Tag Archives: Slaughterhouse

animal activism, animal rights, DXE, news

NEWS OF THE WEEK: Vegan Skater Wins The Gold, Activists Protest At Westminster Dog Show, Feb. 13 – Feb. 19, 2018

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Ice skater Meagan Duhamel has been vegan since 2008.

VEGAN SUPERSTAR

Vegan ice skater Meagan Duhamel of Canada did us proud last week, winning the Gold Medal in pairs skating at the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics. Vegan since 2008, her coach initially was unenthusiastic about her switch from eating animals to eating plants, believing she would become malnourished. “I felt my body changing,” she told Veg News. “I lost weight, my skin was glowing, my energy levels were on the rise, and I woke up every morning feeling rested and ready to tackle the new day ahead.” Her coach saw her performance and strength improve and eventually came around to asking Duhamel to work with other athletes who were struggling with their diets. (Veg News, Feb. 13, 2018)

PROTEST AT WESTMINSTER DOG SHOW

The Westminster Dog show, inspiration for the hilarious film, “Best In Show,” was met with animal rights protesters last week in Manhattan where the event is held. The activists, including members of PETA, said the extravaganza promotes dog breeding when many dogs living in shelters need homes. Some protesters brought along their mixed-breed dogs. Ashley Byrne of PETA told the AP, “Events like these just promote the buying of dogs as objects instead of adopting.” (Associated Press, Feb 12, 2018)

SLAUGHTERHOUSE SURVIVED APPEAL IN SAN FRANCISCO

Despite the best efforts of the Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) to stop the establishment of a slaughterhouse in San Francisco’s Bayview District, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted 11 – 0 to allow the project to go forward. The ALDF argued that the board should commission an environmental impact report before approving the enterprise but the supervisors countered that the slaughterhouse, which is going to be just over 2000 square feet, didn’t represent serious enough environmental harm. The slaughterhouse will be owned by Saba Live Poultry which is a small national chain of slaughterhouses. Saba owns a facility in Oakland which was the subject of a DxE protest last year. (San Francisco Examiner, Feb. 13, 2018)

THE RACE TO BECOME THE ‘ANIMAL PARTY’

In the UK, the Labour party is trying hard to appeal to animal rights advocates, promising everything from allowing renters to keep pets, to a ban on exporting animals for slaughter, to labeling on meat indicating the farm where it came from, and to providing low-cost vet care for low-income people. Meanwhile the Conservative party says it will institute around the clock CCTV in farms and slaughterhouses, ban puppy farms and increase the penalties for animal abusers 10 times. We think nonhuman animals would approve of ALL that. (The Telegraph, Feb. 14, 2018)

PROPOSING A MORATORIUM ON NEW PIG FARMS IN IOWA

Two retired University of Iowa professors along with several animal rights groups including HSUS and environmental groups are calling for a moratorium on building new pig farms in Iowa. Iowa, the largest pig meat producer in the country, has been building or expanding 500 new pig farms a year for the last 10 years. “For several decades the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and state governments have failed to regulate the environmental impacts of factory farms,” the groups wrote in a letter to the Iowa General Assembly. “A moratorium will give legislators an overdue opportunity to evaluate the public health, economic and societal impacts of factory farms while providing Iowa’s communities with important statutory protections from further expansion of this industry.” A pork industry spokesman said such an action would be “devastating” to Iowa’s economy and livestock production. (Farm Journal PORK, Feb. 14, 2018)

DIESTEL TURKEY RANCH SCORES A VICTORY IN COURT

An Alameda Superior Court judge, Ioana Petrou, ruled against DxE, in its claim of false advertising against Diestel Turkey Ranch. The ranch, which had been subject of a months long investigation by the animal rights network was found by that group to be raising turkeys in dark, filthy, crowded sheds, despite labels claiming the birds had been “thoughtfully raised” and “range grown.” Unfortunately, since this labeling had been approved by the USDA, the judge concluded that the state had no jurisdiction in the matter. “Once the USDA has reviewed and approved product labels, any claim that labels as approved are false or misleading is preempted by the PPIA [Poultry Products Inspection Acts],” Petrou wrote in her final ruling, citing a 2017 lawsuit against Campbell Soup Co. Despite this setback, DxE vows to fight on with its lawsuit, challenging claims made by Diestel in materials not approved by the USDA. (Union Democrat, Feb. 16, 2018)

 

 

animal activism, animal rights, art, environment, humor, vegan

ON THE “DON’T READ” LIST

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Food activists, if you feel your positivity slipping a bit, here’s some books you don’t want to read:

1) “Meatonomics: How the Rigged Economics of Meat and Dairy Make You Consume Too Much” by David Robinson Simon.

