Celebrate Easter for the Animals

As Annie Hartnett wrote earlier this week, rabbits given as Easter presents often end up in animal shelters. Baby chicks are subject to the same fate. Then there's the mass purchase of Easter eggs, mostly raised on factory farms, for egg hunts and decoration, and the Easter ham at dinner. It seems like the Easter Bunny doesn't bring much peace and love for nonhuman animals.

But what does all of this animal suffering have to do with the real spirit of Easter? Coming from a childhood of Passover celebration, I had no idea (but check out In Defense of Animals' great post on vegan seders for next year!) ... so I asked Ben DeVries of the Not One Sparrow blog, to share the Christian perspective.

Here's what Ben had to say:

"While not everyone who celebrates Easter does so for religious reasons, the origins of the holiday are of course of great significance to Christians. Easter is when we celebrate Christ’s victory over evil and death, a victory we can share in and witness to through choosing intentionally life-affirming actions and lifestyles. And without a doubt, celebrating Easter should only encourage us all the more to ask how we can be more compassionate and life-affirming toward animals, but especially those directly implicated in our Easter traditions.

An article online called Not Sure What to Cook for Easter Dinner recognizes the importance of the Easter meal to the holiday, and leads by saying: "Easter is about life; it's about springtime and welcoming back the flowers and birds; it's about a warmer sun on our backs and a renewed faith in all the good we want and believe in for everyone. Easter is a day to be with family. Easter is about love."

And not to single this particular cook out, but she goes on to feature a recipe for the traditional ham centerpiece. Christians Scriptures point to a time when death and violence of any kind will no longer be part of our world. More than a few Christians, my wife and I included, have elected to look forward to that “new earth” by choosing a vegetarian or vegan diet (see the Christian Vegetarian Association for more.) Without judging those who haven’t made the same choice, is it still possible to ask if a slab of dead animal flesh is perhaps the best way to mark a day set aside for celebrating life?

We need to remember that the Bible consistently expected farmed animals to be treated with dignity and humaneness.  Bible times knew nothing of modern factory farming. If we choose to eat ham, or any other animal on Easter, do we at least know what kind of life the animal lived? Did its existence bear any resemblance to life at all, or did it look more like the negation of just about everything natural to being an animal, and a creature of God?

Similarly, decorating eggs and conducting children’s egg hunts, often right after the Sunday morning service, are mainstays of Easter tradition (though it's quite possible that their origins, similar to egg rolling, lie more in paganism and other secular traditions than in Christianity). Once again, just about all of the eggs commonly purchased in America come from factory farms. The white or brown objects may seem innocuous lined up neatly in their cartons, but the end product hides a wire-caged existence of misery and squalor unfit for any sentient creature.

Perhaps we could ask ourselves if we genuinely need real eggs, or as many of them, for our Easter activities? Maybe as part of a new, enhanced tradition of honoring all that is good and vibrant about life, we could decorate fake eggs, which will last longer, and use plastic ones for egg hunts? Aren’t children mostly interested in the potential for candy and other goodies inside anyway? I know I would be. And for those of us who aren’t vegan, the eggs we do use, can we at least buy them from reputable local family farmers or other more humane sources?"

Here's an interesting addition to Ben's suggestions: I discovered that even the White House eschewed factory farm eggs this year. President Obama skipped chicken eggs altogether for the annual egg hunt, as well as chocolate eggs (which might not be fair trade) and plastic eggs (which pollute the environment). Easter eggs at the White House this year will be wood eggs certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, brightly colored with vegetable oil-based paints and wrapped in recyclable packaging.

Whether you're celebrating Easter for spiritual reasons, family tradition, or just to herald in Spring, you can choose to make your holiday a compassionate one.

Photo credit: acopperpenny