My grandmother and I. Do we look alike?

Typically for Christmas or Thanksgiving I make my own little dishes that I can quietly eat while everybody else eats the “main” course. This year however my mom rented a house for all our family to share in Carmel, California. It was a great way to spend Christmas … a block from the beach … with beautiful views. Yet there is always the touchy subject of food.

My family has a long tradition of making pork tamales for Christmas dinner. Of course for the last seven years I have not participated in this tradition. Instead I munch on some salad or bread and try not to make an issue about not eating the tamales. For Hispanic families, tamales are a BIG deal. My 91-year-old grandma spends days preparing the masa and then my mom and step-dad go to her house and help make a zillion tamales assembly-line style. I get that tradition is important. I absolutely do. But if I asked why the tamales have pork in them, the answer would likely be “because it’s always been done that way”.

This year I felt adamant about not being left out of our family tradition. I really wanted to learn how to make tamales from my grandma. Long before our Carmel get-together, I broached the subject of making vegan tamales with both my mom and my grandma. This caused quite the uproar. I heard many excuses about why we couldn’t make tamales at the beach house or how they just wouldn’t be good with vegetables, etc. But I pressed on. After all I am part of this family and I want to be part of our traditions. Finally, my grandma agreed to teach me how to make tamales with VEGETABLES!

My grandmother and I cooking tamales.

I was so excited, I could not wait for our cooking session! I found this great vegetarian tamale recipe from razzle dazzle recipes. It sounded delicious with edamame, corn, zucchini. We spent an afternoon cooking the vegetables and assembling the tamales. My grandma showed me exactly how to spread the masa in the corn husks, how to fold the tamales exactly right so they don’t fall apart, and how to cook them in a steamer. It’s a day I will never forget.

Now here’s the best part. When it came time for dinner, we served both the pork tamales and the vegetarian tamales. I didn’t bring out many of the veggie version because I assumed most of my other family members wouldn’t be interested. But they were! Practically everyone tried the vegan version and several asked for seconds. I couldn’t believe it! I was so happy to spend the day with my grandma and absorbing her 90+ years of experience making tamales. I’m even happier to think that perhaps I’ve changed the family tradition just enough to accommodate those of us who prefer compassionate food choices.

During this holiday season, I know it can be tough to be vegan. Remember why you have chosen to live this way. Is it for the animals, the planet or for your health? Any and all of those are great reasons to bring your vegan message to your friends and family who may not think about how their holiday traditions effect animals, the planet, and their health. How can you help others make compassionate food choices?

Cheers to making new traditions!

When I was packing for the trip I felt confident about all my supplies including water purification tablets and a sleep sack. But I was feeling a bit nervous about what the food situation would have in store for me. I quelled my unease by convincing myself that Mexico is the land of rice, beans and tortillas. What better sustenance for a vegan? I seriously could live on rice, beans and tortillas for quite some time. If for some reason that would not be the case, I took 12 Luna bars as a back up

It was a trek to get to Jalpa, Mexico. Jalpa is a town of 20,000 people and a one hour plane flight + two hour car ride from Mexico City. Leaving from Phoenix, we first hit Los Angeles, then Mexico City and finally Zacatecas by plane. Then Gloria Silva, one of Jalpa’s city council members, met us at the airport with a driver that would take us two hours by car to Jalpa.

During the car ride, I was really surprised to see the Mexican landscape. In this part of the country it looked exactly like middle/northern Arizona. I seriously could have been on the I-17 headed up to Flagstaff. We passed several small ranches where the cattle roamed freely and looked quite happy. They had small trees for shade and plenty of water. There were no feedlots in sight! I wondered, could it be that Mexico has more humane meat production standards? Unfortunately not. During one of my conversations with the local surgeon, he explained that factory farming exists in Mexico and the conditions for the animals are the same as what I described to him about America’s factory farms. As usual it comes down to economics. The farmers with small operations raise animals for their sustenance and perhaps that of their friends and family. They don’t really make a living treating the animals with respect and compassion.

Once we arrived at the hospital, I was surprised at how modern it was! They had several units, exam rooms, recovery rooms, and even two surgical suites. By far, Jalpa had the best set up of any hospital I’ve visited on a medical mission before. We met two additional surgeons from Pittsburg and Detroit as well as two awesome nurses and a scrub tech from Chicago. We all became fast friends and worked hard over four days to complete about 50 surgical procedures. I watched almost every procedure, was able to assist in two, and even intubated a patient! It was amazing and solidified my latent desire to stop just hanging out with doctors and actually become one myself. More on that another time.

But what about the food? The Mexican people were extremely kind, welcoming and generous. They wanted to make sure our every need was met. This meant that one of our hostesses even took three days off work to cook and serve us food! I mean seriously, who would do that in America for a bunch of people she has never met before? Now let me explain that I speak Spanish well and communicated several times that I would love to eat rice, beans and tortillas for every meal. Our hostess nodded in agreement as if she understood and I was really excited at how seemingly easy I thought it would be.

