Jesus Showed Compassion and So Can We, Says Group
For Immediate Release:
February 11, 2013
Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382
Roanoke, Va. -- PETA has sent a letter to Patrick Patterson, principal of Roanoke Catholic School, urging him to remember Jesus' words as set out in the beatitudes, "Blessed are the merciful," and serve only healthy and humane vegan meals every Friday during Lent. In the letter, PETA quotes several passages from the Bible, including Proverbs 12:10, "the just man takes care of his beast." The group also points out that going vegan is the best way to keep a body healthy, combat the extensive pollution caused by factory farms, and even solve the world hunger crisis, because tons of nutritious grains that could be used to nourish humans are instead being inefficiently fed to farmed animals.
"Today's factory farms are a living hell for chickens, pigs, cows, and other animals who are intensively confined and maimed before they are sent to slaughter to face a painful and terrifying death," says PETA Director of Communications Colleen O'Brien, a devout Roman Catholic. "Jesus would be appalled to witness the meat, egg, and dairy industries' harmful effects on animals, human health, and the Earth."
PETA will assist the school in planning the vegan meals and suggests easy, tasty offerings, such as faux-chicken nuggets, veggie lasagne, and bean chili.
For more information, please visit PETA.org. I can be reached at 202-540-2202 or KaitlynnK@peta.org if you have any questions.
PETA's letter to Roanoke Catholic School follows.
February 11, 2013
Patrick W. Patterson
Principal
Roanoke Catholic School
Dear Principal Patterson,
I am writing on behalf of PETA and our more than 3 million members and supporters worldwide to suggest a creative, compassionate way for students to treat their bodies as temples and honor God's creation in your school. As a former student of Roanoke Catholic School, I encourage you to prepare delicious vegan meals for all school lunches each Friday during Lent. By doing so, you will be demonstrating the Catholic Church's strong moral leadership on some of today's most pressing issues: stewardship of the planet, global poverty, and the welfare of animals.
Choosing to eat a vegan meal is a wonderful Christian response to the unholy abuse of billions of animals. Proverbs 12:10 reminds us that "the just man takes care of his beast." But in today's industrialized meat and dairy industries, chickens and turkeys often have their throats cut while they are still conscious, piglets' tails and testicles are cut off without any painkillers, fish suffocate or are cut open while still alive on the decks of fishing boats, and calves are taken away from their mothers within hours of birth. Of course, Pope Benedict XVI has publicly encouraged Catholics to view animals as kindred beings, saying, "[W]e can see that they are given into our care, that we cannot just do whatever we want with them. Animals, too, are God's creatures."
Almost 1 billion people go to bed hungry every night. Meat-eaters unwittingly contribute to this problem by consuming animal products. It takes multiple pounds of grain to produce just 1 pound of meat. The Bible instructs us to share with those in need, and choosing vegan meals is an excellent way to free up grain and help end the hunger crisis. In addition, raising and slaughtering billions of animals every year has been identified as one of the major causes of climate change as well as water and air pollution and land degradation. According to Leviticus 25:23-24, "[T]he land is mine, and you are but aliens who have become my tenants. Therefore, in every part of the country that you occupy, you must permit the land to be redeemed."
By encouraging your school community to choose vegan meals for Lent, you will be sending a strong message to your students as well as to the entire community: We must be the hands of Christ, feeding the poor, and his loving heart, showing compassion and mercy for all God's creatures. School administrators and parents should ensure a healthy, happy future for kids by feeding them tasty vegan meals that they are familiar with, such as veggie burgers, spaghetti with tomato sauce, bean chili, veggie lasagne, and faux-chicken nuggets, made with healthy plant protein.
I would be happy to discuss with you how to help your school plan vegan meals or to serve as a resource for you in any other way. Thank you for considering our request.
Sincerely,
Emily Tuttle
Special Projects Coordinator