Being vegan: H is for...

News of the largest US beef recall last week brought to the national spotlight the abuses endured by animals in today's meat industry. Though these reports and horrific images are now fading from the media and the minds of mainstream America, reports of animal cruelty continue, and I find my commitment to the first of 6 vegan principles -- ABSTINENCE from animal products strengthened.

In light of the reported 143 million pounds of recalled beef this past week, and the 10 billion animals raised and slaughtered in the US each year for food, the second principle for a vegan...
H is for HARMLESSNESS with reverence for life

Though this may sound crude and possibly offensive to some, the primary focus of the meat industry is essentially -- death. Animals are viewed as raw materials, commodities, and product, slaughtered en masse for human consumption in the name of food.

Carol Adams in her book, Living Among Meat Eaters, notes that while a meat-eating world organizes itself around death, it is a plant-based world that organizes itself around life (p. 217). Veganism and a vegetarian diet celebrate life by refraining from practices that harm animals, and seeking to live in harmony with all living beings.

According to Joanne Stepaniak, a vegan is "a person who is committed to and practices reverence and respect for all life" (Being Vegan, p. 5). This begins in a vegan's dietary choices, but must extend to all of life's decisions, choosing to "Do the least harm and the most good".

As William Blake has said, "everything that lives is holy, life delights in life." Veganism delights in life, and as I desire to honor my Creator, veganism helps me see evidence of God's holy presence in all things. There is harmony and a "harmlessness" in vegan principles, as veganism is a lifestyle choice of peace, with reverence and awe for all that lives, moves, and breathes.

An unrealistic utopian vision? It should not be for those who put their hope in God! A vision of peaceful co-existence is found in God's Word, the Bible, the holy promises and premises of God.

Genesis paints a portrait of life in the Garden of Eden where all of God's creatures live in harmony, humanity included. Though humankind is given "dominion" over animals (or "rule" in some translations), it is not a "lording it over them". As the Christian Vegetarian Association explains, dominion is a "sacred stewardship, since God immediately afterward prescribed a vegetarian diet in a world God found 'very good'. Created in God's image of love, we are called to be caretakers of God's Creation, not tyrants over God's creatures".

Prophecies in Isaiah 11:6-9 (NCV) envision a return to that peaceful creation harmony."Then wolves will live in peace with lambs, and leopards will lie down to rest with goats. Calves, lions, and young bulls will eat together, and a little child will lead them. Cows and bears will eat together in peace. Their young will lie down to rest together. Lions will eat hay as oxen do. A baby will be able to play near a cobra's hole, and a child will be able to put his hand into the nest of a poisonous snake. They will not hurt or destroy each other on all my holy mountain, because the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the sea is full of water."

When will this take place? When "the root of Jesse" (aka "the Christ") returns as a banner of hope for the people (Isaiah 11:10). Jesus is the Promised One who will reestablish this peaceable kingdom.

Thus, for those who trust in Jesus and call Him Lord, I believe there is a call to choose the harmlessness found in veganism and a plant-based diet. We are to revere life, love all, and re-claim the peace God had originally intended in creation. That for me is "the full knowledge of the Lord", which is to cover the earth, a vision of divine encompassing love.

As we prepare to celebrate new life this Easter, may you choose life over death this Lenten season, by reducing your use of an animal product. And besides, if lions are going to eat hay in the new kingdom, you might find yourself blessed consuming a plant-based diet too!

Family ties

One book I've nearly finished reading is Carol J. Adam's Living Among Meat Eaters. While an excellent resource (which I suggest), she however does not believe that being a vegetarian in a meat-eating family can work, as it requires a second-order (deep) change of the system. (See page 135).

While I know my family is still trying to adjust to my new food choices, I am thankful that I have not experienced the resistance and pressure she describes in the book, and prepares veg folk to endure when at home. I have been very encouraged these past months by the openness of my parents, especially my mom, to my vegan diet.

When I am with my parents, we typically eat out. But last month, I was home for the holidays, and the plan one night for dinner was to eat in. My mom had found a vegetarian recipe in a magazine she wanted to try. She had purchased all the ingredients, but when I arrived home, she had not begun to cook. She was waiting for me before she started to see if there was something in the dish that I couldn't eat, or if there was something special needed. As I looked over the recipe and explained to her that I would not want the cheese, she suggested that it may be best for me to prepare the dish as she watched and fixed something on the side with meat for my dad.

Though she didn't say it, this would have been her first attempt at cooking a "vegan dish" and I think she wanted to make sure it was right for me. Thus, at her urging to cook, I followed the rice and beans recipe she had cut out from a magazine, using the ingredients she had set out, substituting spices to make it less spicy so she and my dad could also enjoy it, and fixing the dish in her large frying pan. Unfortunately, the dish didn't turn out all that great as she wanted me to use her leftover rice. (The original recipe didn't specify.) Though it had good flavor, the texture was mushy and unappealing.

Attending a conference this week, I visited my parent's place for dinner. The minute I stepped into the kitchen, my mom wanted me to try the rice and beans dish she had made. She adapted the published recipe I had attempted a few weeks back, and was very excited about the results. It turned out great, and I could tell she was proud of it. I was proud of her! With her changes, using a rice cooker rather than a large frying pan, it was still very tasty, but this time, had excellent consistency, and was "press the button" easy. How cool is that! My mom's a genius.

Though I have a collection of vegan recipes I've wanted to post on this blog, in honor of my meat-eating mom, who respects my food decisions enough to work with a recipe and create a dish that I can enjoy, I've decided that her quick and easy rice cooker Rice and Beans will be the first recipe I post. Enjoy!