Celebrating Spring and St. Patricks Day with a Plant-Based Brunch

By Megan Grigorian

This month we celebrated St. Patrick’s Day, and the first days of Spring in the global north, by setting a very green, DefaultVeg table for family and friends. Food is such a central part of our celebrations, faith-based and otherwise, and meals often frame our time together in community. 

We took the opportunity to make this Sunday during Lent a little extra special this year, trying some new plant-based recipes and foods from Irish culture like colcannon–creamy mashed potatoes with cabbage, garlic, and lots of vegan butter–and a whole wheat Irish soda bread baked with nuts and dried fruits in a cast iron pan. It was a cozy, celebratory Sunday that we offer to you as you make preparations for setting your Easter table this year. Here’s one way to make new traditions with your favorite Spring-time dishes. 

St. Patrick’s Day Plant-Based Table

Irish Soda bread, recipe printed in local paper for the holiday. Replaced eggs with plant-based powder egg replacer. You can also use the recipe, and others, printed by VegNews here.

A Green Table, including Matcha Lemonade (a couple tablespoons of Matcha mixed with your favorite lemonade recipe makes this refreshing and festive beverage) and Tempeh Bacon

Green fruit salad with kiwi and honeydew, sweetened with agave syrup.

Spring Veggie Salad with Lemon-Chive Vinaigrette; a Frittata made with JUSTegg product and herbs from our garden and Beyond Sausages. You can use the base recipe here and add any veggies or proteins you like; Colcannon; Carrot Cake cupcakes with walnuts and coconut

Every time we set our table, we have the opportunity to live in alignment with our values. Setting a DefaultVeg table honors the lives of all of God’s beloved creation–human and nonhuman–in the food we serve and eat. Whether you’re planning a fun celebratory meal, bringing a dish for a potluck, cooking dinner for family, eating by yourself or with loved ones, DefaultVeg is accessible and available to you. Checkout the CreatureKind cookbook for some of our favorite plant-based recipes, and submit a plant-based recipe that’s important to you here if you’d like to share with our community. 

With love and liberation for all, we look forward to seeing more of your DefaultVeg tables this Spring. 

Accessible Plant-Based Holiday Meal Guide

By Megan Grigorian

With the holiday season upon us, CreatureKind has compiled an accessible plant-based meal guide with dishes that stay away from animal products and use ingredients that are widely accessible across the US. These recipes can be used with produce boxes and other items available through local food banks, and/or supplemented with cost-conscious ingredients at populated stores like Dollar General, Dollar Store, or grocery stores (if you have one accessible to you.) For reference, I am writing from Southeastern Virginia–local available produce will vary depending on location. 

Eating in alignment with your values should be accessible to everyone. We hope these ideas might help create a special plant-based meal on a limited budget this season, so your table can continue to include all of God’s beloved creation. If we can be of any help planning meals, please don’t hesitate to reach out. 

Breakfast $5 or less 

Cinnamon Rolls with orange glaze

  • There are some brands of cinnamon rolls that are accidentally vegan or contain less than 2% of dairy products, just check the back for a list of ingredients for dairy or egg ingredients. Cook in a convection or regular oven as directed.

  • While they are cooking, make an orange glaze using 1 cup of powdered sugar and the juice and zest of one orange. Alternatively, you can use about 2 tablespoons of an individual orange juice for the glaze. Mix until smooth and top your cinnamon rolls while they are still warm. This would also make a delicious dessert to go with dinner. Enjoy the warm sweet treat!

Tofu scramble 

  • This is one of the heartiest breakfasts, and can be prepared using really any vegetables you have access to (peppers, onions, or greens all would be tasty). A block of tofu costs around $2.50 and will make enough for four people. You’ll also need a pan, some oil for your cooking, salt and pepper (or whatever seasonings you have on hand). This dish is very forgiving. Here is how I prepare it: 

  1. Press tofu by wrapping it in a towel and putting something heavy on top (like a pan or books, this draws the moisture out so it will get to a nice texture when you cook it). Leave for at least 30 minutes. 

  2. Dice up all your veggies while the tofu presses. 

  3. Coat your pan with whatever oil you like to use for cooking (olive, coconut, vegetable–they will all work) and heat the pan on medium low

  4. Add your onions and peppers and saute until nice and soft. Salt and pepper them. Remember lots of seasoning is the trick to making a good scramble. 

  5.  Crumble up your tofu and get it incorporated with the veggies 

  6.  Season some more,  cook some more, and then add a little more. 

  7. Cook until the tofu reaches a texture that is appealing to you. I like it to be pretty firm, so I saute for about half an hour-45 minutes on low-medium heat. 

  8. Taste for extra seasoning, take off the heat. 

  9. Serve with some bread and vegan butter, or on its own. 

Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal 

Canned pumpkin puree is a popular item at food banks this time of year, and cooked with oats and some cinnamon makes a delicious, filling breakfast. Many dollar stores also carry soy milk now so you can get it at a much lower price point than other grocery stores. Liedl also has a non dairy whipped cream for around $3 that would make a great topping. You can make this on the stove or in the microwave. The recipe below from The Simple Veganista serves 4. 

Ingredients

  • 2 cup old fashioned oats

  • 1 cup pumpkin puree

  • 2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (or cinnamon)

  • 1/2 cup plant milk 

  • 3 cups water

  • pinch of salt 

  • Optional: nondairy whipped cream and vanilla extract

Instructions:

Stovetop: In a saucepan, combine oats, pumpkin puree, pumpkin spice, plant milk, 2 tsp vanilla extract (if available to you, it will be tasty without it) water, and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, and cook over a gentle boil for 3 – 4 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand for 2 to 3 minutes.

Microwave: Add ingredients in a large bowl and mix well to combine. Microwave on HIGH for 3 minutes, stopping to stir after 2 minutes. To prevent the oatmeal from boiling over, be sure to use a larger, wider bowl. Let cool a few minutes before serving.

Dinner

Cornbread


Jiffy cornbread mix is less than a dollar, and there are many ways to make it vegan. Prepare as directed by the box, using any of these substitutes for the eggs:  

  • Egg substitutes: 

    • 3 Tbsp. aquafaba (canned chickpea liquid)

    • Unsweetened applesauce. 1/3 cup in 8.5 oz Corn Muffin Mix.

    • Flax Egg: 2 tsp. ground flax seed and 3 Tbsp. warm water (let sit 15 minutes before using)

Collard Greens

This simple and delicious greens recipe is from Rev. Dr. Christopher Carter’s book The Spirit of Soul Food: Race, Faith, and Food Justice. You can use the orange juice leftover from breakfast if you made the orange cinnamon rolls.

Ingredients:

  • A bunch of collard greens, chopped

  • 1 tablespoon oil

  • 2 garlic cloves, minced

  • ⅓ cup fresh orange juice

  • salt

  • ⅔ cup raisins (you can get a small package at the Dollar Store)

Directions:
In a large pot over high heat, bring 3 quarts of water to a boil and add 1 tablespoon of salt. Add the collards and cook, uncovered, for 8-10 minutes, until softened. Meanwhile, prepare a large bowl of ice water in which to cool the collards. Remove the collards from the heat, drain, and plunge them into the bowl of cold water to stop cooking and set the color of the greens. Drain by gently pressing the greens in a colander. In a large saute pan, combine the oil and the garlic and raise the heat to medium. Saute for 1 minute. Add the collards, raisins, and ½ teaspoon salt. Saute for 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Add orange juice and cook for an additional 15 seconds or so. Be careful not to overcook, as the greens should be bright green in color. Season with additional salt to taste if needed and serve immediately. This recipe serves 5-6 people.

