ANIMAL RIGHTS

we are all one

October 15th was Blog Action Day, with the topic being Climate Change. Obviously, I missed it, but that doesn't have to stop me from talking about it now, snort. I have to admit (being a previously proud misanthropist) that in the past I didn't care too much about climate change. As far as I was concerned, global warming was something humans helped to create, and therefore they deserved whatever consequences were coming. I felt bad for other species and for the planet itself, but people were simply gonna get what they had coming! But then I became vegan, and one unfortunate aspect of veganism is having to extend compassion to ALL living creatures including humans who behave badly, so now I'm forced to feel bad for human animals as well. ;)

I'm getting a bit better at it, and would like to share a video sent by a friend that does a good job of explaining why we're all in this together, and why we have to start caring now. Enjoy!

what I think I know about veganism so far

* posted this earlier today in my vegan blog, but think it fits well here too.

Having been vegan for over a year I decided I wanted to know more about veganism and animal rights, so I gingerly dipped my toe into the pool of knowledge that's on the Internet, and boy the learning experience has been a humbling one! Here is what I've gleaned so far, but please keep in mind that my observations (in no particular order) are subjective, and may change over time. I will probably also expand on some or most of the points below in future posts.

All I think I know for sure in this moment is that:

1. Vegans piss people off. Both within and outside of the animal rights movement.
2. The word I see most often in connection with vegan is self-righteous. True, this usually comes from people who aren't vegan themselves.
3. The thing most people who aren't vegan seem to object to the most is the attitude of moral superiority they perceive most vegans to have. I sympathize. But what do you do when you feel that veganism IS a morally superior stance?
4. Veganism has a language all of its own. And abbreviations to boot.
5. The words vegetarianism and veganism are sometimes used interchangeably, which is inaccurate and confusing.
6. There's a bit of vegetarian bashing going on right now by some vegans, which I don't think is particularly helpful.
7. As much as I used to hate proselytizing by Christians, I'm now much more sympathetic as I would love to be able to convert everyone RIGHT THIS SECOND!
8. Having said that, I'm not convinced proselytizing is effective.
9. Veganism is not A diet, which my mom still doesn't get every time she offers me something that only has "a little bit" of milk or egg or anything else.
10. Veganism is ABOUT diet, environment, and most of all, other animals.
11. But vegans become and stay vegan for any of the above reasons, and I'm not sure we can decide which one is more valid for any one vegan in particular.
12. Vegans hold themselves and others to very high standards, and can be awfully hard on, again, both themselves and others.
13. If compassion is to be the underpinning of this movement (and in my opinion it should be), then that compassion needs to be directed not only to other animals, but also to ourselves and to each other. Each other would include vegans, vegetarians, omnivores who try in their own way to help animals, liberationists, abolitionists, and animal welfare activists.
14. Derisively calling animal welfare activists new welfarists doesn't strike me as particularly compassionate. Or helpful.
15. I am an abolitionist in the sense that I am vegan and support the long-term goal of abolishing all animal use, but I'm uneasy about the abolitionist movement (although I think the proper term is faction) itself. Just as I don't believe that Christianity is the only path to God, I don't believe that abolition is the only path to animal liberation, especially when animals need our help NOW.
16. Because it scares me when any one individual or group is convinced that they have the only, and the right, answers.
17. And I think it's dangerous to be so married to your own group ideology that you're not willing to listen to and consider any other perspective.
18. Any person brave enough to head any large enough animal welfare or animal rights group or organization will be vilified by at least one other group.
19. I have read different takes on Michael Vick and the NFL, and even though I think he's a complete and utterly vile scumbag, I can see valid points for both supporting and opposing his reinstatement.
20. But no, I don't think gleefully torturing dogs (including companion animals) with your bare hands is quite the same as sitting down to dinner. For those who can't see the difference, I would point to intent, level of involvement, and participation in a socially and legally sanctioned activity, however criminal we may think it is. Besides, if the goal is to convert omnivores to veganism, treating them as morally equivalent to Vick is going to help how?
21. I honestly don't believe I would have eventually turned vegan (I was 46) had I not adored my cat and finally made the connection of "if you wouldn't eat a cat, why eat a cow?"
22. I think taking advantage of the love that people feel for their companion animals is a perfectly good place to start vegan outreach.
23. Dismantling any ism is necessarily complex, and while it's easy to pay lip service to the idea of inclusion, in any movement largely led by white, privileged men, only those who are most affected can say whether there is racism, sexism, or any ism left in the movement. To declare otherwise is naive.
24. Animal liberation is not only not going to happen overnight, it won't happen in our lifetime (at least, not mine), and unless we're willing to be a bit more co-operative for the sake of the animals, and come up with a flexible enough framework that takes the best of all approaches OR represents the majority of activists that fall in the middle, then there's real danger of movement collapse.
25. And that, would suit those people who think vegans and animal rights activists are all whacko, just absolutely fine.

