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A number of teens have a beef with meat

18 Jan 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Saint Paul in his First Letter to the Corinthians reminds readers that the body is a "temple of the Holy Spirit" in this Sunday's second reading. Apparently a growing number of teens--at least one in 20 in a recent survey--have decided that meat does not belong in the temple of their own bodies and have become vegetarian. Some attribute the rising popularity of the practice to graphic online videos on YouTube of animals being slaughtered for meat. According to a survey from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), about 367,000 teens, or one in 20, follow a diet that is either vegetarian or vegan. Vegetarian diets exclude meat, but the name is sometimes loosely applied. Some self-described vegetarians eat fish or poultry on occasion. Vegans cut out animal products of any kind, including eggs and dairy products. Other surveys suggest the rate could be four to six times as high among older teens who have more control over what they eat than younger teens do. Anecdotally, adolescent vegetarianism seems to be rising in part due to YouTube animal slaughter videos that shock the developing sensibilities of many U.S. children. But there isn't enough long-term data to prove that, according to government researchers. Information on children's diet habits in the CDC survey was gleaned from about 9,000 parents and other adults speaking on behalf of those under 18. "I don't think we've done a good job of counting the number of vegetarian youth, but I think this is reasonable," Amy Lanou, a nutrition scientist at the University of North Carolina-Asheville, said of the government estimate. She works with the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a vegan advocacy group. Vegetarians say it's animal welfare, not health, that most often causes kids to stop eating meat. "Compassion for animals is the major, major reason," said Richard Schwartz, president of Jewish Vegetarians of North America, an organization with a newsletter mailing list of about 800. "When kids find out the things they are eating are living animals-and if they have a pet . . . ." Source: An article by Mike Stobbe for the Associated Press

Children jewish vegetarians of north america physicians committee for responsible medicine amy lanou vegan cdc centers for disease control youtube meat vegetarians teenagers richard schwartz

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Have a beef with global warming?

31 May 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The psalmist this Sunday asks God to "renew the face of the earth." With climate change threatening the earth's ecosystem, Rajendra Pachauri, chairman of the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, last year suggested that ordinary citizens could help by refraining from eating meat. In Belgium an entire town is taking his advice to heart. The Flemish city of Ghent has designated every Thursday as "Veggiedag"-Veggie Day-calling for meat-free meals to be served in schools and public buildings and encouraging vegetarianism among citizens by promoting vegetarian eateries and offering advice on how to follow a herbivorous diet. According to the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization, meat production accounts for 18 percent of annual greenhouse-gas emissions-more than transportation, which accounts for roughly 14 percent. Each year millions of acres of rain forest are cleared for cattle ranchers and suppliers of animal feed, further accelerating climate change. There are also human health issues. The world feeds much of its grain to cattle and other animals even as millions of people starve. Those wealthy enough to consume fatty animal products are themselves at higher risk of certain health problems, including heart disease and some cancers, say health experts. A number of organizations and countries hope to reshape meat consumption from an animal rights issue into an environmental and public health one. Germany’s federal environment agency, for example, issued an advisory earlier this year urging Germans to return to pre-World War II norms of eating meat only on special occasions. According to Tobias Leenaert, codirector of the government-funded nonprofit organization Ethical Vegetarian Alternative, since Ghent's Veggie Day was launched on May 13, environmental health officers from several other cities-including Sao Paulo, Brazil, with a population of 13 million-have expressed interest in copying the program. Source: An article by Eben Harrell for TIME

meat rajendra pachauri ghent vegetarianism climate change tobias leenaert ethical vegetarian alternative sao paulo

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Conscious consumption is caring consumption