Candied Sweet Potatoes

This classic side dish is the most time intensive part of the meal, but uses just a few ingredients, most of which you will have on hand if you purchased them for other dishes in the meal. Sweet Potatoes always add a nice pop of color on your plate too. Recipe from AllRecipes.com.  

Ingredients: 

  • 6 sweet potatoes

  • 1 cup packed brown sugar

  • ½ cup vegan butter or margarine 

  • ½ cup water

  • 1 teaspoon salt

Instructions: 

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees 

  2. Place a steamer basket in a large pot and bring 2 inches of water to a boil. Place whole sweet potatoes in the steamer basket and cover. Cook until tender, about 30 minutes. Drain and cool. 

  3. Peel and slice sweet potatoes lengthwise into ½ inch slices. Place in a 9 x 13 inch baking dish. 

  4. Melt brown sugar, butter, water, and salt in a small saucepan over medium heat. When the sauce is bubbly and sugar is dissolved, pour over the potatoes. 

  5. Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour, occasionally basting the potatoes with the brown sugar sauce. 

Black Bean Loaf

A filling and tasty main dish packed with protein from Natasha Condie at One Green Planet, I recommend the Dollar Store for a small container of soy sauce. It adds a lot of flavor and seasoning. 

Ingredients:

  • 2 cans black beans, rinsed

  • 1.5 cups quick oats

  • 1 red bell pepper, chopped.

  • 1 carrot, chopped or grated.

  • 1 small onion, minced

  • 1 clove garlic, minced

  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce

  • Black pepper, to taste

  • Water for sautéing.

Instructions: 

  • Pre-heat oven to 350°F.

  • In a medium pan, water sauté the onions until translucent then add the garlic, pepper and carrot. Cook for about 5-6 minutes, until softened.

  • In a large bowl, combine the black beans, oats and all seasonings. Add in the veggies that you sautéed and mash with a potato masher or fork until well combine but not mushy, If it isn't moist enough add water and if too moist add oats until it holds together.

  • Spoon "dough" into a parchment paper lined loaf pan and bake for about 30 minutes, until it has developed a nice crust.

  • Serve with side dishes of your choice and enjoy!

Cake in a mug

This is one of my favorite easy desserts. It uses just a few ingredients and comes out moist and delicious each time. You can also customize it based on everyone’s tastes and get kids involved by having them pick out their favorite toppings like sprinkles or other candies. To cook, you’ll just need a mug per person and a microwave. 

Ingredients:

  • 6 tablespoons boxed cake mix, any variety works great 

  • 4 tablespoons water 

  • 2 teaspoons oil 

  • Frosting and sprinkles for topping, optional 

Instructions:

  • Rub cooking oil in the mug to prevent sticking. Mix together cake mix, water, and 2 teaspoons of oil inside. 

  • Microwave for a minute and 15 seconds (give or take 10 seconds). Remove from microwave and allow mug to cool. Add your toppings and enjoy! 

Snacks from the Dollar Store–to munch on during the day, or use for a charcuterie board:

  • They have a variety of assorted mixed nuts that are $1

  • Trail Mix for dried fruit 

  • Spicy Pickles in the refrigerated section 

  • Crackers and hummus 

  • Accidentally vegan cookies and treats–like Oreos

Products to Donate to Food Pantries 

These are foods that food banks look for all year round. Check out the needs in your local community for other ideas if you have the means to donate this year. 

  • Pop-top canned fruits and vegetables 

  • Dried fruits

  • Pop-top soups and meals 

  • Pasta meals, box rice, instant potatoes 

  • Whole grain cereals, oatmeals 

  • Peanut butter/jelly

For God So Loved the Kosmos

By: Liesl Stewart

I began my Christian faith in a U.S. parachurch organization that had a heavy focus on evangelism. When we were taught how to “share our faith with non-Christians,” John 3:16 was often the centerpiece of our persuasive efforts. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life”(NIV). The recipe for a secure afterlife for eternity was distilled into this one verse. 

My understanding of this verse was that God’s big love was laser-focused on me, Liesl, the human — and for you and every other person of the billions who now or ever have lived. It’s a wonderful truth to be so loved by God! But it’s a very human-centric understanding that I now believe ignores the full scope of exactly who and what God loves so much.

The Greek New Testament word for “world” is kosmos, and it means the wholeness of creation or the universe.1 It has been argued that, in John 3:16, kosmos refers to humanity; but the word also holds the vastness of the universe in its meaning, as well as every bit of Creation’s textured detail. God’s love surrounds and holds not only humans but all of the created kosmos. This includes the material heavens and earth and the living creatures with whom we share the world.

For God so loved the kosmos…When God chose to reveal Self to Creation, God lived among our material kosmos as a fully embodied person. Jesus interacted with people, animals, plants, and soil, and he lived within the natural systems of the world. He ate with his disciples, he walked and went on boats, and he knew what it was to feel physically tired. It’s a mistake to disembody Jesus from his Creation. As followers of Jesus, we need to make sure we have a fully-embodied theology that doesn’t ignore the material kosmos.

As Christians, do we go about life respecting and loving the Creation that God so loves? For most or all of us, I’m sure there are times and ways that we do. But as a collective, humans are falling down on the job.

Some of the worst destruction is done in the name of food production. Our prevailing globalized, industrialized food systems oppress the earth, soil, people, and animals — including orangutans.

Years ago, I wanted to spoil my family with a worthy Easter dessert. I settled on a fluffy confection and decided to crumble a well-known mass-produced cookie for its base. When my kids discovered the cookies in the cupboard, I got an outraged earful about buying a product made with palm oil. Ok, yes. They’d grown up in a home where together we interrogated our food choices, so I was in large part responsible for nurturing their food justice ferocity. Even in my own home, I was no longer safe to make food choices that went against our family’s values! But, they were right. We’d learned that palm oil is used in many foods — from crackers and ice cream to cakes and potato crisps. (Also, incidentally, it’s used in many kinds of toothpaste, cosmetics, and cleaning products.) Because of its shelf-stable properties and relatively cheap extraction methods, it’s a reliable, affordable oil for highly processed foods that sit for long periods in warehouses, cargo ships, or shop shelves.

My family had learned that palm oil production destroys orangutan habitats in Indonesia (as well as those of tigers and other creatures). 2 Slash-and-burn methods are used to clear tropical forests, making space to grow oil palm trees.3 Aside from driving orangutans from their land and destroying old rainforests, this deforestation contributes to climate-impacting greenhouse gas emissions. The good news is that advocacy efforts have helped to greatly reduce the destruction of forests, but deforestation continues.4 5 So, our family has worked to reduce our consumption of palm oil. This means scrutinizing labels because so many foods use palm oil in their production.

We also are part of a food club that buys food from ethical producers. When we learned that the peanut butter we were buying was made from peanuts roasted in palm oil, the producer agreed to put away the palm oil and dry-roast the peanuts for us.

