Making Hay

What Issue 2 Really Means

Chickens react to Issue 2: "They voted for What?!" 

Ohio residents voted Tuesday on an important ballot initiative known as Issue 2. It was important, not because of what it actually accomplished, but because of what most Ohioans thought it would accomplish based on misleading ads from factory farm sponsors. Framing the measure as something that would protect animal welfare, agribusiness was able to deceive almost two-thirds of voters into voting “yes.”

Gene Baur, Farm Sanctuary’s president and co-founder, explains: “This undemocratic power grab was passed … by misleading well-meaning Ohioans to believe that a Livestock Care Standards Board would protect the animals in its care, when it was actually designed to allow cruel and inhumane practices to continue on factory farms...” And as Wayne Pacelle of HSUS points out, Issue 2 proponents spent $4 million on this slight-of-hand to make its passage possible.

Like many of our allies, we made a conscious decision to spend almost no money opposing them. Why? Because we wanted to save resources for our own ballot initiative, through which we can create more meaningful change by banning the cruel confinement of animals in cages so small they can barely move. And while Issue 2 does give more power to the industry for now, it won’t be enough to stop real reform. If the passage of Issue 2 means anything, it means that Ohioans care about how farm animals are treated. When we put out a call for serious change through the ballot, possibly as early as next year, people will side with the animals, just like they thought they were doing yesterday.

We’ll keep you posted on our progress and what you can do to help. When the time comes, we look forward to working with all of our allies (that means you!) and making a difference for farm animals state by state!

Posted by Casey Martinson

Sponsor a Turkey; Plant a Vegan Seed

By Jasmin

 
My favorite thing to do at my Thanksgiving meal is to place a photo of a rescued turkey from Farm Sanctuary’s Adopt-A- Turkey Project smack in the center of things. It’s a great conversation starter, to say the least, and it will make the “absent referent” a little less absent. (An “absent referent” is feminist Carol Adam’s term which means the point of reference that remains missing – or in this situation, dead – but is an active participant nonetheless, in this case, because its being eaten.) Simply put, your family won’t be able to ignore your sponsored turkey if he or she is front and center. And that right there is great advocacy.

Of course, you might choose to keep your sponsored turkey just to yourself. Placing his or her photo and story in the middle of the table might not be your speed, and that’s totally fine too. But, I do recommend putting a delicious turkey-free entrée in the middle of the table, regardless. Nothing says “yum” like compassion.

By sponsoring a turkey through our Adopt-A-Turkey Project , you are helping to contribute much-needed funds to care for rescued residents at our shelters and advocate and educate for farm animals everywhere. The cost is $25 and you get to choose which guy or gal to call your own. (Or, sponsor the whole flock for $150.) They make great gifts, too (especially for your meat-eating relatives).

Remember, planting vegan seeds comes in a variety of forms – including sponsoring turkeys.  

Help End Cruel Confinement in Your State

By Delci

Most veal calves in the U.S. are kept in spaces so small they can't even turn around. Ask your elected officials to ban this and other forms of cruel confinement.

With many state legislatures on recess, now’s a good time to schedule meetings with your legislators in their local district offices. Meeting face-to-face with your legislators to let them know how important farm animal issues are to you is one of the most important forms of advocacy. Anti-confinement legislation is being passed across the country, most recently in Michigan, thanks in large part to Farm Sanctuary members like you. But there’s still a lot more ground to be covered.

Farm Sanctuary can’t be everywhere at once – and legislators are often less concerned with what a national organization has to say than what you, their constituent has to say. That’s why it’s so important that you get out and ask them to sponsor legislation that ends the use of cruel veal crates, gestation crates for breeding pigs, and battery cages for egg-laying hens. And it’s not as hard as it might sound.

The first step is to schedule appointments with your state elected officials. This should be easy, because they’ve been elected to represent you and want to know what’s on their constituents’ minds. It’s your job to let them know.

If you don’t know who your state legislators are, you can look them up here. When you enter your ZIP code, a page showing your federal officials will appear; just click on the “State Officials” tab to the right of where it says “Federal Officials,” and voila: You should see your state senators and representatives (or assemblypersons). (It’s more common than you might think for people to mix up their state and federal officials, so make sure to avoid this mistake.)

In addition to the capitol offices shown on this page, each legislator has a district office much closer to you. You can find out where this district office is by clicking the link to the legislator’s home page. Contact that district office and let them know that you’re a constituent and that you would like to meet with your elected official in the district office the next time she or he is available.

