Activism and Actions
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Marginalization in the Mainstream, Commiseration in the Community
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Are Vegans Responsible for More Deaths in the Fields? No Way
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Couldn't Attend Let Live 2009? Catch Up Online
Vote for Animal Rights Changemakers
Published October 23, 2009 @ 10:30AM PT
In the past few weeks, even though I've neglected to write about it, you've possibly nevertheless seen a new section of Change.org devoted to "Changemakers," where you can vote for various people of prominence within individual causes "who have demonstrated the ability to create change on one or more issues of importance." Eventually, some of these folks "will be invited to periodically write on an issue they’re passionate about and have their content featured on Change.org." See the FAQ here.
You have 10 votes to use across the Changemakers voting (i.e., not 10 votes per cause), and you can nominate new people as well as vote for some of the nominees already listed in the Animal Rights category, including the fellas pictured above, for example (click on the names to vote):
Green Scare Updates: SHAC 7, Knowing Your Rights, and Double Standards
Published October 21, 2009 @ 08:17AM PT
The usual weekly (or biweekly, sometimes, I know) Animals in the Blogs roundup is on its way soon, but in advance of that, I want to direct you to the latest goings-on at Green Is the New Red in a separate post because Will Potter has published multiple important reports this past week. For example, as many know by now, the SHAC 7 conviction was upheld, and this is bad news for all activists, as Will notes:
This case is much bigger than the SHAC 7, and it is bigger than the animal rights movement. The AETA 4 are facing terrorism charges for chalking slogans and protesting with masks. Climate groups are organizing massive civil disobedience campaigns. These movements continue to grow, and so does the crackdown against them.
This is critical time in American history. Corporations, working alongside ambitious prosecutors, are radically expanding cultural and legal conceptions of “terrorism” in order to push a political agenda. Mainstream animal and environmental groups, the press, civil liberties groups, they have all largely remained silent on this historic case. As a result, this appellate court has issued its sweeping ruling with impunity.
Appellate Court: Encouraging Civil Disobedience Is Not Protected Speech: Will examines the SHAC 7 ruling and its implications in detail here. This post is a must-read.
Pet Shop Protesters Shot -- Will It Be Labeled Terrorism?: "If an animal rights activist had committed a crime like this, against an animal researcher for instance, they would undoubtedly be prosecuted as a 'terrorist' under the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act."
Activist to Iowa Grand Jury: “We will not be intimidated. We will not cooperate.”
Know Your Rights Booklet for Activists (image, above, of the booklet cover courtesy of the Center for Constitutional Rights)
Blog Action Day for Climate Change -- Tomorrow!
Published October 14, 2009 @ 09:50AM PT
Animal-friendly bloggers, may I have your attention for a moment? I promise it's important. If you haven't heard already, tomorrow is Blog Action Day 2009, and this year's issue is climate change.
I'm guilty of not pointing this out sooner, but better late than never, right? Thousands of bloggers from around the world are going to be writing on this single issue -- a single issue of monumental importance -- tomorrow. And animal rights advocates absolutely need to be among them, not only because of how climate change threatens our fellow animals and their habitats across the planet, but also because of how significantly our exploitation of animals (i.e., raising and killing them en masse for food, clothing, etc.) is contributing to climate change in the first place.
So whatever you normally write about, whether animal rights or yummy vegan food or whatever else, please take the time to quickly register here today, and then tomorrow, write a post related to climate change. And check out the below video for Blog Action Day while you're here (there's also much else to check out at the project's site).
And finally, kudos not only to the folks who originally founded Blog Action Day, but also to the folks who this year took over the task of running it: Change.org itself is now powering Blog Action Day, and the team working on it has been putting in a lot of time, energy, and excitement to make sure it's a success.
How You Can Help the "Why Honey Is Not Vegan" Site
Published October 13, 2009 @ 07:25AM PT
We haven't had the honey conversation on this blog yet, and it tends to be an issue vegans discuss more among themselves than with others, for better or for worse. But there's a widely cited resource out there where you can get solid, thoughtful information on the harm caused for honey production (or, more accurately, theft) and why it isn't vegan.
More than 10 years ago, an animal advocate named Noah created the "Why Honey Is Not Vegan" page with comprehensive, well-thought-out information and arguments in defense of bees and in support of letting them keep their honey. If you plug the words "vegan" and "honey" into Google, your first hit is going to be his page. A decade later, the page needs an overhaul and has the potential to become a new, more comprehensive and impressive resource, and Noah is now in the last couple days of a Kickstarter fundraiser to help him work full-time on the site for a few months.