For God so loved orangutans…

It’s not only orangutans that are suffering under the oppression of industrialized food systems. Today, billions of animals are raised and killed in industrialized factory-farming operations for food. Animals are farmed by corporations in settings where they are treated as production units, bred to fulfill their food purposes as quickly as can be profitable. They live crowded in spaces that don’t allow them to live naturally or peacefully. In this way, farmed animals are subjected to lives of suffering, what journalist George Monbiot describes as a “grotesque cruelty” that “we have somehow normalised and accepted. If you treated dogs or cats in the same way as we treat these animals, you would be sent to prison.”6

If we look at how cows live and die in factory-farming systems, we see this cruelty clearly. In a more humane system, cows would spend their whole lives grazing, but those raised for meat only do that for a part of their lives. The rest of their lives, which only last for about two years in total, are spent in feedlots where they're fattened up for slaughter.  Feedlots are overcrowded, unhygienic, and incredibly stressful for these smart and highly social creatures. Dairy cows are pushed through cycles of pregnancy abnormally quickly to ensure they continue producing milk. This is so very hard on the cows’ bodies that they are considered unproductive and therefore sent for slaughter by the time they’re four or five years old. (Keep in mind that cows live fifteen to twenty years when they aren’t killed prematurely!) Some male dairy calves are farmed to produce veal (the rest are shot soon after birth); veal calves will only live four-five months in small pens so their meat remains tender. Regardless of gender, calves are often separated from their mothers within a few days after birth, which is very distressing for both and goes against their strong maternal-child bonding instincts.

For God so loved cows…

Cow farming causes the destruction of forests as well, to make space for grazing or growing feed.7 In fact, the use of land to feed cows causes four times the amount of deforestation that palm oil production does. The earth and our shared environment are damaged terribly in order to satisfy global appetites for beef, dairy, and other consumer goods.

For God so loved the forests…

The systems that dominate food production today do seem mighty and unrelenting. It’s easy to get lost under the size and weight of the problems and feel like there’s nothing we can do or no way to overcome the harm done to our common home and fellow creaturekind. But, what small or big practical steps can we each take in our eating to reflect God’s love for the kosmos? At CreatureKind we’d love to help you think through ways to engage with this. Our DefaultVeg program helps individuals and communities embody the interdependence of God’s whole Creation to combat these exploitative systems. DefaultVeg can help you begin to make some changes that are good and right for your community’s context. 

I’m grateful that my understanding of God’s love for the kosmos has expanded to include not only humankind but also orangutans, farmed cows, and the forests of our world. This way of understanding God has been transformative for how I live – and especially for how I eat.

Let me end with a prayer.

Gracious God,
We are reminded that your amazing love extends beyond just humanity, encompassing the whole of the creation. 
As followers of Jesus, we don’t want to ignore the material kosmos but rather have a fully embodied theology that loves and respects all of your creation. 
May we be mindful of our consumption choices, seek to reduce the suffering caused to our fellow creatures, and care for the earth and all its inhabitants. 
Amen.

1. Robert G. Bratcher, “The Meaning of Kosmos, ‘World,’ in the New Testament,” The Bible Translator 31, no. 4 (1980): 430-434, Links: https://doi.org/10.1177/026009438003100406 or https://sci-hub.st/https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/026009438003100406?journalCode=tbtd.↩
2. Gabriel B. Snashall & Helen M. Poulos, “Oreos Versus Orangutans: The Need for Sustainability Transformations and Nonhierarchical Polycentric Governance in the Global Palm Oil Industry,” Forests 12, no. 2 (2021): 252, https://doi.org/10.3390/f12020252. ↩
3. David L.A. Gaveau et al., “The Future of Forests and Orangutans (Pongoabelii) in Sumatra: Predicting Impacts of Oil Palm Plantations, Road Construction, and Mechanisms for Reducing Carbon Emissions from Deforestation,” Environmental Research Letters 4, no. 3 (2009): 034013, https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/4/3/034013. ↩
4. Benji Jones, “Palm Oil is Actually Not That Bad (Anymore)”, Vox, last modified February 2, 2023, https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2023/2/2/23568192/palm-oil-deforestation-sustainable.↩
5. If you would like to read more about the important advocacy work, this article will interest you: Nathanael Johnson, “48 Hours That Changed the Future of the Rainforests,” Vox, April 12, 2015, https://www.vox.com/2015/4/12/8367267/palm-oil-wilmar-rainforests.↩
6. George Monbiot, “Be Warned: the Next Deadly Pandemic Is Not Inevitable, But All the Elements Are in Place,” The Guardian, Feb 8, 2023, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/feb/08/next-pandemic-bird-flu-mink-farms-transmission.↩
7. Benji Jones, “Palm Oil is Actually Not That Bad (Anymore)”, Vox, February 2, 2023, https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2023/2/2/23568192/palm-oil-deforestation-sustainable.↩

Nature: Lessons from Non-Human Animals

By: Ndlelende Ncube

Learning is one aspect of life that is fundamental for growth. The moment every creature enters life on this planet, it must learn to survive. Human animals learn to walk and talk while non-human animals learn to adapt and survive in the jungle, ocean, or another habitat. As human animals, we can learn about love from the Bible, as well as from the nature around us. From my experience we have much to learn from nature — from flowers that bloom to grass that withers to quiet waters in rivers to lions in the jungle to fluffy cats and dogs in our homes, nature is humanity’s best teacher.

In the chaotic world where we live, it’s time for humankind to take a step back, take a deep breath, and learn from non-human animals how to love, demonstrate care, and make a better world for all. Growing up sharing borders with wildlife in the biggest national park in Zimbabwe, I had a precious opportunity to experience and appreciate wild animal life. The way animals love, care, protect, and even fight demonstrates many lessons that can inspire humans to live a life that is God-designed. Unlike humans, I don’t believe that non-human animals have diverted from God’s creation. They seem to follow the book of how the Creator made them. As a young boy, I was fascinated by chickens, but I had a hard time with them when any of the hens or chicks would fight me. Even today, I still have some chicken scars on my body. Hens will always fight and protect their chicks, a sign of maternal love. The hen is self-sacrificing, nurturing, protective, and comforting. There is much to learn from the hen, rather than abusing them for our greedy appetites.

In the Bible, Jesus paints a beautiful picture of love and care for his people. Matthew 23:37 reads, “O, Jerusalem . . . how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings” (KJV).

Jesus uses the hen and her sheltering wings not only as a metaphor for his desired relationship with Israel but as a symbol of godly love, communicated in the image of a mother’s love for her children. To talk of patience, a hen will sit on her eggs for 21 days patiently waiting, turning her eggs, with little time to feed and enjoy herself because she knows that joy will come when the little chicks hatch. Sometimes we humans are intolerant. We can be selfish and think only of our desires. There is a great lesson here for us to learn from the hen. Psalm 91:4 says, “He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler” (KJV). Chicks trust being under their mother’s wings. In case of danger, they will find refuge under their mother’s wings. Can we as humans be trusted as a mother hen is trusted? Can other humans and non-human animals find refuge under our wings? Can other people who are different from us trust us? How do we see and preserve the homeless, less privileged, disabled, children, women, and people of color? A lesson from a hen is enough to make the world a better place for all God’s creatures.

We don’t talk much about locusts or grasshoppers, but they are special animals that I love to watch. They come in beautiful shiny colors. They have powerful back legs used to jump or fight predators. Locusts are special as individuals, but more special is their ability to function as a team. One or two locusts are nothing to worry about, but when they come in numbers, they scare entire human nations. I remember years back we had a threat of locusts in Africa. They were devouring any green plant along their way. In Zimbabwe, they shadowed the sun. Proverbs 30:27 tells us that “Locusts have no king, yet all of them go out in rank” (KJV). As humans, we cannot do much as individuals, but when we function as a team, a team of God’s creation, we are unstoppable. We can reduce climate change, we can cure diseases, and we can make the earth a better place for all. It all starts when we realize that we are all God’s creatures, and we need each other. We should not exploit each other.

