What is the difference between No Welfare, High Welfare, and Highest Welfare when they all require animals to die? Only human comfort, NONE protect the actual animals. The most humane, ethical, and honest Webster-defined "welfare" is NOT exploiting animals - not using, not wearing, not eating, not killing - animals. The only meaningful position is vegan, everything else is just how humans euphemize animals' required suffering and violent deaths: no human exploits animals because they honestly believe that NOT exploiting animals is UNethical or INhumane.
Source There’s an Elephant in the Room blog
‘…or if we can’t be vegan we can at least head in that direction.’ I’ve seen so many variations on that theme as a comeback to the call to be vegan that appears in almost every piece I write. Today I saw it again. I’ve given the words a lot of thought and I have to conclude that when ‘heading in the direction of veganism’ is thought to be a possibility, it is a clear illustration that the speaker hasn’t really grasped what veganism is.
Please note that as always, this statement does not refer to new vegans who are currently transitioning, incorporating the ethic into their life. This transition period is generally very short (for many it can’t happen quickly enough), but can vary depending on circumstances.
At this point I can almost hear the rasp of keyboards being dragged into position by the ‘every little helps’ and ‘can’t all be perfect’ brigade (some vegan, some not), ready with their ‘world won’t go vegan overnight’, and ‘we have to be realistic’ preludes to a blistering criticism of such ‘purist attitudes’. Yes, I’ve been around on social media a good while and I’ve seen and heard most of the put-downs. The phrases lack originality, probably because they have become overused stock items, plucked whole and unconsidered from the shelf of platitudes that we have all, at one time, been guilty of using without due examination.
Just to be clear, although born vegan as I think we all are, I was not raised vegan and am ashamed to say I spent most of my life that way. I woke up with a jolt in 2012.
That year, and for as many of my (then) 56 years as I could recall, I thought of myself as a reasonably intelligent person, ethically aware, honest and honourable. I wasn’t perfect (who is?) but I thought that I was trying. I often said that I thought of myself as an animal lover. I abhorred what I considered to be cruelty to any animals, and as well as sharing petitions and ranting about ‘cruelty‘ and the need for ‘compassion’ to any that would listen, I donated to a number of organisations that claimed to look out for the interests of animals. In return, they sent me images in the post, many of which were so vile that I have been unable to forget them. I once even received a manicure kit (?) in a leather wallet if I recall, inscribed with the logo of some ‘Humane Society’ or other. I detected no irony in this.
Of course, as an animal lover and a hater of ‘cruelty’ I shopped for the very best, most ‘humane’ labels (as endorsed by the XYPCA of course), spending as much as I could afford on the animal products that I had grown up to believe were essential for the health of my family.
So, without a trace of conscience (why would I have, what with the humane labels and donations and the back-patting of the ‘animal welfare‘ organisations whose staff were paying their mortgages with my cash?), I snoozed on in my ethical bubble. I didn’t eat ‘meat’ or at least, not often (doesn’t everyone say that?), but cheese… oh, how I loved the taste of cheese. And eggs. And I delighted in wearing wool. Angora – bliss! I loved leather; boots, shoes, jackets, bags, chairs. Touching it and breathing in the scent was so pleasurable. Now, as my gorge rises at the memory and I fight not to gag with disgust it is hard to believe the person I was, but that’s how I can write about this. I’m not pointing a superior finger and finding fault. I’m writing from bitter and heartbreaking experience. But moving on.
I made it clear to my conscientious consumer contemporaries that I was very much one of them. Saving the forest, planting trees, worrying about litter, sending (most of – well it’s not always convenient, is it?) my glass bottles for recycling, visiting second-hand shops for clothes and furniture. I was ‘mostly’ vegetarian, except for the odd occasion (to be sociable, you understand – I mean, when someone goes to the bother of cooking something for you…). And prawns. Oh – and apart from the leather. And the sweets loaded with gelatin. And silk scarves (well so what? They were presents!). Oh yes, what a trooper I was!
So, since I was so ethical and conscientious, would you say I was ‘heading in the direction’ of being vegan? After all, many of the things that I was doing were the very things we see so many ‘pragmatic’, ‘realistic’ people suggesting that we could all do to ‘cut down on animal cruelty’ and ‘reduce suffering‘ because we ‘can’t be perfect’.
I’m sure some would say I was definitely ‘heading in the direction’ of veganism. But they’d be talking absolute rubbish. I was not moving at all, not heading in any direction, wallowing smug and satisfied in the absolution that I bought every so often with donations. I was not vegan. I remained completely committed to using other individuals for my own most trivial interests without even questioning why. I wasn’t even aware that there was such a thing as veganism; except of course what I’d heard about the stereotypical, undernourished, sandal-wearing hippy, choking down worthy muesli only one step removed from sawdust, while taking a break from hugging trees.
And this brings me to the whole point of this and it’s a point I’ve made before. When we are not vegan, we are hurting, harming and killing innocent and defenceless individuals who value their lives and don’t want to die. There are no exceptions.
*** – whether we have one victim or billions is irrelevant. By not being vegan we are harming and killing others because we think it’s somehow acceptable to do so; maybe because we think we have to; maybe because we feel entitled, maybe because we consider our own interests are more important than those of our victims. However we square our actions with our conscience – if we even have a conscience about them – we are killing other individuals when we have no need or right to do so. We can do it to fewer individuals, we can do it to fewer species; we can obsess about the environments or practices that facilitate our consumer choices; we can make judgements and protest about the degrees of brutality and violence that are completely inevitable elements of our demands, make different menu choices one or two days a week, but – Return to *** and keep reading the loop. It’s the way it is.
