THE VEGETARIAN BLOG

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.

For the full article, click here.

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.”

You sometimes just have to gape at the cheek some people have. Altnet reports that The Journal of the American Medical Association in June published an article titled “The Recommended Dietary Allowance of Protein: A Misunderstood Concept.” However …

In its Oct. 15 issue, it had to print a correction stating that author Sharon L. Miller was “formerly employed by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association” and author Robert R. Wolfe received money from the Egg Nutrition Center, National Dairy Council, National Pork Board and Beef Checkoff through the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association.

Is resorting to such low attempts of misleading the public a sign that the meat industry is worried? Perhaps, but I also think it just reflects the modus operandi of an industry that lives off the exploitation of animals. What do you think?

Full article +

I was relieved earlier this week when I received an email from United Poultry Concerns saying that “after a year of pleading to the Canandaigua Academy City School District to eliminate a chicken slaughter classroom activity conducted at Canandaigua Academy high school in upstate New York, the State Education Department has informed the school district that the project requires a waiver under New York State Education Law Section 809(5) - Humane Treatment of Live Vertebrate Animals Law.” Which means that for the time being, the school cannot proceed with this absurd project until it gets special permission to do so, which is unlikely to happen.

The whole business was being carried out in the name of “education”. Really? As UPC’s president Karen Davis said, if you want to teach kids about where their food comes from, one of the arguments used in defense of the project, take them to a slaughterhouse. Now, that would be very educational - perhaps the school administrators were afraid the kids would turn vegan when they saw what happens in those places.

I hope this episode has come to a definitive end. If not, be sure UPC will continue speak up for the innocent victims of this macabre ‘educational’ project.

A recent article in the Washington Post, which I found out about via the excellent An Animal Friendly Life, is a perfect example of society’s confused attitude towards animals. The article describes the unfavourable reaction prompted by the introduction of rabbit meat to the menu of a restaurant called Mio. The newspaper said that it seems that rabbit meat is “has replaced veal as the most offensive meat.”

As Gary Loewenthal, a vegan quoted in the article, says, “ethically, there is no difference between rabbits and other meats, but psychologically there is.” Rabbits are seen as pets, just like cats and dogs, therefore it is grossly insensitive on the part of any chef to kill these animals for food.

However, discussions of this nature do highlight our selective preference for animals. Of course chickens, cows, pigs, fish and the other animals that society in general accepts as food also have a desire to live and to avoid suffering, just like our bunnies do. So why not show compassion towards them as well? Gary Francione, a leading voice in the animal abolitionist movement, tackles this paradoxal moral attitude in his seminal book, Introduction to Animal Rights: Your Child or the Dog?, a title I strongly recommend as Francione’s writing is very accessible - he’s a distinguised lawyer and has a great command of language.

I commend all those people who stand up for bunnies but I would like them to spare thought for the other animals too. It’s a dilemma for many but it’s one that is simple to get rid of. Go vegan and you’ll no longer have to choose between a chicken or a bunny or any other animal.