Proverbs 6:6-8 says, “Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest” (KJV). In my tradition, this is a popular passage, but perhaps many of us miss the big lesson from this text. Ants are small. They are not intimidating or poisonous, but they are organized. If only humans could organize themselves as ants do, this world would be a paradise for all. Ants don’t wait for any leader or commander to do what is good work. Rather, it’s something that is within them to work. As humans, what is it within us that we are not giving to the world? It’s time we show love, compassion, and all the good that is within us and is God-given. Ants are precious creatures. No matter their size, they can accomplish great things. In my African language, there is a saying, “Ants killed an elephant,” which means we can achieve big results when all God’s creatures work and come together.

Instead of spending time and resources trying to tell the difference between humans and non-human animals, it is time for humans to listen and learn from non-human animals. Reading the book, Beasts of Burden: Animal and Disability Liberation by Sunaura Taylor, I learned how humans have exploited and abused animals because of our differences. It’s time to embrace, learn, and appreciate our differences as they make the world beautiful and worth living in. How awful would it be if the earth had only one type of creature? God in God’s wisdom made us all different creatures so that we can appreciate and complement each other.

In my early days as an animal advocate, I spent a lot of time with working animals, especially working donkeys. These poor animals are a reflection of how sick our societies have become. The abuse I saw them receive through carrying heavy loads, receiving beatings, and bearing ill treatment was unbearable to me. What makes it even worse is how people benefit from these most-abused animals. When considering hard work, humans have a lot to learn from donkeys. Agriculture relies on donkeys for transportation. Donkeys are actively serving human beings without complaining. With its power and speed, a donkey still submits to a 10-year-old boy as its driver, not because the boy is powerful, but because it is in the nature of the donkey. As human beings, we can heed the wisdom of a donkey and see that the power and dominion given to us was not to be abused, making the lives of other creatures hell, but to serve for the good of all creation.

In conclusion, I would like to submit that as human beings we have diverted from God’s original plan, and we have diverted from nature. We are the only creatures in the whole universe that are going against God’s plan and our rebellion and stubbornness hurt every creature, especially non-human animals. As human beings, it’s time we take deep breaths, examine our actions, and take time to learn valuable lessons from animals. When we come close to these special non-human creatures, there is much we can learn. We can learn love and compassion from a cat taking a nap beside us. We can learn loyalty and the importance of family from a dog; the kindness from an elephant comforting a friend; the love and responsibility from a hen taking her young ones under her wings. The valuable lessons we can learn and adopt from non-human animals can, not only make our relationships with non-human animals better, but these lessons will also help us improve our relationships with fellow humans regardless of gender, age, nationality, race, or religion.

“Did Jesus Eat Fish? Should We Eat Fish Ourselves?” (A Sermonette By Avweroswo Akpojaro)

By Avweroswo Akpojaro

A few days ago, I was talking to a very good friend who happens to be a theology student. We have been friends for many years, and we have always shared ideas about our work and passions. This time, I was sharing my thoughts about farmed animal welfare advocacy from a theological perspective. I told him we should all eat more plant-based foods as Christians because such would ultimately bring glory to God and be better for the earth. He replied that I shouldn’t say everyone should eat plant-based foods. When I asked why, he said because Jesus ate fish.  

During the last CreatureKind seminar that I organized at the Theological College of Northern Nigeria, this same question came up in the discussions. I have observed that it is a common question and frequent objection to eating plant-based meals and practicing animal welfare. Christians in my context often assume that if Jesus ate fish, then eating fish must always be a good thing because our Lord never did anything wrong or committed sin. They say Jesus is the one in whom God is well pleased. He is our perfect example, and we are to walk in His steps in living the Christian life. This way of thinking about Christ is very interesting, and we will consider it in light of the questions before us in this sermon.  

Though biblical scholars could debate the issue, I think it’s safe to assume that Jesus ate fish. This is because Jesus lived in a cultural context where fish were farmed by the people in his community. Some of Jesus’s disciples were even fishermen like Peter, Andrew, and John (Matt. 4:18-22). Jesus performed miracles that involved fish, like when he multiplied the five loaves of bread and two fish to feed the multitudes (Matt. 14:16-21), helped Peter miraculously catch a lot of fish (Luke 5:1-8), and paid his taxes using the coin from a fish’s mouth (Matt. 17:24-27). Jesus also spoke of fish in his parables about the kingdom of God (Matt. 13:47-50). He even cooked and ate fish after his resurrection (Luke 24: 41-43, John 21:9-13). Again, it seems clear that Jesus lived in a culture where fishing activities and eating fish were part of everyday life. Jesus almost surely would have eaten fish because he wasn’t a man divorced from his historical and cultural context.  

 So if Jesus ate fish, should we eat fish too? Some would quickly say, “If Jesus ate fish, so will I. After all, I can’t be holier than Jesus.” For them, it’s a simple matter with a perfect conclusion. There can be nothing wrong with eating fish. Since the Kingdom of God isn’t food and drink but righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit, what we eat is not the problem at  

all. The scripture also says what we eat cannot defile us in any way (Matt. 15:11). They argue that eating fish or any other food is simply a matter of Christian liberty.  

Well, is the question so easy to answer? If Jesus could eat fish, then am I free to eat fish as well? Indeed, it’s true that a Christian is free to eat fish. It is also true that it’s a matter of Christian liberty. The Christian is free to eat fish or not. For me, that much is granted and not in doubt. But liberty is not the primary issue to consider. I grant that a Christian eating fish is not committing a sinful or damnable act. That’s not the real question before us. The real question is should a Christian eat fish? To answer that, we need to think through our Christian convictions again. 



The idea that since Jesus ate fish, then we should eat fish today does not follow because we don’t do everything Jesus did. Jesus fasted for forty days, and no one says we should do the same. Jesus paid his taxes using a coin in a fish’s mouth, and no one says you should do the same today. Jesus wore tunics, but we don’t today. Jesus rode donkeys, but we don’t do that today. Jesus was simply a man of his time and lived with the knowledge and understanding of his historical context.  

So many Christians think it's perfectly fine to eat fish because Jesus did it, and it’s part of exercising Christian liberty. We tend to forget that the liberty of the Christian is not liberty to do whatever but freedom to do that which would be beneficial — not just for the individual Christian but also for others in our community. Our freedom as believers should be used not only to please ourselves but to benefit others around us. We need to remember this in our actions. The freedom of the Christian is not to do whatever is not expressly prohibited by God but to do that which is most loving to one’s neighbor. It’s a freedom tailored to and guided by love in every situation and historical context.  

Today, we know more about the world and its ecosystems. In Jesus’s day, people didn’t practice industrial fishing, which seeks to drain the seas of all life. They engaged in small-scale fishing — much smaller when compared to what is done today. They weren’t destroying the oceans. They had no synthetic plastics filling up the oceans and destroying marine life. Marine life could still thrive then. Things have changed. Our seas have changed. The waters are now populated by heavy, industrial-scale fishing vessels determined to catch all the fish they can carry for their selfish interests, damning whatever consequences such practices may bring. Fishing today is now harmful to the fish and the whole planet. Fish caught today could be filled with microplastics and other harmful substances. The state of today’s industrial fishing is sad to the point that some people are taken captive to work on fishing vessels.  