I say that I woke up in 2012. It was in 2012 that I stumbled across information that led me to understand what veganism is, and I broke out of the loop and became vegan. I was not heading that way. How could I be? I was stuck in the loop of self-congratulatory ‘conscientious’ consumerism. I was a killer. When I was a killer, I couldn’t gradually head in the direction of not being a killer, because it’s a binary thing. One is a killer or one is not a killer. And each of us is a killer until the final time that we take a life. It’s really that simple and it’s not on a sliding scale. And we can only make the switch from killer to non killer, non vegan to vegan, once we actually know what veganism is.
Once we know, we each have a personal choice to make, and no other can make that choice for us. We can choose to be vegan. Or we can choose not to bother. It is a personal thing, a decision driven by the values that we hold and the way in which we wish these to define us.
As a vegan advocate, all I can ever do is explain how veganism is the only way that allows us to live in a way that reflects the values that most of us like to claim are important. The issue that we must address is not how we treat our unnecessary victims but rather the fact that we have victims when it is unnecessary. Once we, as individuals, deal with that as consumers at the checkouts, everything; health, environment and everything else will flow directly from our changed behaviour.
Before we have even heard about veganism, we cannot be ‘heading in its direction’ because it’s binary and we are stuck in a loop. Once someone knows what veganism is, reallyknows that it is a rejection of harm to other individuals who value their lives and want to live, it is at best disingenuous to excuse continued harm and killing by claiming to be ‘heading in the direction’ of being vegan. I’ve heard it said that once you know what it is, the only honest reason not to be vegan is ‘because you don’t give a shit’. There’s a lot of truth in that.
Be vegan.
*In case any readers wonder if it’s safe to click on any of the links in my essays, please note that I do not use images depicting violence and gore.
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be your own process evolution
or an epiphany, revolution
share the goodness
that you have learned
and perhaps a few more hearts
and minds
will turn.
Karen Lyons Kalmenson
Source HumaneFacts.org, free from HARM
I live in ag country. When you drive around Sonoma County, especially getting out of any city just by a couple of miles, there are signs of animal agriculture everywhere. I often drive by dairy operations with signs posted that say “Real California Milk” and “Certified Organic Dairy,” as if appeasing the people driving by implying that “only good things are happening on this farm.” Yet if you look closer you may see rows and rows of white plastic calf hutches, like uniformed cartons of milk, each containing a tiny baby calf who was taken from her mother at birth, chained to the plastic hutch in all weather extremes–alone, frightened, and miserable. For each of these calves there is a grieving mother who will never know her baby, traumatized with each calf dragged from her after birth.
Most people have no clue what is truly going on inside animal agriculture, especially the slaughterhouse – that ominous place that ends all tomorrows for farmed animals. There is a slaughterhouse down the street from where I live in Petaluma on a major road just outside of downtown. For many years it was called Rancho Veal. Of course, veal has been exposed to be the poster-child of cruelty and most people now agree that confining a baby cow so tight that he can’t even turn around, then slaughtering him when he is just weeks old, is callous and cruel. But what people don’t realize is that most animals who are slaughtered for meat are just weeks or months old when they take their portentous journey to the abattoir.
Rancho Veal was recently acquired by Marin Sun Farms and received a fresh coat of bright white paint complete with their logo, looming two stories high, on the front of the building. On the west wall, facing the oncoming traffic heading to downtown, they added huge letters spelling out the name of a producer they’re in partnership with, “Mindful Meats.” When I first drove by this new sizable marketing endeavor, I had to pull over and take a moment for a figurative face-palm. Shaking my head, I pondered what I was seeing. It’s truly appalling and as a spiritual person, I am deeply disturbed.
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Want to do more than go vegan? Help others to do so! Click on the below for nominal, or no, fees to vegan literature that you can use to convince others that veganism is the only compassionate route to being an animal friend.
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to possibly consider any form of slaughter humane
is morally bankrupt
and frankly,
insane!
Karen Lyons Kalmenson
Beginning September 19th, immerse yourself in this life-changing, 5-day video conference with over 30 vegan experts from around the globe. This summit will help you discover the key insights and strategies for restoring, balancing, and invigorating your body, mind, and soul so you can spark new pathways for personal and global change and we can create that compassionate, vegan world we all wish to see!
Order a FREE vegan kit: http://www.peta.org/living/food/free-vegan-starter-kit/
Take PETA’s Cruelty-Free Shopping Guide along with you next time you head to the store! The handy guide will help you find humane products at a glance. Order a FREE copy HERE
Want to do more than go vegan? Help others to do so! Click on the below for nominal, or no, fees to vegan literature that you can use to convince others that veganism is the only compassionate route to being an animal friend.
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If we learn and teach
Each other a little
Each day,
Perhaps together
We can send cruelty
Forever away
Karen Lyons Kalmenson
Source: Animal Place, Free for Life, http://www.freeforlife.org/
If you would like to place an animal through Free for Life, please click HERE
Are you raising an animal as a student agricultural project? Are you having a change of heart about selling or slaughtering your animal? You have a choice. You can let them live. You can let them be free for life. We accept or can help find placement for cows, pigs, sheep, goats, chickens, turkeys, rabbits, and other animal species.
