Letters to Share, November-December 2016

To Quaker Earthcare Witness,

I just received your September-October issue of BeFriending Creation, and I was kind of concerned and curious about the article on page 6, “Friendly Farmers & Earthcare.” The article contradicts a number of statements I had read as fact for a long time and from many sources. One statement made was that the factory farming meat industry is not putting out a large amount of greenhouse gasses. I had heard it was one of the largest contributors, and I read that several places. Another statement was that not having cows on grazing land is ruining the land because wild horses come in and wreck it. The information we get from many responsible environmental groups is that often, there are many more cows on the land than it is permitted for, and that causes overgrazing, which takes the grass down to the ground. That’s been a problem—it’s been in courts and in many publications for years.

So I just wondered whether there’s a special interest involved with this article that is trying to make the industry look better or whether all of the information I’ve been reading is incorrect, and the author has a better source. [In any case] it’s kind of disturbing to see contradictory facts like that and not have a way of fact-checking.

Steve Willey, Sandpoint Friends Meeting, Idaho

Editor’s note: We invited the author of the article mentioned above to respond to this writer’s letter and will provide any response in a future BeFriending Creation.

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Hello Friends,

I am glad to share how Quaker Tradition helps me make choices for right action. The tradition has transformed my life in many ways, which I may not explain in words, but in action! My persuasion helps me to be content with life, also to discover that there’s that of God in each of us. I also learned that you could also feel the spirit of God around you, talking to you through silence, helping you to make a right choice and right actions. I became friendly to all creation and my intentions are to help maintain our vegetation and to restore wrongfully destroyed vegetation. The tradition has helped me to learn to be tolerant and to focus in my daily life, both at home and at work.

Above all in the principles of Quaker tradition are the Simplicity, Equality, Nonviolence, and Truth at all times. The photo shows how I and a friend from my meeting marked the World Quaker Day.

Shalom,
Johnson Kennedy Sokpoli
Ghana Friends Meeting