Rather than try to reword what's already been said, I want to ask you to check out two thoughtful posts about this project that are already out there in the blogosphere: (1) Steven at L.O.V.E. has covered not only the Kickstarter fundraiser but also the broader issues at play here, in "focusing on the most marginalized groups" such as insects; and (2) Ida at The Vegan Ideal has published an interview with the "Why Honey Is Not Vegan" creator. Please read those posts, and to read (and hear) more about the project directly from the creator himself and/or pledge some support for it, visit the Kickstarter page.
Finally, my thanks to Victor of L.O.V.E. for alerting me to the project (and my apologies for not catching his e-mail sooner, before doing an inbox cleanup yesterday).
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Photo by Flickr user cygnus921
Get Your Favorite Nonprofit Featured on YouTube
Published October 10, 2009 @ 07:22AM PT
The folks at YouTube have dropped us a line to let us know about a new project going called Video Volunteers. With a focus on animal welfare this month, the project asks people to choose a nonprofit they support, create an under-3-minute promotional video for that org, and submit it to be voted on -- well, sort of. According to the FAQ, Ben Stein gets to pick the top 10 submitted by October 22, and then YouTube users get 24 hours to vote those 10 down to their favorite 3, which will then be featured on the YouTube homepage.
Though "animal welfare" is the stated focus, I'm going to recommend that you actually create a video for an animal rights organization or sanctuary -- or at the very least an AR-friendly welfare/wildlife organization (e.g., not a happy-meat-promoting group, not a zoo, and not an aquarium) -- for obvious reasons. And just so everyone knows right from the start, Humane Society of the United States videos are already out of the running. Ben Stein's a supporter, and included in YouTube's must-meet-these-criteria-to-be-a-finalist list is this: "Not be about the Humane Society - Ben Stein's got them covered." But of all the animal rights and animal welfare organizations out there, HSUS needs the publicity and additional support the least, so I would have recommended going with a smaller or less-well-known group anyway, in addition to recommending a rights group.
There's no way to know in advance what's going to make it past Ben Stein into the 10 videos to vote on, but there are a lot of animal rights nonprofits and animal sanctuaries out there whose group (and whose message) could use this exposure -- with both the group and animals benefiting from the exposure -- and I know there are a lot of animal rights advocates out there with talents in this area, so I hope that some of you folks will consider grabbing your video camera and jumping on board with this and that interested nonprofits will reach out to their supporters about it. There are a number of rules for making sure your video is eligible (including making sure you have your chosen nonprofit's approval of the video) as well as some tips/guidelines for how to go about making your video, so be sure to read the details and FAQ before you get started. And then let us know here if you submit something so that we can go check it out!
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Photo uploaded to stock.xchng by tsevis
It Is Our Job to Fight for All of Them, Not Only Some of Them
Published October 07, 2009 @ 04:46PM PT
Babe Amaral, owner of Rancho Veal, acknowledged that the gathering was peaceful, but he said he was a little puzzled by the protest.
“I couldn’t figure why they were coming after us,” he said. “We sold the veal business in 2005.”
Amaral said his company still processes older cows and bulls, but any veal calves that are brought to the plant are taken to the Central Valley.
The above comes from a news report about a vigil that took place outside a slaughterhouse for World Farm Animals Day last Friday. I don't doubt for a moment that the man was sincere -- that he really didn't understand the activists' objections. Is this what happens when some animal rights and animal welfare organizations and advocates focus so narrowly, loudly, and/or exclusively on veal, foie gras, fur, battery-cage eggs, and so on? Do people thus assume that other animals are OK to kill; that for other so-called foods and indulgences, other animals don't suffer; and that other animals and pieces of animals are acceptable to eat and wear? You can probably guess my answer.
Protest the National Chicken Council Conference
Published September 29, 2009 @ 04:08PM PT
If you live or work in Washington, D.C., there's a protest planned by FARM and United Poultry Concerns this Thursday you may want to participate in over your lunch hour: "The National Chicken Council's 55th annual conference is taking place in DC Thursday, October 1st -- which also happens to be on the eve of World Farm Animals Day (Gandhi’s Birthday)." Get more info on the event here.
If you need a little inspiration -- a reminder of how unique and wonderful and full of personality the animals for whom you'll be standing up and speaking out are -- check out this sweet and wonderful recent post from Marji at Animal Place: "A Hen Profile in Black and White." This quick glimpse into the personalities of some of the sanctuary residents is well worth reading -- and sharing.
And back briefly to World Farm Animals Day: As you may recall, a couple weeks ago, Michael Weber of FARM shared a thoughtful post about WFAD, coming up this Friday. If you haven't checked the event directory yet to see if there's something planned near you, on or around WFAD, you can still do that here. If you hurry, you may still be able to get some free materials for what you have planned too.
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Photo by Flickr user monkeysnaps
