Weekly Newsletter - October 15, 2014
From Christian Vegetarian Association (CVA)

  1. Feedback on Our Revised Booklet
  2. Harming Animals Harms Humans, part 2: Hunger
  3. This Week’s Sermon from Rev. Frank and Mary Hoffman

1. Feedback on Our Revised Booklet

A CVA member writes:

I absolutely LOVE CVA's new booklet! Kudos!!! I believe it will reach many more "types". I will be sending an order and donation in soon. Many thanks to all at CVA for all of your hard work and the sacrifice it takes to get it all done and reach so many. There can be no doubt that Jesus would approve wholeheartedly! Peace.

To see the booklet, go to www.christianveg.org/honoring.htm. The challenge now is to get this out to Christians. We need volunteers at Christian concerts, revivals, and other events (see below). Also many Christian book shops and other stores will allow us to stack booklets for free distribution.

Upcoming Activist Opportunities

10/23/2014 OH, Newark Newsboys
10/25/2014 CO, Denver Matthew West
10/25/2014 OH, Lima Newsboys
10-25-26/14 MA, Boston Vegetarian Food Festival
10/26/2014 TX, San Antonio Casting Crowns
10/30/2014 IN, Evansville, IN Casting Crowns
10/31/2014 MO, Springfield Casting Crowns
10/31/2014 TX, Corpus Christi Newsboys
10/19/2014 TX, Dallas Texas Veggie Far
11/01-02/14 AZ, Tucson VegFest Tucson
11/06/2014 MN, Duluth Newsboys
11/06/2014 FL, Jacksonville Casting Crowns
11/08/2014 WA, Seattle David Crowder
11/08/2014 MI, Muskegon Newsboys
11/08/2014 NC, Greensboro Casting Crowns
11/14/2014 PA, Bethlehem Newsboys
11/15/2014 FL, West Palm Beach Casting Crowns
11/20/2014 GA, Macon Third Day
11/22/2014 OK, Tulsa Casting Crowns
12/04/2014 VA, Fairfax Casting Crowns
12/05/2014 PA, Reading Casting Crowns
12/07/2014 PA, Pittsburgh Casting Crowns
12/10/2014 MN, Rochester Newsboys
12/11/2014 LA, New Orleans Third Day
12/18/2014 MN, St. Paul Newsboys
12/20/2014 FL, Tampa Third Day

2. Harming Animals Harms Humans, part 2: Hunger

One-third of the world’s harvested grains is fed to nonhumans for the purpose of generating meat, flesh, and eggs, and in the United States this figure is two-thirds. Most of the plants’ energy, much of their nutrients, and all of their fiber is lost in this process. It is well known among animal advocates (and anyone else concerned about world hunger) that we could feed far more people with plant-based diets than animal-based diets.

There are other important factors that lead to hunger, however. Free-market economies utilize resources in the most economically efficient manners, and it is more profitable for corporations and governments to use farmland to generate foods that those with money want (i.e., meat, eggs, and dairy) than to generate foods that those with little or no money need. Political conditions, such war, ethnic strife, and political disenfranchisement of poor people, often relate to economic conditions and contribute to hunger. I will comment in future essays on how addressing economic and political issues is closely linked to addressing animal issues.

What about raising animals on lands that are not suitable for growing crops? Many impoverished people receive much-needed nutrition this way. Putting aside important animal welfare and environmental considerations, I find this question quite interesting from an intellectual standpoint and at the same time quite irrelevant from a practical standpoint. Intellectually, I think about how acceptance of grazing on lands not suitable for crops will always encourage wider consumption of animal products, and that generates pressures to increase productivity by utilizing prime crop land to grow plants for farmed animals.

From a practical perspective, we have (and probably should have) limited control over what impoverished people do to survive. What matters most to humans and nonhumans are the choices made by those of us with access to a wide range of healthy, nutritious (and tasty!) plant foods.

Stephen R. Kaufman, M.D.

3. This Week’s Sermon from Rev. Frank and Mary Hoffman

God Hears Prayers, but We May Not Like His Answers

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