterhouses and packing plants are often ignored and underreported,
leaving workers bankrupt or crippled.
Additionally, factory farms are hugely destructive and toxic to neighboring communities. Peter Singer, in his book The Ethics of What We Eat,
writes about a family who lived near a factory farm. Their house was so
overrun with pests that they caught up to 40 mice per day, and the air
and water were so riddled with waste and disease that their little boy
regularly became very sick; they even found maggots in his stool. These
families are our neighbors, the ones we are called to love, and I can
only think of them when I consider my call to heal the sick and remember
the poor (Matthew 10:8, Galatians 2:10).
Land use affects the earth we walk as well as the neighbors we share it
with. Producing a pound of meat uses 250 times more water than a pound
of grain in an age when fresh water is already scarce. Between farm
equipment, transportation, and processing plants, the factory farming
industry kicks out more carbon dioxide than the transportation industry.
As demand for meat grows, more and more acres of rainforest, native
grasslands, and woods are being torn down to make way for farmland. More
than 2,000 species have been declared endangered in less than 50 years,
and the numbers are only growing. Millions of trees are felled every
minute, reducing the amount of oxygen produced for the growing number of
breathing lungs on the planet. Our God made all things to flourish, so
when living things die by our behavior and our acts, we are not behaving
in God's image as we were made.
Factory farming and high levels of meat consumption are wildly
destructive to all that God has created. When God accused Israel of
destructive and hurtful living and bloodshed, he said, "That is why your
land is in mourning, and everyone is wating away. Even the wild
animals, the birds of the sky, and the fish of the sea are disappearing"
(Hosea 4:3). There is
something sad in this passage, something parallel to the bloodshed and
devastation that factory farming has on the people, the animals, and the
land. There are so many steps we can take to care for God's creation;
veganism is just one.
Tips, Tricks, Recipes, and Guidance
Here are some tips and tricks to pursuing a vegan diet—or simply reducing your meat consumption:
Meatless Mondays: Start small by
declaring every Monday a no-meat day. Pack your kids' lunches with
falafel or quinoa salad or homemade veggie burgers, and scour the
internet for a fun new supper recipe.
Forget the tofu: You don't need to
start eating chia seeds, tempeh, or seaweed in order to be a vegetarian
or a vegan. Start off with fruits, veggies, and grains you're already
familiar with before diving into the crazy stuff.
Don't fret about finances: Whole Foods
isn't the only place to get vegan groceries, and a bag of rice is way
cheaper than a pork chop. You can get everything you need at your local
grocery store or bulk stores like Costco—you'll even save money!
Embrace larger portions: Vegan foods
are usually lower in calories, so you'll need to adjust your eating
habits to make sure you're well fed. (I eat my salads out of mixing
bowls.)
Also, be sure to cut yourself some slack. In a perfect world, you could
switch to a vegan diet overnight. But that's not how big changes
work—make the transition in steps. I was a vegetarian for a year before I
started eating vegan at home. It took six more months before I finally
went 100 percent vegan and stopped eating eggs and dairy at restaurants
and friends' houses. Many people say, "I could never go vegan! It's too
hard!" But don't sell yourself short!
Anyone can go vegan, and with the Internet, it's easier than ever
before. There are so many supportive communities, fantastic blogs, and
mouth-watering cookbooks available to the aspiring vegan. If you're
interested in joining me and thousands of others on our journey in
healthy vegan living, here are some resources to help you on your
journey:
1. Cookbooks
The Happy Herbivore
series is full of easy, simple, and delicious recipes, many of which
are kid-tested and approved! If you're up for something a little
fancier, Veganomicon is a great resource. If you're into desserts, try Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World or Practically Raw Desserts. Looking for vegan versions of familiar comfort foods? Pick up a copy of Betty Goes Vegan. There are dozens more incredible cookbooks out there—find your favorites!
2. Documentaries
Forks Over Knives is a fascinating documentary about the health aspects of the vegan diet. Vegucated follows three people as they learn about the health and ethical ramifications and incorporate the diet into their own lives.
3. Blogs
Chocolate Covered Katie has great dessert recipes, and I've never met a child who didn't like her baked oatmeal for breakfast! Healthy. Happy. Life. and Oh She Glows both have tons of recipes with beautiful photos that appeal to every palette. Other fantastic blogs include Carrie On Vegan, Post Punk Kitchen, Choosing Raw, Taste Space, and Vegan Mother Hubbard, whose author is raising two vegan daughters!
4. People
Use HappyCow.net
to find vegan and vegan-friendly restaurants in your area, or surf the
web for vegan meet-ups, potlucks, and festivals. Make friends with your
fellow vegans and aspiring vegans; we have so much to learn from each
other! Also, the Christian Vegetarian Association has a great newsletter and some helpful materials on their website.
As Christians, we are called to compassion and love. I have found that a
vegan diet helps me live out that compassion, and provides me the
opportunity to examine the real ramifications of my daily choices.
Daniel and his men ate nothing but veggies while in King
Nebuchadnezzar's palace, and "at the end of the ten days, Daniel and his
three friends looked healthier and better nourished than the young men
who had been eating the food assigned by the king" (Daniel 1:15).
Let us join the songs of praise sung by all that God has created, all that Jesus has saved. Amen!
"Praise the Lord from the earth, you creatures of the ocean depths,
fire and hail, snow and clouds, wind and weather that obey him,
mountains and all hills, fruit trees and all cedars, wild animals and
all livestock, small scurrying animals and birds" (Psalm 148:7–10).