Once you’ve got an appointment, the next step is to figure out what you’re going to say. It helps to go in with as clear of an “ask” as possible. In most states, I suggest asking your legislators to sponsor anti-confinement legislation, but make sure to visit our Web site before your meeting to see if such legislation is already pending – or has passed – in your state. In addition to providing this state-specific information, this page should fully prepare you for your meeting. It includes detailed information about the confinement systems at issue, as well as links to a Legislator Brief you can print out and give to your legislator, sample anti-confinement legislative language, tips on effective lobbying, and more. It’s a one-stop shop for information about anti-confinement legislation, so make sure to peruse it thoroughly. And if, after you do, you still have questions, feel free to e-mail us.

Birthday Activism

By Jasmin

As Casey mentioned in his last post, birthdays can be a perfect time to get active for farm animals. It’s your day; you get to call the shots. That means, you can tell mom and dad that rather than that Wii Tetris game, you’d prefer if they gave you the gift of compassion; that is, to go vegan for a month (or whatever amount of days you decide). You could also ask your friends and family to donate money to your favorite organization (which of course is Farm Sanctuary, so donate here and thank you very much); or simply request a vegan birthday cake.

Tomorrow is my 30th birthday. In 1979, the year I was born, the USDA reported 4,044,336,000 chickens were killed for food in the United States. As of 2008, that number rose to 9,069,382,000 chickens. That’s an increase of 124%! Because of that completely mind-blowing number, I’m asking that on my 30th birthday, you do 30 things for farm animals. Leaflet for 30 minutes (I’ll send you the materials), or send a mass e-mail to 30 of your closest friends showing them the truth behind turkey production and how to have a compassionate Thanksgiving.

With birthday activism, the sky is the limit – so have your vegan cake and eat it too.  

The Vegan Theory of Relativity

By Casey

Vegan = (More)(Compassion)²
 
Last week, Delci, Jasmin and I talked about how to respond  to some of the often frustrating comments that we hear from people on the subject of animal rights. For example, we addressed the objection that “going vegan is too difficult,” by pointing out just how easy veganism can be and how it is getting easier all the time. After all, both the number of vegans and the number of vegan-friendly products on the market has grown exponentially in recent years.

However, we did get some feedback on our premise that veganism is a piece of (cruelty-free) cake. One reader commented:
 
“Saying [that] ‘...You can find a good meal anywhere if you know what to look for’ supposes [that] you live someplace [where] you can eat ... at a restaurant once in awhile and order something other than french fries or dry side salad... I've lived in several different areas of the country and not giving credit to those who do in fact have a struggle with this important but difficult choice is perhaps not giving credit where credit is due.”
 
Point taken. I can understand the sentiment expressed here because I have been there myself. For two years, my wife and I lived in a very small town where we'd be lucky to find just one variety of tofu hidden next to some wilting broccoli at the local market. And there have been many times when I’ve found myself at an airport, a social event or a business lunch (before I worked for Farm Sanctuary) where my options were limited.
 
Truthfully, there are situations that challenge even the most resourceful vegan, where even the french fries are spoiled by some needless animal-derived flavoring agent and there is literally nothing that you can eat while smug omnivores stuff themselves and make snide comments about your diet. Yikes! These situations are becoming rare, but in a non-vegan world, they can happen. How does one deal?
 
One strategy I find helpful is to simply remember the immense suffering farm animals experience every day. How much smaller my own passing discomfort or inconvenience then seems by comparison. What's going without one meal compared to having your baby stolen from you just moments after birth? What are a few insulting comments next to repeated electric shocks urging you to crawl forward on broken legs? To quote a t-shirt I once had, featuring a picture of Albert Einstein (another notable vegetarian): It’s all relative. When I put even my most challenging vegan moments in perspective, they shrink in consequence to nothing more than bumps in the road. 

Of course, the above mental strategy is meant to be a short-term, emergency coping tool for “dire” circumstances.

Since vegans are such a pro-active bunch, I hardly expect you to go through life merely putting up with the slings and arrows of a non-vegan world. If you live in some remote outpost where vegan is a four-letter word, here are some tips to make your compassionate life easier.
 
1) Planning a lunch date? Call the restaurant first and ask the manager or chef for help. If you're polite and appeal to their sense of culinary pride, they'll probably make some effort to accommodate you. It might not be vegan nirvana, but you're going to lunch for social reasons, not to find the best meal of your life. By finding out ahead of time what vegan food is available – on or off the menu – you can spare your waiter a game of 20 questions and focus on the social aspect of your meal. Consider bringing your own favorite vegan condiments in a travel safe container or a handy single-serving packet. 
 
2) If you're the only vegan you know, join (or start!) a local veg club to meet some like-minded people. According to recent polls, even the smallest town should have at least a few people who share your interest in a cruelty-free diet. You can increase those numbers by doing a little outreach work: tabling, leafleting , letter writing, etc .
 