1 May 2016 - Preaching the News for the Sixth Sunday of Easter, Cycle C

Early Christians, it turns out, were as concerned with dietary restrictions as are we, though perhaps for different reasons. The reading from Acts of the Apostles this Sunday recounts how the elders of Jerusalem laid out dietary restrictions for early Christians that involved limits on the kind of meat and animal products to be consumed. Twenty-first century vegans and vegetarians restrict the consumption of meat and animal products for health reasons, and a growing body of evidence suggests that such a diet also would be healthier for the planet for a number of reasons. Researchers found that if everyone went vegan, enough food could be produced to feed the growing world population until at least 2050 without the need to contribute further to deforestation, where forests are destroyed to create agricultural land. A team of researchers from the Institute of Social Ecology found that the way to make sure there is enough food in the next three decades is if the world turns vegan by cutting meat from the diet and eating organic products. This transition not only might help save the forests across the globe but also would promote a healthier lifestyle. Shifting to lower meat consumption, vegetarianism, and lower-yield organic farming techniques could help produce enough food for the growing world population, the researchers found. Animal agriculture is the leading cause of deforestation and habitat loss, with 50 percent of the world's fertile land already dedicated to livestock grazing. As the amount of land needed to support the growing population continues to increase each year, without a decrease in the consumption of meat, further deforestation is the expected outcome. Other evidence points to a similar conclusion: Meat provides 17 percent of global calorific intake, but it requires a disproportionate amount of water and feed. More land is given over to grazing animals than for any other single purpose worldwide, and livestock account for between nearly 20 percent of greenhouse emissions leading to global warming—about as much pollution as comes out the tailpipes of all the world's cars. Ruminant livestock, such as cattle and sheep, have stomachs containing bacteria able to digest tough, cellulose-rich plants. But along the way, huge volumes of gases are emitted. The UN's Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that the world’s domesticated ruminants annually release 100 million tons of methane—a greenhouse gas 25 times more damaging than carbon dioxide. Much research in recent years has looked at what is called meat’s environmental hoof print. A study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in 2013 presented findings on the quantities of greenhouse gases associated with producing a kilo of protein from different animals. Chicken proved the greenest meal option at 3.7 kg. Pork came in second with 24 kg. And cattle were far behind at 1,000 kg. Lessons drawn from the readings In his 2015 encyclical Laudato Si’, Pope Francis wrote: “Our indifference or cruelty towards fellow creatures of this world sooner or later affects the treatment we mete out to other human beings. We have only one heart, and the same wretchedness which leads us to mistreat an animal will not be long in showing itself in our relationships with other people. Every act of cruelty towards any creature is ‘contrary to human dignity.’ ” Jesus promised in this Sunday’s gospel that the Holy Spirit would continue to guide and teach in his name, reminding us of everything that Jesus stood for, beginning with peace: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you.” A few minutes spent watching the widely available undercover videos taken by animal advocates at slaughterhouses and factory chicken farms will be enough to convince most viewers that we need to find a more peaceful way to coexist with other living beings. Final thought in light of the news Though percentage-wise the number of committed vegetarians and vegans is relatively small in most nations, perhaps between 5 percent and 15 percent, the numbers are clearly on the rise. And a growing number of consumers are choosing a “flexitarian” diet, consciously limiting the amount of meat they consume and aspiring to a more vegetarian lifestyle. Why not take a step today toward a more sustainable diet, one that not only can improve your own health but also the health of the planet!

greenhouse gases vegetarians vegans flexitarians meat consumption

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Homily themes

15 Feb 2009 - Sixth Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B

Whether you eat or drink . . . do everything for the glory of God. Reading this passage in its larger context, Paul has been responding since Chapter 8 of this epistle to the question of whether Christians should eat meat sacrificed to pagan gods—a serious issue given how sacrifice provided a substantial portion of the meat supply. If the meat comes from the market or is served at table, Paul says, one should not worry about its origin, because all foods have become clean. But if someone raises the issue, you should not eat out of respect for the other person’s conscience. Christ has overturned the existing laws of clean and unclean, but the result is not unbridled freedom of practice. “ ‘Everything is lawful,’ ” Paul writes, “but not everything is beneficial” (1 Cor. 10:23). In other words, unity is achieved through regard for others—what “builds up”—not dismissal of their conscientiously held qualms. Where in the lives of contemporary Christians do universal principles and matters of conscience encounter one another? Do we address those issues with charity, or with something else? Homily points The experience of biblical exile is both an historical occasion and a universal spiritual problem. Alienation is part of our modern landscape as well, typified by the image of the biblical leper outside the camp. Jesus willed to return the banished members of the community back to wholeness. When we’re ready to be made whole, God is prepared to heal us.

Authors Joel Schorn

christians pagan gods meat heal

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