Today’s society is having big arguments on the ‘facts’ on factory farming. Go Vegan, is what’s being pushed. But what can we learn out of the Bible on this? And how can we as farmers explain and show you all our points of view?

Predictions are being made that around the year 2100, no animal farms will exist anymore. So what happened to our textbook balanced diet? A little bit of all kinds of food will give you a healthy life. Dairy, meat and plant-based. Our body’s need structures of each to create a healthy immune-system.

A great division happens when we loose the truth. For us the truth is in the Bible. What can we read? Well, first of all, after the fall into sin, human-kind is forced to work for 6 day’s a week: working the land, taking care of animals. It’s what we call today: farming.

Where will we leave all the producing animals if you want the whole planet to go ‘plant-based’. Will you let them all go free, make them eat and trample your fields? It’s all about balance: if you leave one end off a scale, the other side will never get balanced.

A quick look around our farm: as a fairly large dairy goat operation, we do not see ourselves as a ‘factory-farm’. Yes, animals are inside barns. Though provided with fresh air circulation, water and plenty of feed. If you look to the human population, we know a lot of people are worse of living then our animals do. Some populations hardly have any food or living space. Our animals receive a ‘clean bed’ of straw every day, fresh feed and health check-ups. Yes, they are living a routine, but so do we. Then, you might say; we have holiday’s, recreational activity’s. Animals can walk around, play, fight; however they want/need to behave. Now the most important part: God created humans separate from animals. Yes, we need and take good care of the animals, though, aren’t we as humans not to do even a better job doing so towards each other?

To name a few farmers of the Bible:

• Genesis 4:2: ‘Again, she gave birth to his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of flocks, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.’ – We know Cain killed Abel later in the following chapters. We can learn; don’t wipe out the animal farmer. We need both.
• Noah was a farmer. He loved God and trusted Him. The city’s and neighbors laughed at Noah and what he was doing. But God wiped them all out.
• Jacob: who had to work for 14 years to receive his bride, while the works of his hands in caring for the flocks, brought prosperity and growth in flocks.
• Job: who lost all of his possessions, including all his animals. (for his number of animals; Job 1: 3) For his faith in lonely, dark times, he was blessed with even more after the disasters.

Yes, farming comes with ups and downs. You never know or can predict how you’ll day or year will go. As a farmer we trust. We trust for rain, for sun and warmth, for a good breeding season and healthy animals. Most of all, we, for ourselves, trust in God. And sure, bad things happen. A crop goes bad, a decease fly’s through your herd, but we trust and do not give up. God never has given up on us humans. He gave us hope through Jesus and the Holy Spirit who guards our hearts.

God plants seeds in our hearts, so let’s make them grow!