another green step

To celebrate Earth Day, I thought I'd share this very practical and encouraging post from Tracey Bianchi, a Christian creation care enthusiast and author of Green Mama, on cutting back a bit on meat for a number of very good reasons ...

I had a phase in college when I thought that perhaps I would become a vegetarian.  I had no real reason for doing so other than acting sort of hippie-ish seemed like an identity that I wanted to try on for a while.  That and a good friend at the time was a vegetarian.  Vegan was a little to extreme for my little experiment so I decided dairy would be okay, yogurt and ice-cream were close companions and I dared not part from them.

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special attachments

valuable insight from Liz Jakimow of God and Gum Nuts into the natural attachments we form with certain parts of God's creation, even certain animals, and how God can use them for an even greater good ...

Today I read an article ("Koalas, People and Climate Change: Not a Good Mix," by Christine Adams-Hosking) that told me that the koala is highly vulnerable to climate change.  This is according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, which places it in a list of only 10 species in the world.

I visit a lot of environmental sites and read a lot of environmental newsletters.  So I'm used to hearing bad news.  But this article hit me in a way few other articles have.

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christian voices for compassionate animal farming

To close out a short series on a more compassionate animal farming and diet, which previously featured the "Back to the Start" animated video and "... Also Many Animals" from Rev. Leonard Vander Zee, I wanted to link to a few other Christian voices on this critical dimension of caring for God's creatures:

- The Christian Broadcasting Network posted a commendable news segment and accompanying article on Christian "alternative farmer" Joel Salatin, "Natural Farming: Inspiring Passionate 'Stewards.'"  Salatin has received national attention in the natural food movement, including films such as Food, Inc. and books such as The Omnivore's Dilemma.  Following the video is a great quote from Salatin in CBN's article:

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my faith, God's animals and diet

I prematurely concluded our recent series on Christian voices for animals before sharing this heartfelt personal reflection from Canadian friend and animal advocate Anne Sturgeon ...

Having been raised in a loving Christian home, it didn’t feel like a huge step to believe in a loving, merciful God who wants to have a personal relationship with me.  What I do find difficult is being the best person I believe God expects me to be.  I keep returning to him knowing He will be there, waiting for me, prepared to forgive and ready to guide me, once again, if I choose! 

Since a child, I have been hearing and feeling God's loving, gentle, caring, compassionate, and merciful voice telling me to take care of His creation.  God frequently teaches me through my day-to-day life, and I feel that His handiwork clearly points to Him and His awesome, magnificent power.  God's Universe is so amazing and reveals His miracles every day.

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does wildlife need our management?

One of our community members Jenny Sue Hane has been following the recent wolf hunting developments closely, and even organized an exemplary rally in opposition to them.  This is the first part of a thoughtful post she wrote for us on taking a genuinely Christian approach to wildlife management ...

Here in the US, where I live, state game agencies are in the business of managing wildlife.  This includes issuing a number of permits to hunters every year, even for creatures that are not typically eaten and bear many similarities to domestic companion animals.  Some of the arguments for the hunting of non-food animals focus on their supposed conflicts with people and their livestock, which may be greatly overstated.  But once those are out of the way, there is another argument that the trophy hunters fall back on: the “animals need to be managed” argument. 

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embracing diversity

I'm grateful to introduce a new and multi-gifted voice to our blog in Chuck Summers, a pastor and nature photographer based in eastern Kentucky.  Following is "Embracing Diversity" from Seeing Creation, a compelling blog which he co-hosts with fellow photographer Rob Sheppard ...

“How many are your works, O Lord!” (Psalm 104:24)

We truly do live in a remarkable and diverse world.  I did a few Google searches and discovered that there are an estimated 1.5 million different plant and animal species in the world today.  There are over 10,000 different species of birds and an incredible 900,000 different species of insects.  The various species of flowering plants number around 400,000.  There are 25,000 different kinds of cherries and 264 different kinds of monkeys.  The estimated number of different trees is in the tens of thousands.

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creation care, chronic pain and a plants-based diet

Here is one last personal reflection, and a thoughtful and nuanced one at that, in our series on veganism (see the introduction and motivation) from a regular contributor to not one sparrow, Lauren Merritt of The Christian and Creation: Glorifying the Creator ...

Six years ago, concern about eating animal products was not on my radar.

I was a division-one college swimmer, busy burning thousands of calories every day and scarfing them all back down in the form of dining hall hamburgers, pizza, and ice cream.  My body paid my way through the first two years of college, doing its time in the pool and weight room.  But it didn’t hold up under the strain of training and began to break down. 

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Salmon CAFO's

The following is a thoughtful post from our friend and Christian author William Kruidenier on the question of eating fish in general, and industrially farmed salmon in particular ...

More than once, I have been asked by people who learn that I'm a "vegetarian" (vegan), "Do you not even eat fish?"  As an organic gardener who peruses numerous seed catalogs every year, I can't remember ever seeing seeds for a bush, vine, or tree that grows fish.  Why do people think vegetarians eat fish?  Or, why do people think fish are any less a form of meat than a cow or chicken?  Out of sight (beneath the surface of the water), out of mind, I guess.  I have been interested to read recently that new scientific research is showing that fish are every bit as sentient as land-based animals whose sentiency is finally being widely acknowledged.

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behemoth and batrachians in the eye of God

Dr. Cal DeWitt is one of the true fathers of the modern day creation care movement.  He founded and was longtime president of the Au Sable Institute of Environmental Studies, where he worked to expose Christian college students to both a faith-informed and scientifically sound ethic of environmental stewardship.  Cal played a formative role in the landmark "Evangelical Declaration on the Care of Creation" (2000) and Evangelical Climate Initiative (2006), in addition to authoring many personal works on the care of creation (some of which you can find here and here), and is currently professor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Nelson Institute of Environmental Studies.

Cal graciously reached out to me soon after I finished my seminary capstone paper on a Christian foundation for animal welfare, and I was deeply honored by the support he communicated.  It wasn't until just recently however, to my discredit, that I realized the depth of Cal's passion for animals and our calling to steward them faithfully on God's behalf.  This passion was keenly impressed upon me as I read his exceptional article "Behemoth and Batrachians in the Eye of God: Responsibility to Other Kinds in Biblical Perspective" (kindly posted by Drury University, bottom of page, and originally published in Christianity & Ecology: Seeking the Well-Being of Earth & Humans, 2000).

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sustainability and creation care

It's been a true pleasure to get to know Anna Clark a bit the past couple of years, through our mutual involvement in the Creation Care community at SustainLane.  Anna, who is founder and president of the sustainability consulting firm EarthPeople, has gone out of her way to be a friend and encouragement to me and not one sparrow, and we've been privileged to share a number of poignant reflections from her on our blog, including "Bless our Pets?," "The Lorax Project" (a Dr. Seuss review) and most recently "Daniel's Diet."

Last year, Anna released her first book Green, American Style: Becoming Earth-Friendly and Reaping the Benefits (Baker '10), and she told me it included some content related to animal welfare and stewardship.  Anna and her publisher graciously sent me a copy for review, and I'm grateful to have finally had a chance to read it and to pass along just a few highlights which not one sparrow readers might especially appreciate.

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