3) Remember to plant seeds in your current social circle too. I was the only vegan in my family eight years ago. Today, I have two vegan parents, three vegan aunts, and several other family members slowly but surely making their way there. This is partly due to my frequent gifting of books like The China Study, Skinny Bitch, iWant, and of course, Farm Sanctuary: Changing Hearts and Minds About Animals and Food. My dad’s vegan diet started when I asked him to try it for one month as a birthday present to me. Three years later, he’s not only still vegan but getting his friends to think about the veggie life as well.
 
4) Don’t neglect the absolutely huge vegan support network that exists on the Internet. Google “vegan” and you’ll find yourself at the gateway to a nearly infinite variety of forums, recipe sites, Meetup groups, blogs, and more.
 
5) If restaurants and stores in your town are lacking, do some outreach there as well. How will these establishments know there is a demand for vegan options if nobody ever asks?
 
When you approach the lifestyle with an optimistic and creative mind, veganism is easy. Obstacles will cross your path occasionally, but in terms of good achieved for effort expended, there is nothing else you can do in your daily life that even compares. A vegan diet is the simplest and greatest service you can do for animals , for yourself , and for the environment. And as we live our compassionate lifestyles proudly, leading by example and encouraging others to consider animal-free foods, we make the road even easier for those who come after us.
 
 
 

If I Hear That One More Time, I’ll Scream…

By Jasmin, Casey and Delci

Before you scream, see what Jasmin, Casey and Delci have to say about confronting common challenges as an activist.

Jasmin, Casey and Delci enjoying a stroll at the Sanctuary. (Okay, it's not actually us. It's Marsha, Summer and Prophet.)

 

Jasmin: Recently, the lovely Michelle Taylor of Vegan Break interviewed me to get my “Witty Responses to 5 Common Questions” that vegans are asked.

Casey: You enlightened and entertained, Jazz.

Jasmin: Why thank you, Casey. The goal of the interview was more on the “to entertain” side, which led me and some viewers wanting more … umph. Animal activists often get deluged with all sorts of questions from people who feel threatened by our message – or our cruelty-free lunch. So today, we’re going to talk about how to handle a few of the more common questions or objections constructively.

Delci: I know that, for me, having good responses to these questions or comments is especially important when leafleting, tabling, or doing other public outreach.

Casey: Definitely. You never get a second chance to make a first impression.

Jasmin: I don’t know about you, but when I do demos, I almost always hear, “Why are you spending so much time on animal rights when there is so much human suffering in the world?”

Casey: Yup, I do hear that question often. And it can manifest in other ways too, like “What about the war?” or “There are children starving! Why should I spend my energy focusing on cruelty to farm animals?”

Delci: So how would you answer it?

Jasmin: Assuming the person is actually waiting for an answer and not just shouting out the window of her car as she zooms past, I’d say something like this:

Factory farming abuses workers, pollutes the environment, wastes resources, and produces unhealthy products  – all of which negatively impact humans. And actually, I care very much about human rights. It’s part of the reason I’m an animal advocate.

If I had the opportunity to keep talking, I’d explain that there’s a lot of overlap between animal rights and human rights. Slaughterhouse workers are among the most abused employees out there – not to mention that “meat packing” is the most dangerous industry in the U.S., largely because employees are working directly with sharp blades and fast-moving conveyor belts. (This is according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as reported in Slaughterhouse by Gail Eisnitz – a must-read on this subject, as is Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser.)

As for children starving, let’s not forget that animal agriculture is the most inefficient way to produce food. Most of the Earth’s arable land is planted to feed animals who are then slaughtered; talk about waste! Over 70 percent of American grain and 80 percent of American corn is fed to farm animals. According to a Cornell University study, the amount of grain consumed by animals in the U.S. could feed approximately 800 million people.

Lastly, just because you are speaking out for one group one day does not necessarily mean you’re not speaking out for another group the next. I actually came into animal rights through AIDS-awareness activism, and I spend my share of time speaking up for many other social justice causes.

Delci: I know. I’ve seen your Facebook page. You know what else I hear a lot?

Casey: Where did you get those stylish vegan shoes?

Delci: I mean, besides that. We’re talking about anti-vegan arguments here.

Casey: Sorry, I was distracted by the shoes. What else do you hear?

Delci: “Humans are supposed to eat meat. We’re at the top of the food chain!”

Jasmin: Ah, that old classic. I still remember the first time I heard it. It was a warm autumn day in Brooklyn. I was passing out leaflets after a delightful lunch at this café on Bedford Avenue …

Casey: Really?

Jasmin: No. Actually, I’ve heard it so many times, they all blur together in my mind.