Knowing all this information, as Christians, should we close our eyes to these present realities and eat fish simply because Jesus ate fish? Should we care so little about the harm caused by modern industrial fishing? Should we be a part of the often evil multibillion-dollar fishing industry and be careless about the people involved, the destruction of marine life, and the potential destruction of our planet simply because we want fish on our tables and are free to eat it? Is letting go of fish consumption for the greater good of the earth too great a sacrifice for us as Christians? Do we want to follow Jesus? Would Jesus eat fish today knowing that his actions were promoting so much harm to the earth? Is that what love entails? I dare say that following Jesus today is not about eating fish because he did, but seeking to love our neighbors and not eating foods that may harm them.  

So, if Jesus ate fish, can it not be evil? Well, eating fish may not be evil, but if one knows that eating fish would harm one’s neighbor and destroy the planet, then should one eat fish? 

I say no. Following Jesus is loving one’s neighbor, and love seeks the neighbor’s flourishing.

“Did Jesus eat fish? Should we eat fish ourselves?” (A sermonette by Nathan Brasfield)

Written by Dr. Nathan Brasfield

“Did Jesus eat fish?” 

“Should we eat fish ourselves?” 

This question about whether or not we should do something based on Jesus’s behavior reminds me that I grew up during the W.W.J.D. craze in the United States, which stands for “What would Jesus do?” I had the typical ‘90s-style oversized t-shirt with W.W.J.D. on the front, a board game, probably a necklace, a coffee mug, and, of course, the nylon bracelets that came in as many colors as one could dream. I remember having two of these bracelets (though I definitely could have had more) — a standard black one with block lettering and a sort of deluxe black one with fancy swooping green lettering in various hues that had a clasp in the shape of a fish instead of the standard rectangle shape. 

Looking back, all I see in the W.W.J.D. fad is a strange (and very profitable) manifestation of capitalistic cultural Christianity combined with fashion, which is a dangerous combination. But, maybe I was just too young to see at the time that the question behind the once ubiquitous acronym, “What would Jesus do?” was posing a very good question. 

Rather often, I see Christians justify their stances on contested topics by making past-tense claims about Jesus. Those claims involve saying things like “Jesus was a refugee,” “Jesus was poor,” “Jesus was not American,” “Jesus never said anything against gay marriage,” and so on. 

Not to say that the details about the life of Jesus as they are given to us in the Gospels are irrelevant to Christian ethics, but, Christian ethics so often suffers from a failure of imagination. Saying, “Jesus did/did not do x” is an example. We must refrain from settling moral issues by merely making appeals to history or exegesis. Instead, we must give our hearts and minds to the real and complicated situations we face in this world. After all, we have a model for moral imagination in the way that Jesus lived and taught. He is portrayed in the Gospels teaching through figurative language and through parables that call for the listener to thoughtfully respond to a given situation. 

So, the truer, more appropriate question of Christian discipleship that we should ask as we follow in the way of Jesus is not “What did Jesus do?,” but rather “What would Jesus do?” just as the bracelets say. The lesson we can learn from these Christian fashion accessories of a bygone era, therefore, is that the more compelling question for us is not “Did Jesus, as a first-century Palestinian, eat fish, and should we?” Rather, it is, “Would Jesus eat fish as a twenty-first-century customer at a grocery store with plenty of other accessible, affordable, and nutritious options — and, should we?”

In answering the second question — What would Jesus do? — it is still helpful to consider the first question — What did Jesus do? — even if the answer to the first question does not define what we should do today. 

In response to the first question about what Jesus did do, I’m not aware of a historical case to conclude that Jesus did not eat fish. Fish was typical food for the area around the Sea of Galilee where Jesus grew up and developed his movement. Also, no Christian sources about the life of Jesus indicate that he refused to eat fish. 

Additionally, several texts seem to indicate that Jesus was a participant in the local fishing economy. At least once in all four Gospels Jesus miraculously multiplies a small supply of bread and fish to feed thousands (Matthew 14:13-21, 15:31-39; Mark 6:31-44, 8:1-9; Luke 9:12-17; John 6:1-14). In two different stories — Luke 5:4-11 and Matthew 17:17-24 — Jesus instructs the disciples to go fishing. When the disciples follow Jesus’s instructions, Jesus works miracles. These miracles teach a lesson that seems to affirm fishing and have nothing to do with giving it up. Elsewhere, Jesus seems to acknowledge that asking for and receiving fish is perfectly acceptable (Matthew 7:10; Luke 11:11). Indeed, in John 21:1-14, Jesus is pictured preparing a breakfast of fish and bread for the disciples on the shore of the Sea of Galilee following his resurrection. That text implies rather simply that Jesus ate some of this breakfast himself. 

Jesus almost certainly ate fish in first-century Palestine, but his experience differs significantly from eating the fish available at typical twenty-first-century grocery stores and restaurants. In contrast to the small-scale fishing that would have been practiced on the Sea of Galilee, today’s farmed and wild-caught fish industries are ecologically destructive and abusive toward animals, both human and non-human. 

What would Jesus do? What would Jesus do if everything unjust about the seafood industry were true of his food system? Or, what would he do if he were still showing up on the shores of our lakes and oceans to share breakfast with his disciples today? 

Based on everything we know about the character of Jesus in the Gospels, it would scarcely make sense for Jesus to prepare a meal for his disciples that would involve seafood from today’s restaurants and grocery stores. 

Writing about how Jesus is known in the Gospels, Luke Timothy Johnson, in his book Living Jesus: Learning the Heart of the Gospel, draws a conclusion about Jesus’s character. He says that despite all the differences among the biblical writings about Jesus, what is consistent in the New Testament portrayal of Jesus is indeed his character. “Nowhere in the New Testament is there an image of the human Jesus that is compatible with attitudes of hubris, hedonism, envy, arrogance, acquisitiveness, self-aggrandizement, hostility, or violence,” writes Johnson. “Jesus is everywhere associated with faithful obedience toward God and meek, compassionate, self-emptying service.”1

I suspect that the peace- and justice-loving Jesus of the Gospels would eat fish today with those who need to eat it because they are hungry. And I suspect this same Jesus would not eat the fish available today if he could just as easily avoid it. The theological and moral imagination that Jesus inspires in me brings me to this moment, in the context of our current food system, and leads me to make a call about how I can be peaceful and just now in my food choices. The historical or textual reality about what Jesus did, or does in the Gospel stories, remains grounded in another context in the past long ago. But this, the W.W.J.D. question, is about now. 

Facing the now question of what we are called to as Christians participating in today’s industrial food system, I am confronted with the various facets of the “now-ness” of our food system that — if the consistent character of Jesus in the New Testament indicates anything — Jesus would also have confronted, as surely as he ate fish in a time when doing so was not merely enjoyable or preferable but necessary. These facets of “the now time,” which are urgent realities, (e.g., Romans 8:18) are formed of intersectional issues. Such issues are bound up together and mutually expressive of each other, such as racial and economic oppression, ecological pillaging, greed, and the abuse of creaturely bodies — human and non-human. 

Jesus almost certainly ate fish, but he would almost certainly not eat fish if doing so meant feeding one’s inclination toward “hubris, hedonism, envy, arrogance, acquisitiveness, self-aggrandizement, hostility, or violence.” If today, the choice is between eating fish from an industry virtually built upon a foundation of these vices or choosing not to, we must ask ourselves what the “faithful obedience toward God and meek, compassionate, self-emptying service” of Jesus means to us and what our behavior has to do with the behavior of Jesus after all.

