In this guest article, Virginia Bell examines what an ecological conversion could really be.

An Ecological Conversion

Our much-loved Pope Francis, in his Encyclical Laudato Si’, called for all people to undergo an ecological conversion, and the Church has taken this requirement to heart. We read in Catholic literature about the importance of ecological conversions, and we read about people’s individual experiences of them. I myself have written a couple of articles about the eco-conversions of the UK Laudato Si’ Animators. But the problem is that they are defined according to individual interpretations. I think that there is much that we Catholics should be discussing on this topic, because the essence of an ecological conversion can be and often is overlooked, which allows us to do very little and to change very little in our lives, yet to pose as reformed beings.

The same attitude applies to the concept of ‘Living Simply’. We make some tweaks and carry on much as usual. What does Living Simply really mean? Does it mean we can continue to buy presents at Christmas for those who have too much already, and send Christmas cards to those we see regularly? The feeling of being obliged to buy presents has turned Christmas into a glorification of materialism. Ironic, as it is the celebration of the birth of a very unmaterialistic being, our Lord Jesus.

Living Simply is part of an eco-conversion. My interpretation of it is not to buy anything at all if I can avoid it. Exactly as I said above regarding eco-conversions, I think that there is much that we Catholics should be discussing on this topic, because the essence of living simply can be and often is overlooked, which allows us to do very little and to change very little in our lives, yet to pose as reformed beings.

The truth is we aren’t willing to suffer – to make sacrifices. We just want to tweak things so that our lives can continue in much the same way, and we can continue to do the same things, just somewhat more sustainably.

I think that the reason we concentrate on fossil fuels and green energy is so that we can continue doing all the things that are harming the planet, and continue using up the worlds’ resources, but using green energy. Business as usual, but with a green tweak, when what is needed is a complete re-think about our activities, our aims, our culture, our lifestyles. That is what eco-conversion means. Compare: “Our efforts at education will be inadequate and ineffectual unless we strive to promote a new way of thinking about human beings, life, society and our relationship with nature” Laudato Si’ (LS) paragraph 215.

Let’s think about how we humans are supposed to live on the planet, how we once fitted in and were part of the planet’s eco-systems. We lived in caves, or built homes sustainably out of naturally available resources. We did not manufacture products to buy and sell. There was no agriculture, of animals or plants. Above all, our lifestyle would not have caused land change. And there would be no chance of overpopulation because nature would control our numbers, through things like viruses and winters. I think that there are some indigenous people who still live very much like that.

Ok, there is no possibility of the mass of humans voluntarily living like that now (although planetary disintegration may force it on us). But if we acknowledge how we once lived and how we are supposed to live on planet Earth, there is the possibility that we will start to slow our rush away from that eco-friendly ideal, and start to make the adjustments which will begin a change of direction towards that ideal. There are compromises we can make, although the compromises must be meaningful, not just tweaks. For instance, no one wants to die, but we can control our procreation rate through education and ethical birth control. We all want housing, but we can investigate building high and building underground, so as to reduce land change.

An eco-conversion, according to Pope Francis, should include a change in our attitude to other animals: “We read in the Gospel that Jesus says of the birds of the air that ‘not one of them is forgotten before God.’ How then can we possibly mistreat them or cause them harm?” LS 221. Also “Eternal life will be a shared experience of awe, in which each creature, resplendently transfigured, will take its rightful place”. LS 243.

But instead of a real change, it seems to me that most of us Catholics who take this to heart just reduce our meat consumption, which is again just a tweak which allows us to continue to regard animals as a resource instead of as respected fellow creatures with whom we share a common home. We don’t as a rule even look into the suffering, the very great suffering, that our meat diet causes to other living beings.

A real eco-conversion necessitates the adoption of a vegan lifestyle as far as possible, and necessitates an acknowledgement that this is the way forward, even if we are still struggling to make the change. To pretend that being vegan is not necessary, simply because we can’t make the change ourselves, is hypocritical and it degrades or dismisses a virtue (compassion) so that we can ignore it because it is too difficult or inconvenient for us.

Our eco-conversions aren’t helped by our leaders and influencers ignoring the most essential change we can make to tackle the many environmental crises threatening our planet and ourselves. In 2018 a breakthrough University of Oxford study on the global impacts of food production was published in the journal ‘Science‘. The lead study author, Joseph Poore, summarised the research findings by saying: “A vegan diet is probably the single biggest way to reduce your impact on planet Earth, not just greenhouse gases, but global acidification, eutrophication, land use and water use”.

Our political, religious, environmental and media leaders and influencers tend to ignore the harm of animal agriculture, and to concentrate on fossil fuels and energy. Why are we not prepared to consider the effect of animal agriculture on global warming and destruction of habitats including it being the primary driver of land use change and deforestation, and hence on biodiversity loss?

We should be talking about reducing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere, as well as reducing greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. That would open up our focus to include other actions to tackle climate change; not just reducing fossil fuels, but most importantly ending animal agriculture. We could quickly reduce concentrations by eliminating the methane and nitrous oxide which comes from animal agriculture and rewilding the land which would now be made available to sequester carbon. 

Even with the most strenuous of efforts, we are facing hard times ahead. It is the duty of power holders and influencers to give adequate warnings and adequate advice. I believe that the UK Laudato Si’ Animators have a duty to inform honestly and bravely, and I take that responsibility seriously.

Unfortunately many Catholics still see nature as a tool of humanity, to be shaped into the human view of beauty, instead of humanity needing to be shaped to fit in with nature. We still see humans as ‘stewards of Creation’ despite the evidence that we are the one species that the planet would be better off without. Can we change that? We have to try. Undergoing an ecological conversion is a necessary start regarding our attempts to be better stewards. So let’s try to understand what that means, honestly and bravely.

V Bell, Lent 2026

Further Reading

Poore, J., Nemecek, T., “Reducing food’s environmental impacts through producers and consumers”, Science, 1 Jun 2018, Vol 360, Issue 6392, pp. 987-992, DOI: 10.1126/science.aaq0216, also available here.