Casey: Oh, glad I’m not the only one. You know, we could answer that “food chain” argument by pointing out that it oversimplifies a complex ecological concept and may well misrepresent the bulk of human history. Archeological evidence suggests our ancestors most likely subsisted on a wide range of diets depending on their local environment. There has never been just one food chain, but many food chains, each specific to a certain time and place. The one common characterisitc of early human diets is adaptability, and that remains true today. We have more in common with rats than with lions.

Delci: Of course, we’re no longer living in the Stone Age. We pretty much choose our own food chain when we go to the grocery store.

Casey: True. What people are really saying with the “food chain” comment, whether they realize it or not, is that “might makes right.” That is completely at odds with the professed moral values of almost every culture that exists today. When was the last time you heard a politician or religious leader say, "The strong should take advantage of the weak, because that is the natural order of things!" Most people don’t really believe that, and those who do make pretty terrible neighbors.

Instead of "might makes right," most moral systems generally adhere to the Golden Rule, which compels us to treat others with consideration and avoid causing unnecessary harm. We know that humans can thrive on a plant-based diet. There are millions of vegans proving this every day.

Jasmin: Like us!

Casey: Right – and also a growing number of professional athletes. Since we have no need to eat animal products, and since all animal agriculture requires that animals be harmed, it follows that all consumption of animal-based foods involves unnecessary harm – i.e., that which nearly every moral system frowns upon. Most people want to do what is right – or at least they think they do. If you want to do the right thing, go vegan.

Jasmin: Of course, a lot of people want to do the right thing, but only if it’s not too difficult...

Casey: No doubt. I wish I had a nickel for every time I heard “I’m vegetarian already, but I could never go vegan – it’s too hard.” I could adopt a whole flock of Farm Sanctuary turkeys with that kind of money.

Delci: You know, I went vegan 17 years ago, and it actually was a little challenging back then, especially when dining out. But today, it’s a piece of (cruelty-free) cake! When people say that going vegan is too hard, here’s what I like to tell them:

Being vegan really isn’t hard at all. There’s a learning curve, to be sure, but once you get your bearings it’s really just like any other habit. Being vegan is automatic for me; I don’t even think about it a lot of the time.

Jasmin: Plus, there are all kinds of amazing resources around now to help people take that step.

Casey: Farm Sanctuary’s Veg for Life Web site, for example, has a how-to section specifically focused on making the switch to veganism.

Delci: Yeah – it includes all kinds of great information, with sections on label literacy, grocery shopping, dealing with visits home for the holidays, and a lot more neat info.

Jasmin: Another great resource is Vegan at Heart, a free e-mail coaching program that provides guidance and support for “people who are vegan at heart but not necessarily in practice.”

Delci: In addition to the plethora of resources available to those trying to make the transition to veganism today, it’s also important to note the tremendous increase in the availability of vegan products – much more than 17 years ago!

Casey: And some of the best vegan foods have been staples of a healthy diet for years: fruits and veggies, grains and legumes. These basic whole foods are healthy and affordable.

Delci: When I was in Cuba a few years back, I ate amazing food – black beans and rice, malanga (a delicious tuber), mangos, and much more. I still miss it. But that experience just underscores how easy it is to be vegan even while traveling and even without access to abundant processed foods.

Jasmin: I’ve traveled a lot, and I have never had a problem keeping my hunger at bay. Last summer I went to Vancouver and the “veganicity” of the town blew my mind!

Delci: Veganicity? Nice word, Jazz. Speaking of which, when I first moved to the South, people kept suggesting that I was going to starve to death as a vegan, but I can honestly say I’ve had no problem finding more than enough to eat here.

Jasmin: The bottom line is that veganism is not all that difficult. You can find a good meal anywhere if you know what to look for. I think that going vegan is one of the best things I’ve ever done. It’s my favorite part of me.

Delci: And once you know about the horrific cruelties of factory farming and the monumental impact our food choices have on the environment, it’s hard not to make a change.

Casey: [breaking into song] I’m starting with the man in the mirror!

Jasmin: Um. What was that?

Delci: Michael Jackson, I think.

Casey: [still singing] I’m asking him to change his ways!

Jasmin: I guess we’re done talking then?

Delci: Yeah, we’d better leave before the dancing starts.

Jasmin: Wait, one more thing, quickly... If you're reading this and you have some questions that you want us to tackle, please leave them in the comments section below.

Delci: Consider this the first installment in what will be a new outlet for us to use to cover your FAQs.

Jasmin: Is Casey doing the Moonwalk?

Casey: [bringing it home] If you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and make that … change!

Love in the Time of Carnism

Today’s “Making Hay” blog entry was written by guest blogger Christopher Logue. Chris is currently a Farm Sanctuary legal intern based in New Orleans, where he is helping to mastermind legal efforts on behalf of farm animals. Learn more about Farm Sanctuary’s internship program.

