Science has long replaced religion as the paradigm of truth. Is it a good thing? In many cases, yes. But science is also deeply entwined with capitalist interests and therefore its version of ‘the truth‘ quite often is spiked with vested interests.
I do not agree with experimentation on animals because I simply don’t believe or agree with what pro-vivisectionists say: that animal experimentation saves lives. What saves lives is the timing when a disease is diagnosed, the geographical location of a patient, their diets and lifestyles, the competence of the doctor treating them and, sometimes, their level of wealth. Torturing animals in laboratories accomplishes none of these things. And the definition of ’saving a life’ is also a very gray area. Does it mean merely prolonging it a few months with drugs? I think that’s what it does, according to contemporary pharmaceutics.
We don’t have the right to confine and experiment on animals simply because it causes them immense pain, horror and it inevitably ends in death. As a species, we should learn how to respect the world and its living creatures. If the so-called ‘guardians of knowledge don’t do so, what hope is there for civilization?
Contrary to what some people think, a vegan diet is not expensive and, in fact, it can be cheaper than an omnivorous diet. I always felt that was the case from my own experience and I came across a nice post by someone who agrees with me:
Meals don’t have to be fancy; they don’t have to be complicated; and they don’t have to be expensive. If you keep your diet natural, being a vegan can be a great way to cut down on that grocery bill and still have plenty of dough for the high quality, fresh, and wonderfully tasty ingredients that make being a vegan so rewarding.
Russia said Wednesday it was banning the hunting of baby harp seals, weeks after Prime Minister Vladimir Putin reportedly called the hunt a “bloody industry”, reports the Associated Press. “The bloody sight of the hunting of seals, the slaughter of these defenseless animals, which you cannot even call a real hunt, is banned in our country, just as well as in most developed countries, and this is a serious step to protect the biodiversity of the Russian Federation,” Minister Yuri Trutnev said in a statement.
This is good news for seals and hopefully Canada and other countries that pursue this disgusting trade will follow suit. If you would like to help to put an end to this horrifying business in Canada, the biggest seal killing country in the world, please visit my previous post for more information.
Every end of winter is the same story. Despite international protest, Canada decides to carry on with its war on baby harp seals and kill hundreds of thousands of innocent lives. The UK Guardian has a video with bird’s eye footage of the massacre, released by the International Fund for Animal Welfare and it contains graphic images of violence. Still, make an effort to watch it. Despite what Canada says, the seal killing business is heavily subsidised by tax payers and the killers would be better off staying at home.
Luckily, the European Union is considering a total ban on baby seal products, which would sound the death knell for this horrible, cruel, industry. And recently, Canadian senator Mac Harb proposed a bill to end the annual slaughter. Please give your support to the bill by signing this petition. We can make this nightmare come to an end.
Last Sunday was Mothering Day in the UK and Ireland. In order to call attention to the plight of mother pigs in those diabolical gestation crates, which are so small the sows can’t even turn around, AnimalAid visited a factory farm in England’s West Country to bring a little bit of joy to these victims of the animal exploitation industry.
The video above shows clearly the surreality of animal farming, the complete disregard for the sentience of other fellow beings. Everyone can help by turning away from animal products. Go vegan. It’s the most effective way of helping animals.
My apologies for not posting for a few days but moving home and blogging don’t seem to go together. Today I came across a very insightful article about veganism by Angel Flinn that covers the triple benefits of a vegan diet: animal rights, health and the environment.
From world hunger to climate change, species extinction to escalating violence, the catastrophic problems we face are clear indicators that we are in need of transformation on a radical scale. Gone are the days when we could procrastinate about necessary changes or take baby steps toward sustainability in the hope that enough small actions would collectively add up to create meaningful impact. Drastic, sweeping changes are needed, and this fundamental shift in society’s values must begin with each one of us.