And then my first meal arrived. It was a salad tossed with ham and a chicken fried steak on top. Argh! I am not an obnoxious traveler, really I’m not. I didn’t want to complain. But I was starving not having eaten since dinner the night before. But looking at the salad, my stomach dropped to my knees. What exactly was unclear about the rice and beans? Apparently there was some issue with the restaurant or something … I was so appreciative of their hospitality but I could not eat that salad! I mean all I saw when I looked into the box was a screaming pig and a squawking chicken that would have rather lived than be part of that salad. It was traumatic for me. I have not seen a dead animal on my plate in at least seven years. After taking a deep breath I painfully removed all the pieces of pig and chicken. Then I ate what amounted to two cups of iceberg lettuce. I hoped the next day would be better.

I kept communicating with our gracious hostesses that I’m vegetarian. It was futile to explain veganism. They didn’t really understand what that was. The closest I could get was vegetarian. Apparently they were confused because to our Mexican hostesses, rice and beans were a side dish to meat. They could not understand why I only wanted to eat the side dishes! As each day went on, they began to understand and you can imagine my happiness by the third day when I was served up heaping plates of rice, beans and tortillas. Aside from the occasional cheese sprinkled on this and that, I was able to maintain a mostly-vegan diet. Success!

One afternoon, I ate lunch with the Mexican nurses who were a complete and total hoot! They told me vegetarians don’t exist in Jalpa. Not one in a town of 20,000 people. This makes me think that veganism may be an aristocratic luxury. When people are more concerned with survival than whether or not they harm animals, they choose survival. Were we in the remote parts of Somalia where people were truly starving, I might have understood this. But in Jalpa, people were not starving. At least not the people I saw. In fact there were some people that would qualify as obese and fit right in America. So what gives? Rice and beans are inexpensive. Maybe they are uneducated like many Americans or maybe their society places animals in a place where their wellbeing is not valued like we do in America.

I realized quickly that discussing veganism with my new Mexican friends was interesting but futile. However, not surprisingly, it became quite the discussion with my fellow Americans. From the very first meal I started fielding questions like “what do you eat?”, “where do you get your protein?”, “why are you vegan?” The usual. And since we were held captive for a whole week together, this gave me many opportunities to discuss the situation for farm animals in our country.  By mid week, one of the nurses said she couldn’t eat her eggs in the morning and Dr. Salvino decided to exchange meat for veggies once in a while. I am always amazed and incredibly excited when people really listen to what’s going on with our food production system. Even very well educated, well intentioned people are ignorant about this topic. It gives me an enormous sense of gratitude when they decide to look at their food choices a bit differently.

While I went to Mexico to get some reprieve from the daily grind and to watch surgery, I found myself pleasantly surprised by the kindness of our Mexican hostesses and the open-mindedness of my fellow Americans.

Keep your eyes and ears open for more on Dr. Chris Salvino. I gave him an earful about factory farming and food safety. He may soon have opportunities to really do something about these issues but he will need our support. I’ll keep you posted ….

Don’t miss Part 1: Why Go Vegetarian, Part 2: How to Become Vegetarian, Part 3: Vegetarian Nutrition, and Part 4: Speaking Vegetarian.

This is the final post in my five part series on becoming vegetarian. Now that you are informed about where your food comes from and all the great reasons to choose plant foods over animal foods, it’s time to take things a step further. Time to start thinking about the animals we wear, sit on, and use as accessories. Yes, I’m talking about leather, wool, fur, and other animal parts used in human creature comforts.

Wool

Wool can also be called mohair, pashmina or cashmere. It is found in many products from sweaters to carpets. Approximately 6 million sheep are used for meat and wool production in the United States and 2.5 million goats are used for meat, milk and mohair production¹. When you think about wool, it seems like it would be pretty harmless, right? I mean sheep and goats grow fleece/hair and it needs to be trimmed. It’s not that simple. The goats and sheep don’t willingly give up their fur.  And like most animals used for human consumption, they are “altered” for the convenience of those profiting from their bodies. Within weeks of birth, lambs’ ears are punched with holes, their tails are chopped off, and the males loose their man parts without anesthesia. Then when they no longer produce enough wool to meet their farmer’s demand, they are killed for meat and/or their skin. Furthermore, it is not true that the animals must be shaved. If sheep were not altered by humans, they would grow just enough wool to protect themselves from the weather.

Sheep used for wool, mulesing.

In Australia, the country that creates more than 50% of the world’s merino wool, lambs endure a horrible process called mulesing. Mulesing means that huge hunks of skin are removed from the animal’s behind to prevent the infestation of flies in their folds of skin. This is done without anesthesia or painkillers. Can you imagine what it would feel like to have a huge chunk of skin cut out of your behind – much less with or without anesthesia? Seriously, that’s more than ouch! After the sheep endure this horrible “procedure” several are shipped overseas to countries in the Middle East and North Africa to unregulated slaughterhouses where they are killed in ways much harsher than we can imagine. This journey takes weeks or months. The sheep are given little food or water. They become stuck in their feces, at times unable to move. Some are trampled to death. And they endure all that just to be killed in a foreign country in cruel ways.  Even Pink – the singer – just called for a boycott of Australian lamb mutilations for wool.

What can you do about it? Don’t buy wool. Don’t eat lamb. Also avoid other animal-derived materials like angora which comes from rabbits, cashmere which comes from goats, and wool from alpacas and lamas. There are many alternatives to wool … some of my favorite sweaters and home furnishings are made of cotton, tencel, bamboo, and polyester (it’s much better now than it was in the 70s). For more on wool, visit www.savethesheep.com.