Chris and Maude

I can’t say for sure what we had for supper that night, but if the night was like most others, it was spaghetti and meatballs. Our meal was interrupted by a sudden silence, as the constant, low-level whir of the living room fish tank came to a stop. The oxygen system – that little machine that breathed precious bubbles of life into our family’s goldfish – had failed. I could see a panic come over my father’s face. My sister and I hadn’t much idea of what was going on, and my mother begged my father not to worry about it and return to dinner. But the idea of letting those little creatures suffocate on his watch was too much for him to take. He rushed out in the middle of dinner – an unprecedented event – and bought a replacement. The fish were saved.

A few years later, while still living with my parents, I became vegetarian. While unconditionally supportive of my choice, my parents didn’t really understand it. And I didn’t make much of an effort to explain it. But then a tactic befitting my introverted teenage years presented itself: what if someone else could explain it to them for me? I found that opportunity in a music video by the band Goldfinger. The song – a visceral blend of folk and punk rock entitled “Free Me” – is written from the perspective of a farm animal and is accompanied by factory farm footage. I queued up the video on my dad’s computer and left it for him to find in the morning. The next day I asked him if he had watched it. “Well, I started to,” he told me. “But I couldn’t get through. I don’t like that stuff . . . it’s just, it’s too much for me. I get emotional and, well . . . yeah, I just couldn’t do it.”

Out of these two stories arises an important question, one that, as animal activists, we face every day: how do we make sense of a culture so steeped in contradiction that people can have immense compassion for one animal while eating the flesh of another? How do we live with the hypocrisy of a society whose attitude toward animals is nothing short of schizophrenic?

Olivia and Tyler

Answering this question hasn’t been easy, but lately I’ve had some help from friend, teacher and indefatigable activist Dr. Melanie Joy. In her forthcoming book, “Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows: An Introduction to Carnism,” Dr. Joy explains the psychological and social bases for the system that perpetuates the exploitation of non-human animals through factory farming and other practices. She calls that system carnism. Carnism is the belief system, or ideology, in which it's considered appropriate to eat certain animals and not others. It includes a set of psychological mechanisms that allows us to welcome cats and dogs into our homes as members of our extended family while eating the flesh of other animals. It is the belief system that allows the sanctity of a “traditional” family dinner to be interrupted to save the life of a goldfish.    

To be a carnist is not simply to be a carnivore. What we eat – what we choose to consider food – is the product of ideology when we aren’t forced by necessity to eat whatever we can get. As a vegan, this is easy for me to understand. I don’t know how many times I have been brought to the brink of explosion when somebody asked me to “cheat – just a little bit.” Though I fantasize about jumping up on the table, feet stomping and fists pumping, imploring everyone around to understand that this is not the South Beach Diet but a serious ethical decision, I remain calm. I resist the urge to completely freak out, because I realize that it isn’t always understood that my actions are part of a larger belief system – the ideology of veganism. In this same way, animal advocates must not overlook the fact that the actions of those who eat animals are not valueless. They do not live outside the realm of ideology. It’s true that it may seem this way. But that is because the ideology of carnism is the dominant one, and the most effective way an ideology defends itself is by remaining invisible, by stalking about every moment of our lives namelessly. But when we name it – as Dr. Joy has done – it becomes visible. We can begin to see that carnism suffuses every aspect of our society and that our task as farm animal advocates is not to simply change people’s eating habits but to open their hearts, change their minds, and hopefully get them further involved in speaking out against this cruelty. 

Our goal isn’t to simply get people to stop eating meat, dairy and eggs, but to abolish the system that is carnism, one burgeoning vegan advocate at a time. In doing so, we must remember that when we ask a person to stop eating meat, we're not simply requesting a change in diet. We are requesting a shift in deep-seated ideology, one that is intimately connected with family, community, spirituality, and politics. Making a change in lifestyle, the roots of which lie deep and strong, is no small task. When we realize this, we are able to approach our advocacy from a place of love and compassion, not anger and judgment. I really believe that when we advocate from this loving place, the world is possible.

For those non-vegan readers out there, Chris asks that next time you sit down to a meal of meat, eggs or dairy, think about the companion animals you love and how you would feel if their lives had been sacrificed for the sake of a meal. And for the vegans, Chris asks that you talk to your friends and family about extending their compassion to the animals that we call “food,” and not just the ones we call “pets.”

For more info about going vegan, visit vegforlife.org. And to get further involved with our advocacy campaigns, join our Advocacy Campaign Team.

