01.02.08
Should Animals Be Doing More?
Should Animals Be Doing More For The Animal Rights Movement?
Happy New Year Everyone! 
12.29.07
Equanimity In Action
“Be intent on action, not the fruits of action.
Avoid attachment to the fruits and attraction to inaction!
Perform actions firm in discipline, relinquishing attachment.
Be impartial to failure and success;
This equanimity is called discipline.”
- Bhagavad Gita 11:47
12.25.07
Do They Know It’s Chrismas Time at All?
This Christmas, may all beings experience peace, love, and compassion. ChooseVeg.com
12.02.07
Ban Battery Cages: My Tour of a Modern Day Egg Facility
Hens suffer miserable lives in filthy, wire and metal “battery cages” to produce cheap eggs for people to eat. View a pictoral tour of a battery cage egg farm.
In 2000, members of Compassionate Action for Animals and I did an open rescue at an egg farm in LeSueur, MN owned by Michael Foods. The eggs from this farm are packaged and sold to consumers under the brand name Crystal Farms.
Confinement, Neglect and Deprivation
Sadly, not much has changed in terms of how chickens are raised for egg production. They are still confined in filthy, barren wire and metal cages where they are unable to freely turn around, move, or stretch even a single wing.
Contagious disease is a real problem in these overcrowded prisons for egg-laying hens. Industry responds by adding antibiotics into the feed, which is producing human health consequences as more bacteria become resistant to antibiotics from their overuse.
When we visited, one million and six-hundred thousand hens were imprisoned in the facility. We found scores of sick and injured hens forced to languish untreated.
A hen, who we named Wren, suffers from an untreated ear infection. What you see is the untreated blood and puss that has been allowed to accumulate. We got her vet care and took her to sanctuary where she recovered and thrived.
They suffered from large bloody growths, ear infections, eye infections, respiratory diseases, broken bones, prolapsed oviducts, beak neuromas, and a host of other ills.
It was no suprise that workers spent nearly four hours a day removing animals who died from neglect and illness from the cages.
Dead and dying hens were dumped in wheelbarrows around the facility.
Despite this, we frequently found live hens in cages with the dead, decomposing, maggot and fly-infested corpses of dead hens.
Deprived of a Mother’s Love and Mutilated
Hens used for eggs originate in a hatchery where–instead of having a mother hen lovingly turn their eggs multiple times a day and chirp to them while they are in their shells, and then protect, love and nurture them once they hatch–they are rotated and hatched by machine. Deprived of their mother’s love, protection, and guidance, they arrive in a cold an alien world.
They are sexed. The baby male chicks, who are deemed worthless by the egg industry because they cannot make eggs, are soffocated to death or ground up alive in giant blenders so they can become fertilizer or food for other animals.
This hen, whom we named Audrey, suffered from a double beak neuroma as a result of the severe debeaking she underwent. Her comb is also floppy and pale; a sign of sickness and poor health. We rescued rehabilitated her before taking her to sanctuary.
The female chicks, however, have part of their beaks seared off with a hot blade in a process known as debeaking. No pain-killers are provided and this proceedure is painful not only at the time of being debeaked, but also for month’s afterwards. Many of them develop painful beak neuromas as their severed nerve endings try to regenerate themselves.
Industry debeaks hens to prevent fatalities from stress-induced fighting in the cages. However, another solution would be to provide hens enough space to socialize normally and the ability to escape dominant hens.
Slaughter
When the hens’ egg production delinces, usually around 18 to 24 months of age, they too will be slaughtered and used for chicken soup or nuggets.
This hen suffers from a prolapsed oviduct. We named her Catherine. This picture was taken of her immediately after her rescue. Follow the jump to see how she looked after being rehabilitated and taken to sanctuary.
Read the rest of this entry »
11.19.07
Sowing Seeds Workshop in Keene, New Hampshire
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.
11.17.07
Thich Nhat Hanh Advocates Veganism
“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.
11.02.07
Please Don’t Drive Drunk
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 »
10.24.07
Amazing Cowhide Fact
Me exhibiting for Mercy For Animals today at the Columbus State Community College.
While tabling today, a neighboring exhibitor told me a riddle and now I am going to ask it of you: What is the number one use of cowhide in the world today?
What is your guess? Follow the link to get the answer. Read the rest of this entry »
10.02.07
Sowing Seeds at the Peace Center
Workshop participants
Langhorn, PA — A few weeks back I took a pause in my work at Mercy For Animals to go the Peace Center and teach a weekend Sowing Seeds Workshop — check out the pictures. It was a great group of people with a lot of experience in advocacy and education.
As we do at all Sowing Seeds Workshops, we spoke about how to respectfully talk about difficult issues such as racism, sexism, heterosexism, speciesism, consumerism, environmental destruction, and other issues without making our audience defensive (and without sugar-coating the facts).
During our discussions, New York humane educator Jasmin mentioned an article, White Privilege, that she encouraged us all to read. It is a great article that helps those of us who are white better understand the kinds of privleges that we take for granted that people of color cannot expect to receive. Read the rest of this entry »
09.21.07
Vegan Article in The Lantern
One of Mercy For Animals at OSU’s volunteers helping with the 2007 student involvement fair where over 150 people signed up to get involved.
The Lantern, the Ohio State University’s daily college paper, recently published an excellent article on veganism. It gave great information on why people choose a vegan diet, and gave a lot of good advice and resources to help people make the switch to a vegan diet (including this Web site, and specifically this page).
Unfortunately, the dieticians who were interviewed are espousing information on protein that is about 20 years outdated. They still are talking about protein deficiency and the need to compliment vegetable proteins at every meal, which as most nutritionists know is a bunch of hoo ha. Even when I got my nutrition degree at the University of Minnesota back in 1996, they taught us that if you eat a variety of vegan foods and eat enough calories to maintain a reasonable body weight, you are going to get all of your protein needs met.
Moreover, current research shows that excess protein, especially the consumption of animal protein, is directly linked to an increased risk of several types of cancers. I recommend The China Study by T. Colin Campbell to learn more about this link.
The reality is that if people have health concerns, a whole foods, vegan diet is the best way to prevent and even reverse disease and poor health.
MFA at OSU members and supporters left messages in chalk all over campus Tuesday to create a buzz about vegetarianism on campus.
Resources for Becoming Vegetarian or Vegan
If you want to help animals, the environment, your health, and other people (like the hungry who go without so we can feed our grain to cattle, and the slaughterhouse workers who are completely exploited and used) then adopt a vegetarian diet. Here are some resources to aid you:
Get active with MFA at OSU like this volunteer is doing at OSU’s student involvement fair.
Resources for Buckeyes
If you are a student at Ohio State University, I encourage you to get involved with Mercy For Animals at OSU. Here are some resources to help you:
MFA at OSU’s New Member Meeting
One upcoming event that you should definitely check out is our New Member Meeting for OSU students. Learn how to help animals while socializing with vegetarian, vegan, and animal-friendly folk. Attend our new volunteer meeting where we will discuss who we are, what we do, and how you can get more involved.
MFA at OSU organizes a variety of events and activities and there will certainly be something of interest for you. Everyone who wants to help animals is welcome. Join us in helping improve the lives of animals by becoming part of MFA at OSU.
Where: Hagerty Hall (037, HH), Room 071, 1775 College Rd., Columbus
When: Wed., Sept. 26 at 6:30 p.m.