More Untruths and Omissions on Oprah

by Stephanie Ernst

categories: CageFree and FreeRange, Farm Animals, Media, Vegan

Published October 21, 2008 @ 09:57AM PT

Continued from the previous post:

Now for the pigs, cows, and calves.

Let's address one really irritating remark right away, and then we'll move on to the other issues. The Most Preposterous Statement of the Show Award arguably belongs to the veal farmers, one of whom remarked that she and her husband are "really proud to be able to be raising calves in a way that Mother Nature intended." What? Veal was nowhere in Mother Nature's plan. Humans have no role in the way that calves are naturally intended to be raised—nature calls for calves to be raised by their mothers, not by humans. And Mother Nature did not intend for mother and child to be ripped apart, over and over again, so that the child can be killed and eaten (remember, veal is by definition the flesh of calves, so the calves still must be separated from their mothers far earlier than is natural and must be slaughtered while still babies). Cattle form strong attachments to one another in natural circumstances. The herd is a family, and mother and young form a lifelong bond. If Mother Nature finds out that someone's out there saying she'd approve of the veal industry in any form, boy, is she going to be pissed.

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Untruths and Omissions on Oprah

by Stephanie Ernst

categories: CageFree and FreeRange, Farm Animals, Media, Vegan

Published October 21, 2008 @ 09:34AM PT

Today's posts will be my last on the Oprah show on the treatment of farm animals, and the content of these is what I've been promising for almost a week now. Read yesterday's post and my initial but abbreviated response for an introduction to what you're going to read here. Today, we're finally going into the issues in depth, so in depth that I'm splitting this into two posts.

For starters, I'll quote myself, from that initial reaction:

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Truly Happy Animals

by Stephanie Ernst

categories: Animal Emotions, Animal Profiles, Farm Animals, Sanctuaries

Published October 20, 2008 @ 01:30PM PT

Mary the sheep, resident of Animal Acres. Isn't she adorable?

Do you want to know what happy animals really look and sound like? Introduce yourself to farm animal sanctuaries generally and Animal Acres farm animal sanctuary near Los Angeles specifically—and to the animals who dwell there—by watching this touching, well-made video:

Oprah's Show on Farming: Intro, Positives, and Language Used

by Stephanie Ernst

categories: CageFree and FreeRange, Farm Animals, Media

Published October 20, 2008 @ 08:03AM PT

In the days preceding Oprah's show on the treatment of farm animals, the blurbs I read and heard on the show's Web site and elsewhere gave me momentary flecks of hope that the program would address the realities of all farming, factory or not. Oprah asked, "Have you ever wondered what 'cage-free' or 'range-free' really means? Lisa Ling gets a rare look inside some of America's farms. Where does our food come from?"

When I saw this, my first reaction, given my own perspective and knowledge, was surprise and curiosity: was the show going to disprove the idea that "cage-free" and "free-range" really mean anything—reveal to viewers the truth that most such operations differ little from factory farms, in terms of how the animals suffer? Perhaps the show was going to reveal that even those very few that do refrain from some of the worst practices still debeak (once again, see the glossary), still require that male chicks be killed in cruel fashion when only a few days old, still send animals via cruel transport methods to hellish slaughter, and still are not "humane" in any meaningful sense of the word.

But as well all know now, none of that came up. What was shown and said instead was deceptive. Do I think Oprah herself knowingly told half-truths and implied untruths? No, I don't. But Wayne Pacelle and the featured "humane" farmers did, even if Pacelle's intentions were good. Indeed, the original title of my first post on this show, my "reaction preview," was "Oprah Means Well, and HSUS Sells Out the Animals." I was a bit angry. And now let me explain why:

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What the Oprah Show Didn't Tell You About Cage-Free and Free-Range

by Stephanie Ernst

categories: CageFree and FreeRange, Dairy and Eggs, Farm Animals, Investigations and Rescues, Media

Published October 18, 2008 @ 01:13PM PT

The full-fledged reaction and analysis I promised you regarding the Oprah program on the treatment of farm animals and Proposition 2 has been delayed a few days while I cool my jets and organize my thoughts. I was pretty worked up after watching the show, and although I have loads of fun writing when I'm angry, I'd rather write intelligently and calmly in this case—or at least more calmly than I could have earlier this week.

I'd reached the point where I could do that this morning, and then I went and rewatched the show, to make sure I had my facts straight. What was I thinking? I'm angry again! *sigh* So first, before we get into a discussion of this specific show and representation of animals and their circumstances, I'm going to ask you to please read someone else's words. You may find the story a bit long, but if you are eating eggs, even cage-free eggs—especially cage-free eggs, actually—you must read it nevertheless. As HumaneMyth.org notes in its analysis of this report, "this riveting account is one of the few published investigations of 'free range/cage-free' egg facilities in the U.S."

Following is an excerpt from, and link to, this must-read firsthand account, which includes two stories about two different cage-free/free-range farms, one of them certified organic:

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Humane Society Observers of Seal Hunt Not Guilty

by Stephanie Ernst

categories: Marine Life, Politics and Law

Published October 17, 2008 @ 12:45PM PT

Activists who were arrested after observing the 2006 seal hunt in Canada, for allegedly getting closer to the hunt than the law allows, were found not guilty today by a Canadian court.

The Canadian Press: Judge Finds Animal-Rights Activists Not Guilty of Getting Too Close to Seal Hunt
HSUS: Court Declares Seal Hunt Observers Innocent

More info on the annual barbaric seal hunt:
Canadian Seal Hunt
Sea Shepherd's Seal Campaign
HSUS's Campaign to Stop the Seal Hunt

Want to Stop World Hunger? Stop Eating Animals

by Stephanie Ernst

categories: Farm Animals, Oppression Connections, Vegan

Published October 17, 2008 @ 07:33AM PT

Contrary to what some critics say, animal rights advocates do not despise humans or care about nonhuman animals more than humans, or seek to raise the status of animals at the expense of humans. Most animal rights advocates are also deeply concerned about human rights, environmental matters, and other issues, many of which are connected to one another and to animal rights issues.

World hunger is one of many areas where the rights and well-being of nonhuman animals and the rights and well-being of humans could be helped by the same solution. Read on.
"Give It Up, Guys," by Guardian writer Andrew Tyler

The truth can no longer be dodged. Livestock farming gobbles up agricultural land, water and energy that could far more efficiently be devoted to growing food for people to eat directly. Meat, therefore, is a rich person's food and those who consume it—whether in India, Denmark or England—cause malnourishment and death among the world's poorest people.

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