***

Guest blogger Chris Logue was born and raised in Boston, MA. Chris is not ashamed to admit that he went vegan mostly as a romantic gesture. He has since established a more sustainable foundation for his veganism. Chris spent six years patiently pursuing his love of Philosophy and Political Science at UMass Boston where they eventually let him have a bachelor’s degree. During this time he also founded the university’s first-ever animal rights club and began his career as an animal activist. Chris is currently a second year law student at Northeastern University in Boston. Early last month, Chris took the painfully long drive down to Louisiana to work with Farm Sanctuary’s director of legal campaigns. While he is enjoying his lawyerly time in New Orleans, he also thinks it’s completely inappropriate to be 90 degrees in October. Weather aside, he is happy to be pursuing his dream of using the law to improve the lives of animals. Chris believes that the law is an amazingly powerful and important tool for the animal rights movement, and he is eternally grateful to his friend and mentor Melanie Joy for bullying him into law school. While Chris is passionate about legal research and writing, he also enjoys playing the ukulele, hanging with his kitty Maude, and writing in the third person.

Dying Over Spilt Milk

By Jasmin

As part of Change.org’s Blog Action Day, happening today in over 126 countries around the globe – and focusing on climate change – I’ve decided to get to the meat dairy of the matter.

You’ve probably noticed that the mainstream media have been focusing on farm animal issues more than ever before. This is partly because the public is waking up to the fact that consuming animals is cruel, unnecessary and unsustainable. And that, in turn, is because so many advocates like you are making hay.

In this past Sunday’s New York Times Magazine, Jonathan Safran Foer’s feature, “Against Meat,” told the story of how he became vegetarian over and over again, until he finally once-and-for-all settled down into a life destined to be flesh-free. “Meat and seafood are in no way necessary for my family,” Safran Foer says. “[U]nlike some in the world, we have easy access to a wide variety of other foods. And we are healthier without it. So our choices aren’t constrained.”

Meanwhile, the recently-released documentary Food, Inc., which is playing to sold-out theaters, “lifts the veil on our nation’s food industry,” according to the film’s Web site. It continues, “Our nation's food supply is now controlled by a handful of corporations that often put profit ahead of consumer health, the livelihood of the American farmer, the safety of workers and our own environment.” Food, Inc. aims to shed light on the many misperceptions people have about how our food gets to our plates.

A less widely released documentary, No Impact Man, has gained a lot of buzz for its portrayal of the out-of-the-box (and nobly-intended) mission of one man (Colin Beavan) to reduce the impact that he and his family have on the environment for a solid year. Among the (somewhat arbitrary) steps that Manhattanite Beavan takes to lower his footprint are to take the stairs (instead of the elevator), use no electricity or un-self-propelled transport, and consume a diet of locally-produced vegetarian food.

These two films, plus Safran Foer’s article, have two distinct things in common:

1. On the plus side, they are raising consciousness about the connection between eating meat and climate change.   

This connection, the overarching and oftentimes unspoken inconvenient truth, is profound. The United Nations estimated that livestock production accounts for a whopping 18 percent of all greenhouse gases. (That’s more than the entire transportation sector.)

According to Safran Foer’s article, “Eating factory-farmed animals — which is to say virtually every piece of meat sold in supermarkets and prepared in restaurants — is almost certainly the single worst thing that humans do to the environment.” And according to Food, Inc., “Approximately 10 billion animals (chickens, cattle, hogs, ducks, turkeys, lambs and sheep) are raised and killed in the US annually. Nearly all of them are raised on factory farms under inhumane conditions. These industrial farms are also dangerous for their workers, pollute surrounding communities, are unsafe to our food system and contribute significantly to global warming.”

Last, but not without impact, according to the No Impact Man Web site, the number one guideline for living a low impact life is to “save the world by improving your diet,” since “cutting beef out of your diet will reduce your CO2 emissions by 2,400 pounds annually.”

The fact that more and more films and articles like the ones mentioned above are speaking up about these connections shows great progress. People are starting to get it.

Just a few years ago, in 2007, the documentary An Inconvenient Truth, which was about Al Gore’s efforts to educate the public about the severity of the climate crisis, brought home the Academy Award for Best Documentary. In his acceptance speech, Gore stated, “My fellow Americans, people all over the world, we need to solve the climate crisis. It's not a political issue; it's a moral issue.” Yet in its attempt to “solve the climate crisis,” An Inconvenient Truth failed to even mention the connection between climate change and the consumption of animal-derived foods, setting us vegan environmentalists into a tailspin.

