About four years ago now, I attended the first Wake Up Weekend vegan event at Calvin College as a skeptical pseudo-vegetarian. (Yes. I admit that at that time I was–for some inexplicable reason–still convinced that fish were not animals.) I could see why killing cows, pigs, chicken and other animals for food was problematic–especially from a health perspective. But these vegans seemed to be making a bigger deal about eggs and dairy than I thought were warranted at the time. As the two-day event unfolded, Harold Brown (Farm Kind), Adam Durand (Compassionate Consumers), Nicole Matthews (PETA), and Nathan Runkle (Mercy For Animals) made their case for veganism as a matter of ethics and slowly I began to see things differently than when I arrived. However, it was really the first release of the documentary Peaceable Kingdom, that transformed my skepticism, nixed my pseudo-vegetarianism, and propelled me toward seeing veganism as an integral part of my commitments to social justice, creation care and to my walk as a follower of Christ.

To say that watching the earlier version of the Peaceable Kingdom was a powerful and transforrming experience for me would be an underwhelming way to put it. Watching that film made my heart ache as it opened my eyes to the reality of processing animals for food, be it meat, eggs or dairy. I was blind to the reality of what was happening each day to bring certain items to my table, and the film gently called me to a different way of being, even as it exposed my incredible naĂŻvetĂ©. Even so, the producers of the film Tribe of Heart recognized that there were shortcomings in the storytelling, the main one of which was the focus solely on factory farming. Issues of “humane meat” production were not included in a significant way and as this industry grew and the veneer of “free range” and “grass-fed” labels increased, people responded to images of outright cruelty in films like Peaceable Kingdom by simply switching brands and glossing over the heart of the matter.

Now a second edition of Peaceable Kingdom has been created to posit that the source of animal cruelty (and this includes for me unnecessary killing for food when alternatives are available) is not simply the particular system in which they are reared. The source lies in the basic view of these creatures as commodities, resources and products and, I would add, the persistent need human beings have to see themselves as wholly distinct from (and therefore more worthy of care, compassion and mercy) than other animals. The new documentary tried to address this core by interviewing both farmers who once participated in industrial methods, and people who have tried to adopt more humane alternatives. Of particular interest to me is the story of Jim Vandersluis and Cheri Ezell-Vandersluis who find that their “their idyllic vision” of starting a small goat dairy farm in which excess animals could avoid the slaughterhouse “crash head-on with the economic realities of animal farming.” Then there is the story of Cayce Mell who discovers that–even after her training to become a police officer dedicated to humane animal issues does little to address the real underlying problems.

Although I have seen the first version of the film, these improvements make me want to see and hear the story told anew. I encourage others who haven’t seen it before or who wonder if it might be worth seeing it again to think about watching it. Currently, there are screenings scheduled for this June at the Berkshire International Film Festival in Massachusetts, the Cleveland Institute of Art in Ohio, and at the Mindful Metropolis Event in Chicago. A DVD will hopefully be available for purchase soon. For more information, visit www.peaceablekingdomfilm.org

This year, the featured guest will be Vegan Soul Kitchen eco-chef and bestselling cookbook author Bryant Terry. Other speakers include ĂĽberActivist Paul Shapiro (Humane Society) who will discuss recent animal protection legislation and the generous and spirited Harold Brown (Farm Kind) who will share about veganic agriculture. More speakers are expected in addition to the vegan eats, art displays and the ever popular vegan chili cook-off. For a full schedule, keep your eyes peeled on the extraVEGANza Web site: http://g-rad.org/vegan/

As a vegetarian and staunch non-vegan, I went to Wake Up Weekend three-years ago as a hard-core skeptic and left as a convert. Listening to passionate presenters Christian and non-, meeting (*gasp*) healthy, happy committed vegans who could articulate their positions well, and most of all seeing with eyes wide open the plight of God’s creatures who we destroy for consumption was one of the most transforming (spiritually, mentally, practically, etc) things I have done. If you are a vegetarian who isn’t sure what the big deal is with “those vegans,” or a “meat”-eater who is open-minded enough for a challenge, or a convinced ethical vegan who wants to meet new people, deepen your knowledge or get some kick-ass new recipes, I highly recommend checking out this event if you can.

Thanksgiving makes me nervous.

For years, I’ve gotten a sinking feeling in my stomach as the month of November draws to a close and this day looms. On the one hand, Thanksgiving is about joy and gratitude. It is a time when I travel to see family and friends, welcome a few days of rest and look forward to the holiday season. In my mind, I know it is a good thing to have a day where the sole emphasis is to give thanks to God for all God has done. I also appreciate the opportunity to celebrate all that my loved ones do and are to one another.

And yet Thanksgiving reminds me of a beautiful but altogether itchy sweater. Sure it looks good in my closet. It is slimming, well-made, gorgeous color—everything you could hope for in a sweater. But if I put it on I’m guaranteed to spend the whole day tugging, scratching and feeling downright uncomfortable. Try as I might, I can’t shake that weird feeling about that good ole holiday. It gets to the point where weeks in advance I’m trying to come up with other things to say besides “Happy Thanksgiving.” And since “Happy Day Off” doesn’t cut it I go ahead and mutter the greeting anyway, wheels still turning for a suitable substitute.