Leather

Now it’s no mystery that leather is indeed the skin of another animal. How it became such a desired product is beyond me. But the reality is that most of us have been conditioned to think that leather couches, leather shoes, leather handbags etc. are superior to non-leather goods. Why? It’s kind of strange when you think about it. Leather is cheap to buy … it’s the “desirability” that you’re paying for. It’s time to bust open that misconception. As PETA says, “whose skin are you in?” I prefer to hang out in my skin not another animal’s skin thank you very much. Just as I enjoy the skin on my body – protecting my organs and whatnot – I’m sure that animal appreciated its skin on his or her body. Next time you go to the store and think about buying that pair of of-so-lovely leather shoes, just think that another animal died for them … they suffered an uncomfortable life of confinement, they bled all over their skin before it was cleaned up and made into your pretty shoes. That’s enough really. We don’t need to buy those shoes! Really, I mean it.

Indian cows used for leather.

The multibillion-dollar meat industry profits from more than just animals’ flesh. According to a U.S. Department of Agriculture report, animals’ skins represent “the most economically important byproduct” of the meatpacking industry². And that’s not even the beginning of it. Most leather used for clothing, furniture, etc. comes from India and China. Yes, India … a very vegetarian country. While cows have little protection here in the U.S. in these countries, cows have even less protection. Slaughter processes are unregulated. Just watch the documentary Earthlings. They actually show companies buying families beloved cows, convincing the people that their cows will be taken to a sanctuary, and actually trekking them across state lines (miles and miles and miles) to have their throats hacked open with a hand saw. You’ll never be able to look at those leather shoes quite the same again.

It’s important to note that cows are not the only animals used for leather. Pigs, goats, zebras, bison, water buffaloes, boars, deer, kangaroos, elephants, eels, sharks, dolphins, seals, walruses, frogs, crocodiles, alligators, lizards, and snakes are also used in clothing and household goods. And believe it or not, even dog and cat skins are used in goods from China and Europe. When’s the last time you bought a product that wasn’t made in China? Those new leather shoes might very well be made of dog or cat skin.

Leather is disgusting, horrific and unnecessary. When you start to see what cool non-leather products are out there, you won’t feel like you need leather anyway. My favorites are Matt and Nat for purses, www.mattandnat.com, and Olsen Haus for shoes, www.olsenhaus.com. For more on leather, visit www.cowsarecool.com.

Fur

Now I’m hoping that most of you have never owned fur. But maybe you have. I remember when I was a little girl my grandma thought it was really special to have me try on little fur coats. I didn’t know any better. At that time, she probably didn’t either. Fur was grand. It was exotic. It was expensive. It literally like wearing wealth on your sleeve. Thankfully we are becoming more knowledgeable each and every day. Like every other animal product, fur does not come easily. Millions of fur-bearing animals including foxes, raccoons, minks, coyotes, bobcats, lynxes, opossums, nutria, beavers, muskrats, otters and others are killed each year on fur farms by anal and vaginal electrocution and in the wild by drowning, trapping, or beating³.

Dog caught in a fur trap.

Most fur animals are not used for their meat. So the only reason people “value” them is for their fur. Foxes are often raised on ranches where four are kept in cages only 2.5 feet square. That’s much worse than a college dorm room. More like a chicken’s battery cage. Other fur animals are trapped out in the wild. The problem with this is that the hunters don’t check their traps every day so the animals are stuck with one of their legs horribly injured. They are unable to escape so they often time chew their own legs off. Can you imagine? Being so desperate for escape that you would chew your own leg off? Unfortunately non-fur-animals get caught in these traps too. Bambi, Fido and Heathcliff may find their fate suffering as a result of this cruel industry.

When it comes time for these animals to die … it’s not done nicely. They have no protection under the Humane Slaughter Act so they are often strangled, beat, or stomped to death. Others are electrocuted through their vagina or anus. The electric rod fries the animals insides. I mean seriously, who thought of that? Well the whole point it to make sure their fur stays in tact. Problem is … sometimes the stomping or electrocuting is not effective and the animal is skinned alive. Another scene from Earthings that haunts me is the image of a fur fox moving its head around painfully after all of its skin had been removed. Haunting. Don’t wear fur!! For more on fur, visit www.furisdead.com.

What You Can Do

Obviously, you can not buy wool, leather or fur. We honestly don’t need them to live a complete, whole, fulfilling life. In fact eliminating these products from your closet and household will only help you live more compassionately. You’ll get to see how GREAT it feels when your friends ogle over your new vegan bag and you can proudly say that no animals were harmed for your fashion choices. It will make them think about their fashion choices. If you’re wondering whether or not to purge your closet of wool, leather and fur, learn how I decided to eliminate these products from my closet piece by piece in my post, Shearing My Winter Coat. For me it was a process.

Living compassionately often begins with the food on your plate but becomes so much more. Once you awaken to the suffering other animals endure for human convenience, it is difficult to look at the food and products we once adored but now know are a result of so much suffering. The good news is that tomorrow is another day. You can choose differently the next time you buy a pair of shoes, a couch, a rug, or shoes. That’s what is so wonderful about this journey. We don’t need to feel guilty about what we did not know but we can feel empowered with what we do now know.