So the fact that the new wave of climate-conscious environmentalists is paying attention to the food connection is great news. But going back to the two distinct things that “Against Meat,” Food, Inc., and No Impact Man have in common, the second one is this:

2. None of them get into the environmental ramifications of dairy production.

Oh how this pains me. Food, Inc. and No Impact Man even go so far as to endorse the dairy industry. Neither film even goes near the environmental impact of dairy. Needless to say, these films also blatantly ignore the inherent cruelty within dairy production. (You wouldn’t have veal calves without dairy cows: You can’t have milk without constantly inseminating and impregnating the mamas, and when their babies turn out to be boys, those calves are soon turned into veal. Moreover, when their milk production declines, it’s too expensive to keep dairy cows alive, and they are soon turned into hamburger.)

(Hope does spring eternal, though. In an interview, Safran Foer proclaimed that he is going to give veganism a go.)

According to Brighter Green (a “non-profit action tank that works to transform public policy and dialogue on the environment, animals, and sustainable development, both globally and locally, with a particular focus on equity and rights”), each adult cow emits 176 to 242 pounds of methane per year, and dairy cows emit more than cows raised for beef. There are approximately 1.5 billion cows alive today. That equals 264 to 363 billion pounds of methane a year. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, methane is 23 times stronger than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere. And according to a University of Chicago study from the journal Earth Interactions, entitled “Diet, Energy & Global Warming,” by Gidon Eshel and Pamela Martin, switching from the standard American diet to a vegan one for one year would reduce your carbon-dioxide emissions more than switching from a normal car to a hybrid.

As part of the United Nations’ Climate Week held earlier this month, I participated in a panel discussion along with Mia MacDonald, executive director of Brighter Green. The PowerPoint presentation she gave was staggering – and is viewable here. You can also see her full presentation here. Also on the panel was the outreach director of Kind Green Planet, Marisa Miller Wolfson, who has a short video about the connection between global warming and animal agriculture that’s as funny as it is frightening. (Warning, though: Third grade humor alert.)

While it’s great that people are becoming aware of the undeniable connection between meat and climate change, what about the dairy connection? Perhaps this key component can be the next big topic of discussion, the next environmental exposé?

And perhaps, in addition to discussing the harsh environmental repercussions of dairy production, we can also talk about the fact that it’s really horrifically mean to cows, and does no body good?

 

Where to go from here:

• Whenever you see articles in the media pertaining to the environment, write a letter to the editor drawing the connection between climate change and animal production. Whenever possible, point out dairy (as well as meat) as a major contributor.
• When you see a film that exposes the meat/climate change connection, write to the filmmaker or producers (you can usually find a contact e-mail through some good old-fashioned googling) thanking them for illuminating this, and urging them to also consider the impact that dairy production has on the planet. (Here are some more tips for responding to articles on farm animals in the media.)
• Go vegan. It’s the best possible thing you can do for the animals, yourself and the planet.

Summoning the Spirit of Vegan Halloween

by Casey

  Frankenstein's monster says, "Factory farms bad!"

As the days grow shorter and the leafy hills around Farm Sanctuary's national headquarters in Watkins Glen reach the height of their autumn glory, I am busily preparing for my favorite holiday, Halloween. There’s a special kind of magic that’s brewed when you stir together the bounty of the harvest season with an evening of costumed revelry and tales of haunting ghosts. It is the one night of the year when adults are most encouraged to use their imaginations and return to the make-believe of childhood. But Halloween's magic can lend itself to more than brief and simple fun. With a little creativity, you can use it to cast a spell of compassion that changes and saves lives.

This year, I have resolved that I'll not only prepare my costume before the 11th hour, but that I will also use its power for the good of farm animals. My friends and I will be setting up a table in downtown Ithaca, just an hour's drive from the Sanctuary, and distributing literature along with some of our favorite vegan Halloween treats. I shall be appearing as Frankenstein's monster - did you know he was veg*n (vegan or vegetarian), just like his real life creator, Mary Shelley? Under a  banner that reads  "Even monsters can be kind," we'll be raising awareness in our local community about the all-too-real horrors of factory farming. Be sure to stop by if you're in the area!

Many of my colleagues in New York City will be summoning their own Halloween spirit by  leafleting in Times Square on October 28 and throwing a serious Farm Sanctuary monster mash the following night. Frankapalooza will have Greenwich Village rockin' out for farm animals once again, as three outstanding bands take to the stage at Kenny's Castaways. See our ACT events calendar for more details.

If your broom can't make it to the Village, there's no need to worry - unless you hear creepy violin music coming from out of nowhere. I hereby call on you to make something happen in your own sleepy hollow; our Halloween Outreach Guide offers some wicked tips and suggestions to inspire you.

