Letters

Her ‘Care for Creation’

Posted

I was very excited to read about the conference on Care for Creation (CNY, Editor’s Report, Nov. 8). I also was inspired by Pope Francis’ “Laudato Si.” I have always been concerned about the environment but felt frustrated by how little I could do. Turns out I can do a lot. Three years ago, I first read about the encyclical. Then a few days later I saw a documentary called “Cowspiracy.” In it they showed how it was more polluting to eat meat than to drive a car. Overnight, I stopped eating meat, chicken, fish, dairy and all other animal products. I feel so much healthier and have lost some extra pounds. 

In the three years since, I have educated myself about the factory farms where most of our meat comes from. Animals are routinely mistreated and tortured before their final slaughter. People that work in slaughterhouses, often migrants, are subject to severe injuries and particular types of cancers. 

I invite my fellow Catholics to educate themselves on plant-based nutrition. It will go a long way toward cleaning the oceans, the air we breathe and the environment. It will be an act of kindness toward farmers who are at risk of losing their farms. Thank you, Pope Francis, for encouraging me to do more for God’s beautiful creation.

Rosalba Prizzia
Kingston, New York