Okay.
This is getting a little personal.
I never thought I would be this type. The "granola" type who shops at the co-op and has a compost bin in their backyard. My parents taught me to recycle, and once when I asked my dad "If the Earth is going to be restored to its paradisiacal glory, why bother?" He responded "I still believe the Lord holds us accountable for how we treat it."
Recently I have a read a book that has made me start to think. Will the Lord hold us accountable for the way we treat animals too? I have tried various levels of vegetarianism but I never felt like I could defend my choices with either logic or principle. But now I think I have sorted it all out. I have based my choices on two ideas:
1. I can eat an animal if I know that the animal has had a good life. "For, behold, the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air, and that which cometh of the earth, is ordained for the use of man for food." (D&C 49:19) For me this means I am willing to pay more for animals who weren't raised in stacked cages in warehouses.
2. The Word of Wisdom suggests that the "flesh of beasts...are to be used sparingly". All things in moderation, no?
So, while I am not yet a member of PETA, because obviously I still plan to eat animals, I suppose I've evolved in my eating habits. I can't promise that I won't eat meats at a restaurant, or when offered to me as the guest at someone's home. But I've resolved to do something.
I've signed up for a local CSA. (Community Supported Agriculture.) And yesterday I took the boys out to another local farm to buy some free range chickens to freeze for the winter. Giving Cameron the chance to put on his boots and see horses and cows is just an added bonus.
Like I said, this is personal, these choices are personal. Why am I sharing this? The same reason we share many things on our blogs. To broaden each other's horizons and cause us to think.
5 comments:
Jo, I really liked this post because I feel like most people go too far to one side or the other on this issue. I think that most people (myself included, but I'm working on it) eat too much meat in their diet. On the other hand, I feel like God has made it clear that the animals are for our use. So I don't think that I need to stop eating meat all together. There has to be a happy medium somewhere.
One other random thought. I sometimes wonder how all of the growth hormones in chicken and beef affect our bodies. Thanks for the post.
Your craft blog is super cute! I love the ideas you have come up with. You are the type of person we need on our enrichment board. I am probably going to make some of the blocks with the letters on them. Thanks for sharing.
I read this post and wasn't really sure what to comment. I know we have talked about this subject quite a bit, so I think you know my thoughts. I will say that I am not sure I could get on board with whole chickens being in my freezer. :)
I love Cameron's cowboy boots. I hope he doesn't call them what Ben did when he was that age. I'm sure that you set a much better example than I did:)
I think it is great to know what we are eating, or at least be able to pronounce it. We are such an instant society, that even cooking good wholesome, natural food is less popular than it should be.
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