Taking a closer look at what we eat
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Local activist groups partner to rally for animal rights
Click image to enlarge.
Kittens and chicks are equally cute, but why domesticate one and consume the other?
This is the thought provoking message in a billboard promoted by the local association Vegas Veg in partnership with Mercy For Animals.
Vegas Veg is a local organization consisting of individuals interested in promoting plant-based eating within the Las Vegas area.
Elaine Vigneault, Vegas Veg main organizer, is a supporter of MFA, which is a national non-profit farmed animal advocacy organization.
MFA used the billboards in Chicago, Boston, New York City, Denver, Toronto and Michigan to raise awareness for animal cruelty.
Vigneault saw a photo of the billboards online and contacted Nathan Runkle, executive director of MFA, to see if they could do the billboards in Nevada. Runkle handled most of the logistics and Vigneault took care of the fundraising.
Runkle said that there is a growing discussion taking place around the country concerning food choices and their impact on our health, environment and animal welfare.
Vigneault said that there are a lot of animal lovers in the Valley, but they normally extend their love to only dogs and cats.
“Our message is simply to encourage people to extend the kindness that they give to cats and dogs,” Vigneault said, adding that “Pigs, cows, chickens, turkeys and even fish are capable of feeling pain just like cats and dogs.”
And the idea behind the billboards is to ignite some thought about animal cruelty and health consciousness.
For her, farm animals are treated like meat before they’re even slaughtered. They suggest people choose animal-friendly options as much as possible.
And besides the promotion of better life quality to farm animals, Vegas Veg is also concerned about the food quality that people eat.
Their mission statement is: “Vegas Veg focuses on ending human dependence on animals by promoting a compassionate, healthy, plant-based lifestyle through grassroots educational activities,” according to Ann Petit, one of the organizers.
Runkle gives the example of books like “Eating Animals” by Johnathan Safran Foer, and documentaries like “Food, Inc.” where it shows consumers being more conscious about their food choices.
“This billboard campaign builds on that discussion and urges consumers to think about why we call some animals companions and others dinner,” Runkle said.
The billboards are made to make people think, even for a second, about what they are eating. Kellie Benway, a Vegas Veg member, hope it plants a seed in their minds.
For Benway, Vegas Veg’s main message is about a new option, one that includes being a vegan or vegetarian.
“We are all just normal people who happen to care about all animals and show our concern for their welfare by not eating them. And it is OK to be different,” Benway said.
And all these members have something in common: They are interested and passionate about food, nutrition and animal welfare.
“I like people who are kind. I am attracted to people who question common paradigms,” said Vegas Veg Daryl Elliott, explaining why he joined the group.
For these members, they feel that they live in a culture that prides itself on caring for domestic animals while farmed animals lack any type of attention and dignity.
“There is a path, veganism, of acting in a way that is more consistent with how people generally see themselves, which is as loving and caring people,” Elliott said.
“[By] promoting humane and compassionate vegetarian food choices, we are inspiring people nationwide to reject products of animal abuse,” Runkle said adding that “As the demand for meat, dairy, and egg products is reduced, so too will the number of animals subjected to these cruel and inhumane conditions.”
Right now, there are 376 members and about one-third of the group are active members who participate in the events promoted by Vegas Veg.
Vigneault said they try to keep the activities low-stress, fun and nonjudgmental. And even though they are mostly social, the core intent is about enlightening people and sharing information.
“We’re constantly striving to educate people and help them make truly informed food choices,” Vigneault said.
And the supporters know there is a far-from-ideal world out there and Vegas is definitely a part of it.
“It was an excellent idea to get these billboards to Las Vegas, where people are sometimes challenged to pursue a healthy lifestyle with the odd casino working hours and seeming acceptance of excess everywhere,” said Ina Mohan, Vegas Veg member.
She said that even though people within the group may have different lifestyles, it does not stop them from getting the most out if it. According to her, the information they share with each other is very important to this learning process.
“You can’t force a certain lifestyle onto others if they don’t want it, but revealing the truth about the food industry cruelties and the benefits of vegetarianism is an ongoing duty that we have towards our fellow humans,” Mohan said.
And the billboards were a way they found to express what they believe in and share their thoughts.
“I think [the billboards] are great. It’s wonderful that we have some billboards that give people an opportunity to think about their actions as opposed to only having commercial billboards,” Elliott said.
