We recently entered Lent, the 40-day period preceding Easter when Christians have traditionally abstained from meat and dairy products in memory of Jesus’ 40 days of fast and prayer before dying on the cross. With religious devotion giving way to self-indulgence in recent times, Christian denominations gradually receded to meatless Fridays, then even fewer dietary restrictions.
Yet, Jesus’ powerful message of compassion and love for all living beings still applies in our time—now more than ever!
It’s a time when animals are raised for food under abject conditions of caging, crowding, deprivation, drugging, mutilation and manhandling. When they are trucked to the slaughterhouse for days without food or water, then bled, skinned and dismembered while still conscious. When wastes from factory farms foul the water we drink and the air we breathe. When meat production accounts for 18 percent of greenhouse gases responsible for global warming. When most chronic, killer diseases are linked to consumption of animal products.
Each of us has a personal choice to make. We can continue to subsidize these sins against nature with every food purchase. Or we can show our respect for Jesus’ message by accepting a wholesome, nonviolent diet of vegetables, fruits and grains, first mandated in Genesis 1:29.
Lent provides a splendid opportunity to explore the rich variety of meat- and dairy-free foods at our favorite supermarket.
