11.19.07
Posted in Social Justice, Unitarian Universalism, Animal Rights, Activism, Humane Education at 11:54 am by Freeman Wicklund
Participants at the Sowing Seeds Workshop in Keene, New Hampshire.
Nov. 10-11 was the Institute for Humane Education’s Keene, New Hampshire Sowing Seeds Workshop. It is always refreshing to be with a group of people who are dedicated to improving the world and willing to improve themselves to make it happen. The participants at this workshop were no exception.
Humane Education Resources
Many of them wanted to know about additional Humane Education resources. We created a huge list at the workshop of humane education resources, but they still wanted more. Here they are.
First, I can’t stress enough how many great resources can be found at the Institute for Humane Education’s Web site, HumaneEducation.org. The site contains:
- fantastic lesson plans and activities you can use to teach these issues
- hundreds of links to the various organizations working on animal, environmental, cultural, human rights, peace and humane education issues
- a variety of excellent books on humane issues that are avilable for purchase
- job listings for people seeking employment in the field of humane education
- and much more, so check it out!
I also have my modest resource list of humane education organizations which you can network with and model your promotional materials after, as well as groups that offer lesson plans which you can peruse.
I’m trying to pay attention to the workshop’s conversation, while one of my favorite participants vies for my attention.
Read the rest of this entry »
Permalink
11.17.07
Posted in Veganism, Social Justice, Animal Rights, Peace at 11:01 am by Freeman Wicklund
“Eating meat… with mindfulness, we will realize that we are eating the flesh of our own children.” -Thich Nhat Hanh
In a recent letter by Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hanh (who often goes by Thây) speaks to many pressing social justice issues: human rights and democracy in Burma, global warming, the war in Iraq, and the benefits of a vegetarian diet.
He recounts a poignant story told by the Buddha in the Son’s Flesh Sutra and applies it to our relationship with food. Here it is as told by Thây:
This couple, with their little child, on their way seeking asylum had to cross the desert. Due to a lack of geographical knowledge, they ran out of food, while they were only half way through the desert. They realized that all three of them would die in the desert, and they had no hope to get to the country on the other end of the desert to seek asylum. Finally, they made the decision to kill their little son. Each day they ate a small morsel of his flesh, in order to have enough energy to move on, and they carried the rest of their son’s flesh on their shoulders, so that it could continue to dry in the sun. Each time when they finished eating a morsel of their son’s flesh, the couple looked at each other and asked: “Where is our beloved child now?”
Having told this tragic story, the Buddha looked at the monks and asked: “Do you think that this couple was happy to eat their son’s flesh?”
“No, World Honored One. The couple suffered when they had to eat their son’s flesh,” the monks answered.
The Buddha taught: “Dear friends, we have to practice eating in such a way that we can retain compassion in our hearts. We have to eat in mindfulness. If not, we may be eating the flesh of our own children.”
UNESCO reported that each day about 40,000 children die because of hunger or lack of nutrition. Meanwhile, corn and wheat are largely grown to feed livestock (cows, pigs, chickens, etc.) or to produce alcohol. Over 80 percent of corn and over 95 percent of oats produced in the United States are for feeding livestock. The world’s cattle alone consume a quantity of food equivalent to the caloric needs of 8.7 billion people, more than the entire human population on earth.
Eating meat and drinking alcohol with mindfulness, we will realize that we are eating the flesh of our own children.
He then goes on to outline the full extent of the environmental problems of consuming animals, advocating that all people become vegan or eat vegan 15 days out of the month. Read Thich Nhat Hanh’s full letter.
Permalink
11.02.07
Posted in Veganism, Animal Rights, My Life at 3:42 pm by Freeman Wicklund
Please never, ever, ever drive drunk. I am so thankful to have walked away from this accident.
Last night, I was driving home to Columbus from Cleveland after watching an excellent presentation by co-author of Why Animals Matter, Erin Williams, when I was rear-ended on Hwy 71 South by a drunk driver. Drunk driving is a horrible problem. According to Alcohol Alert, in 2005, 39 percent of all traffic fatalities involved drunk drivers. That translates into 16,885 alcohol-related driving deaths during that year. I am so lucky to have walked away from this accident, as is the driver whose car crashed into me while she hit her car’s exploding airbags.
Please don’t drink and drive. Even if you are not drunk, drinking impairs one’s judgment and reaction time. If you have been drinking, get a cab, arrange for a designated driver, have a friend pick you up, or walk (stumble?) home if you must, but do not risk killing yourself or others!
Accordian anyone? My car is totalled, and I worry that Mercy For Animals’ $600 projector, which was in the trunk, was also destroyed.
The accident happened at 1:30 a.m. while I was only a few hundred yards from my exit. The police who showed up at the accident site were very helpful, but I did not get home until about 3 a.m. , as I waited for the tow truck to haul away the wreckage and for the police to take the woman away to jail so they could do a blood alcohol test on her.
I am worried that Mercy For Animals’ $600 projector, which we use to give presentations on the benefits of a vegetarian diet, is destroyed. It was in the trunk of the car which will now probably require the jaws of life to get open.
One more close-up for you.
All in all, I am honestly blesssed that this accident was not worse. I am very thakful. But it’s time to play taps for this car. Does anyone know someone getting rid of a used Prius for cheap? 
Author Erin Williams giving a presentation on her book Why Animals Matter at Mercy For Animals’ free vegan dinner in Cleveland last night.
The accident happened on the tail of a wonderful evening. Erin Williams was on fire at last night’s Mercy For Animals’ free vegan dinner in Cleveland. She spoke about the problems with factory farming for animals and the environment, gave those of us working for change a lot of reasons for hope, and wowed us with her knowledge and ability to articulate her message.
Erin with her 4H heifer friend, Zelda, and a younger version of herself in the background.
One of the most powerful stories in her presentation was how she became involved in animal protection. She grew up on a dairy farm and was a 4H member. She raised a young heifer named Zelda, who became as much a part of her family as her family dog. Zelda taught her about the intelligent and social nature of cows. Zelda would gallop over to see her every time Erin visited her in the pasture. Then one day Zelda was gone.
Zelda was a barren heifer. Unable to breed, she was also unable to produce milk because, like all mammals, cows only produce milk to feed their offspring. Zelda had been taken to slaughter without anyone telling Erin about it. Erin was devastated, and later when she was at one of her favorite restaurants about to eat a burger, she realized that Zelda could be one of the cows in the burger. She also thought how there was no moral difference between eating Zelda and eating any other cow, and that was it. She became a vegetarian and later a vegan.
Erin speaks about the overcrowding, filthy, disease-ridden conditions of factory farms.
Erin now works for the Humane Society of the United States in their factory farming campaigns department, trying to get the most egregious forms of confinement such as battery cages, veal crates and gestation crates banned. Her experience and knowledge of the issues truly shined through during her presentation, and I am very excited to read her book.
Why Animals Matter was flying out of the boxes and into people’s hands at MFA’s three events.
After the talk, Erin sold and signed copies of her book for people. She sold a total of 52 copies and generously donated the proceeds to Mercy For Animals.
Mercy For Animals and I cannot thank Erin enough for her wonderful contributions. She actually took time off from work, drove from DC to Columbus on her own dime (or more like C-note given the gas prices), donated the proceeds from her book sales to MFA, and would not accept the honorarium MFA offered her. She is committed to moving her message and helping end the needless suffering of farmed animals. For that, she is a true hero, and we at MFA hope that providing her with this forum helps further her worthy aims.
Thank you Erin!
There are more photos after the jump. Read the rest of this entry »
Permalink