This concludes my five part series about becoming vegetarian. If you missed the previous posts, check out Part 1: Why Go Vegetarian, Part 2: How to Become Vegetarian, Part 3: Vegetarian Nutrition, and Part 4: Speaking Vegetarian.

Resources

1. USDA National Agricultural Library, Animals and Livestock: Sheep and Goats, http://riley.nal.usda.gov/nal_display/index.php?info_center=8&tax_level=2&tax_subject=10&topic_id=1735&placement_default=0

2. PETA, Cows Are Cool, http://www.cowsarecool.com

3. PETA, Fur is Dead, http://www.furisdead.com

Don’t miss Part 1: Why Go Vegetarian, Part 2: How to Become Vegetarian, and Part 3: Vegetarian Nutrition.

Gene Baur from Farm Sanctuary speaking at an event.

This five part series has been dedicated to helping people make the transition from an animal-based diet to a plant-based diet. I’ve covered why go vegetarian, how to become vegetarian, and vegetarian nutrition. Now I’m going to tackle one of the social components in part 4:  speaking vegetarian. It might sound funny to think you need to talk a certain way to be vegetarian but truthfully, as you begin to make this shift, you will notice that people treat you differently. They ask you strange questions. And it’s helpful to have some standard responses. In this post I will give you ideas about how to respond to people who have genuine questions and people who are just being idiots.

As Carol J Adams, author of the book Living Among Meat Eaters, said to VegNews magazine in the October 2009 issue, “Until a vegan or vegetarian enters the room, people don’t see themselves as meat-eaters. They are merely ‘eaters,’ and it is we vegans who have made them aware of what they are doing. Often this is discomforting.”

Following are some of the questions I am asked quite often. Responses are offered for your amusement and preparation for times when you too are confronted about your vegetarian choices. Remember, these are just my ideas here. I’m not telling you what to say. You have a brain to think for yourself. If you have better, funnier, more appropriate answers, please share them in the comments section below … we can all learn from each other.

Q1: Why are you vegetarian/vegan?

• A1-a: Plants don’t scream.
• A1-b: To lessen the suffering of people and animals on our planet.
• A1-c: So I can live to see the future. Don’t you know that factory farming creates more harmful green house gas emissions than the entire transportation industry? And, more than half of all the water consumed in the U.S. is used to raise animals for food. If we don’t stop eating meat, we won’t have a planet to live on.
• A1-d: For my health. Animal products have been shown to cause cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, and many other health problems. By eating a plant-based diet, I lessen my chances of dying prematurely from preventable diseases.

Q2: What’s wrong with eating a big juicy steak … nom, nom, nom?

• A2-a: Um, it bleeds. Where do you think that blood comes from?
• A2-b: Farmed animals today are sick. These sick cows produce diseased and bacteria-laden flesh that even industry standards call ‘unhealthful’. (Thank you Michael Greger, MD!)
• A2-c: Taking a life is a very serious thing, you better have a damn good reason. (Thank you Isa Chandra Moskowitz!)
• A2-d: If slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be a vegetarian. (Thank you Paul McCartney!)

Q3: What do you eat? Pasta and salad?

• A3-a: Becoming vegetarian opened up a whole new world of food to me. I eat a greater variety of food now than I did when I ate meat.
• A3-b: There are a zillion more varieties of plants and grains than there are food animals. The diversity of food is in the plants, not the meats.
• A3-b: There are many alternatives to eating meat that are better for your health including tempeh, tofu, and seitan.
• A3-c: For more on this topic, see the post How to Become Vegetarian.

Q4: Weren’t humans meant to eat meat?

• A4-a: Just because we can, it doesn’t mean we should. (Thank you Colleen Patrick-Goudreau!)
• A4-b: Perhaps, yes, humans can digest meat but that doesn’t mean we have to. We have evolved to a place where we can make conscious decisions about what we eat. I choose consciously not to eat dead animal flesh.
• A4-c: In caveman times, people sustained primarily on plants. Meat was caught and eaten sparingly. In this day and age, we have flipped that idea on it’s head. To produce the amount of meat people are eating today, animals, humans and the environment are subject to extreme suffering.

Q5: What’s wrong with drinking milk or eating cheese? The cows aren’t killed.

• A5-a: Only female cows produce milk. What do you think happens to the male calves? They are sold for veal. This means they are kept in tiny crates, chained by the neck, and unable to move for several weeks before they are slaughtered for their baby flesh.
• A5-b: By supporting the dairy industry, you are supporting the veal industry. I would rather not inflict pain and suffering on baby calves when they have done nothing to harm me.
• A5-c: Dairy cows are constantly impregnated so they can produce milk which was meant for their babies. But they are not allowed to give their milk to those babies. Humans drink it instead. Doesn’t that seem a bit odd?
• A5-d: For humans, drinking cow’s milk has been linked to heart disease, some types of cancer, diabetes, and even osteoporosis, the very disease that the dairy industry claims its products are supposed to prevent!

Q6: The bible says humans are supposed to eat animals because they have no souls.