I guess the trouble with Thanksgiving for me begins with the history of the indigenous people who were here long before America was even an idea. It is a day that celebrates the gift of food the Wampanoag gave to the Pilgrims as they suffered from disease and hunger. It celebrates how this native tribe who had already experienced raids and slavery at the hands of the Europeans nevertheless taught these foreigners the skills necessary to grow their food and survive. And yet inextricably linked to this now mythical tale are years and years of treachery, racism and violence, blessed by Christian language no less, against millions of indigenous people. Small pox blankets, “civilizing” schools, broken treaties…they are bound together with our Thanksgiving celebration no matter how we try to reinterpret the day’s meaning and baptize it with new Christian themes and metaphors.

Becoming vegetarian and now vegan just ratchets up my Thanksgiving sweater’s itchiness. The thought of all those living, breathing turkeys—beings that experience suffering and pain, that long for sunlight, that understand in their own primitive ways what it means to be free—locked down in darkness (or penned on their “free range” farms) awaiting slaughter is hard to bear. Through no fault of their own, these creatures who had the unfortunate luck of being born into a less “advanced” (and less violent) species, are mutilated, abused and butchered so people can serve their burnt flesh on a platter and gorge on their bodies. What does it mean to say “thanks” to God for our food given the conditions these creatures endure? How can this be a “happy” meal when all of this unnecessary killing is done for no other reason than we like turkey flesh and we can wield power as we will?

Perhaps the trouble with Thanksgiving for me is that there is a whole lot of thanks but not a lot of repentance. There’s a whole lot of “grace” but not enough confession. At the very least it would be nice if more people saw the complexity and contradictions of the day. Rather than giving into the myth, getting sucked into the television set and going about their business as usual, it would be nice to know that other people were feeling a bit itchy about the whole dang thing too.

At the very least, that might make me feel a little less nervous.

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Information on the origins of Thanksgiving gleaned from Jacqueline Keeler’s essay “Thanksgiving: A Native American View.” See also historian William Loren’ Katz’s account. For more information on the treatment turkeys face on factory farms and so-called “free-range/organic” alternatives in the U.S. visit Farm Sanctuary.

This past spring we helped to organize a small informational gathering on veganism at Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary, called “peaceable eating.” Mercy for Animals gave a presentation on the egg industry showing that not only regular eggs but also “free range” eggs are part of an industrial system that treats the chickens very poorly in many ways. We then showed a video called “Wegman’s Cruelty” which makes the point very well through images.

The response after the presentation and the video by one of our AMBS professors has had me thinking for quite a while about the use of video and imagery in making a case for veganism. This particular professor told me that everybody can agree that the way the animals are treated is just aweful and something ought to be done to make sure they are treated well. But he could not agree that using nonhuman animals for food is in itself a problem. It is the treatment that is the problem, not our use of nonhuman animals for our own purposes.

I have wondered whether the video (and perhaps the initial presentation) did not reinforce that presumption in this friend and professor.

When I taught at Goshen College in the peace and justice department this past year, I spent three days on the subject in a course, and I showed a video to the class (Earthlings). A large portion of the class became vegetarian or vegan as a result and I think the video definitely helped in that process, but only because it was part of a larger, drawn out argument that treatment is not the issue. I argued that it is our exploitation and use of animals itself that is part of the problem (speciesism), and that animal rights advocates have actually very little to show for their efforts at reform over the last few hundred years. I also used Gary Francione’s arguments that most of us agree that we should not unnecessarily inflict suffering or death on any creature, but that the only way we do so to nonhumans is for unnecessary reasons. The video, within that large, sustained study seemed to have made sense. Still, I wonder. I wish there were a way to show how the use is a problem through video so that I am not simply feeding into our culture’s desensitized reaction to graphic violence.

The professor who was not convinced at our small gathering did not stay for the presentation that followed, which was by Nekeisha Alexis-Baker. Her presentation focused on the similarities in the way Black people, women, and animals have been used and how the three groups’ expoitation are actually intertwined quite often. Had he stayed for that presentation, perhaps his questions could have been different. We have uploaded Nekeisha’s video to the speciesism page (and in this post). She has given this presentation at Calvin College, AMBS, and at two universities in Sweden this summer.

Truth be told, I am highly critical of the way PETA’s public campaigns often reinforce sexism in their efforts to combat speciesism, and the way they don’t seem to make deep connections between ALL oppressions as evidenced by their ill-conceived KKK-action (see Humans are also animals article for a pretty solid critique). That said, I think Friedrich is very thoughtful and candid, and he makes some excellent points about why our call to nonviolence and mercy as Jesus-followers should be extended to nonhuman animals, and why our concern for nonhuman animals does not mean disregard for human suffering.