Care of the Poor
As the Scriptures and traditions of many faiths and cultures commands us to care for the poor and the vulnerable – the least of our brothers and sisters. This command refers to the millions of people who suffer malnutrition because of the declining populations of marine fish and animals, and suffer disease because toxins in the plant, fish and marine species they eat. Mercury is now entering into the breastmilk of mothers who eat seafood, not only harming them but their unborn and born children.
This mandate to care for the poor and vulnerable stretches out to our brother and sister animals and plants, as the Biblical Genesis and St. Francis of Assisi and so many other saints and indigenous people have counseled. It is not a choice of animals and plants over humans but the recognition of connection of all of life. A degraded environment for animals and plants is a degraded environment for people, especially the least well off among us. And it destroys the beauty of creation that is a free gift for all.
This mandate to care for the poor and vulnerable stretches out to our brother and sister animals and plants, as the Biblical Genesis and St. Francis of Assisi and so many other saints and indigenous people have counseled. It is not a choice of animals and plants over humans but the recognition of connection of all of life. A degraded environment for animals and plants is a degraded environment for people, especially the least well off among us. And it destroys the beauty of creation that is a free gift for all.