If you are a student and you want to place an animal with Free for Life, or if you have questions, please fill out this form and we will contact you asap. You can give as much or as little information as you feel comfortable with right now. If you are a parent/advisor, please see next section below HERE.
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Take PETA’s Cruelty-Free Shopping Guide along with you next time you head to the store! The handy guide will help you find humane products at a glance. Order a FREE copy HERE
Want to do more than go vegan? Help others to do so! Click on the below for nominal, or no, fees to vegan literature that you can use to convince others that veganism is the only compassionate route to being an animal friend.
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look into the depths of an animals eyes
see your soul and the soul
behind the eyes you see.
there dwells your true
humanity.
Karen Lyons Kalmenson
(Note: I’ve always been rather opposed to, and reluctant to use, the term “voiceless” in reference to animals: non-human animals are not voiceless, human animals just choose to not listen.)
During Direct Action Everywhere’s (DxE) 2018 Animal Liberation Conference, an estimated 500 animal rights activists took to the streets of San Francisco to participate in what was, at the time, the largest Anonymous For the Voiceless (AV) event ever. As more than 100 video screens displayed footage of animal exploitation in six “Cubes of Truth,” dozens of advocates conducted vegan outreach with pedestrians who stopped to watch the videos. Animal rights activists Chase Avior, Jane Velez-Mitchell and James Aspey spoke to TheirTurn about the impact of AV.
Anonymous for the Voiceless uses “standard-practice” footage of animal agriculture to expose the public to the atrocities that the industry goes to great lengths to hide, and it provides people with tools to switch to a vegan lifestyle.
Since its inception in April, 2016, AV has staged over 4,000 “Cubes of Truth” in 650 cities around the world, convincing over 214,000 people to consider making the transition to veganism.
Source Their Turn: Cube of Truth in San Francisco organized by Anonymous for The Voiceless and Direct Action Everywhere during the 2018 Animal Liberation Conference.
Take PETA’s Cruelty-Free Shopping Guide along with you next time you head to the store! The handy guide will help you find humane products at a glance. Order a FREE copy HERE
Want to do more than go vegan? Help others to do so! Click on the below for nominal, or no, fees to vegan literature that you can use to convince others that veganism is the only compassionate route to being an animal friend.
PETA: http://www.petacatalog.com/catalog/Literature-39-1.html
Looking for merchandise? Action for Animals has a very good selection : http://store.afa-online.org/home.php?cat=284
Have questions? Click HERE
It is up to us to articulate
What animals would if they could
And this cannot wait.
Karen Lyons Kalmenson
Source Free From Harm: Baby goat being disbudded with a hot iron.
The following is a first person account of Susana Romatz’s transition from dairy goat farmer to vegan cheesemaker.
My life has been a tapestry of contrasting and at times contradictory threads.
As a youngster, I binge-read books like Little House on the Prairie and My Side of the Mountain. I loved the idea of self-sufficiency and homesteading. I made acorn pancakes with my best friend Krista (we ground up acorns with a brick and added water; they were delicious! Just kidding, they were awful, like eating bitter sand). I once tried to whittle a log into a bust of a famous president with a jackknife knicked from my dad’s wardrobe. I was jealous of my cousins in the country who fished and hunted.
And so, many years later, when I saw the ad requesting help on a “humane dairy” goat farm in Oregon, I jumped at the chance to get my country girl on.
It’s relevant to note that ten years before that, I had tried to go vegan. I was working at PetSmart and it was there that I met Pinkie, a tiny black and white spotted puppy with blue eyes. I fell in love with her and adopted her. But alas, her kidneys weren’t formed correctly and as she grew larger and larger, topping the scales at 80 pounds, her kidneys began to fail. She only lived for two years, but in those two years I learned what it meant to love a dog. I was crushed when she died.
After that time, I couldn’t bring myself to eat animals any more. I just couldn’t see the difference between my beloved dog and the animals on my plate. I began to watch videos on animal welfare, and donated money to animal activism groups. I tried to go vegan altogether, but didn’t pull it off for a myriad of reasons, mainly willpower and lack of education. I was a vegetarian for years.
Then when I moved to Oregon, I began to hear the phrase “humanely raised” used in reference to meat and dairy products, and it piqued my interest. In Michigan, nobody had ever talked about humanely raised animals, because they weren’t much thinking about meat as animals— it was just meat, which is meant for eating. How the meat got that way only a few knew and fewer than that cared. In Oregon it seemed that more people were aware of what happens in commercial meat production, and they knew it was wrong.
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Take PETA’s Cruelty-Free Shopping Guide along with you next time you head to the store! The handy guide will help you find humane products at a glance. Order a FREE copy HERE
Want to do more than go vegan? Help others to do so! Click on the below for nominal, or no, fees to vegan literature that you can use to convince others that veganism is the only compassionate route to being an animal friend.
PETA: http://www.petacatalog.com/catalog/Literature-39-1.html
Looking for merchandise? Action for Animals has a very good selection : http://store.afa-online.org/home.php?cat=284
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Our compassionate world
gratefully revolves
Around those who have
Thankfully,
Evolved
Karen Lyons Kalmenson
For the 4th year in a row, a great variety of actions will be held all over the planet for the World Day for the End of Speciesism.