1. Luke Timothy Johnson, Living Jesus: Learning the Heart of the Gospel (New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2000), 200.↩

Love: The Way of Animal Liberation

Written by Avweroswo Akpojaro Junior

It may seem quite counterintuitive to begin thinking about the welfare of non-human animals and justice for non-human animals as grounded in the love of God in Christ Jesus. But as I hope to demonstrate, love in the Christian faith is at the heart of animal justice and liberation. As such, there’s no better place to begin this discussion. Love is deeply entrenched in the Christian faith and is at the heart of what it means to be a Christian believer. 

Without love, our claim to be God’s people would be highly questionable and empty. Love characterizes Christian faith and practice. Many Christians would heartily agree with this fact. Disagreements arise, however, in our understanding of what that love looks like in practice. Often, this is where most of the challenges Christians face in their witness exist. Sometimes we see what love entails, and other times we don’t. Whatever the case, one way or another, we don’t see the full implications of living a life of love. So how can we see more clearly what it means to love? We should look no further than God because God is love. Only then can we begin to see that living a life of love implies seeking non-human animal justice and welfare when we look at the love of God in Jesus Christ.

The Love of God

How has God loved God’s creatures? As Christian believers, God’s love is apparent in Jesus Christ. So what does that love look like? It’s plain to see that God’s love in Christ Jesus is unconditional. It does not look at the other to fulfill certain conditions before it loves the other. It does not expect the other to have certain abilities, to be a certain species, to possess certain knowledge, to be strong, or to fulfill any kind of condition at all. God loves unconditionally. This love also actively seeks the welfare and flourishing of the other. It is deeply concerned with the other’s existence. It seeks the other when the other is absent or lost. It leaves the ninety-nine to find that one lost sheep. 

The love of God in Christ does not discriminate in any way based on race, tribe, sex, gender, ability, or disability. It is not ableist, speciesist, sexist, or racist. It extends infinitely, and it is distributed equitably to all God’s creatures, so much so that God’s eyes are always on the sparrow, and God clothes the grasses with more glory than that of Solomon. Nothing and no one is insignificant. This is the love that pursues the liberation and freedom of the other even unto laying its life down for the other. It forgives, seeks the healing of the other, and defends the other with its life. It never gives up on the other. Indeed, God’s love even finds its life by laying it down for the other. It is free love but this love does not bask in the glory of its freedom but willingly seeks the freedom of the other from destructive ways of existing. 

It’s a love that knows no end. It is boundless and all-encompassing. No creature — yes, no creature — escapes the boundless love of God. Such is the love of God that we have in Christ Jesus. Such is how God has loved us. As Christians called to walk in such love, why do we often fail to love as we have been loved? Why doesn’t our love shudder at the sight of the oppression and abuse of any of God’s creatures? Why are our hearts often so cold toward non-human animals?

Our Failure to Love as We Have Been Loved

The challenge isn’t that we don’t love but seldom love as God has loved us. Why is this so? There could be many reasons for this, but concerning animal liberation, one of the reasons is that we don’t consider non-human animals as equal objects of the love of God. Ironically, the creature who celebrates receiving so much of God’s love is the same creature who reflects so little of it. It’s not difficult for me to imagine that many chickens and pigs feel the irony, too. Humans often become like that servant whose master forgave so much but then could not forgive others. We don’t give what we have received. We have been loved without condition, but we think non-human animals and certain persons need to fulfill conditions to earn love. We have been forgiven much, but in return, we release so much hate and animosity toward God’s beloved creatures. We become the very opposite of what humans are meant to be. Ultimately, we fail to love as we have been loved because we only look at ourselves. We misinterpret God’s love by thinking God loves only us. We think we are so special. We fail to see beyond ourselves. We place ourselves at the center of God’s love. 

Our failure to not actively seek the liberation and flourishing of non-human animals is a failure to love as God has loved us. Why do we brutalize and render helpless God’s creatures? Why do we oppress them with little or no remorse? Why is it that when it comes to animals, we do not remember the words of the Lord — that if we did not show love to one of the least of these, we did not show love to our Lord? Humans must remember that our Lord became one of the weakest. Like a lamb, Christ was slaughtered. Our Lord identified with one of the poorest and most oppressed creatures to liberate them. Such is God’s love. It identifies with the downtrodden. 

So why do we fail to seek the liberation of non-human animals? Why do we prey on their weakness, disability, and ignorance? Why do we not rejoice in their thriving? Why are we careless? I dare say that it is because we often forget how we have been loved by God. We forget that God unconditionally loved us in our weakest and most vulnerable, and we are to do the same to all of God’s creatures. This forgetfulness is often the source of Western Christianity’s setting of all sorts of conditions for love like gender binaries, intellectual rationality, hierarchies, ableism, etc. The great error is that we love those people and creatures that most resemble us, and this causes apathy toward other creatures. That is not how God has loved us. Resemblance is not a criterion for love. We need to love creatures for their differences from us. Our love is not meant to be limited to the human animal because God’s love isn’t limited to the human animal.

Love and Liberation

Seeing how much we have been loved in Christ Jesus, it should be obvious that the welfare of non-human animals for the Christian is not peripheral to the faith of the Christian. Such love is at the heart of living out our faith because humans are called to love as we have been loved. Many times, Christian communities view advocates of animal justice and liberation as strange or abnormal. Yet, advocates are the ones who should think that non-advocates are acting strangely because non-advocates are not following the logic of God’s love in Christ Jesus. Advocates of non-human animals see how a lifestyle of loving, regardless of species distinction, follows the ancient African traditions of being in harmony with creation and fellow creatures. All beings were recognized and appreciated by the human community. 

Our Lord Jesus Christ did not lay down his life just to redeem humans but all of God’s creation (Colossians 1:20). This means God’s love is a liberating love that seeks the good of the other, no matter the species. Christians need to mirror such love to all of God’s creatures. As humans were created in God’s image, the image of God that we are to reflect is the image of God’s love which lays down its life for the good of the other. Animal liberation and justice should not be, in any way, alien to us. It should be the air we breathe because animal justice is an act of love as is seeking the liberation and flourishing of non-human animals. It is the way we are called to live. All of God’s creatures should be allowed to be fruitful and multiply while thriving joyfully and being the creatures God made them to be. We all love to be loved, so let us do unto the non-human animals what we want to be done to us.

Conclusion 

No creature is left out of the great love of God. The matter of animal justice for the Christian is a matter of love which is at the heart of what it means to be a Christian. As such, animal justice is at the heart of the outworking of the Christian life. As Christians, let us learn to love God’s creatures as we have been loved by God to the best of our abilities. We aren’t infinite in power and love like God is, but we can definitely love with our limited abilities in limitless ways.

A Holy Week Sermon - 2023

This sermon was given by Senior Fellow Bianca Rati at the 2023 CreatureKind Holy Week service. You can watch the whole service here.

Hello everyone, good morning, good afternoon, or good evening wherever you are!

I would first like to thank CreatureKind for inviting me to speak on such a special occasion as Holy Week. Easter has always been my favorite holiday. I’m very honored.

Hours before his death, Jesus sat at the table with his friends and had dinner with them. I invite you to read with me a portion of their talk in Luke 22:19-20:

And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me." In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.”

