A Humane Society investigation led to the closure of Vermont-based Bushway Packing Inc. slaughterhouse. Videotape from the investigation reveals that veal calves only a few days old - many with their umbilical cords still hanging from their bodies - were unable to stand or walk on their own. The tape shows that the animals were kicked, slapped and repeatedly shocked with electric prods and subjected to other mistreatment.The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Vermont Agency of Agriculture took decisive action last Friday based on the information provided by The HSUS and immediately suspended operations at the plant, pending a continuing investigation.According to a report published by the Associated Press, “U.S. Department of Agriculture records show Bushway Packing Inc. of Grand Isle was shut down for a day in May, again in June and again in July after an inspector cited it for inhumane treatment of animals.”Still according to the AP report, “the slaughterhouse specialized in “bob veal” - meat from days-old calves that ends up in hot dogs and lunch meats.” Ironically, meat coming from this slaughterhouse was certified organic, which once again highlights how meaningless this label is when it comes to animal products.Veal is a by-product of the dairy industry, therefore the most effective answer to this horrible situation is going vegan. These innocent infants are babies snatched away from their mothers, who are literally milked to death, are then killed for someone’s pleasure. This is a not an industry that can be regulated because cruelty is inherent to the process of animal farming. But everyone can help eradicate it through a vegan diet. It’s that simple.Undercover video – contains imagery that some may find upsetting (but very revealing of what the dairy industry really looks like):
October and November are important months for the vegan community as this is when we celebrate and promote veganism. This week specifically is WORLD GO VEGAN WEEK (25-31 October, thanks to an initiative by San Francisco-based advocacy group In Defence of Animals) and it’s meant to send out a message to people urging them, well, to go vegan.A famous supporter is actor Woody Harrelson, who’s been a vegan for many, many years. Said Harrelson: “I chose to be vegan initially as an energetic pursuit, as meat and dairy slowed me down, but have since become convinced that it is not only the most healthy way to live, but also the most compassionate and ecologically responsible way.”Another famous supporter of veganism is comedienne and TV hostess Ellen DeGeneres who invited her personal chef to cook a vegan meal on air. So in case you missed this segment, I’ve added it below. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate WORLD GO VEGAN WEEK than actually cooking a vegan meal.Veganism is an ethical choice meant to mitigate the suffering we cause to animals. So-called ‘food animals’ account for 98% of all animal suffering. The world kills upwards of 50 billion animals every year (not to mention water animals), who live in appaling conditions before being sent to slaughter. Veganism is also recognized as greener than a meat-based diet and it helps prevent certain diseases such as diabetes and some types of cancer.ENJOY THE RECIPE AND GO VEGAN!
Since 2006 we have been aware that livestock’s greenhouse emissions account for 18% of the total that goes into the atmosphere and causes global warming. Contrast that with transport’s share at 13% and you get an idea of how environmentally unsound animal agriculture and its products and byproducts are. Did I mention the unspeakable suffering inflicted on animals by this horrible industry? Continue Reading »
TV man Larry King hosted a discussion about the safety of eating meat last night, following the national interest in how dancer Stephanie Smith’s life was destroyed by eating E Coli contaminated meat. Stephanie went into weeks-long coma and emerged from it brain-damaged and unable to walk.
Three people from families wrecked by contaminated meat told their stories. Then T. Colin Campbell came head to head with Nancy Rodriguez of the University of Connecticut about whether meat is good for you. Colin’s China Study indicated a strong link between animal products, such as meat and dairy, and disease such as cancer and heart disease. Studies since have backed up the findings that a plant-based diet can not only help prevent disease but also cure it. Because of this, Colin strongly promotes a plant-based diet. Nancy, a so-called nutritionist, objects to Colin’s point of view but how can you take her seriously when her university website bio says that “Dr. Rodriguez has an active research program that has been extramurally funded by agencies including USDA, NIH, the American Heart Association, the National Dairy Council, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, and the Egg Nutrition Center”?. She’s not impartial and I wonder why she was invited on the show.
However, the real point is not whether meat is safe, but whether it is necessary to our diets and the answer is a resounding NO. That’s the official position of the American Dietetic Association. Forget all the gobbledegook about protein. You get can get plenty of that from plant-derived foods. And, most importantly, the ethical reasons to give up animal products is the most compelling of them all. Animals suffer terribly to provide humans with their own flesh and excrements, as so many videos around the internet document and we can all help mitigate so much suffering simply by switching to a vegan diet. Yes, there are health and environmental benefits to a vegan diet and I take them as an added bonus. Good karma, as some may call it.