Over here, you can get read one vegan’s account of her lifestyle/ethical choice. “Vegetarians, and especially vegans, sometimes marvel at the lengths people will go in order to protect their ‘right’ to consume animals. While methane capturing technology may prove useful in some instances, livestock methane can practically be eliminated with a simple paradigm shift – to a plant based diet.”
“Arizona had about 358,000 head of cattle in January, down from about 373,000 a year earlier, according to the USDA”, writes the Arizona Daily Star online . That’s about a five percent reduction in the number of animals being exploited to death by the industry. Wouldn’t it be nice if it went down to zero? I have been reading about the current dairy crisis, with falling prices and animals being slaughtered because they are no longer ‘profitable’, and it makes me wonder about the world we live in.
When are people going to see this is a crazy business? Keeping animals to make a profit out of their lives is cruel and risky and when push comes to shovel, the animals are treated as a piece of trash to be disposed of, a useless commodity. Such an approach leaves me cold.
That’s why I’m a vegan. By adopting a vegan diet you no longer participate in the twisted economics of the animal exploitation industry. It’s a sick, morally repugnant business as stories like the one linked to above show. I feel really sorry for all these cows being hastily slaughtered because their calves’ milk is no longer profitable. It’s disgusting.
HBO showed on Monday a hidden-camera investigation into an Iowa hog farm that has attracted a lot of media attention. The New York Times wrote a review that takes a rather benign view of animal cruelty at points and sides with the bogus notion that animal rights is about urbane people against farmers, which it isn’t. It’s a movement for justice for the animals, for the planet and for our health as well, which in practice translates into veganism.
Elsewhere, the Celebrity Café wrote: “The point of the show is to point out the cultural divide that animal rights activists have been fighting for years. To some people, these graphic images are simply not upsetting. To others, it is as important as any social movement. The divisive beliefs about the treatment of animals is the biggest obstacle that many activists face. This documentary tries to sway those on the other side of the fence.”
Popmatters also wrote a review of the program: “The farmers see their livestock as just that—commodities to be produced and sold. This premise, Pete surmises, allows them to toss the pigs like sacks into bins and against walls, pile them on top of one another, keep sows in breeding and farrowing crates for months, such that the animals cannot move and develop sores from rubbing against crate walls and suffering the unstoppable demands of their hungry litters. As Pete says on his first day of the assignment, listing the maltreatments, “This stuff looks really nasty, pigs cannibalizing each other and beating little piglets over the head, that kind of shit… I think this is gonna be some nasty nasty work.”
If nothing else, Death on a Factory Farm got people talking about a subject that remains taboo and which many of us would rather not think about. This type of mainstream attention signals that the age of ignorance is truly over.
Animals in laboratories scored a small, but significant victory in Europe on March 11th as the ban on testing of cosmetic products on animals came into effect, announced the National Anti-Vivisection Society (NAVS).
They do a risky, gun-wrenching job but it’s thanks to them that the the animal exploitation industry gets most of the bad press it so deserves. Undercover investigators risk their own skin to infiltrate farms, labs, kennels etc in order to collect footage of animal abuse. It can’t be easy for an animal lover to bear witness to suffering and remain passive and still record footage. I’m glad some people have the mental strength to do that.
HBO is showing a documentary on 16 March called Death on the Factory Farm, of which I wrote about here . The investigator in the case, one ‘Pete’, has been interviewed by Time magazine about his job, which most signal that interest in ‘farm’ animals is growing. Says ‘Pete’:
“My initial plan in life was to become a cop and then join the FBI. But I started to learn that the worst things I’ve ever read about humans being doing to each other — similar if not identical things happen to animals on a mass scale. I felt that there were enough people in law enforcement, but there weren’t enough people working in animal rights. In 2001, a private investigator trained me and my first job on my own was working at a dog kennel in Arkansas … I do not believe animals are here for us to exploit and I do not believe that under any circumstances we should raise animals for food.”
“Arizona had about 358,000 head of cattle in January, down from about 373,000 a year earlier, according to the USDA”, writes the 