• A6-a: There are several passages in the bible that state animals can seek redemption just as humans can. These are a few: (Revelation 5:8-13), (Romans 8:19), (Romans 8:21).
• A6-b: I don’t think humans have ’souls’ as you define it either, but I’m still against cannibalism. (Thank you Kipp Lanning!)
• A6-c: Regardless of whether or not you think animals have souls, why do you want to intentionally cause pain and suffering to animals that have done absolutely nothing to harm you when you don’t have to?
• A6-d: Adam and Eve were vegetarian in the Garden of Eden before they sinned.
• A6-e: For more on this topic, see the post Do Animals Have Souls?

Q7: Aren’t there laws that protect farmed animals?

• A7-a: Sadly there are not many laws to protect farm animals or even the people who eat them.
• A7-b: The atrocities committed against farm animals would be illegal if dogs or cats were the victims and yet much of the time, these farm animals are just as smart and sentient as the dogs and cats we treat as family members.

Q8: What if scientists breed pigs so that they don’t feel pain? Then would you think it’s ok to eat them.

• A8-a: No. Just because an animal can’t feel physical pain it doesn’t mean they don’t suffer psychologically from inhumane living conditions and separation from their natural social groups.
• A8-b: If scientists can spend so much time and money figuring out how to breed pigs that don’t feel pain, they could better spend that time coming up with an artificial meat that has the benefits of pork without the harmful effects. That would be even better for humans and there would be no animal suffering.
• A8-c: If scientists can genetically modify pigs so that they don’t feel pain, what else are they modifying? It sounds like weird science to me and I would rather put non-genetically-modified foods into my body. Who knows what effects the genetic modification will have on the humans that eat the pigs.

Q9: Don’t you care about people? There are so many people suffering, how can we care about the animals?

• A9-a: I do care about people. Factory farming is not only inhumane to the animals but the industry is inherently awful to the human workers as well.
• A9-b: I do care about people which is why I promote vegetarianism for health reasons. Studies show that vegetarians have less incidence of preventable diseases like heart disease, obesity, and some cancers.
• A9-b: Who gives a rip about people. The animals have done nothing to cause us pain and suffering. It’s not right that we should impose our harsh treatment on them by making them pay for our gluttony with their lives.

Q10: Plants are able to chemically respond to their environment and stimuli. Your vegetables have feelings too.

• A10-a: At this time there have been no studies to prove that plants are sentient beings … meaning that they are not capable of feeling pain, sorrow, joy, love, loss, and happiness. If there comes a time when that is proven to be true, I will make different choices then.
• A10-b: I will watch my vegetables harvested and brought to table if you watch your chicken, cow or pig ‘harvested’ and brought to table. Then you can decide which one you feel better about eating. (Thank you Lacy!)
• A10-c: Wouldn’t you agree that there is a fundamental difference between tearing up a head of lettuce and slitting a live chicken’s throat or removing the skin of a cow while it’s still alive?
• A10-d: The ability to feel pain requires a brain, a central nervous system, and pain receptors. All mammals, birds, and fish have these things; plants do not. Animals feel pain, just as we do. As far as we know, plants don’t.

One thing you must remember is that some people will never, ever change. Instead of wasting your energy being frustrated with those people, move on. If a person is relentless in “attacking” you about your choices, stay calm. Don’t fight back. Simply say, something along these lines. “I choose this life because it is what feels right to me. If you feel ok about the choices you make, then we agree to disagree.” There is really no point in getting into it with them. They likely don’t even care what you have to say, they’re just trying to rile you up. Be the bigger person and know that you are living a life that makes you feel good and in a way that shows respect for others.

There are many people out there with open minds that are looking for inspiration to change. You can be that inspiration simply by being a positive role model. Go forth and inspire …

I met:

• Veronica who runs Animal Advocates of Arizona. Her group holds demonstrations and leafleting campaigns.
• Lori who told her boss where he could stick it after partnering with Covance – the much despised and unfortunately brand new – animal research laboratory here in town.
• Alicia who is a beautiful vegan that should model cruelty-free clothes. Move over Chloé Jo.
• Lisa K. who is passionate about enlightening our rescue friends.
• Lisa B. who writes curriculum for animal advocacy courses – which I will be taking starting next week.
• Anthony and his mum who just wanted some inspiration to revive their advocacy efforts.
• And the whole shebang was put on by Jeff who runs the Vegan Arizona meet up group. Thank you Jeff. You rock.

There were so many other people there that I didn’t have a chance to talk with but I’m sure they were equally as talented and passionate. I’m so excited at what the future holds for us out there. I know we can get bogged down with the doom and gloom and the rising number of animals in slaughterhouses and pounds but I truly believe we are on the cusp of a revolution.

I mean have you seen Food, Inc? If you haven’t, get your butt out there and watch it. This movie depicts the corporate take over of our food. While some of the scenes may not be new to some of us – like cows being skinned in a slaughterhouse or pigs squealing horrifically before being killed – they offer an inside look at chicken farming and who’s who in Washington. The filmmakers also seem to favor this one farmer who runs a small, quality operation and actually gives a dam about his animals. It seems this is the route they want to drive people. Yet, to me that’s still not the solution. I mean even that farmer’s chickens were screaming when he cut their throats. Yeah they lived better lives but they still ended up on a kitchen table when they didn’t have to. Why, why, dear film makers, could you not encourage vegetarianism? Regardless, it’s worth seeing. And take your non-veg friends with you … they need to see it more than we do.

