Environment and Global Warming
Breaking: Obama and Salazar to Sell Out Polar Bears, Bush-Style
Published May 08, 2009 @ 09:24AM PT
Update: See the statements from Defenders of Wildlife and the National Wildlife Federation.
It's taking all the restraint I have right now not to say what I really want to say about and to President Barack Obama and Secretary of the Interior Sleazear Salazar.
At least with Bush and his administration, we knew what we were getting. We knew he didn't give a damn about animals. We knew he and his appointees would always put corporate and agribusiness interests ahead of animals.
Obama was supposed to be different. What-the-hell-ever. This administration's decision to throw polar bears to the wolves of corporate America and to throw the wolves to the ranchers and hunters is an outrage.
The shelter dogs. The gray wolves. The polar bears. Whom are you going to sell out next, fellas?
AP: Obama Sticks with Bush-Era Polar Bear Rule
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Interior Department is letting stand a Bush administration regulation that limits protection of polar bears from global warming, three people familiar with the decision told The Associated Press.
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar will announce on Friday that he will not rescind the Bush rule, although Congress gave him authority to do so. . . .
Earth Day, Food Choices, and Heads in the Sand
Published April 22, 2009 @ 07:24AM PT
Many of the animal rights activists I know are already serious environmentalists; the two--respect for all animals and respect for this planet, for its air and waters and its mountains and forests and its inhabitants big and small, plant and animal, near to us and far--are both a part of who we are, and we see how it all interconnects. In my communities of friends and acquaintances, my animal rights-minded vegan friends tend to be the ones who, even aside from their food choices, live in the greenest ways, from commuting by bicycle to using handkerchiefs and recycled paper products (more on this soon) to backyard gardening and composting to making conscious environmentally friendly purchases across the board, and more. To those vegans who aren't extending their greenness beyond their veganism, who think veganism is enough by itself (it isn't), I obviously recommend some changes.
And to organizations and individuals who are promoting Earth Day today without putting the devastating environmental costs of animal agriculture--of eating flesh, dairy, and eggs--near the top of the discussion list: please, for your sake, for my sake, for future generations' sake, for Earth's sake, pull your head out of the sand, quit ignoring what's inconvenient because you don't want to make that big of a change, and start addressing the problem with the attention and seriousness it warrants.
How can anyone talk about the disaster of--and about stopping--deforestation without acknowledging that cattle ranching and the growing of animal-feed crops are a primary cause of deforestation, when 70 percent of the disastrous deforestation in the Amazon is a result of cattle ranching, and still more beyond that 70 percent happens so that crops for animal feed (not, for example, for food to feed the world's hungry and starving) can be raised? How can anyone talk about pollution of waterways and groundwater without pointing out that animal agriculture--and its 86,000 pounds per second of excrement in the United States, as the video below points out--is a primary cause of that pollution? How do we lament our dying oceans and ignore how we are causing that death with our fishing of the oceans for our food--with a large percentage of the catch going to feed livestock, in addition to what humans actually eat?
Campaigns today that don't shine a light on all this, that don't call on people to change their diets--significantly, now, and permanently, not just for the day or the week--I can't take seriously. If this is really Earth Day and not Make Ourselves Feel Better Day, then the problem of animal agriculture must be a significant, primary part of the discussion.
Please see the illuminating (but gentle) video below and links to related posts below that video.
A Life Connected: Vegan. For the People. For the Planet. For the Animals.
See also this compelling video from the other day.
Related posts and resources:
- NRDC on livestock farms and water pollution
- Harold Brown's series of posts (link directs to first post; other parts are linked to there) on how animal agriculture will be the death of this planet--and us--if we continue on our current path (and a thoughtful explanation of how free-range pasture systems aren't the solution people think)
- Researchers: Even “Organically Raised” Cows Are a “Climate Bomb”
- ALDF: Fix Global Warming the Easy, Low-Tech Way
- Let's Act Now
- Veg for the Environment from Bite Global Warming (a FARM campaign)
Image: From public art exhibit, Chicago 2007. Photo by Flickr user JohnLeGear.
Have Plans on Earth Day? Watch This
Published April 21, 2009 @ 06:33AM PT
I assume that even if you're not planning to celebrate Earth Day tomorrow with a party or by attending an event, you're at least going to be going about your life as usual on Earth Day, right? I mean, you're still going to at the very least eat at some point, right? And on Earth Day and every day, you care about the planet and your effects on it, right? Then watch this. The link has been floating around for a while, but I never watched it until Mary Martin of Animal Person posted it the other day because, for some reason, I had the idea that it was a specific video I'd already seen a dozen times. I was wrong; this one was new to me.
Watch. It covers a lot of issues, with compelling images of what's happening around--and to--this world of ours and how it's happening.
