Dairy and Eggs
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It Is Our Job to Fight for All of Them, Not Only Some of Them
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Investigation: Abhorrent Cruelties for Land O'Lakes and Other Dairy
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Summer and Freedom, from Dairy to Sanctuary
Cow Collapses on Man -- Guess Whose Condition Is Unknown?
Published September 19, 2009 @ 06:45AM PT
I just saw this news piece from the AP, out of Florida:
The St. Lucie County Fire District reports that a man in his early 30s, who was not identified, was milking cows early Friday morning when one of the animals fell on him. . . .
His injuries were not considered life-threatening, and he was released from the hospital later in the day.
It's not clear if the cow was injured.
The human is fine, but his experience warrants a news release. The cow whose collapse led to the man's injuries? We don't know what happened to her or why she collapsed or fell in the first place. Because no one really cares. Because she was just a milk machine.
Another Undercover Look at Eggs: How Much Cruelty in Your Dunkin' Donut?
Published September 15, 2009 @ 01:54PM PT
Last month, I wrote about Compassion Over Killing's "Dunkin' Cruelty" campaign (link best opened in a browser other than IE) aimed at getting the popular chain to remove egg and dairy from its doughnuts, in addition to providing vegan menu options. But despite COK's concerted efforts and the many e-mails, calls, and letters from customers and potential customers of Dunkin' Donuts, the company has all but ignored the campaign and the information provided on the cruelties of dairy and eggs.
They'll have a hard time ignoring this latest aspect of the campaign.
When Sweet Is Sad and Adorable Is Ironic
Published September 06, 2009 @ 07:44AM PT
At the Sustainable Food blog last week, substitute blogger Mike posted a photo that instantly made me sad. I assume, of course, that it was intended to be--and that most see it as--adorable. And there are photos out there of cute, chubby-cheeked kids and sweet-faced, beautiful cows that would bring out my "aww" reflex. But this isn't one of them.
The Undercover Hatchery Investigation--Not Just for "Factory Farms"
Published September 02, 2009 @ 02:25PM PT
Mercy for Animals' undercover investigation into what happens at hatcheries for the egg industry, about which I told you yesterday, has been getting lots of attention, via mainstream news and blogs and animal rights blogs alike. But one terribly frustrating aspect of reading some of the mainstream blog coverage and comments has been these repeated themes: "Well, this is another reason not to buy industrial eggs"; "I buy free-range, so I'm proud to say I'm not a part of this"; "If you buy local, this doesn't happen."
Not true. Many seem to be missing the point that hatcheries supply free-range operations, "local" egg producers, feed stores, and backyard hobbyists with their hens too; hens exploited for eggs, no matter where you're buying the eggs, come almost entirely from hatcheries that do exactly what the video shows.
This is not a factory farming problem. This is an animal agriculture, eating-of-eggs problem, even if you're buying "free-range."
Undercover Egg Industry Investigation Shows Chicks Ground Up Alive
Published September 01, 2009 @ 07:18AM PT
Edit: See also this follow-up post: "The Undercover Hatchery Investigation--Not Just for Factory Farms."
Numerous posts have appeared on this blog in the last year describing and showing the standard cruelties inherent to all egg production (whether battery or free-range), from the gruesome killing of 250 million malechicks each year at U.S. hatcheries to the ultimate slaughter of all egg-laying hens.
Today, you can see clearly for yourself what happens at the hatcheries, how and where large egg farms and backyard operations alike get the female chicks they will use as egg-laying hens -- and what happens to the other half of the hatched chicks, who are unfortunate enough to be male and of no economic value to the industry (because they have not been bred to grow fast enough for the flesh industry). Mercy for Animals has just released the following video obtained during an undercover investigation at the world's largest hatchery for egg-laying operations: "Thrown, dropped, mutilated, and ground-up alive. This is the shocking reality faced by hundreds of thousands of chicks each day at the world's largest egg-laying breed hatchery."
Please watch. And please remember -- this is not an investigation revealing unusual cruelties. These are the standard, accepted, long-known-about, and defended practices across the egg industry. Read and see more from the undercover investigation on MFA's site dedicated to it. Now is the time to kick the egg habit.
Image and video courtesy of Mercy for Animals
Pregnancy at Slaughter: What Happens to the Calves? Part 3 (Graphic)
Published August 22, 2009 @ 07:47AM PT
I didn't intend for there to be a third part to the posts I wrote a couple months ago about what happens to pregnant dairy cows--and the calves they're carrying--when the industry is done with them (see also part 1 and part 2). But then in recent days, this video surfaced. And of all the horrible, horrifying videos I have seen over the years, this has to be one of the absolute worst.
Notice in the background that the mother cow is still periodically kicking while bleeding out, as the calf who was brutally cut from her womb and laid out on the floor just feet away struggles and cries out for his mother. Notice how their blood--so much blood--pools together after his throat is slit too, as they die horrific deaths together, both mother and baby helpless witness to the other's suffering and violent death. For dairy.
It doesn't matter if this particular video wasn't shot in your own country of residence. The unspeakable cruelties such as these do not know borders. They happen everywhere.
This (and this and this) is dairy milk. And milk chocolate. And dairy cheese. And dairy ice cream. This horror, my friends, is dairy:
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Photo of pregnant cow on front page by Flickr user Jed Sheehan.
Photo of calves on conveyor belt courtesy Viva!
Inside the Humane Slaughterhouse
Published August 17, 2009 @ 07:22AM PT
I saw the link being circulated sometime in the last couple months. I couldn't get past the first few seconds at that time. But last night, a fellow animal advocate used the link to the video in our #oink efforts on Twitter, and I finally made myself watch. Be warned: it's brief (under 2 minutes long), but it's graphic. It's also standard. These actually aren't the worst of the horrors that animal-using industries insist are rare, and this certainly isn't a long, comprehensive video showing everything from transport to dismemberment, or even showing what happens to all the different categories of animals (e.g., the hellish slaughterhouse experience of chickens is not shown here). Rather, this is barely a snippet of what's legal and "humane." And it's what ultimately happens to all farmed animals, whether they're raised for their flesh, their milk, their eggs, or their wool. Video, photo, and investigation courtesy of the always active, always dedicated Igualdad Animal/Animal Equality. (And the post continues after the video.)
Explore helpful, compassionate websites such as this one if you're ready to not be a part of this anymore. And keep an eye on the Friday Food roundups on this blog for all sorts of ideas for compassionate, animal-friendly meals and snacks.