PostPunk Kitchen is once again organizing Vegan Month of Food, a food blogging extravaganza to spread the word about the wonders of vegan cuisine. “The idea is to write as much as you can for the month of October about vegan food. The blog entries can be about anything food related - your love of tongs, your top secret tofu pressing techniques, the first time your mom cooked vegan for you, vegan options in Timbuktu - you get the idea. There is no strict guideline for how much you have to write, but we shoot for about 20 times a month, or every weekday”, writes Isa Chandra Moskowitz , PPK’s ringmaster.This year the master list of participants is being hosted by Kittee, Cake Maker To The Stars. Follow the link to get a lot more information, ideas and suggestions. So if you’re itching to write about vegan food, the time has come. Have fun!
You have likely heard of the devastating floods that have hit the Philippines. Last weekend, Tropical Storm Ketsana, dumped 42 centimeters of rain on Manila in just 12 hours, flooding 80% of the city and causing the deaths of 143 people and hundreds of thousands of animals.The floodwaters rose so high that residents and their companion animals had to take to the roofs of their houses. So many animals didn’t make it, however. There are reports of dead dogs floating in the water. Tragically, many of them didn’t stand a chance, as they were chained to fixed objects, a common practice in Manila, and would have drowned as soon as the waters rose above their head.Some organizations are working to provide relief to these animals in need and they need your help. Please make a donation to Network For Animals who’s present in the Philippines. I do realize times are tough for everyone but this is an emergency. There’s more rain predicted to come over the weekend so the situation may get even worse. Any help will make a vital difference.
Virgina Messina, a well-known vegan dietician , has given her approval to the USDA’s new fact sheet for vegetarians. Says Ms. Messina:
While the fact sheet lists some nutrients that vegetarians need to focus on, it doesn’t have any of that annoying verbiage about the need to carefully plan meals. (Vegetarians and vegans should, of course, carefully plan their meals; so should everyone else.) More importantly, there isn’t a word about animal products in the whole fact sheet, other than how to replace them.
That is, despite the vegetarian terminology in the title, the fact sheet is vegan in essence. To download the sheet, go here .
Sometimes you wonder what kind of society we live in when courts debate whether making a profit out of videos depicting animal cruelty staged for the purpose of ‘entertainment’ is legal or not.A man called Robert J. Stevens (pictured) produced videos showing gruesome dogfighting scenes. He was sentenced to 37-months in prison under a 1999 federal law that bans trafficking in “depictions of animal cruelty.” Now the Supreme Court is set to hear his case on October 6 and, believe it or not, this man is being defended by ‘free speech’ groups who are invoking the First Amendment for legal protection. The court will decide whether dogfighting videos and other videos showing animal cruelty without a serious purpose is “too vile” to be protected under the First Amendment. This definition of vileness is what removed First Amendment protection from child pornography in 1982.It is the issue of ‘seriousness’ that is bothering the free speech camp and while I support the idea of free speech wholeheartedly, I find it terrifying to see such a confused take on it. Animal cruelty is illegal, therefore staging it simply to make a profit is obviously illegal. It’s a no brainer. I think the free speech camp would put their energy to better use by fighting censorship against positive, stimulating, truthful ideas and justice in general. Wasting time defending sadics is just outrageous.I second a comment made by beemer5 in relation to the San Francisco Chronicle article on which this blog is based:
There is no question that this man should be prosecuted. If these films weren’t making money for someone, they wouldn’t be made. What kind of society are we that we are even arguing the legality of selling these animal snuff and torture films? If it was up to me, I would go further and put Robert Stevens in with a pack of pissed off fighting dogs, and film what happens to him. I’d then use the film as a warning to anyone else that thinks that this is OK.Those who argue for this man’s ‘rights’ disgust me. Get a set of values and some compassion, for god’s sake.
Walk For Farm Animals is the day when compassionate people take to the streets of tens of American and Canadian cities to raise awareness on the plight of farm animals, whose lives are spent in concentration camp-like conditions before being sent to a gruesome slaughterhouse. Organized by Farm Sanctuary, the walks also help raising funds for the organization’s rescue, education and advocacy work.The walks have attracted an increasing number of people each year, bringing together people who care about what factory farming is doing to animals, people and the environment.If you would like to join the Walk For Farm Animals, which take place between September and October, please check this page to find out whether there is one taking place near you.
