Who is responsible?

I found this article online today and it got me thinking....

I know....thinking?  After a long day at work?  Ridiculous.

But I love this article.  It isn't any secret that I am pretty committed to animals.  It has been a constant in my life since I was little. I live with this cute little rescue kitty that I got this past year and he is a nearly non-stop joy in my life (aside from the scars I have from his non-declawed paws).  He is my first animal that I've had on my own (aside from a fish that absolutely outlived his welcome several years ago), and I feel such a sense of responsibility for him.  I suppose its a mild form of the responsibility that you might feel towards your kids...I know that his little life is contingent on me being more responsible than I've ever been before.  Even if I miss breakfast, he can't.  Even if I'm too tired to bother with taking medicine, I know that he can't go without his.  I guess this article is talking about this type of relationship, but most pet owners (if they are ones that deserve to have pets) would feel this type of stewardship to your own animal anyways.

What has me thinking is how I'm being a good steward of the animals that aren't sitting right in front of me and staring me in the eyes.  My co-workers and I were talking about the documentary Food Inc today and although I haven't seen it, I get the gist of it.  I've read the book Fast Food Nation and promptly forgotten most things I'd read because it was too challenging.  How do you responsibly eat without....

a) going broke

b) going crazy

c) giving up meat

I love meat....and I don't have much money....and having to think too much about where my food is coming from makes me not want to eat at all.  However, I'm pondering more and more whether or not I should be thinking about it more.  Now I'm not a chicken fan anyways, but did you know that most chickens are raised in cages that allow them no room to move, breathe, poop, or eat properly.  Most times they are force fed crap that we would never want to have in our own systems and raised in half the time of  naturally grown chickens.  Now how is that being a good steward of the animals that God created.  I'm not 

trying to go all PETA on anyone, but seriously?  There isn't really a way to spin that to make it acceptable....I'd like to challenge you to find a way.

Same goes with testing our beauty products on animals.  How do you justify that?  And I use products that test on animals.  My favorite make-up tests on animals.  Realistically there isn't any difference between torturing rats in a lab than there would be taking my cat and torturing it in a lab.  Sure rats aren't necessarily household pets, but they are living creatures that God created and that he made us to respect.  We aren't using them in a way that shows good stewardship. And FYI, they also test on cats, dogs, monkeys, rabbits....gross.

Back to the meat issue, I believe eating meat is totally biblical....(check Genesis 9:3) and I believe that being vegetarian is totally biblical (God created people with the intent of them not eating meat...there wasn't death in the Garden....ah!)  I just choose to partake in the first one of those because nothing brings me more earthly joy than a plate full of ribs....just sayin.

HOWEVER...as mentioned before, I think that eating meat should be done responsibly...at least consider it. Sure its more expensive, but they sell free range eggs, chicken, and beef.  You can buy meat locally.  

I'm feeling totally convicted in my own consumer habits right now.  I definitely buy cheap meat, because it's cheap.  I buy beauty products that are cheap, when it wouldn't be difficult to find brands that are creating their products responsibly, even if it costs me a few extra bucks.

By the way..I would also like to point out that taking time to think about this doesn't mean you have to take less time to focus on human right issues.  I truly do believe that this article is spot on..animals were created and we are responsible for them.  However, even more importantly, human beings have inherent value and human rights issues really do take important precedence.  But if I'm working in social services and fighting for the rights of important souls but ignoring what we are commanded to do with our time on this earth in the regard of our environment and its little critters....then I'm still missing the mark some.

P.S.  PETA has its issues, for sure, but they do have a list of companies that don't test on animals.

Pretty legit.

As my beautiful friend Whitney has told me before, Kirkland doesn't test on animals, so thankfully my $12.00 bottle of shampoo is in the clear.  :)