Finally, what I really know for sure (depite my tone), is that I have no answers, and definitely not even all of the questions.

* posted this earlier today in my vegan blog, but think it fits well here too.

Having been vegan for over a year I decided I wanted to know more about veganism and animal rights, so I gingerly dipped my toe into the pool of knowledge that's on the Internet, and boy the learning experience has been a humbling one! Here is what I've gleaned so far, but please keep in mind that my observations (in no particular order) are subjective, and may change over time. I will probably also expand on some or most of the points below in future posts.

All I think I know for sure in this moment is that:

1. Vegans piss people off. Both within and outside of the animal rights movement.
2. The word I see most often in connection with vegan is self-righteous. True, this usually comes from people who aren't vegan themselves.
3. The thing most people who aren't vegan seem to object to the most is the attitude of moral superiority they perceive most vegans to have. I sympathize. But what do you do when you feel that veganism IS a morally superior stance?
4. Veganism has a language all of its own. And abbreviations to boot.
5. The words vegetarianism and veganism are sometimes used interchangeably, which is inaccurate and confusing.
6. There's a bit of vegetarian bashing going on right now by some vegans, which I don't think is particularly helpful.
7. As much as I used to hate proselytizing by Christians, I'm now much more sympathetic as I would love to be able to convert everyone RIGHT THIS SECOND!
8. Having said that, I'm not convinced proselytizing is effective.
9. Veganism is not A diet, which my mom still doesn't get every time she offers me something that only has "a little bit" of milk or egg or anything else.
10. Veganism is ABOUT diet, environment, and most of all, other animals.
11. But vegans become and stay vegan for any of the above reasons, and I'm not sure we can decide which one is more valid for any one vegan in particular.
12. Vegans hold themselves and others to very high standards, and can be awfully hard on, again, both themselves and others.
13. If compassion is to be the underpinning of this movement (and in my opinion it should be), then that compassion needs to be directed not only to other animals, but also to ourselves and to each other. Each other would include vegans, vegetarians, omnivores who try in their own way to help animals, liberationists, abolitionists, and animal welfare activists.
14. Derisively calling animal welfare activists new welfarists doesn't strike me as particularly compassionate. Or helpful.
15. I am an abolitionist in the sense that I am vegan and support the long-term goal of abolishing all animal use, but I'm uneasy about the abolitionist movement (although I think the proper term is faction) itself. Just as I don't believe that Christianity is the only path to God, I don't believe that abolition is the only path to animal liberation, especially when animals need our help NOW.
16. Because it scares me when any one individual or group is convinced that they have the only, and the right, answers.
17. And I think it's dangerous to be so married to your own group ideology that you're not willing to listen to and consider any other perspective.
18. Any person brave enough to head any large enough animal welfare or animal rights group or organization will be vilified by at least one other group.
19. I have read different takes on Michael Vick and the NFL, and even though I think he's a complete and utterly vile scumbag, I can see valid points for both supporting and opposing his reinstatement.
20. But no, I don't think gleefully torturing dogs (including companion animals) with your bare hands is quite the same as sitting down to dinner. For those who can't see the difference, I would point to intent, level of involvement, and participation in a socially and legally sanctioned activity, however criminal we may think it is. Besides, if the goal is to convert omnivores to veganism, treating them as morally equivalent to Vick is going to help how?
21. I honestly don't believe I would have eventually turned vegan (I was 46) had I not adored my cat and finally made the connection of "if you wouldn't eat a cat, why eat a cow?"
22. I think taking advantage of the love that people feel for their companion animals is a perfectly good place to start vegan outreach.
23. Dismantling any ism is necessarily complex, and while it's easy to pay lip service to the idea of inclusion, in any movement largely led by white, privileged men, only those who are most affected can say whether there is racism, sexism, or any ism left in the movement. To declare otherwise is naive.
24. Animal liberation is not only not going to happen overnight, it won't happen in our lifetime (at least, not mine), and unless we're willing to be a bit more co-operative for the sake of the animals, and come up with a flexible enough framework that takes the best of all approaches OR represents the majority of activists that fall in the middle, then there's real danger of movement collapse.
25. And that, would suit those people who think vegans and animal rights activists are all whacko, just absolutely fine.

