This week I ran across an excellent mini-series of posts by evangelical theologian and church leader Greg Boyd, starting with Why I'm a Vegetarian.  I hope to review Boyd's posts in the near future, but in the meantime I wanted to pass along a can't-miss video from Mercy for Animals which he mentioned.  It's a powerful summary of what goes on in the factory animal farming industry.  The video is graphic when it needs to be, but here's a challenge: watch as much as you can, and the 12 minutes as a whole if at all possible.  It's an incredibly affecting awareness builder, and it can only be hoped that the day isn't far away when everyone in our churches and society will be familiar with what's behind the vast majority of our animal products.

If you find yourself unable to watch, and I must admit I can only stomach so much myself, I would just ask whether the mechanism which prompts us to tune out the harsh realities isn't the same one which blots them out of our mind when we're at the grocery store or out to eat?  If there is a disparity between what we're willing to look in the face, quite literally, and put on our plates, then isn't this a matter of Christian conscience?  I should note that while the video calls for a vegetarian diet in response, please don't let that prevent you from considering how God wants you to respond personally.  Maybe that means cutting down on meat or other animal product consumption, or replacing them with more humanely raised alternatives, along with vegetarian options.

God calls us to bring what is dark into the light, and in that vein a short intro to the video is titled Hidden from View:

Here's the full video, From the Farm to the Fridge: