Are Farm Animals Just Machines?
After the Flood, God tells Noah: “Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything.” God also makes a covenant, not only with Noah, but “with every living creature that was with you–the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you–every living creature on earth” (Gen. 9:3, 10). So, while there is no question that God has given us permission to eat meat, we must also remember that we are moving towards a kingdom in which, as we saw in Isaiah 11, all of creation will live at peace with one another. So what should we be doing now, as we await perfection? We have already looked at problems with the animal rights position. On the other hand, there are some uses of animals that should cause Christians significant concern. One of the great changes in Western economies has been the change from the small family farm to the huge “agribusiness.” With this change has come not only in