2) “Whitewash: The Disturbing Truth About Cow’s Milk and Your Health” by Joseph Keon.

3) “Slaughterhouse: The Shocking Story of Greed, Neglect and Inhumane Treatment Inside the U.S. Meat Industry” by Gail Eisnitz

4) “Green is the New Red: The Inside Account of a Social Movement Under Siege” by Will Potter

5) “Comfortably Unaware: What We Choose To Eat Is Killing the Planet and Us” by Richard Oppenlander.

Each of these books in their own ways can scare and depress almost anybody in the veg world, or, for that matter, in the “real world.”

Let’s start with “Meatonomics,” which is not so much scary or disgusting as it is infuriating and frustrating. This jaw-grinder shows how the animal foods industry is totally ripping us off. You think the oil industry has it good with the feds giving them $10 billion in subsidies every year? Well, the animal food industry gets $38 billion in annual federal subsidies and that price tag doesn’t include all the environmental damage they cause.

Part of those tax-payer dollars go (of course) into corporate coffers. But another part of those tax dollars go to keeping the cost of animal foods relatively low. And those cheap prices for meat, dairy and eggs and relatively high prices for fruits and vegetables help keep the whole meat-eating thing in America going strong.

If you read that book (which I don’t advise) you will realize, “We have met the enemy and the enemy is the $1 hamburger.”

Another book which should be strictly avoided is the dreaded “Whitewash,” which is about the horror we euphemistically call the “dairy industry,” and how drinking milk, eating cheese and the rest can impact human health. A definite “don’t read,” unless you’re still eating cheese.

Next is “Slaughterhouse.” That book has been sitting on my shelf in the living room unopened for about two years. The reason I’m scared to look at it is that the very worst, most disgusting animal abuse described in “Eating Animals” by Jonathan Safran Foer came from Gail Einitz’s “Slaughterhouse.”

“Green is the New Red” is another book that should be blacklisted by depressed vegans. In this book you’ll find out how animal rights activists who have engaged in nothing more than protesting, making speeches and property destruction have been tried and convicted in federal court as “eco-terrorists,” and are, as I write this, serving sentences in prison – some as long as 20 years!

“Comfortably Unaware” is a devastating book if you worry about the habitability of the planet. If you (stupidly) read this book the way I did you’ll acquire such handy information as “During every one second of time in just the United States alone, 89,000 pounds of excrement is produced by the chickens, turkeys, pigs, sheep, goats and cows raised and killed for us to eat.” You’ll learn how a big portion of global warming is caused by the livestock industry (more than the transportation sector.) You’ll also get the troubling realization that there’s actually no such thing as “sustainable livestock production” and that grass-fed cows produce twice as much methane as factory-farmed cows.

Ok, so maybe you’ve already read these books and you’re depressed as hell. What to do? As a person who is now Uncomfortably Aware, you’d be perfect to leaflet for Vegan Outreach! If you happen to live in a big city, it’s quite possible that they have a group of VO pamphleteers in your area. If not maybe you can start a group.

The great thing about leafleting is you’re actually doing something. Once you’re out there handing out leaflets you’ll quickly learn that the most successful leafleters are happy and if they’re not happy, they act happy. Acting happy can often lead to the real thing and it can lead to spreading the vegan word.

Another thing you might try is drawing vegan cartoons and posting them on Facebook. It can put you in a good mood. Well, it can also put you in a bad mood if nobody likes them. OK, don’t draw vegan cartoons.

I think the best joy-generator (besides large checks for money arriving in the mail) is exercise. I love, love, love that. Of course, there’s always vegan chocolate cake (Thank you Colleen Patrick Goudreau), vegan pizza, avocado sushi roll, lentil enchiladas, tofu lasagna and on and on and on.

Go vegan!

— A Vicious Vegan blog post —