Farm Animals
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The Agony in Your Pillow and Jacket: Time to Ditch the Down
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World Vegan Day and Remembering Where We Started
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Are Vegans Responsible for More Deaths in the Fields? No Way
That "Hog" Over the Fire Is a Baby Piglet
Published October 26, 2009 @ 06:29AM PT
Many people assume, without ever really thinking about it, that the animals they're eating were killed as adults. But just like most of our assumptions about nonhuman animals -- from their capacities for thought and emotion and the bonds they build to how they live, suffer, and die on farms, in slaughterhouses, in labs, and elsewhere -- this assumption too is wrong. Not long ago, I shared a video with you, of Glenn Gaetz from Liberation BC pointing out that "We Eat Babies." And he was telling the truth.
But we don't use language that reflects this. And one example that always gets to me is the word "hog." It's the word we often use when we talk about "hog farms" and "hog farmers," and even as I used the word in a post recently, I was uncomfortable with doing it.
Important Films to See, at Home and at Festivals
Published October 24, 2009 @ 02:20PM PT
Last December, I wrote a post about the new documentary Fowl Play, which takes viewers inside the egg industry. And now you can order DVDs of the documentary -- for yourself, for family and friends, or for activist events. Visit the film's site for the trailer and clips and to place your order. And if you are interested in hosting a screening in your area, you can find tips and suggestion for that here. Between this documentary and the Mercy for Animals undercover hatchery investigation last month and all the numerous investigations before it, a lot of people have to be questioning how important it really is to them to keep eating eggs.
Meanwhile, Peaceable Kingdom is still making the festival rounds -- and successfully! It won the "Spirit of Moondance" Best Feature Documentary when it premiered at the Moondance International Film Festival last month, and since then, festival screenings have been continuing elsewhere. The premiere weekend is recapped here, complete with slideshow and a lovely video. Become a fan on Facebook and join the e-mail list to keep up-to-date on screenings as they're added. I'm counting down the days 'til the film and its remarkable filmmakers arrive in St. Louis next month.
And finally, another documentary whose release I've been anxious for since hearing about it last year is Got the facts on Milk? The Milk Documentary, and a recent check in at the official Web site indicates a Spring 2010 release now. Check it out and sign up for updates.
Worldwatch: Livestock Account for 51% Greenhouse Gases; Meat and Dairy Must Be Replaced
Published October 20, 2009 @ 04:26PM PT
An article just published by the Worldwatch Institute's World Watch magazine comes to some must-read -- and must-heed -- conclusions (my thanks to Laura P. for alerting me). Environmental researchers Robert Goodland and Jeff Anhang have determined that even the high percentage of greenhouse gases for which we already understand animal agriculture to be responsible is a gross underestimate (emphasis in the following is mine):
Our analysis shows that livestock and their byproducts actually account for at least 32,564 million tons of CO2e [CO2 equivalent] per year, or 51 percent of annual GHG emissions.
This is a strong claim that requires strong evidence, so we will thoroughly review the direct and indirect sources of GHG emissions from livestock. Some of these are obvious but underestimated, some are simply overlooked, and some are emissions sources that are already counted but have been assigned to the wrong sectors.
Illinois: Where Hog Farming Dollars Trump Environment and Human Health
Published October 20, 2009 @ 06:56AM PT
Illinois is a hog farming state. If you live in more rural areas of Illinois, you probably know at least one hog farmer. Having grown up there, I directly know at least three, with at least one of these operations being a CAFO -- run by members of my own family. Only Iowa, North Carolina, and Minnesota are home to more hog farms (and hogs) than Illinois.
So given the numbers and the pull of Illinois' pig farmers and its trade group, the Illinois Pork Producers, perhaps I shouldn't be surprised by the story I just learned of this morning. Two and a half years ago, in a rural area near Springfield, a farmer was preparing to start an operation in which he would raise 3,750 pigs for slaughter at a time. Neighbors objected. And they were dismissed. And now the court has ruled that they owe the hog farmer damages.
Sadness to Sweetness
Published October 19, 2009 @ 02:40PM PT
Perhaps you've read Angelo's story by now? Angelo is a lamb. He was born last month -- while his mother was crammed in a truck of sheep bound for slaughter in New York. His mother and the other hundred sheep met their horrible fate, but a passerby rescued Angelo upon seeing his newborn figure during the unloading. Like nearly all the nonhuman animals we exploit for their flesh, milk, eggs, skin, wool, and more, Angelo did not get to know his mother. And she did not get to know him. She didn't experience just the usual trauma of transport, abuse, intense fear, and violent death -- she simultaneously had to experience the loss of her baby, the distress of not being able to comfort him, care for him, or even know what became of him after his birth. And a newborn lamb was left without a mother in a frightening new world.
But Angelo is still one of the rarest of the rare; he was rescued instead of slaughtered and taken to Farm Sanctuary. And though it's impossible not to mourn for him and mourn for his mother -- and for the billions of others like them -- there is still joy to be found in witnessing Angelo's now-protected life. Following are 75 seconds of a baby's bliss (and other sanctuary residents' curious interest in the energetic young fellow):
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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.
Wonderland Amusement Park Slaughter
Published October 02, 2009 @ 11:23AM PT
Yeah, you read that right: "amusement park" and "slaughter" in one phrase. I've just been introduced to the concept via TreeHugger, whose blogger writes,
Designboom shows us just about the coolest vertical farm yet, by Studio Tjep. Actually, it is much more than a farm; it is a restaurant and amusement park as well. It is designed to educate as well as produce; "The entire process is visible to the visitor, giving the complex a didactic function as to new agricultural developments."
Immediately following? A computer-generated image that shows cows and pigs wandering around on one level of the vertical structure, with what look to be hanging (bleeding-out) pigs dangling from the ceiling just one level up.
The design company's site gushes, "Oogst 1000 combines extreme fun with extreme usefulness. One can see this amusement park as a huge people processor. Hotel guests are also the farmers, when you work, you can stay for free."
Interesting word choice. Isn't "processor" the euphemism animal ag folks like to use for slaughterhouses? "Chicken processor," "beef processing plant," and so on? But in this world, apparently, "processor" is something fun and safe for humans, and killing animals has moved up to being part of an amusement park. I wonder, is participation in the killing one of the options for "extreme fun" and a free stay?
Creepy.
In more compassionate news, it's World Farm Animals Day (and Gandhi's birthday). So give veganism a test drive this weekend, won't you? There are countless recipes out there calling your name, including the ones rounded up weekly here.