In our societies our relationship with animals is based on speciesism. By analogy with racism and sexism, speciesism refers to an ideology that considers the lives and interests of animals as insignificant just because they are of a different species. Speciesism is untenable because humans are not the only ones to feel emotions and therefore we have to respect the lives and interests of the other sentient beings who share this planet with us.
Regardless of the differences between species, it is clear that all sentient beings are equal in their capacity to feel pain. No matter what our ‘race’, sex, species may be, the important thing is what we feel, our interest in not suffering, in not being a victim of violence and in continuing to lead the happiest life possible. Discrimination based on species is just as arbitrary as any other discrimination based on an illogical criterion. Equality tainted by exclusions and arbitrary discrimination is by definition inequality, injustice.
Therefore all sentient beings, regardless of species, must be included within the circle of moral consideration. This does not mean treating them all in an identical way but really taking their interests into account as if they were our own.
Our society does not disdain babies nor people with mental disabilities, although they appear to lack complex intellectual abilities, but grants them greater protection, and rightly so. Indeed, they also suffer, are unable to defend themselves and should therefore be protected. In the same way, regardless of their mental faculties, animals are sentient beings that have an interest in living the longest and happiest lives possible and should also be protected. In addition, more and more studies show that we have immensely underrated the mental capacity of most animals1.
Far from espousing the theory of animals-as-machines, modern ethologists invite us to see animals as individuals in their own right, feeling emotions, having preferences, desires and their own personality. We now know that self-awareness, culture, altruism and the ability to use tools exist in many animals.
Injustices of the past have been abolished or reduced, such as feudality and the low status assigned to women. They too were so embedded in the collective consciousness that they were thought to be eternal. But history has shown the opposite and we can easily imagine that one day slaughterhouses will be deemed to be a symbol of barbarity. More and more of us are beginning to take a stand against injustice to animals, which has become one of the most important social debates of our time.
The goal of the World Day for the End of Speciesism is to denounce the unjust ideology that makes this barbarity possible.
We are working for a world that takes the lives and interests of all into consideration. This world is already on its way. Let’s work together so that it arrives as soon as possible!
1 Recently the chimpanzee Ayumu shattered the idea that humans always have better mental abilities than other animals by beating humans in a test of memory: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsXP8qeFF6A
Source End-of-Speciesism.org
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In the eyes of our creator,
None are less
And none are
Greater
Karen Lyons Kalmenson
We’re excited to announce that our farmed animals campaign has teamed up with viral YouTuber Erin Janus to launch 60 massive billboards across Los Angeles featuring her Dairy is Scary video during June “Dairy Month.”
In both English and Spanish, the billboards invite onlookers to watch Erin’s video exposing common dairy industry practices of forcibly impregnating cows, stealing their babies, and turning them into veal and hamburgers long before their 25-year natural lifespan. The video finishes with Erin calling on the public to, “Try any milk but dairy milk,” and directs viewers to enjoy the health benefits of dairy-free by taking our 21-day dairy-free challenge.
In our fight for animal welfare, the environment, and our own personal health; making the decision to go dairy free is one of the most impactful steps that we as individuals can take.
Order a FREE vegan kit: http://www.peta.org/living/food/free-vegan-starter-kit/
Take PETA’s Cruelty-Free Shopping Guide along with you next time you head to the store! The handy guide will help you find humane products at a glance. Order a FREE copy HERE
Want to do more than go vegan? Help others to do so! Click on the below for nominal, or no, fees to vegan literature that you can use to convince others that veganism is the only compassionate route to being an animal friend.
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Looking for merchandise? Action for Animals has a very good selection : http://store.afa-online.org/home.php?cat=284
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be the milk of human kindness
be dairy free
farm animals so need
our advocacy!!!
Karen Lyons Kalmenson
Utah: drop the charges for saving Lily. Whistleblowers who expose animal abuse should be protected, not prosecuted.
DxE activists are facing up to 60 years in prison as new charges are filed for the rescue of a dying piglet from an abusive factory farm #Smithfield5 #ProtectLily Help us caption & translate this video! https://amara.org/v/iqOq/
About
My name is Wayne. As a former Northwestern law professor, MIT-educated social scientist, and open rescue investigator, I’ve spent decades on research and working to help animals both inside and outside the system.
My experiences led to the 2013 founding of Direct Action Everywhere (DxE), a global grassroots animal rights network committed to total animal liberation. What sets DxE apart is our unapologetic mission to create a world where every animal is happy, safe and free within one generation.
Order a FREE vegan kit: http://www.peta.org/living/food/free-vegan-starter-kit/
Take PETA’s Cruelty-Free Shopping Guide along with you next time you head to the store! The handy guide will help you find humane products at a glance. Order a FREE copy HERE
Want to do more than go vegan? Help others to do so! Click on the below for nominal, or no, fees to vegan literature that you can use to convince others that veganism is the only compassionate route to being an animal friend.
PETA: http://www.petacatalog.com/catalog/Literature-39-1.html
Looking for merchandise? Action for Animals has a very good selection : http://store.afa-online.org/home.php?cat=284
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when the law is the crime
please take a moment and sign…
so worth the time
thank you!!!
Karen Lyons Kalmenson
Please, always report cruelty to authorities, especially during times of imminent danger or harm. The following are a few sources to use when reporting animal abuse. See below for sample statement to Interpol, or for reporting child abuse.