But not everyone was so enthusiastic about the idea the billboards right from the beginning.
“At first I was a little uncomfortable with the image,” said member Valeria Taylor, adding that she later changed her mind and realized “that it must be effective since it is clearly provocative.”
Taylor is also optimistic about the future.
“I have seen food consciousness grow over the past 16 years and I believe that more people are ready now to embrace vegetarianism and veganism than ever before,” Taylor said.
Taylor said the group’s philosophy is to help people become savvy food consumers. She believes that path will lead to personal growth, which will ultimately guide to choices that are beneficial to both humans and animals.
It’s not at all simplistic just to always be offering steps that many most people might have been selling. We figure out we need you to appreciate for this.
All these debates, i think we all should just fast like mahatma ghandi or some monk and confine ourselves in solitude up in the mountains. There you bloody go. no conflict. no head pains. no qualms.
UN admits flaw in report on meat and climate change
The UN has admitted a report linking livestock to global warming
exaggerated the impact of eating meat on climate change.
By Alastair Jamieson
Published: 7:16AM GMT 24 Mar 2010
Dr Frank Mitloehner said the UN comparison between meat farming and
transport emissions was ‘lopsided’
A 2006 study, Livestock’s Long Shadow, claimed meat production was
responsible for 18 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions – more than
transport.
Its conclusions were heralded by campaigners urging consumers to eat
less meat to save the planet. Among those calling for a reduction in
global meat consumption is Sir Paul McCartney.
However, one of the authors of the report has admitted an American
scientist has identified a flaw in its comparison with the impact of
transport emissions.
Dr Frank Mitloehner, from the University of California at Davis
(UCD), said meat and milk production generates less greenhouse gas
than most environmentalists claim and that the emissions figures were
calculated differently to the transport figures, resulting in an
“apples-and-oranges analogy that truly confused the issue”.
The meat figure had been reached by adding all greenhouse-gas
emissions associated with meat production, including fertiliser
production, land clearance, methane emissions and vehicle use on
farms, whereas the transport figure had only included the burning of
fossil fuels.
Pierre Gerber, a policy officer with the UN’s Food and Agriculture
Organization, told the BBC he accepted Dr Mitloehner’s criticism.
“I must say honestly that he has a point – we factored in everything
for meat emissions, and we didn’t do the same thing with transport,”
he said.
Dr Mitloehner told a meeting of the American Chemical Society in San
Francisco that producing less meat and milk would only result in
“more hunger in poor countries” and that efforts should be focused on
“smarter farming, not less farming”.
Earlier this year, the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
apologised after wrongly claiming the Himalayan glaciers could vanish
within 25 years.
DLA,
Im surprised you havn’t figured out Im just on here to get yall huffing and puffing over stupid stuff. Check your figures though, because at last check there were more ethical farms than inethical but im sure your definition of ethical and my definition of ethical are different, but according to the FDA there are more ethical then inethical. Secondly the problem here is y’all are equating that an animal life is the same as a human life when they are no where near the same. Animals are animals and thats the fact, they are not worth the same as a human. The only animals that you could consider to be “a part of the family” are cats and dogs (occasionally, turtles, and birds). Now I love my dog but his life isn’t worth near as much as any persons life, granted he is part of my family but I would never equate him to a person standard. But my friends would debate me on that since my dog eats better than some people eat.
Also, personally I don’t care how the meat gets to me as long as its healthy and good tasting. Slaughter houses are rough but animals are animals and they go through there to eventually get to my plate so I dont really care, would I like them to die as humanly as possible, yes.
Basically, a food animal isnt the same as a pet or a human and they are there to feed us, its your choice not to eat meat, but mine is to eat meat and hunt and I would appreciate if your minority group would stop trying to push the majority of us meat eaters around because of our choices.
First off, the billboards rock! I hope they made people think, at least a little about their food choices. Baby steps can make a big difference.
Now for responses:
Milander – “Fit for purpose”? Really? So your opinion is that we “humans” get to decide the purpose of every other living thing on the planet? Hmmm…….that seems to be working out well for our planet and health so far. And as far as it being biologically “normal” for us to eat meat as you say, where did you get this info from? I would be interested in reading it. And finally, about the eating bugs issue. No vegan I know including myself, is under any delusion that we are “perfect”. We are just trying to reduce unneccessary cruelty and suffering where we can.