The real cost of cheap food

Did you read this weeks Time magazine? A big fat piece of ground beef sits on the cover with the title “The Real Cost of Cheap Food”. Mostly this article follows suit with Food Inc.’s position in that what “we” Americans need are more small farms. Has everybody forgotten Upton Sinclair’s book The Jungle? That small farm, small slaughterhouse process didn’t work so well either. Time also shows a “happy” cow roaming freely. As if their freedom during life means we can still take it whenever we want a steak. No thank you. I don’t think the cow would appreciate that concept. There is one little caption about sustainable farming on page 37 (you have to look for it) but they do say “EAT MORE GREENS, LESS MEAT”. Thank you Time. That’s better than nothing.

So back to my original point. There’s something in the water. And it’s veganism. While Food Inc. and Time’s article may seem not extreme enough since they are not directly advocating a vegetarian diet, they are a step in the right direction. By golly, I think people may be waking up. We’ll just have to see if individuals can actually get up or if they hit the snooze button.

The 18 children were given small amounts of milk on a regular basis to see if their bodies would begin to tolerate the beverage – which of course is not meant for them to drink in the first place. Hmmm … now I’m not a researcher but I do consider myself a somewhat intelligent person. And when I went to graduate school they motivated us to ask the tough questions like “Why do we exist?” I beg these researchers and this reporter to start over at the beginning, “Why do humans drink milk?” That might be a much more difficult question to answer than how can we make kids who are naturally intolerant to another species byproduct overcome their allergies by giving them more of the same byproducts?

What did the researchers, who were “encouraged” by the findings, discover? That “regular dairy use could help children become more tolerant and remain so”. Oh goodie! That means kids can drink more milk meant for calves not humans and the dairy industry can keep making lots of money. Yet all is not well with this scenario. Many of us are aware that cow’s milk does not come without cost. The raising of cows in this country is creating an environmental disaster. The cows are treated horribly, their babies are used for worse things like veal, and all of them eventually land in a slaughter house for a disrespectful end of life. Furthermore, the very smart researchers found that “for some children the allergies returned after they stop drinking milk”.

Now can I stand by and let this go without remarks? Not so much.

Dear miss reporter Kelly Brewington might I share with you my comments:

“Wow, I am shocked at this study. Did the very intelligent, well-educated, well-paid researchers ever consider that humans were not meant to drink the milk of cows? Cows milk is supposed to be for their calves not for us humans and our children. I won’t go into details about the  horrific conditions these cows tolerate to create milk that humans consume or how study after study shows that animal products lead to heart disease and cancer.

There are so many great alternatives to animal milk such as almond milk, soy milk, hemp milk, and rice milk. Why would the researchers put  children through this testing? Was this study funded by the dairy industry? Or could it be that even the smartest people in our society have forgotten to ask the simple questions like why is it that we drink milk in the first place?”

Please send your comments to Kelly kelly.brewington@baltsun.com and/or Dr. Robert A. Wood, lead investigator on the study http://www.hopkinschildrens.org/staffDetail.aspx?id=3152.

Sources:

The Baltimore Sun, August 2009, http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/health/2009/08/children_milk_allergies.html

Let’s start with the most common … people who swear they love their dogs and cats but happily throw cow’s flesh or chicken’s flesh on their grill for dinner. Now if you’re one of these people, what gives? I mean really. Do you look into the eyes of your dog or cat and tell them that you love them? Do you let them sleep in your bed? Do you think about them when you’re away? Do you think they are capable of loving you back? Then why wouldn’t a cow, pig or chicken be just as capable? The reality is that they ARE just as capable. And yet, we force them into torturous, confining conditions and kill them just so we can eat their flesh and steal their body’s byproducts. Would you do that to your dog or cat? Would you hang Fluffy by her hind legs, blow a hole in her head, strip off her skin and eat her belly? Um, I don’t think so. Come on … let’s start making the connections.

Now let’s talk about another group of people who are under my skin recently. These are the folks who call themselves “rescuers”. I must preface by saying that I have a lot of rescue friends. I am a self proclaimed “rescuer”. Many of these people are well intentioned. I do not pass judgment on them individually but on a general principal as a group of people, I do find some “rescue” behavior odd.

On the surface, rescue people seem very kind. They spend every weekend and many hours of every day springing dogs and cats from the pound or scooping them up off the dangerous streets where they may be running stray,  injured and homeless. They bring these dogs and cats into their houses. They treat them like children. They love them, buy them great food, give them toys, and worry about their well being. They spend enormous amounts of money caring for these animals. And then they sit down to dinner to gnaw on the hind legs of a cow or a chicken’s breast. Do these folks think that perhaps that cow liked it’s hind leg attached to it’s body? Or that that chicken needed its breast to keep it’s lungs and heart safe? Probably not. But why not?

