Think of the animals

Every 11 seconds a cow is led to slaughter. More than 90% of the meat we eat comes from animals kept in conditions so confining they can’t even move. Americans consume 70 pounds more meat per person than 40 years ago, and government agricultural subsidies for fruits and vegetables total less than half of one percent. The Humane Society of the U.S. (HSUS)—the world’s largest animal advocacy organization—is working to end factory farming and reduce the suffering of animals raised for food. In a sobering and spellbinding session, Christine Gutleben , HSUS’s Faith Outreach Program director raised Dumbarton’s awareness of the crisis and the United Methodist Church-backed commitment to meeting the challenge. And she offered some simple suggestions on how individual Dumbartonians could eat “mercifully.”  
 
Selected Readings
From the United Methodist Church’s Book of Discipline:
“God chose to give human beings a divine image not so we would exploit creation to our own ends but so we would be recognized as stewards of God. Dominion over the earth is a trusteeship.”
 
We support a sustainable agricultural system, a system where agricultural animals are treated humanely and where their living conditions are as close to natural systems as possible.”
 
Dumbarton member Melinda Beard’s article, “he Plight of Farm Animals”  in the January church newsletter Chips (and on the website, www.dumbartonumc.org).
 
“We support regulations that protect the life and health of animals, including those ensuring the humane treatment of pets and other domestic animals, animals used in research, and the painless slaughter of meat animals, fish, and fowl.”
 
From Dominion by Matthew Scully (speechwriter for both Bush presidents):
“Animals are more than ever a test of our character…We are called to treat thenm with kindness not because they have rights or power or some claim to equality  but in a sense because they don’t.”
 
HSUS, “Animal Ministry Guide,” www.humanesociety.org/faith