One of my favorite suggestions from the guide is to throw a vegan costume party. It's the perfect excuse to bewitch your friends and neighbors with a smorgasbord of cruelty-free delights. Vegan pumpkin pie, candied apples and mulled cider are perfect for  enjoying the fall harvest in veg-friendly style. Cupcakes like these are irresistible temptations, and with Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World on your side, you can't go wrong. In fact, any of these vegan cookbooks would make excellent door prizes. If you're feeling really ambitious, turn your party into a fundraiser for animals.

Want to kick things up another notch on the ACTivist scale? Consider swapping out the usual Halloween movie fare for a screening of Earthlings. One of the most comprehensive animal rights documentaries ever made, Earthlings is a powerful expose of the abuse that animals suffer every day at human hands. Your guests will find it far more disturbing than any Nightmare on Elmstreet, and there's no way to walk away from it comforted by the thought that it was "just a movie." The only respite from the awful truth of animal cruelty lies in taking action to build a more compassionate world. And fortunately for those newly awakened to the suffering of animals, taking action is what we do best.

Survey Says … You’re Being Deceived

By Delci

Meat that comes from animals who spent their entire lives in conditions like this can be labeled as "natural."

When you see the word “natural” on a meat or poultry product, what does that mean to you? If you’re like approximately half of the likely voters surveyed by Zogby on behalf of Farm Sanctuary, you believe that meat labeled as “natural” comes from animals who were raised with free access to outdoor areas where they were able exercise and move about. And if you’re like nearly three-quarters of those surveyed, you believe that it is inappropriate for meat from animals who are kept indoors, crowded into cages and forced to stand on metal or concrete floors to be labeled as “natural.”

Based on their beliefs about what “natural” signifies, many consumers are forking over lots of money for products with this label. According to market researchers, “natural” is the leading labeling claim on new products, and according to this Chicago Tribune article, between 2007 and 2008, the natural foods market grew by 10 percent, reaching 12.9 billion dollars.

Although those reaping profits off of “natural” labeling claims don’t want you to know it, the truth is that it means very little. As explained in Farm Sanctuary’s Truth Behind the Labels report, under current U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) guidelines, when the term “natural” appears on a meat or poultry product, it refers only to whether artificial ingredients were added to the cut of meat after the animal it came from was slaughtered and signifies nothing about the way in which that animal was raised — or even fed — prior to his or her death. Thus, meat from animals who were fed antibiotics, hormones and animal byproducts can be labeled as “natural.” So, too, can meat from animals who spent their entire lives locked indoors in crowded crates or cages where they were forced to stand on metal or concrete floors without enough space to even turn around or spread their limbs.

If you’re a regular “Making Hay” reader you probably saw my post a couple weeks ago about “organic” labeling and you know that I’m not a fan of that standard or the USDA’s lax enforcement of it. But I have to tell you, when it comes to “natural” labeling, consumers are being misled even more, because the label means so very little — not just in practice, but also in theory.

The irony is that producers have led consumers to believe that “natural” labeling means more than “organic” labeling. According to a national survey by the Shelton Group, an advertising agency that specializes in marketing sustainability to mainstream consumers, Americans believe that a “natural” claim on a product is more meaningful than an “organic” label. Unfortunately, this is simply untrue. While “organic” claims are regulated by the federal government and certified by third parties, “natural” labels are virtually unregulated.

So what does this all add up to? We have consumers spending billions of dollars on products with a label that they think means something it does not — in other words, producers are profiting off of negligently (at best) or purposefully misleading consumers.

For years Farm Sanctuary has been speaking out against the government’s tacit approval of the cruelty and consumer deception involved in “natural” labeling. In 2007 we petitioned the USDA, urging it to either ban the labeling of meat as “natural” altogether, or prohibit producers who keep animals in conditions most consumers consider unnatural (including intensive indoor confinement) from labeling their products as “natural.” It took two years, but finally, in a notice published in the Federal Register, the USDA has formally acknowledged our petition and asked the public for comments on whether the agency should consider the conditions in which animals are raised when determining the propriety of “natural” labeling claims.

It’s important to put an end to such fundamentally misleading marketing claims for the sake of both animals and consumers. Allowing meat that comes from animals who were raised in intensive confinement to be labeled as “natural” perpetuates the myth of “happy meat” and shields consumers from the harsh reality of the cruelty inherent in modern animal agriculture. The best thing anyone who cares about farm animals can do is make the shift to veganism. But until consumers are made aware of the truth behind the meat on their plate, many are unlikely to make that transition. This is why it’s important that producers not be allowed to fatten their wallets by obscuring the reality of how the animals they raise are treated.

To help put an end to such deceptive practices, contact the USDA today and urge the agency to prohibit producers from labeling products from animals raised in intensive confinement and other cruel and unnatural conditions as “natural.”

Then, if you’re interested in learning more about consumer deception as it pertains to animal agriculture, immerse yourself in The Truth Behind the Labels.