1) http://www.interpol.int/Forms/Contact_INTERPOL
2) http://www.peta.org/about/contact-peta/email-form.aspx
3) https://www.humanesociety.org/resources/report-animal-cruelty
4) http://www.peta.org/about/contact-peta/report-cruelty.aspx
5) https://www.internet-signalement.gouv.fr/PortailWeb/planets/Accueil!input.action
6) http://www.peta.org/action/get-active-online/cruelty-on-the-internet.aspx/
PETAIndia
9 Things to Do if You Witness Cruelty to Animals
Additional instructions for reporting abuse on FaceBook (or other site)
If you witness cruelty on Facebook, abuse to children or animals in videos or pictures, please do not report to Facebook; if you report to Facebook the evidence may be destroyed. Please contact local authorities immediately.
Click HERE to refer to INTERPOL. Please note that Interpol may not receive your direct request for help in a timely manner; you need to contact your local, or nearby, police or law enforcement personnel who will then contact Interpol if appropriate. However, please click HERE for general Interpol inquiries and to report appropriate crimes. Scroll down to Interpol General Secretariat to include and submit information. Please note that this should not be your only source of reporting; you should contact local law enforcement as well.
Please click HERE to report online child sexual abuse to the Virtual Global Taskforce, Combating Online Child Sexual Abuse
Send INTERPOL or VGT the URL (link) to the Picture or Video you want to report.
As above, contact local, or nearby, police or law enforcement personnel or HERE to report online child sexual abuse to the Virtual Global Taskforce, Combating Online Child Sexual Abuse.
For Interpol, enter your email address in the appropriate box, enter “GRAPHIC VIOLENCE ON FACEBOOK” in the Subject Box, and then paste the “URL” referring to the Photo or Video you wish to report – with a brief message(see below for sample).
Sample Statement
I have been witness to blatant animal cruelty (or child abuse) on Facebook at the following link:
These images are extremely disturbing and clearly establish blatant crimes against animals (or children). After viewing the provided material, you will understand that this is indicative of unlawful acts of animal cruelty (or child abuse) as established by the (Animal Welfare Act) and relevant local and international statutes. I respectfully request that your resources be applied to remove this material and charge the perpetrators with relevant unlawful crimes.
Thank you for your rapid attention to this urgent appeal.
Name
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no reason to stay still
apathy KILLS!!!
Karen Lyons Kalmenson
Source: International Anti-Poaching Foundation, One Green Planet
Poaching is one of the largest threats presently facing precious endangered animals such as elephants, lions, and rhinos. Fed up with this senseless, ecosystem-destroying “sport,” an Australian convervationist and former military sniper named Damien Mander founded the International Anti-Poaching Foundation (IAPF) a decade ago. Since then, Mander has been working tirelessly to land on the best methods for combatting poaching and preserving wildlife in African nations.
Initially, Mander tried what he reportedly called “a fairly military approach” to fighting poaching. But in recent years, he began to rethink his strategy. He wondered, what if women were put at the forefront of wildlife conservation efforts rather than men? What if we moved away from the norm and towards something totally new?
Seeking to answer these questions, Mander launched a program called “Akashinga” (meaning “the brave ones”) in 2017. The project’s goal? To recruit African women who come from disadvantaged backgrounds — abuse survivors, single mothers, abandoned wives, sex workers, and orphans — and train them to be wildlife rangers.
To prepare them for the complex and dangerous job of African wildlife conservation, women who enlist in Akashinga go through the same training as male anti-poaching rangers. They are required to complete an extensive program covering everything from crime scene preservation to crisis management to camouflage.
To prepare them for the complex and dangerous job of African wildlife conservation, women who enlist in Akashinga go through the same training as male anti-poaching rangers. They are required to complete an extensive program covering everything from crime scene preservation to crisis management to camouflage.
So far, this unique program has been wildly successful. With nearly three dozen women on the team, Akashinga has already made around 60 arrests, resulting in a combined total of more than 41 years of jail sentences. Recently, Akashinga has successfully taken action against individuals associated with serious crimes such as zebra poaching, ivory smuggling, and sable antelope snaring.
According to Mander, Akashinga has been “more effective” than any other program he’s seen, which is saying a lot considering his long history of involvement in wildlife conservation. As he pointed out, women have a special ability to “de-escalate everything,” which may very well have something to do with the program’s great success.
In addition to empowering women and thwarting trophy hunting, Akashinga is also having a positive impact on local communities: More than 70 percent of the project’s operational costs go directly back into African communities via employment and goods and services.
As Mander reportedly said, “This is the evolution of man to see something we should have seen in the past. Women will change the face of conservation forever.”
We certainly agree with that, and we look forward to seeing this project continue to grow and thrive in coming years! If you’d like to support this awesome program, you can make a donation to the IAPF here. Your generous contribution will go towards the training and supplies needed to keep this animal-saving organization alive.
And even if you aren’t able to donate at this time, you can still help by spreading the word about this organization’s important work with everyone in your network!
Image Source: International Anti-Poaching Foundation/Facebook
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warrior woman
she lives her life
by her own rules
with an open heart
and zero tolerance
for fools.
Karen Lyons Kalmenson
Wikimedia Commons, Keven Law
Most of us are familiar with the “Boy Who Cried Wolf.” This is the story of the scientist who cried “truth” and the price attached. Science is humanity’s tool for revealing the truth. Denying the truth does not change it.