Finally, what I really know for sure (depite my tone), is that I have no answers, and definitely not even all of the questions.

pig roasts, gun shows, good grief!

As stated in my July post, I moved back to my hometown after an absence of more than twenty years, and I guess I somehow forgot just how small and rurally based this area (Niagara Region) is. Or maybe I'm just not used to reading local newspapers that cover events like barbecues, county fairs and pig roasts. Pig roasts! And in just over the two months that I've lived here, there have been two of them. Now given the fact that I get a visceral reaction just from seeing animal flesh in grocery flyers (I swear I never noticed before turning vegan just how prominent it is), I nearly threw up my last meal when I saw a photo of the poor pig nearly done and ready to be eaten. What's even worse in my opinion is that this event was sponsored by a church; an institution that you would think would encourage non-suffering of all species. Anyway, it made me wonder if I should place an announcement asking if there are any other vegans in this town!

The opinion pieces I mentioned back in July? The first, titled No animal cruelty in pampering a race horse, had the editor asserting that folks calling for a ban on horse racing are "horribly-informed, if not totally ignorant" and overreacting. Don't take my word for it though, as someone at the Niagara Center for Animal Rights Awareness also saw this piece and responded with what I thought was an intelligent and articulate rebuttal. Sadly though, their reply was never printed, which, I'm embarrassed to admit, made me abandon my own less coherent and already belated response. Then, this doozy, which made me shake my head, although she had a valid point about the chickens. Not surprising though that a column denouncing the efforts of animal rights activists would also advocate the death penalty! And guess what? Her piece got a huge positive response. But what I've also learned (in looking through drafts of potential letters to the editor), is that I'm pretty hot-headed, and should probably wait with responding to anything until I've cooled down, snort.

what does it mean to be vegan?

* I originally posted this in my vegan blog, but I think it fits well here too.

I've been thinking a lot about this lately, especially as I'm learning more about the various ideological positions within the animal rights movement. So what DOES it mean to be vegan? It's a label obviously, a shorthand way of identifying certain objections and practices, a personal choice, a political statement, a group identity, a philosophy, and I suppose, a lifestyle. The last term I'm actually a bit uncomfortable with as it reminds me too much of its negative use as a way of defending homophobia, but in this case, it seems fitting.

But does being vegan mean that you're an animal rights activist? In a way, I think it does, even though there may be some vegans who are vegan more for health or environmental reasons. The result though, regardless of motivation, is that fewer animals are being consumed. But I want to explore this topic more fully over time by writing a series of posts on the angry vegan, the self-righteous vegan, the militant vegan, the reluctant or invisible vegan, the discouraged vegan, the hopeful vegan, the compassionate vegan, and the effective vegan. I also want to comment on the state of the animal rights movement as it is today (if the two major camps were a couple, they would be in major need of marital counselling indeed!), and what I think my own position is shaping up to be. So stay tuned.

why NOT animal rights?

145 million animals are killed every day for food; 53 billion are killed every year.* 

And that doesn't even include fish and other sea animals! I'll let those numbers sink in for a bit because if you're anything like me I find them staggering and almost unbelievable, although it helps to have a clearer picture because I bet most of us don't really think about the sheer number of animals that humans do eat. And this is only one way in which we consume other animals, and only one element of the numerous ways in which we treat other species as if they are our personal property. So how can we then deny that it might not be time to rethink our relationship with other living creatures? Because I'll also bet that none of the animals killed for food every day actually want to end up on our dinner plates.

* from the "Go Greener, Go Vegan" brochure produced by the Vegan Party of Canada (www.veganpartyofcanada.blogspot.com)

don't go away

While I know I haven't posted in this blog for quite some time, I have a feeling that that is about to change. Even though I've been busy with moving tasks, part of my settling-in process has been discovering that the area I've moved back to (I originally grew up here), isn't exactly animal-friendly. Now while the city that I lived in for over twenty years probably isn't either, it just seems that more noticeable here. As in opinion pieces in local papers by editors who make it pretty clear where they stand when it comes to issues concerning animals. Yikes. So stay tuned, cuz I think I'm gonna start talking again! ;)

earth day

Happy Earth Day! Did you see the cool new badge? Click on it and find out how you too can contribute to one million acts of green.