Please support!WORLD PREMIERE WEEKENDPeaceable Kingdom: The Journey Homeat the Moondance International Film FestivalBoulder, Colorado - Sept. 26-27Premiere screening followed by Q&A with filmmakers Jenny Stein and James LaVeckand film subject Harold BrownDirector: Jenny SteinProducer: James LaVeckAssociate Producers: Eric Huang, Kevin SmithFeaturing: Harold Brown, Howard Lyman,Willow Jeane Lyman, Cayce Mell, Jason Tracy,Cheri Ezell-Vandersluis and Jim VandersluisMusical score: Kevin Bartlett, Joy AskewPEACEABLE KINGDOM: THE JOURNEY HOME is a new documentary by the award-winning filmmakers of The Witness. A riveting story of transformation and healing, this groundbreaking film explores the awakening conscience of several people who grew up in traditional farming culture and who have now come to question the basic premises of their inherited way of life.Presented through a woven tapestry of memories, music, and breathtaking accounts of life-altering moments, the film provides insight into the farmers’ sometimes amazing connections with the animals under their care, while also making clear the complex web of social, psychological and economic forces that have led them to their dilemma.Interwoven with the farmers’ stories is the dramatic animal rescue work of a newly-trained humane police officer whose sense of justice puts her at odds with the law she is charged to uphold.With strikingly honest interviews and rare footage demonstrating the emotional lives and intense family bonds of animals most often viewed as living commodities, PEACEABLE KINGDOM: THE JOURNEY HOME shatters stereotypical notions of farmers, farm life, and perhaps most surprisingly, farm animals themselves.
Since 2006 we have been aware that livestock’s greenhouse emissions account for 18% of the total that goes into the atmosphere and causes global warming. Contrast that with transport’s share at 13% and you get an idea of how environmentally unsound animal agriculture and its products and byproducts are. Did I mention the unspeakable suffering inflicted on animals by this horrible industry? 
PostPunk Kitchen is once again organizing Vegan Month of Food, a food blogging extravaganza to spread the word about the wonders of vegan cuisine. “The idea is to write as much as you can for the month of October about vegan food. The blog entries can be about anything food related - your love of tongs, your top secret tofu pressing techniques, the first time your mom cooked vegan for you, vegan options in Timbuktu - you get the idea. There is no strict guideline for how much you have to write, but we shoot for about 20 times a month, or every weekday”, 
You have likely heard of the devastating floods that have hit the Philippines. Last weekend, Tropical Storm Ketsana, dumped 42 centimeters of rain on Manila in just 12 hours, flooding 80% of the city and causing the deaths of 143 people and hundreds of thousands of animals.The floodwaters rose so high that residents and their companion animals had to take to the roofs of their houses. So many animals didn’t make it, however. There are reports of dead dogs floating in the water. Tragically, many of them didn’t stand a chance, as they were chained to fixed objects, a common practice in Manila, and would have drowned as soon as the waters rose above their head.Some organizations are working to provide relief to these animals in need and they need your help. Please make a donation to 
Sometimes you wonder what kind of society we live in when courts debate whether making a profit out of videos depicting animal cruelty staged for the purpose of ‘entertainment’ is legal or not.A man called Robert J. Stevens (pictured) produced videos showing gruesome dogfighting scenes. He was sentenced to 37-months in prison under a 1999 federal law that bans trafficking in “depictions of animal cruelty.” Now the Supreme Court is set to hear his case on October 6 and, believe it or not, this man is being defended by ‘free speech’ groups who are invoking the First Amendment for legal protection. The court will decide whether dogfighting videos and other videos showing animal cruelty without a serious purpose is “too vile” to be protected under the First Amendment. This definition of vileness is what removed First Amendment protection from child pornography in 1982.It is the issue of ‘seriousness’ that is bothering the free speech camp and while I support the idea of free speech wholeheartedly, I find it terrifying to see such a confused take on it. Animal cruelty is illegal, therefore staging it simply to make a profit is obviously illegal. It’s a no brainer. I think the free speech camp would put their energy to better use by fighting censorship against positive, stimulating, truthful ideas and justice in general. Wasting time defending sadics is just outrageous.I second a comment made by beemer5 in relation to the 
Walk For Farm Animals is the day when compassionate people take to the streets of tens of American and Canadian cities to raise awareness on the plight of farm animals, whose lives are spent in concentration camp-like conditions before being sent to a gruesome slaughterhouse. Organized by Farm Sanctuary, the walks also help raising funds for the organization’s rescue, education and advocacy work.The walks have attracted an increasing number of people each year, bringing together people who care about what factory farming is doing to animals, people and the environment.If you would like to join the Walk For Farm Animals, which take place between September and October, please check 