1. Activist Feedback
2. Christianity and Animal Rights, part 8: What Is
Humanity’s “Natural” Diet?
3. This Week’s Sermon from Rev. Frank and Mary
Hoffman
1. Activist Feedback
Activist extraordinaire Rick Hershey of St. Louis, MO was in New York
City this weekend for, among other things, the Veggie Pride Parade.
Before the parade, he leafleted at New York’s largest SDA church and
then sent the following report:
I handed out about 425 booklets at Ephesus Seventh Day Adventist
Church in Harlem. Some of the people from the congregation were
leafleting info about their church and they were initially a bit hostile
toward me; one suggested that I go somewhere else. I pleasantly told her
that I was okay where I was and thanked her for her suggestion though.
When she went to throw away the booklet in the trash, I intercepted,
thanked her, and re-gifted the booklet.
People gradually warmed up to me and eventually invited me inside
after services and introduced me to the senior pastor, Dr. Dedrick Blue.
He was interested in our organization and asked about obtaining more
booklets. I gave him my remaining booklets (175). .
Upcoming Activist Opportunities
Contact Paris at
christian_vegetarian@yahoo.com if you can
help. To find out about all upcoming leafleting and tabling
opportunities in your area, join the CVA Calendar Group at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/christian_vegetarian/
.
2. Christianity and Animal Rights, part 8: What Is
Humanity’s “Natural” Diet?
I have been arguing that animal rights is essential not only for
animal protectionism (as mandated by the Bible) but also for human
rights and human well-being. People have generally defended exploitation
and abuse of animals on the grounds that humans are superior to nonhuman
beings. Indeed, it appears that one reason that humans kill and eat
animals is to demonstrate this supposed superiority. (See Meat: A
Natural Symbol by Nick Fiddes.) Are humans actually meant to eat flesh,
and, if not, what are the implications of living in a way that does not
accord with our nature?
Milton R. Mills, MD has reviewed the literature on the comparative
physiology of humans and animals. He has made a compelling case that our
bodies most closely resemble herbivores (who eat only plant foods) and
not, as most people believe, omnivores (who eat both plant foods and
animals). (See http://www.sailsarana.com/whocares%20files/anatomy.pdf.)
Similarities with herbivores, but differences from omnivores, include
numerous aspects of mouth and dental structures, saliva composition,
stomach acidity, stomach volume, length of intestines and colon, kidney
urine concentration, and nail structure. It is curious that people
rarely eat raw flesh, and they do not seem to have much of a taste for
cooked flesh, either. People almost always add flavoring to flesh, such
as salt or more complex sauces or spices. In contrast, many people enjoy
vegetables without additives.*
Though evidence indicates that humans are designed to eat plant
foods, herbivores can consume flesh, which is how mad cow disease
spread. There is evidence that early humans ate some flesh, and there is
archeological evidence of consumption of animal flesh among early
humans. These findings do not demonstrate that early humans consumed
much flesh. When food sources were scarce, particularly protein-rich
sources, there were incentives to pursue flesh. Hunting was one option,
though it was difficult to kill animals with crude stone-age weapons.
Many anthropologists believe that scavenging for carrion was likely the
main source of animal flesh among early humans. In Man the Hunted, Donna
Hart and Robert W. Sussman have made a compelling case that human
tool-making and social organization were largely spurred by the need to
avoid becoming prey, not to prey on other animals.
We are intelligent, socially sophisticated creatures whose skills at
developing and transmitting culture have made us much more powerful than
any other creatures on earth. Attributes that evidently developed
primarily for human defense against predators have become potent
offensive weapons. Humans have found it convenient and adaptive to
dominate animals and nature. Indeed, humans heavily populate nearly the
entire land mass of the earth. However, killing is not a fundamental
part of our nature, and the consequences of teaching children (who
naturally empathize with and like animals) to kill innocent creatures
has profound implications. We have become so powerful that we can
rapidly change our environments; we can deplete the topsoil, drain the
earth of natural resources, and even change the climate. Our bodies
evolved (or, as some believe, were created by God) to thrive in a world
that is rapidly becoming a remote memory. If humanity is to thrive, it
must live according to its nature, which includes living harmoniously
with other creatures.
* I acknowledge David Cantor (www.RPAforAll.org) for this insight,
and I have found my extensive correspondence with him helpful.
Stephen R. Kaufman, M.D.
3. This Week’s Sermon from Rev. Frank and Mary
Hoffman
Have You Ever Been Annoyed?
http://www.all-creatures.org/sermons97/s17apr88.html .