I've been thinking a lot about bodies lately. The reason for this is because this is the theme for a year-long investigation in the podcast that I produce. And the body is a very difficult topic. At first glance, it looks like it will be easy. After all, everyone has a body, and it is our interaction interface in the world. But the truth is that body is not just our shell. It's who we are.

I believe that Easter is perhaps the Christian holiday that we think about the body the most. There's a song by The Many that hasn't gotten out of my head for the last few weeks. It’s called “Broken Body of Christ.” I kept thinking a lot about this body — broken, wronged, violated.

Another memory that wouldn't leave my mind was a 2020 Carnival parade, from a samba school in Rio de Janeiro, called Mangueira. Amidst a growing trend in fundamentalist evangelicalism, the samba school decided to imagine who Jesus would be if he were born in Brazil. One of the most striking images in the parade is this allegory of Jesus as a Black boy killed by police violence. In the samba, Jesus sings:

Did everyone understand my message?

Because, again, they have studded my body

The Prophets of Intolerance

Not knowing that hope

Glows brighter in the dark

There is no future without sharing

And there is no messiah with a gun in his hand

Curiously or not, Easter is also the Christian holiday in which the figure of an animal is very present, with the lamb as an allegory of Jesus. We recognize and relate the suffering of the body of this non-human animal to the suffering of the Body of Jesus. And as I continued to think about Christ's broken body, I continued to remember [animal] bodies that are being broken by injustice.

I said that Easter has always been my favorite holiday. But it was just in recent years that I have realized how much I was taught this story with a very individualistic interpretation. I was taught that Jesus died for my sins, that I helped kill Jesus, that I need to repent and change, that Jesus triumphed over death as a superhero for me. And I've always been bothered by Jesus's passivity in the face of death — or at least that's what it looked like — that he was passive in that situation. But Jesus was not passive. He was a framed prisoner sentenced to die by an imperialist and fundamentalist State.

The supposed “passivity” of Jesus's death shows us what injustice looks like. What injustice does to our bodies. God decided to have a body, and when They incarnated, They experienced what beings who inhabit marginalized places and bodies — that are being broken by the systems of white supremacy, capitalism, colonialism, racism, fundamentalism, misogyny, LGBTQIA-phobia, and speciesism — experience.

The truth is, we Christians are in the business of broken bodies. We are not pursuing individual greatness, we are pursuing collective justice. Real and lasting liberation is not the memory of a glorious past but a task carried out by broken bodies that build the future. This calling for justice inhabited the body of God incarnate on the cross and resurrection, and today inhabits the body of Christ as Their Church.

In the conversation that Jesus had with his friends at dinner, he said to them, “Pay attention to my body.” Individualistic interpretations of the Easter story prevent us from perceiving how [such injustice] is repeated in marginalized bodies today. These [individualistic] interpretations fill us with guilt and shame, but they don't propel us to challenge the systems that allow for their repetition.

The tradition of the Eucharist is a ritual to not only remember what injustice does to our bodies but also that in our communities we are collectively linked to the bodies of each other. That the food, the values, and the beliefs we share connect us deeply. To the point that there is no option if not to care for each other.

And that's why Jesus's resurrection should not be about individualistic triumph, but rather a demonstration of life prevailing in our broken bodies through a caring community of friends. For example, when the group of women who supported the ministry of Jesus decided, even in the midst of grief, to take care of the dead body of their friend one more time, they discovered before any men that he was alive. And then, when the men didn’t believe the women, Jesus appeared and showcased his disabled body, [teaching] the men to believe the women’s words. This group of friends, this chosen family, that were broken by injustice, they [did] lament, grief, eat, talk, rebuild, and believe together.

Because life shines the light of hope between the cracks in our broken bodies, I invite you to embrace our broken bodies. I invite you to continue to stand for broken bodies. I pray that as a community of friends who follow Jesus, we always keep that in mind.

Thank you for listening.

Tortuguita Vive

Written by Aline Silva

Ashley and I have recently returned from CTS in the Atlanta area. There we met with friends, led two workshops, hosted A Vigil for Forgotten Animals, and learned from Heather McTeer Toney, Jihyun Oh, Kerri Allen, Tink Tinker, Miguel De La Torre, rev. abby mohaupt, and Melanie Harris among other brilliant scholars and activists.  

We engaged in conversations with students, faculty, thought leaders, local activists, clergy persons, parishioners, and community partners. In each of our conversations we brought up the question, “If we aim to pursue ecological justice and Shalom for this earth, our shared home, then how might we, followers of Jesus, engage with animal farming and the food on our plates?” and, “How come ‘no one’ talks about animal farming when advocating for environmental justice?”

Each group and individual met these questions with curiosity and offered us an opportunity to reassert, as Rev. Dr. Randy S. Woodley writes in Shalom and the Community of Creation: An Indigenous Vision, “Shalom is meant to be both personal... and structural...In such relationships human beings should make room for the possibility that all creation, in some way, bears the image of the Creator. In other words, there is something of God in all of Creation. Living out these relationships as sacred is living in shalom."1 Yes, the Shalom of God is for all CreatureKind—animals, peoples, and the earth itself. Often, Christian communities fail to see that collective liberation from the current climate crises, environmental degradation, food insecurity, and apartheid is intricately connected to the liberation of creatures of other species, forgetting that God’s Imago Dei (all CreatureKind) are suffering and dying at the hands of systems that value profit over our collective flourishing upon this earth. How blessed and privileged we were to host these conversations and witness, in real time, Christians of all ages and backgrounds expanding their definitions of “love your neighbor” to include animals farmed for food and making real commitments about sourcing the food on their plates.

But perhaps, the most important event of the week was a Climate Vigil at the Atlanta Forest, where local organizers have settled and are currently resisting Cop City, which includes military-grade training facilities with a mock city to practice urban warfare, dozens of shooting ranges, and a Black Hawk helicopter landing pad in place of the Forest.

This is a three-hundred-acre, city-owned piece of land that sits in an impoverished and predominantly Black part of DeKalb County. The Defenders of the Forest write, “The history of this particular land is deeply scarred. In the 1800s shortly after the land was stolen from Muscogee Creek peoples, it was used as a plantation. In the early 1900s, a prison farm was opened where inmates were forced to perform unpaid agricultural labor, marking the rebranding of slavery into for-profit prison labor. The Atlanta Police Department currently uses this hallowed ground as a firing range.”2

But what does this have to do with the food on my plate or animals farmed for food? 

The 2020 GA census showed more than 42,000 farms operating across the state with 9.9 million acres in production. More than 17,000 of those farms raised cattle, either beef cows or dairy cows. If there are more than 42,000 farms operating across the GA state, with 9.9 million acres in production, how are their practices impacting the air and food quality of the state?

Georgia is a top state in the nation for profiting from prison food factories. (See the map and chart below from The Counter on the Top 10 states profiting from these operations.)3 Recent investigative news uncovered that Herschel Walker’s chicken firm in Atlanta was tied to benefits from unpaid prison labor.4

9.9 million acres of deforested land; what is the impact on the water ways? What about the wildlife population?
42,000 farms across one state; what is the impact on food security and access?

17,000 of those farms are beef and dairy industrial farms. 

Shalom the environmentalists say. “For whom?” I ask.

And so I must ask, is defending the Forest a political issue? Or is this an environmental issue? 

