My sister is a vegetarian for health reasons, which is another legitimate reason to consider that type of diet. But I do agree with you that we can’t legitimately support radical organizations like PETA or the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). PETA is known for being pretty radical. HSUS is commonly known as a moderate organization but is really very similar to PETA in what it advocates and the laws it supports. In any case, it is a terrible shame that these monks were deprived of their source of income under unjust pressure.
PETA is a blasphemous organization. They once had a billboard with a pig, which read, “He died for your sins. Go vegan”, meaning the PIG died for our “sins” of eating meat. They did this right around Holy Week. Another one featured Mary crying over a chicken carcass.
I once saw a spokeswoman (am I allowed to say that?) for PETA on TV, saying it would be a wonderful thing for animals if Foot-and-Mouth disease came to this country. How is THAT good for animals? The suffering, the needless slaughter, the waste of animals that would cause!
I have to take issue with the whole flawed notion that going vagan is good for health anyway.
westonaprice.org/mythstruths/mtvegetarianism.html
Interestingly enough, it is the confinement farming which makes meat, milk, and eggs less healthful than when “Old McDonald” had his diverse farm. The loss of the small farmer in favor of corporate farming led to massive production of feedlot beef which is loaded with toxins from mold, antibiotics, and has an unhealthy ratio of Omega 6 to Omega 3 fatty acids, and is actually responsible for the evolution of deadly e-coli strains. We also have factory farm pork, eggs, etc. It was not a “bad” idea to try to feed a lot of people cheaply, but it did have unintended consequences, because we did not understand what these unnatural diets and surroundings do to the nutritional composition of the products.
One Catholic idea not mentioned much is the Principle of Subsidiarity. This was postulated by Pope Loe XIII (the pope who was an invalid before he got his own goat herd, and drank goat milk, by the way) Things that can be done best at a local level are best left at a local level. The loss of the local family farm has been bad for the dignity of work, the dignity of the farmer, and the dignity of animals, and bad for the quality of our food supply. This principle, when applied to growing food, is not a radical idea, and does not put animals at the level of the human.
I am totally against PETA shutting down the monks’ egg operation. They were not being cruel. They were doing what the industry told them was the best for the chickens. I have been to Mepkin Abbey, and I think they had a great idea, even selling the manure tea bags from the chicken waste. I wish that instead of giving up chickens, they would simply follow the lead of Joel Salatin, and make some chicken tractors, raise pastured eggs. They taste better, have more Omega 3 fatty acids. They could follow with some Jersey cows eating the lush, fertilized grass, and sell raw grass fed milk. Or, they could sell grass fed beef. There is a HUGE market for all of that in Charleston, and people are willing to pay the extra cost. They could sell direct to the customer and not have to share profits with grocery stores.
The monks might not eat meat themselves, but they did sell their old chickens to a soup company, so I don’t see what the disconnect would be if they raised beef.
Veal is another story. Milk replacer is not healthful, so I would only eat veal raised on real milk. Not likely in a confinement operation.
Speaking of confinement operations, my husband once had a contract with a hog farm. The conditions were so bad, he had to quit. Sows unable to move around, forced to farrow in little crates. Even with the ventilation running, the ammonia build-up is stifling. The waste has caused all sorts of groundwater and surface water problems here in the South. We were better off growing tobacco.
Despite my dislike for factory farms, I have no tolerance for do-gooders such as PETA. I don’t like comparing their ads to those against abortion. It is perfectly moral to kill an animal humanely, for food or clothing, and if we compare it to killing a human, we are going against our Catholic faith, which tells us we are uniquely created in the Image and Likeness of God.
