Letters: Give up meat for lent, for good

Many Christians abstain from animal foods during Lent, in remembrance of Jesus’ 40 days of fasting in the wilderness before launching his ministry.

A number of Christian leaders have followed the call to eat only plants, including Methodist founder John Wesley, Salvation Army founders William and Catherine Booth, Seventh-day Adventist Church founder Ellen G. White, and evangelical leader Franklin Graham.

A meat-free diet is not just about Christian devotion. Dozens of medical studies have linked consumption of animal products with elevated risk of heart failure, stroke, cancer and other killer diseases. A United Nations report named meat production as the largest source of greenhouse gases and water pollution. Undercover investigations have documented farm animals being caged, crowded, mutilated, beaten and shocked.

Lent offers a superb opportunity to honor Christ’s message of compassion and also to protect the health of our family and our planet Earth: Adopt a meat-free diet.

This story was originally published March 2, 2017 at 5:28 PM with the headline "Letters: Give up meat for lent, for good."