Defenders of the Forest shared that, on January 18, 2023 in the course of their latest militarized raid on the forest, police in Atlanta shot and killed Manuel Teran, a climate justice advocate and environmentalist. Forests serve as home to various ecosystems, including non-humans and humans of all kinds. The destruction of forests affects all of us. The destruction of this forest to train and imprison more marginalized persons pushing them into forced prison labor to produce the food on our plates, all the while causing harm to animals, peoples, and the earth, is an ethical and moral concern to those who follow Jesus and who aim to build an equitable table for all CreatureKind. 

And so I ask you, If Factory Farms are sourcing cheap labor from prisons, actively disrupting Shalom, polluting our shared home, causing insurmountable suffering to animals and peoples, then what is a Christian ethical response?

1. Rev. Dr. Randy S. Woodley, Shalom and the Community of Creation: An Indigenous Vision (Grand Rapids, Cambridge: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2012), 20.↩
2. “Defend the Atlanta Forest,” Defend the Atlanta Forest, last accessed May 8, 2023, https://defendtheatlantaforest.org/. ↩
3. H. Claire Brown, “This under-the-radar supply chain routes food from prisons to hospitals, food banks, and even schools,” The Counter, May, 5, 2021, https://thecounter.org/this-under-the-radar-supply-chain-routes-food-from-prisons-to-hospitals-food-banks-and-even-schools/.↩
4. Bill Barrow, “Herschel Walker’s chicken firm tied to benefits from unpaid prison labor,” PBS News Hour, October 25, 2022, https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/herschel-walkers-chicken-firm-tied -to-benefits-from-unpaid-prison-labor↩

Living water for every living creature

Written by: Beatriz Teixeira

“On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, ‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.’” John 7:37-38, NIV.

I was born in a region located in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest biome, in the state of São Paulo. I have lived there most of my life, and although São Paulo is probably most known for its industrialization, I have grown up loving its nature—the preserved parks, the beaches where the forest touches the sea, the mangroves, and even the green areas within the cities. The Atlantic Forest is abundant with water, and I have always felt connected to this element. Water is vital for any living being, and all mammals start life surrounded by water in the womb. Beyond that though, my feeling of connection to water — anterior and beyond awareness — has made many things in life more understandable to me, including within the Christian faith

That’s why the above passage of John’s gospel has stuck with me for years now. It somehow summarizes the relationship I believe Jesus establishes with us, God’s creatures. God is the one by whom we are sustained, through whom we live, dive in, and refresh ourselves, with whom we grow fruits, and by whom we enjoy life. And we who follow Jesus come to be channels of this living water, which I am going to discuss here. 

I’m no biblical scholar, and I don’t mean to give a complete and exhaustive analysis of this text, but I do intend to tell how my experience of becoming an intersectional environmentalist and animal advocate have been shaped by my faith, hoping that it resonates with other people.

 I believe personal identity is like a person’s relationship to water: we experience and grow into our identities even before we are aware of them or even before we can name who we are. Years before I formally learned that socio-economic class is an important distinction for life in a capitalist society, I was aware that I was privileged to have access to basic rights and necessities that others are not guaranteed—such as food, education, and a family that cared for me. Even before I knew the concepts of patriarchy or feminism, I felt wronged by how I was expected to behave as a girl—one who was assigned female at birth. All of these simple early perceptions—which came from my family, education, books, and experiences, and my early readings of the Gospels and other Christian ideas—gave me a strong sense of justice.

Also, I wondered what “having rivers of living water flowing from within me” should mean for bringing life to this world. And I’m not thinking about the birthing process. Rather, I mean daily acts that spread life-giving love, peace, and goodwill to humans, fellow creatures, and the earth. Considering the vital importance and multiple meanings of water, being a Christian should mean something more than caring for my own salvation or convincing other people to believe the same way I do.  

Believing I’m a channel of living water has guided many of my life decisions and changes in my understanding. Although I have always questioned ideologies that are common in traditional Christian spaces in Brazil, it took time to recognize my place as a Christian who is also feminist, antiracist, antiableist, affirming, intersectional environmentalist, and most recently, advocate for animals farmed for food, just as it took time to recognize my identity and my personal relationship to these issues. Actually, I can say that the learning process is ongoing. The fact that we are creatures who live because of water, soil, non-human animals, and other natural elements, while we also impact nature is hidden and challenged by ways of life in capitalist societies. 

An important moment in my journey was learning about the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020, after George Floyd’s murder. By that time, Leah Thomas, a Black environmentalist from the United States, had started the platform Intersectional Environmentalist to raise awareness of the intersections between Black racial identity and environmentalism. The platform and the concepts communicated there helped me start to further explore and study things about which I had only abstract or general perceptions. An important quote from Leah has stuck with me: 

We can’t save the planet without uplifting the voice of its people, especially those most often unheard. We should care about the protection of people as much as we care about the protection of our planet—to me, these fights are the same. As a society, we often forget that humans are part of our global ecosystem and that we don’t exist separately from nature; we coexist with it each and every day.1

Leah Thomas is noting that the well-being of marginalized humans, like Black U.S. Americans, is often neglected in conversations about improving the well-being of natural environments and their non-human inhabitants. However, throughout my life, I absorbed the belief that human beings are more valuable than other animals and their habitats. For example, even with all of my just intentions and environmentalist inclinations, I have eaten animals, desired their flesh, and haven’t thought a lot about where my food came from or why I ate what I ate. Despite my desired connection to nature, when I thought about “having rivers of living water flowing from me,” I didn’t think that this water also flowed from non-human animals. My ideas of justice and love were very anthropocentric.

As I became more aware of environmental issues that directly impact food, I started thinking of going vegan, but I still had a speciesist view of non-human animals. I perceived humans as more valuable because of our cognitive capacities of creating cultures, civilizations, and art, and for being the stewards of creation. Even caring for non-human lives may be speciesist if we believe we have the ultimate power to condemn it or save it.

There’s a saying about women being like water, because we grow as we unite like streams and rivers grow as they reach the ocean. Well, I believe it’s true not only for women, but for all people who seek liberation for themselves and others. A river doesn’t end in itself, it’s part of a cycle and of a hydrographic basin. That’s why, since 2020, I have been progressively more involved in activism, and I have found wonderful groups of people with whom to fight for justice. However, it’s frequently difficult to find Christians who are committed to the issues I care about in my context. That’s why I decided to apply for the CreatureKind Fellowship Program. Although I still did not have a lot of connections with food issues, it seemed like a unique opportunity to learn with people who shared my faith and passions. And so it has been.

A few months ago, I decided to stop eating animals and go vegan. I’d like to share the living water with our fellow creatures rather than taking it from them. It has been a new challenge and a new way of putting my faith into practice, not only aligning my values to what I eat but also believing and acting for the liberation of non-human animals. Now, being Christian and an advocate for farmed animals also means practicing veganism by not consuming animal products and being politically engaged. More than the general challenges brought by a society with a strong animal product and dairy culture, it has also meant starting conversations with other Christians in my context who have never thought about these issues and are often resistant to discussing them. However, I consider that building communities is also part of my commitment as a Christian animal advocate. As Leah Thomas pointed out, the fights for people and the planet are the same, and I’d like to more explicitly add non-human animals to this scenario. 

I believe diversity is present not only among non-human species and not only among human identities but all over the world, including in all the manifestations of water. I believe this living water is for every creature. I believe it may flow from all of us.

1. Leah Thomas, The Intersectional Environmentalist (New York: Voracious, 2022), 13.↩