Consumption & Waste, Food

I plan to create an online webinar and community discussion series through my university, Liberty University, using the material from CreatureKind's Animal Ethics Course on why vegetarianism and veganism are important for the planet, and why Christians should care about this in particular. The university is religious, so I believe this will appeal to many students. 

Through videos, short readings, and lots of dialogue, the CreatureKind Course encourages Christians to consider what they believe about animals and how they might move toward living out those beliefs as members of the body of Christ. It also encourages a DefaultVeg lifestyle. DefaultVeg makes plant-based food the default, and encourages Christians to make the choice at every meal to help animals, the environment, and other people (including farm and meatpacking plant workers all over the world). DefaultVeg helps Christian communities turn their commitments to creation care, farmed animal welfare, justice, and stewardship into eating practices that mean good news for everyone. Every plant-based meal has benefits for farmers, farm and slaughterhouse workers, the global majority, animals, and the environment.

Here is more information about the course:

• Helps Christian communities think about what their faith means for animals

• Designed especially for small groups to use over a six-week period

• Provides a gentle introduction to animal welfare and the church

• Guides communities to explore how to care for animals and the planet more faithfully

CreatureKind already provides all the course materials and a guide for leaders. I will just gather people virtually to think about and discuss the materials together.

Liberty University
1971 University Blvd
Lynchburg, VA 24515
United States

What is the challenge your project is designed to address?

• The need for food justice and animal welfare education
• Lack of Christian involvement in environmental projects and veganism
• Reducing factory farm land use and harmful farming practices

How do you propose to impact the challenge?

• Taking students through the CreatureKind Animal Ethics Course and discussing eating habits and ethics
• Promoting a DefaultVeg lifestyle

How will you measure progress or success?

• The first measure of success will be getting people to register for the course. My goal is to get 5-10 students to register.
• The second measure of success will be tracking whether the course impacts people's eating habits/ethics/lifestyle. This will be tracked using a survey administered at the beginning and end of the course. 

 The project will involve students and one faculty member. It will not require funding as it will be a free online event series. I will communicate about the project using Liberty University's event submission tool, which publishes it on the website and in the student portal, and by inviting my doctoral cohort.

vegetarianism, veganism, food, animal welfare, factory farming, food justice

https://www.becreaturekind.org/sixweek-church-course

https://www.facebook.com/BeCreatureKind/

https://www.instagram.com/becreaturekind/?hl=en