"He that killeth an ox is as he that slayeth a man."

"And GOD blessed them and God said unto them, Be Fruitful, and
multiply and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have DOMINION over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that
moveth upon the earth." Genesis 1:28

To many in the religious community, this verse from the scriptures gives humans the RIGHT to eat animals. How convenient for man to define dominion to suit his purpose – butchering then eating the creatures we were given dominion over.

I believe that our intellectual evolution has given us the power to "rule", but it is the application of that very intellect that obliges us to rule as benevolent nurturing caretakers who rule with love and compassion, rather than destructive tyrants who rape and pillage the earth and it’s creatures.

Now, it is my guess that these same people who use the dominion argument to eat the living things they have this supreme authority over, also believe that God has dominion over us… For all our sakes, I hope God is a vegan and treats us humans much better than we treat the creatures we rule over.

Maybe they should also consider these passages from the scriptures:

"And God said: Behold I have given you every herb bearing seed which is upon the face of all the earth and every tree in which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat, and to every beast of the earth, . . . I have given every green herb for meat."
(Genesis 1: 29).

"It shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwellings, that ye shall eat neither fat nor blood"
(Leviticus 3.17)

"Ye shall eat no fat, of ox, or sheep or goat. And the fat of that which dieth of itself, and the fat of that which is torn of beasts, may be used for any other service: but ye shall in no wise eat of it. . . Even the soul that eateth it shall be cut off from his people. And ye shall eat no manner of blood, whether it be of fowl or of beast"
(Leviticus 7:26-27).

"He that killeth an ox is as he that slayeth a man."
(Isaiah 66 verse 3).

"While the flesh was yet between their teeth, ere it was chewed the wrath of the Lord was kindled against the people, and the Lord smote the people with a very great plague."
(Numbers 11: verses 20 & 33).