AW and AR from CVA

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Cross Posted from today's Christian Vegetarian Association e-newsletter for those who wish to discuss AR with Christian friends and family. Dr. Kaufman clarifies the basis AW vs. AR argument. I do not agree with his last point that humans with short bowel syndrome need to rely upon animal products, however. Suffering should not be traded for suffering and there are nutritional options available to such people other than "animal products." But, I disagree with Dr. Kaufman on so little that perhaps a more complete discussion of this point might remove even this one disagreement.Margaret MorinVegetarian Network of Dallas"I think that there is a place for animal welfare reforms – from the animals’ perspective, anything that relieves the massive suffering of billions of animals on farms in the United States each

year has value. However, I think animal rights groups should be clear that killing young, healthy animals, even if they did not experience substantial physical or behavioral suffering, is a violation of their rights. Those animal rights groups that work for improved animal husbandry standards should insist that the goal is to stop harming animals altogether. Otherwise, the notion of animal rights becomes confused in the public mind, which will likely weaken the impetus to stop harming animals. Industry will always try to misrepresent what animal rights means; animal rights organizations should not make this easier by claiming that animal welfare reforms constitute animal rights measures. The Christian Vegetarian Association encourages us to apply the principles of love, compassion, and peace that Jesus embodied to all our decisions, including what we eat. These principles do not mandate a specific position on whether or not animal welfare reforms that fall short of abolishing animal exploitation are desirable. In my opinion, the Bible does not categorically reject humanity’s exploitation of animals, but it does prohibit unnecessarily harming animals. Because Americans have access to healthy, nutritious plant-based foods, the vast majority

of animal mistreatment is unnecessary (and often harmful to human welfare). Therefore, applying Christian principles to diet would call for 1) cessation of factory farming, 2) a huge reduction in animal agriculture, and 3) very high standards of animal welfare for the small number of animals whose products are needed for people who appear to require animal foods, such as those people with short-bowel syndrome." Stephen R. Kaufman, M.D., CVA chair

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