I will make but one remark on the video's message, the same one I've made at other times: the issues attributed to "beef" production are dairy issues too. Replacing omnivorism with vegetarianism and replacing flesh intake with increased dairy and egg intake isn't a solution--it doesn't reduce your environmental footprint nearly as much as cutting out animal products altogether, and it doesn't reduce suffering either if your reasons for cutting out flesh intake are ethical; it just moves the suffering to dairy cows, veal calves, egg-laying hens, and baby male chicks.
Veganic Farming: A Sustainable (and Compassionate) Solution
Published March 28, 2009 @ 01:01PM PT
Following is the final part of former animal farmer Harold Brown's multipart guest post. In addition to this excellent, thoughtful post, see also these previous posts: part 1, "Animal Ag: Will It Be Our Death? An Intro to Cattle Culture; part 2, "Free-Range Pasture Systems Not a Viable Solution"; and part 3, "Cattle Culture, Aquaculture, and Export of the Western Diet." -S. Ernst
Okay, I've pointed out some concerns regarding livestock production, with an emphasis on free-range and pasture-fed. What are some answers? Quite simply, it is animal-free organic farming, also known as stock-free or veganic farming.
Recently a book was published called Growing Green (purchase here) that gives not only the reasons we must adopt stock-free practices, but also the nuts and bolts on how to do it on any scale. An organic farmer in New Mexico named Don Bustos converted to veganic practices at his CSA (community supported agriculture) and soon was supplying the same amount of food for his shares from less acreage. Producing food with less land!
-Continue after the jump for much more-
Cattle Culture, Aquaculture, and Export of the Western Diet
Published March 27, 2009 @ 10:01AM PT
The following is part 3 of a four-part post by guest contributor and former animal farmer Harold Brown. See also part 1, "Animal Ag: Will It Be Our Death? An Intro to Cattle Culture," and part 2, "Free-Range Pasture Systems Not a Viable Solution," from earlier in the week. -S. Ernst
This discussion brings me to another subject, Heifer International. Most people and faith communities believe they are doing good work, feeding poor people around the world. Don't be fooled. Heifer International, in my opinion, is the gateway for cattle culture expansion. There has been a concerted effort for over 30 years to change the diet of the "developing" world. In this case, "developing" refers to anything other than the Western model of affluence. If you look at their website, you would be amazed at how much it looks like any of a number of farm animal sanctuaries in the United States.
Agribusiness sees the global south as an untapped market waiting to be exploited for its potential consumers and resources (think free-market capitalism). Beyond this CAFOs are not going to disappear anytime soon. Sure, they are having problems here in the United States, primarily because of the environmental damage they cause. But to mitigate the problems here at home, they are expanding overseas to China (now the largest hog producer in the world) and places like Poland, where Smithfield has built hog CAFOs, which, by the way, many in Poland are regretting for environmental and ethical reasons.
-Continue reading after the jump-
Soybean Leaders Join Fight Against Animal Rights
Published March 26, 2009 @ 12:05AM PT
Those whose direct business is raising and killing animals aren't the only ones in agriculture with less-than-loving feelings toward animal rights advocates. Organizations representing crop farmers are preparing to take on animal rights (and animal welfare) activists and organizations too, alongside animal ag interest groups. Is this just a matter of those in the broader business of agriculture sticking together? Not quite. The interest is a selfish one. How so? I'm so glad you asked.
A frequent jab thrown at vegans has to do with the environmental problems that accompany modern soybean farming, the erroneous assumptions being (1) that all vegans eat massive amounts of soy (no, not all do) and (2) that most soy being grown goes to make vegan foods. And this second assumption couldn't be further off-base: 90-some percent of the soy crop goes to feed livestock. Really.
-Continue after the jump-
Free-Range Pasture Systems Not a Viable Solution
Published March 24, 2009 @ 07:02AM PT
The following is part 2 of a four-part post by guest contributor Harold Brown. See the first part here. -SE
I have noticed a few things in recent articles and conversations that I would like to share my two cents on.
First, many people think that if we do give up eating meat, whether for health, environmental, or ethical/moral reasons, we will be overrun with feral farm animals. The reality is that all farm animals are purpose-bred. I seriously doubt that the world will stop eating animals and their by-products by the end of the week, which means we have to look at animal agriculture for what it is: a food supply system. In other words, as demand goes down, the herd and flock densities go down. Nearly all farm animals are artificially inseminated, regardless of the size of the operation. AI (artificial insemination) not only guarantees impregnation, but also allows for controlling the genome or bloodline with the most favorable traits and genetics. This is highly desirable to animal producers. If a producer doesn't have the demand, then he/she will not be calling the AI guy as often. Some farm animals, if they were to become feral, wouldn't be able to survive in most of the United States. Humans have manipulated their structures to the point that, say, pigs no longer have the back fat to allow them to survive cold winters. Quite honestly, the farm animals we recognize today are mere caricatures of their ancestors. Shadows of what God created. Now some people will say that the heritage breeds will be the answer. Not really, and here is why.