Dr. Robert Wielgus is a man of honor and integrity whose voice was silenced, ironically, through an act of social predation. As director of the Large Carnivore Conservation Laboratory at Washington State University, his work with large carnivores was well respected. Dr. Wielgus’ and his students’ research found that wolves and livestock can coexist. Wolves do not naturally hunt livestock – not a single wolf predation occurred when livestock were kept a half-mile from an active wolf den site. Had this peer-reviewed science been observed, unnecessary cattle deaths and slaughter of the Profanity Peak Pack could have been avoided.
Many animals have evolved to birth their young in spring, a time of plentiful resources. In spring, wolf sociality revolves around birthing puppies. Wolves remain close to the den site during this time. Livestock also birth in the spring, however human intervention has altered this to late winter so calves are ready to graze by spring. The release of cow and young calf onto public land to graze coincides with the birthing of wolf puppies and increased energy needs for the pack.
Gray wolves hunt cooperatively in family units known as packs, a social unit composed of diverse individuals with a hierarchy and social structure that facilitates cooperative hunting. Cooperative hunting involves socially complex meat-eating animals working together, with division of labor and role specialization increasing the success of the group and the individual. Cooperative hunting offers increased access to food with decreased risk to the individual, and is linked to intelligence, social organization and the evolution of sociality. Sociality is the degree to which individuals in an animal population form cooperative societies.
Cooperative hunting is also called social predation. This behavior is not unique to gray wolves; it is a behavior ever-present in humans. It is sadly ironic that Dr. Wielgus, a predator aficionado, would fall victim to social predation. In human terms, social predators are individuals who thrive embracing the pack mentality, rarely having the courage to act alone. They prey on other humans and are widely known for the predictable traits of egocentrism and aggressive social mannerisms. Dr. Wielgus was depredated by social predators – agency professionals, legislators and community members – whose self-interests are more important than truth.
Dr. Wielgus questioned the actions of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife and a public lands rancher that led to the slaughter of the Profanity Peak wolves. Livestock and salt blocks were placed within 200 yards of a wolf den on public land. Once discovered, no action was taken to remove the livestock, despite numerous warnings. Salt blocks were left in place, complicating the situation. When agency and industry refused to listen, Dr. Wielgus risked his reputation and went to the press and public. Once cattle were killed, seven wolves – adults and puppies – were slaughtered. This situation could have been avoided through adaptive husbandry practices and respect for nature. One rancher’s husbandry practices, coupled with WDFW’s lethal removal policy, is responsible for the killing of 15 of our recovering wolves.
Additionally, Dr. Wielgus’ research revealed that killing wolves does not lead to fewer predations on livestock; killing alters the sociality within the pack, impacts cooperative hunting, and can increase the number of breeding pairs and the overall number of wolves, leading to more predation on livestock. Killing a whole pack vacates habitat open to colonization by new wolves, also found to increase the number of livestock preyed upon. These findings do not align with WDFW’s lethal removal policy and do not support grazing cattle on our public lands. Industry and agency refused to recognize the scientific truth. Instead of adapting, they chose to kill the messenger.
Chris Bachman, a biologist and wolf advocate, is the wildlife program director at The Lands Council in Spokane. He also chairs the Eastern Washington Wolf Coalition.
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when truths become relative
to from whom they speak
our society and values
turn ashen
and weak.
Karen Lyons Kalmenson
Wikimedia Commons, Ethelred
When it comes to reducing your impact on our planet, some choices make a bigger difference than others. Of course, you want to strive to do the most possible good for our Earth. So what’s the best action you can take to limit your environmental impact? According to a recent study published in the journal Science, staying away from meat and dairy products is the single most effective way to help the planet.
Scientists arrived at this conclusion after an analysis of how farming affects the Earth revealed some eye-opening statistics. According to the research, if people stopped consuming meat and dairy products, we could reduce global farmland use by over 75 percent — that’s an area that could fit all of the U.S., China, the European Union, AND Australia — while still feeding the world’s growing population successfully.
The analysis also uncovered that meat and dairy provide just 18 percent of the calories and 37 percent of the protein consumed globally, yet they take up a whopping 83 percent of the world’s total farmland and account for 60 percent of the greenhouse gases emitted in the agriculture sector. Moreover, growing any type of vegetable or cereal takes far less land and is far more sustainable than producing even the lowest impact meat and dairy, according to the study.
In fact, the research revealed that grass-fed beef, which is generally considered to have a relatively low impact as compared to other types of livestock, still takes a much higher toll on the environment than plant-based foods. As University of Oxford researcher and study leader Joseph Poore reportedly put it, “Converting grass into [meat] is like converting coal to energy. It comes with an immense cost in emissions.”
Poore also described the tremendous good ditching meat and dairy can do beyond just cutting greenhouse gas emissions: “A vegan diet is probably the single biggest way to reduce your impact on planet Earth, not just greenhouse gases, but global acidification, eutrophication, land use and water use.” He went on, “It is far bigger than cutting down on your flights or buying an electric car,” as these actions merely decrease greenhouse gas emissions without helping out significantly in the other areas. Not to mention that going vegan can also help reverse the current mass extinction of wildlife, which is largely driven by wild areas being taken over for livestock production.
Overall, this study largely confirms what we already knew: Livestock production is the number one cause of global climate change. However, it provides concrete evidence that swapping out meat and dairy for delicious plant-based alternatives is not just good for the planet — it’s the single best thing you could ever do!
