A recent hashtag #farm365 that was started to showcase the
hard work and care that farmers put into producing food at a farm level really
brought some different views into farm tweeters timelines.
“Killing our fellow
beings” “Raping dairy cows (AI) and then
stealing their young for slaughter all for a few liters of milk per day” “Taking a life for a meal” “Murderers” Their views are so far off as
to say ”Earth would be better off without
humans” “A rat is a pig is a dog is a
boy” is another classic.
Little do they know domestic livestock is called domestic
for a reason. These animals are ill equipped to live without human care and
would succumb to the elements, predators and starvation in the arms of Mother
Nature in short order.
Regarding the moral aspect, yes animals feel pain. That’s
why we farmers take great measures to ensure our livestock is treated with due
care and respect. But to take the “they
can feel pain part” and turn it into “they
can comprehend their reason for existence” is wrong. A pig's heart valve
will function in a human body, but a pig has no qualms about eating grandma Sue or brother Bill for breakfast if
they should fall dead before them in the morning. They can feel pain but have
no concept of it; neither can they comprehend the concept of death or even life
for that matter. They live in the moment, and we farmers do the best we can to
make that moment the best we can. We give them shelter from the elements, food
at their every whim and protection from predators.
Now to the point where vegans have it wrong.
We were created in the image of God. Genesis 1:27 “So God created man in his own image” and
God lives In us as we can read in 1 Corinthians 6:19 “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within
you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own.”
Therefore, if we were created in the image of God and God
lives in us then human life is sacred and holy and also has meaning. And if
we are not our own, neither are we anyone else’s except Gods’.
To put animal life on
the same scale would be quite foolish and quite frankly, impossible. The only way one could even comprehend human and animal life to be of same value were if one were to take the atheist
view that God doesn’t exist. But that view has its own issues for if God doesn’t
exist then nothing is sacred, nothing is holy and nothing has meaning.
I appreciate what you are saying, and especially that you treat your domestic animals humanely and with consideration, but for me the moral issue is not as clear cut. For one thing, I don't think I'm willing to judge the rank or value of a life by the holder's ability to philosophize about its ultimate meaning. What you say about lack of self-awareness and living in the moment, for example, could apply equally to children, even to a lot of adults-- not to mention the unborn.
ReplyDeleteIt is one thing to say human life is of an essentially different nature than animal life. It is not so easy to therefore justify causing pain, terror and sorrow to these "lesser beings" when we know full well they experience these things. Animals may not be able to reflect on death, but they certainly have a sense of it, a natural resistance to it, and, unfortunately, the capacity for agony. And though my cat may not have the moral insight to therefore refrain from torturing a mouse-- I don't think he wastes much time on empathy!-- does that let me off the hook? I do understand that other beings feel many of the same things I do.
Even biblically, eating meat is sort of a divine compromise, is it not? The fact that we prey upon each other is a feature of the fall. It was not so from the beginning.
Thank you for your well thought out comment and you are right that our use of animals begins with the fall.
ReplyDeleteThe Bible reads “God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof.” So even before the fall we can see that God gave man dominion over animals. Immediately after the fall it was God that made the first use of animals “Unto Adam also and his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them.” Then when their son Abel brought the firstlings of his flock and the fat thereof unto the Lord as an offering, the Bible tells us that the Lord had respect unto Abel and his offering. In Genesis 9:3 Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things.
When God sent His only begotten son Jesus to earth to rectify the fall we read that Jesus not only ate meat, but that he guided his disciples to cast their nets where the catch was so large their nets almost broke.
My argument is that while it is not wrong to be vegan it’s certainly wrong to condemn the use of animals. If we condemn the use of animals are we not then saying we are more morally right then Morality Himself? Are we more compassionate than Compassion Himself? Have we more love than Love Himself?
Maybe we should give thought to 1 Timothy 4:1- 3 "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and the doctrine of devils; Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; Forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth."
I hope my point is coming across loud and clear that it is impossible that we humans can have a higher moral standard and understanding than our Creator.
I also hope that I’ve alleviated some of your concerns.
Louie Vetter