And why is it that when I challenge these ideals, these groups of people get incredibly angry and defensive? I am at a loss here and finding myself a bit frustrated. I have been working hard here in the Phoenix area to bring ideals of veganism to the forefront of people’s minds. Over the past few weeks I have been working with a local rescue group to purchase booth space at a very large upcoming event. The rescue’s event coordinator was so excited to have vegan booth at this popular animal event. We had everything settled and I was prepared to have a booth with literature about factory farming with delicious vegan food samples. But just this past weekend, the event coordinator took my information to the board for approval and they denied me! Yes, the board denied me! Do you want to know why? Because there is a hamburger-slinging vendor that attends these animal rescue events and this hamburger-slinging vendor shares its profit with the animal rescue.

You see my booth was going to offer free samples of delectable vegan food and apparently this was too much of a threat to their bottom line. So I ask you, does the death of one animal justify the means of another? Does killing cows for money to save dogs really make a difference in the overall health and welfare of animals on this planet?

This rescue is not the only one. There are rescues that sell animal products like leather hand bags or shoes at auctions to raise money for their dogs and cats. Then several others have fancy banquet events where they serve up cows, chickens and pigs to celebrate their great achievements in rescue-land. They justify it by saying that people pay a lot of money to attend these black tie events and they need to feel that they are getting their money’s worth. Again, selling out the cows to save the dogs and cats.

To me, this is so upsetting. If you can’t tell by my unusual and unapologetic tone tonight. I’m at a loss of understanding as to where these folks come from. Is it too difficult to make the correlation between the animals your hug and kiss every day and the animals on your plate?

According to popular podcaster Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, the average 75-year-old meat eater that resides in the United States is responsible (in their life time) for the death of:

• 10 cows,
• 34 pigs, and
• 2,535 turkeys, ducks, and chickens.

Now I ask you … if the average rescuer saves 10 animals a year and continues to eat as most Americans do, they will have killed more lives than they would have saved. Yes, that is correct. They would have KILLED MORE LIVES THAN THEY SAVED.

All I’m saying to the rescue that denied me for the hamburger-slinging vendor … open your minds. Buck conventionalism. Ask the deep questions of yourself and the world around you. Is this how you want to live? Killing more than you’re saving? At the very least, can’t you accept the mere presence of a peaceful and compassionate vegan in the midst of a hamburger-eating crowd? I think the cows would appreciate it. Heck, I’ll even bring vegan treats for the dogs!

I know this is a strange question coming from a vegan. And yet I’m not sure I have the answer. I believe we have to answer his question with yet another question.

What do you consider a soul?

Farm Sanctuary Event

I have found people who call themselves Christians or some derivative thereof define a being with a soul as someone possessing the ability to be forgiven by the “grace of God” so that they may live for eternity in heaven. Typically this means that Christian people, who quite often have not though this through in my opinion, believe that animals can not be forgiven and therefore do not possess a soul. This gives many (not all) the freedom to defend their meat-eating ways. It might lead to a statement like, “animals have no souls so it doesn’t matter how we treat them.” In this case it would not matter to this type of person that pigs suffer great physical and emotional torture in gestational crates having repeated pregnancies where their babies are robbed from them each and every time to make bacon.

For someone that may not be religious or perhaps is religious but has spent time bonding with any type of animal, they might find this viewpoint hard to swallow as I do. To me, any sentient being that has the ability to feel pain, sorrow, love, loss, joy, or happiness embodies a soul. If you can look into the eyes of your cat or dog and see that they love you, that they want you to be happy, that their chief goal in life is to please you each and every day, how can you not believe that there is something more there than just flesh and bones? Personally I do not need a book to define the meaning of a soul. To me it is a feeling, a knowing that goes deeper than words, of kinship with other living beings.

How to respond to people who say animals have no souls

Response #1: I think if any sentient being has the ability to feel pain, sorrow, love, loss, joy, happiness then they have a soul. And that we each as sentient beings have the ability (and responsibility) to show empathy and compassion for one another. Just because and animal can’t say, “I hate this flipping cage”, it doesn’t give us the right to keep her in there solely for human benefit, profit, food or any thing else.

Response #2: I know I won’t be able to convince you that animals have souls in the way you define someone with a soul as one who can be redeemed before your God. Regardless of whether or not you think animals have souls, why do you want to intentionally cause pain and suffering to animals that have done absolutely nothing to harm you when you don’t have to?

Response #3: I think if you take a closer look at your bible, you may find that there are passages that do in fact suggest animals can seek redemption just as you believe humans can. You may want to look into these passages:

• “And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.” (Revelation 5:8-13)
• “For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.” (Romans 8:19)
• “Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.” (Romans 8:21)

What do you think

Obviously this is somewhat of a controversial topic. I’m sure each person has their own ideas of what defines a soul to them. What do you think? And how do you respond to people who say animals have no souls?

Resources:
Do Animals Have Souls?, Bert Thompson, Ph.D. and Sam Estabrook, http://www.apologeticspress.org/articles/448

Good News for All Creation: Vegetarianism As Christian Stewardship, Stephen R. Kaufman and Nathan Braun, Vegetarian Advocates Press, 2004.