To learn more about how you can save the Earth through your food choices, check out the Eat For The Planet book. And don’t forget to tell everyone in your network that cutting meat and dairy has been proven to be the best step you can take in the pursuit to limit your carbon footprint!
Order a FREE vegan kit: http://www.peta.org/living/food/free-vegan-starter-kit/
Take PETA’s Cruelty-Free Shopping Guide along with you next time you head to the store! The handy guide will help you find humane products at a glance. Order a FREE copy HERE
Want to do more than go vegan? Help others to do so! Click on the below for nominal, or no, fees to vegan literature that you can use to convince others that veganism is the only compassionate route to being an animal friend.
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One cannot choose nor
Discriminate
The environment begins
On our plates
Karen Lyons Kalmenson
Wikimedia Commons
The following is my letter to the editor of The Globe and Mail in response to their May 7th article, This sheep could save our bacon someday: Why farmers are banking on rare breeds. Some of the content here is excerpted from my book, Farm to Fable: The Fictions of Our Animal Consuming Culture. Letters to the editor can be sent to letters@globeandmail.com.
Dear Editors,
Overall, the article is based on the false premise that the conservation of so-called “rare breeds” are of the same status as endangered native species, conflating the role of conservation of native species with domesticated, “invasive” species that humans introduced solely for the purpose of commodification, which has resulted in an ongoing degradation of ecosystems and the decimation of wildlife, not its conservation. In addition, the article ignores all of the cruelty and killing of domestic animals in the process of centuries of selective breeding which involves “weeding out” weak or diseased animals and killing them off.
The article suggests that so-called “rare breed” or heritage breed conservation is humankind doing Mother Nature a favor by domesticating certain indigenous species and by introducing invasive species to her ecosystems, as if nothing existed (or at least nothing worth conserving) before our intervention, as if no species were harmed or hunted to extinction in the process of converting and maintaining once pristine ecosystems into farmland. In reality, farmers wreaked havoc on ecosystems and systematically killed off other animals that posed a threat or nuisance to their livestock investments. And the process continues today, particularly on so-called pasture-based or free-range farms, which require more land use and more confrontations with indigenous species.
mother nature makes the rules
when man intervenes
he sometimes plays
the fool.
Karen Lyons Kalmenson
Folks who have made the switch to vegan eating have found massive amounts of personal success. Some lost weight, others noticed younger-looking or clearer skin, and all were gratified by knowing that they’re helping to save animals and the planet. Restaurants are finding similar success. But instead of clear skin, eateries that switch to vegan menus notice improved popularity. Plus, in addition to saving animals and the planet, these establishments are saving on food costs—and gaining sales.
TheVeganizers@TheVeganizers17 restaurants out of 22, confirmed with cold hard cash that their sales increased dramatically. Some as much as 1000%. Whether you’re for the animals or not, SBO’s should take this intel seriously as a hint on how to keep your business alive! #veganizer http://ow.ly/wPDA30jkM0Z
According to Forbes, out of 22 restaurants surveyed that made the switch to 100 percent vegan menus, the 17 that responded reported increased sales—and some saw sales surge by as much as 1,000 percent. The eateries also reported an increase in social media followings—some as much as 15,000 percent. Many also saw a decrease in food costs. Click here to learn more about these now-vegan restaurants, and read on to discover a few of our favorite success stories:
When this restaurant opened in Dallas in 2015, it featured “vegan Thursdays.” But in 2016, a customer said it wasn’t an option to continue to support a business that continued to serve meat—so El Palote’s owners cut meat from the menu the following week. The Mexican restaurant is a family-owned business, and the father—who had a heart condition—went vegan for his health. The rest of the family quickly followed suit. The restaurant’s owners say that they didn’t put a “vegan” sign on the front door because they prefer to let the food speak for itself. According to Veganizer, El Palote’s gross sales increased by 371 percent, while the eatery’s social media fame jumped 7,500 percent. And it’s clear why—the food is “life changing.”
Trevor Evans worked in the mines in Australia for 20 years, but what he really wanted to do was help save animals. In 2004, he opened Secret Creek, and in 2016, the family-run business—which also serves as a popular wedding venue and cake supplier—switched to an all-vegan menu. Since then, the eatery has reported an increase of sales by 153 percent. As if that’s not astounding enough, its food costs also decreased by 58 percent.
In 2002, John McCormick and his wife, Vanessa Shanks, opened Café Moto—a chic, cycling-themed bar that featured a nonvegan menu. In 2016, when it came time to renegotiate their lease, they decided to start fresh with a new concept. “You think about how the future can be—how can you lessen your impact … and how can you create an environment where you feel good bringing your child to eat,” said Shanks. Thus, Bar Velo was born. The eatery—which now features a 100 percent plant-based menu—has seen a 15 percent increase in sales since making the compassionate switch.
Years after opening a gelatería in 2009, Gelato Blue in Newtown, Australia, opted to serve all-vegan gelato. “Because we are a family business, we treat our customers like family,” said the store’s manager, Fotini Platis. So in order to accommodate alltheir customers’ desires, the shop switched to serving only plant-based gelato as of 2016—on Easter Saturday, to be exact. Gelato Blue’s vegan menu was reportedly the third major plant-based menu to be launched on the same street within a span of six months, proving that the demand for compassionate eats is only rising.