My local grocery store finally got in the act today and from now on will charge five cents for every plastic bag given out. A good idea for those who don't already use their own cloth bags and maybe it will inspire less use of plastic overall. A ban on certain pesticide products is in effect here in Ontario as of today as well, and that's another step forward. Hey, have you heard about the new Disney film called earth? I really want to go see it, but I don't think it's showing at a theatre I can get to. Pity.

So I decided to post this entry on each of my blogs, as it's relevant to all three. Being environmentally friendly can be cost effective in many ways; not only can it help your wallet in the short run, in the end, the less damage we do to this planet the less we'll have to spend to clean and fix it up. Making sure our habitat becomes safer is good for all the species our earth has to support, and veganism's emphasis on compassion for all ties in neatly with environmental concern. Again, Happy Earth Day however you decide to celebrate, and think green all the way!

my Easter temptation

* note: this post also appears on my vegan blog

As some of you know, I work weekends in a small rest home (17-20 residents), where a big part of my responsibility is the serving and cooking of meals. The menu is prefixed, and the night staff person prepares part of the hot meals, so I usually end up reheating most of the food. Now this usually works out well for me because it means I don't have to cook most of the meat, but once a month I'm the one who prepares either the beef or pork roast and on special occasions, there's either a turkey or a ham. I started this job before I became vegan and when preparing meat wasn't an issue, and I have to say that as soon as I made the switch I had no problem with not eating non-vegan items there. I didn't especially like making meat dishes anymore, but on the other hand I recognized that the residents didn't have any say in what was prepared, and that meal and snack-times are the highlights in their otherwise boring day. I also have to say that even though I don't consider myself to be a great cook, I'm actually quite good when it comes to dishes that I have to simmer for any length of time. So this past Easter I had to make a ham (which I've only made once before), and by the comments I received it apparently turned out fantastic (I used pineapple chunks and juice to baste and simmer). I was pleased because it had been a big meal to make and because I wanted Easter to be special for them, but I was so taken aback by how many of them went out of their way to let me know how much they had enjoyed dinner that I was strongly tempted to taste a piece myself! And it wasn't because I still have cravings for meat, or was hungry, but I simply wanted to know what all the fuss was about, snort. Happily though I didn't give in to the temptation, but took their word for it.

It does raise the issue though of whether I want to have jobs in the future that involve the preparation of foods that I myself for ethical reasons no longer eat. Luckily it won't be an issue for much longer in this particular job as I'm leaving at the end of May, but I suppose I have to think carefully about whether I want to even apply for these types of jobs again. Hmmm.

Prevent Cruelty to Animals Day

Today, April 10, is Prevent Cruelty to Animals Day (part of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Month -- commemorating the founding of the ASPCA in 1866), and I think it highly fitting that it happens to fall on Good Friday. I like to think that the religious figure being celebrated this weekend, representing unconditional love, and known for his compassion and humane treatment of the marginalized, would if he were alive today, extend that same compassion to ALL sentient beings. I somehow don't think that Christ would truly feel that only human animals are deserving of respect and dignity. In fact, I bet that Christ himself would be championing the vegan cause if he were still around! Or at least agree that cruelty to animals (including to those we consume) is not acceptable.

So however (or if) you celebrate this weekend, remember what love is supposed to be about, that it isn't finite, and that it need not be directed at only one species. :)

more good news

From an email sent to me by the International Fund for Animal Welfare:

Incredible news. In an historic victory more than 15 years in the making, Russia today announced a complete ban on the hunting of all harp seals less than one year of age.

YOUR calls and letters have made a huge difference. Nearly 40,000 messages were written for Prime Minister Putin in the last month alone.

You have helped save up to 35,000 baby seals this year from a cruel and brutal slaughter in the White Sea.

Thanks to your support, IFAW has worked tirelessly in Russia to end this hunt since we opened our office there in 1994. We were the first organization to visit the ice and expose the bloody cruelty within Russia when it was virtually unknown - despite being physically assaulted by sealers and enduring powerful opposition from Russian government officials.

Over the past year, IFAW organized a wave of anti-hunt protests in 25 cities across Russia. This public outcry led to mounting pressure on Russia's government to formally address the need to close the harp seal hunt.

And when a ban on just whitecoat pups (up to about 11 days old) was announced in February, we continued to push through the road blocks of fisheries officials to provide the scientific evidence needed to argue for a full ban.

This is your victory. It's time to celebrate ...

And then tackle Canada's commercial seal hunt!