I have been a member of Toastmasters for a little less than a year. What a great organization! I joined because my brother asked me to officiate his wedding. Toastmasters helped me sail through that with flying colors and I liked the group so much I kept going to meetings. Over time I realized that perfecting my speaking skills could take me to new places and open doors. Not only will polished speaking skills help me in my Web development business … (light bulb!) I can actually have a platform with which to talk about animal advocacy. I don’t know why it took me so long to realize this. I think it’s because I was a bit afraid to put myself and my vegan values out there in such a “loud” way. I love talking to people 1 on 1 and I love writing about veganism but speaking to groups of people puts my animal advocacy on a whole different level.

The whole purpose of my speech was to inspire the audience to go vegetarian just one day a week. I know that doesn’t seem like a lot to many of you who read this blog but to people who have never considered a vegetarian diet, it’s a place to start. During the speech, I told two stories.

What Happens to Beef Cows in the United States?

I started with Whitaker, who was once considered a typical beef cow. He was found – just days old – on the side of a road in California. It’s likely that he fell off a transport truck as some farm animals do. Our friends at Farm Sanctuary saved him and now he lives a happy life on their farm. I had a beautiful picture of Whitaker blown up and mounted on an 11×14 foam board. I passed his picture around the audience. I mean seriously, who wouldn’t think this cow is cute?

Then I began to explain what happens every year in the United States to the other 35 million¹ beef cows that are not as lucky as Whitaker. I described their filthy feedlot conditions and details of the slaughter process. The cows are first shot in the head with a captive bolt gun. Then they are hung by their feet. Their necks are slit and they die piece by piece to make steaks and hamburgers. Because this process happens so fast often times the cows are still conscious. I showed a picture of a feed lot and passed it around.

At this point in the speech, I think people were shocked. I actually heard a gasp when I revealed the number of cows slaughtered each year.

What Happens to Pigs Raised for Food in the United States?

Next I told the story of a pig named Socks. Socks was found wandering the streets in Springfield, Massachusetts after he wiggled out of a transport truck passing through town. He too was saved by the nice people at Farm Sanctuary. At first Socks was scared stiff around people. He would cower and run as far away from humans as possible. After a while at Farm Sanctuary, Socks made friends with both humans and other pigs. I showed an adorable picture of Socks.

Then I described the conditions for the other, not-so-lucky, 105 million² pigs that are raised and slaughtered in the United States every year. Breeding sows are piglet-making machines. Once a sow is impregnated, she is put in a gestation crate – a small metal pen, just two feet wide. She cannot turn around or even lie down comfortably. She lives in this gestation crate for four months until she is ready to give birth. Then she is moved to a farrowing crate – which is not much bigger. After nursing her babies for 2-3 weeks, they are taken away and she goes through the whole process all over again. Once a pig reaches 250 pounds, their fate is to die in the same way cows are slaughtered.

The Crowd’s Reaction

It was interesting for me to see the crowd’s reaction. This is the first time I have ever given a speech like this. There have been many talks about Web development, camping, dog rescue, etc. but never a speech so honest and adamant about inspiring people to change. I think the audience really didn’t know what to make of all the information. My evaluator was complimentary on my delivery but asked me to back up my figures with citations which was a helpful tip. I have done that for you here in this post.

The most interesting thing to me is that the words of my speech seemed to have staying power with the audience. It has been well over a week and I continue to get Facebook messages from audience members asking me for recipes and telling me that they have been thinking about their food ever since my speech. At our last Toastmasters meeting two members said they used to be vegetarian but had moved away from it in the last few years. My speech inspired them to cook vegetarian one night a week. These are amazing things!

I can’t believe how effective it can be for just one person to take a stand and share knowledge with others. If I can speak to groups even just a few times a year and inspire people to make a change, so can you. If you’d like a copy of the speech with the images to display, just send me a comment and I’ll get them to you. One person at a time, we can make a difference for the animals.

Many thanks to Farm Sanctuary for providing the information and imagery needed to help each one of us advocate on behalf of the animals in a meaningful way.

Stay tuned … my new revelations have inspired me to make many changes to this blog and my advocacy work in general.

References

1. Farm Sanctuary, Factory Beef Production, http://www.farmsanctuary.org/issues/factoryfarming/beef/

2. Farm Sanctuary, Factory Pork Production, http://www.farmsanctuary.org/issues/factoryfarming/pork/

Watch a video of Sundae and the pups.

Sundae was spotted cruising the streets of southwest Phoenix for several days. Finally some rescue people were alerted and one brave woman in particular, Mary, came to Sundae’s rescue. You see Sundae had a belly full of pups, a prolapsed uterus and an umbilical hernia. Um, ouch! She was quite a mess to say the least. What does all that mean? Well the hernia (intestines pushing through her abdominal wall) was so big Mary couldn’t tell for sure if Sundae was pregnant. The prolapsed uterus was likely because she was trying to give birth but the pups and they were not coming out. Basically her uterus (which normally resides happily in a female’s body) was hanging out her back end. Gross!

Lucky for Sundae, after hours of searching and talking with neighbors, Mary found her. She was taken to a vet where her wounds were fixed up and out came four pups via c-section. Four pups! Honestly we thought the pups would be dead. But they weren’t! Four precious pups, 3 girls and 1 boy. Check out their story in this awesome 3 minute video. Mom and pups are all available for adoption at www.mixedupmutts.net.