When you think “French cuisine,” you may not immediately think “vegan.” But Christopher Caron and his mother, Yvette—owner and chef of Délice & Sarrasin in New York City—are changing that. After opening a 99 percent vegan restaurant in 2015, the mother-son duo made the full switch a year later—eliminating cheese from their menu. Since doing so, sales have gone up by 350 percent, while the bistro’s social media following skyrocketed 1,200 percent, and it’s easy to see why. Everything—from the “steak” tartare to the vegan brie cheese—at the French eatery is Instagram-worthy.
This coffee shop opened in London in 2012. In March 2017, after one employee went vegan, the eatery opted to start switching its menu. According to the establishment’s website, “We ‘ran out of ham’ for weeks before we decided to become more vocal about it. On Mother’s Day 2017 we stopped pouring cow’s milk into our espresso, signalling the end of animal products in our cafe.” Staff members also posted a notice explaining why they’d no longer be serving dairy “products.” Less than a month later, The Fields Beneath’s Instagram site jumped from 700 to 7,000 followers. According to Forbes, the eatery “also maintained a gross profit of 68% after turning vegan in March 2017.”
Australia’s first vegan Greek bakery didn’t start out vegan. But shortly after opening in 2016, the family-owned establishment decided that the best way to honor a late companion dog was to commit to baking with only plant-derived ingredients, including “[l]ove, care, consciousness and awareness.” The effort proved so successful that the family behind the plant-based vegan goods opened a second location—only two months after opening the original one!
When restaurateur Ravi DeRossi announced that he wanted to turn all his restaurants and bars in lower Manhattan and Brooklyn vegan in 2015, he started with Mother of Pearl. It clearly worked—sales increased and food costs dropped. The eatery—which had mainly seen crowds looking to order late-evening drinks—started to get a dinner rush for the first time. Switching to a vegan menu proved to be so successful that DeRossi even closed Bourgeois Pig—a fondue restaurant—and reopened the space as Ladybird, a vegan tapas bar.
Medical doctor Amit Tewari wants “to reduce the costs of vegan food and make it more accessible to the broader population.” That’s why, in December 2015, he turned his Sydney eatery—Soul Burger—completely vegan. Since doing so, sales have increased 347 percent, while food costs have decreased by 3 percent. Tewari has also opened three more locations throughout Sydney. PETA Australia even featured the eatery for its comedic “Breatharian menu.” The burger joint’s social media following also rose by 233 percent. Follow it on Instagram to see why:
Situated in New York City’s East Village, The Organic Grill was a vegetarian restaurant for 18 years. It slowly began removing eggs and dairy “products” from its menu a few months back. Then one day, it made it official—it announced on Instagram that it’s finally and officially an all-vegan restaurant. The new animal-free menu seems to be well accepted by customers, and it’s easy to see why. Offerings include the Tofu Omelet, the Cauliflower Parm Sandwich, pierogies, and some of the best vegan burgers in the city.
After testing a vegan menu for only a few weeks, Washington, D.C., eatery Pow Pow never looked back. “PLANT-BASED stays!” it announced. Menu items include the Disco Stick Egg Roll, Trolley Fries, and a Natalie Porkman Bowl made with sweet-and-sour port seitan. Patrons seem to love the new all-vegan menu. “Support has been so great that we couldn’t imagine going back,” said Pow Pow cofounder Shuan Sharkey.
When Holiday—formerly Roman Candle Baking Co.—closed for remodeling in April 2018, it actually meant menu remodeling. It reopened later that month, offering only plant-based (and gluten-free!) goodness. This was huge, considering that the eatery had been famous for its pizzas and “meaty” hoagies. But after Duane Sorenson—who owns Holiday and founded Stumptown Coffee—went vegan, he decided that his Portland-based hot spot should be vegan, too. The fancy toast options are to die for (cashew, cardamom, and pear with a walnut crumble … seriously?) as are the fresh juices, smoothies, and coffee selections.
“All products are now suitable for vegans.” This is what the sign at Joni in Sheffield, England, read as of last month. Famous for its macarons, brunch, and delicious coffee, the eatery went completely vegan after requests from customers. Although the macarons are the star, you can also get savory items like a tofu stir-fry, mushrooms on toast, falafel, jackfruit wraps, and more. But seriously, don’t leave Joni’s without a macaron.
We must admit—we’re not at all surprised by these success stories. Vegan lifestyles are on the rise. Consumers are becoming more and more aware of the benefits of not eating animals, and restaurants are responding in kind.
Going vegan is easier than ever before and—as these restaurants prove—a recipe for success. Click here to receive a free vegan starter kit packed full of recipes, tips on eating out, and important health information. Going vegan may be easier than ever before, but we’re here to make it even easier. If you’re a restaurant owner and want information or tips on switching to a vegan menu, click here to contact PETA today!
Order a FREE vegan kit: http://www.peta.org/living/food/free-vegan-starter-kit/
Take PETA’s Cruelty-Free Shopping Guide along with you next time you head to the store! The handy guide will help you find humane products at a glance. Order a FREE copy HERE
Want to do more than go vegan? Help others to do so! Click on the below for nominal, or no, fees to vegan literature that you can use to convince others that veganism is the only compassionate route to being an animal friend.
PETA: http://www.petacatalog.com/catalog/Literature-39-1.html
Looking for merchandise? Action for Animals has a very good selection : http://store.afa-online.org/home.php?cat=284
Have questions? Click HERE
food for thought
all our efforts
not for
naught!!!
Karen Lyons Kalmenson
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