Linda – Slaughetrhouses that skin animals alive becuase they are in too much of a rush to stun the animal to render them unconscious is not humane, it is commerce. Commerce that we justify because large corporations pay huge sums of money on advertising their “product” and why we must have it. Trying to justify our cruelty by saying we are more humane than wild animals is insane. We are different, plain and simple. And by the way, most of us animal rights nuts have plenty of compassion for human biengs too, even you.
C- Wow. Brenden already shot down most of your arguments, but I have to add my two cents as well. So, we need to eat animals to get iron, sodium and fat? Where do you think the animals most people eat get it from? Plant based food maybe? Also, most vegans would be quite happy if all of the omnivors out there started with cutting out a few servings of meat a week and replacing them with whole plant based foods. Better for your health, the planet, and the animals. So, you have only been to ethical, well maintained farms? Great, I am glad there are some out there, but unfortunately, there are more that are not. And PETA isnt the only place to get that info….heard of CNN and 60 minutes? Doing your own research isnt a bad idea either. And finally, if your God meant us to eat everything he put on this planet, well then, our digestive systems and immune systems better evolve….quickly.
Below is a great essay I found…its a bit long but well worth it. enjoy.
“Like Animals” by Laura Moretti
“Why do you suppose you like animals so much?” was the million-dollar question put to me Christmas Eve (and one I hadn’t provoked). I knew my family was expecting me to say something like, “I like animals because they’re cute and cuddly and furry and fun to play with.” But instead I said, “I like animals because they are honest.”
My observation triggered a facetious comment from one of my brothers. “About what?”–as if honesty were merely about telling the truth, and everyone knows animals can’t talk! His notation was met with hearty laughter; for once, they thought they’d repaid me for all the discomfort I’d caused them at other family gatherings.
“I like that animals don’t pretend to be someone they’re not,” I continued in my reply, hushing the crowd. “To quote a phrase, ‘Dogs don’t lie about love.’ Animals don’t fake their feelings. I like that they’re emotionally fearless.”
We were lounging on sofas and armchairs after our feast and present opening. Coffee was being served, so I seized the opportunity. “I like animals,” I added, “because they only take out of life what they need. They don’t abuse their environment, annihilate species, pollute their water, contaminate the air they breathe. They don’t build weapons of mass destruction and use them against others-particularly members of their own species. I like animals because they have no use for those things, or for war or terrorism. They don’t build nations around genocide.”
My uncle seemed momentarily lost in thought. He had been born and raised in New York City . “That’s because they don’t know any better,” a brother-in-law argued. “They don’t do those things because they don’t know how.”
“A pride of lions doesn’t get together,” I countered him, “and decide how to exterminate zebras-their very source of nourishment. I don’t think it’s because they don’t know how. I think it’s because it’s counter-productive.” They laughed. “
I also like animals,” I continued,” because they don’t punish themselves for their perceived inadequacies. They don’t dwell on things of the past, nor use them as excuses for behavior in the present. And they don’t plan to live some day in the future, they live today, this moment, fully, completely, and purely. I like animals because they live their lives with so much more freedom than humans live theirs.”
“That’s because they don’t think,” one of my cousins offered.
“Is that the difference?” I wondered. “‘I think therefore I’m cruel, destructive, insecure, abusive?’ You meant to say they don’t think the way we think.” The room had become strangely quiet. I was amazed at how closely my family was listening, despite the occasional grunt to the contrary.
“I like animals because they don’t bow down to imaginary gods they’ve created, nor annihilate each other in the name of those gods; gods, they say, who are all-knowing and all-loving and just. I like animals because they only know how to give unconditional love and implicit trust. I mean, animals either extend those things to you or they don’t; there are no shades of gray. They have the best of what makes us human and, as one observer put it, “none of our vices.’” “And thank God,” someone injected.
“Lastly,” I added, remembering why I was an animal rights activist, “Animals are the most victimized living creatures on earth; more than children, more than women, more than people of color. Our prejudice enables us to exploit and use them, as scientific tools and expendable commodities, and to eat them. We do to them any atrocity our creative minds can summon. We justify our cruelties; we have to or we can’t commit them. I like animals because they don’t do to themselves or to others the things we do to them. And they don’t make excuses for unethical actions because they don’t commit unethical acts.”
“And finally,” I finished, “I like animals because they’re not hypocrites. They don’t say one thing and do another. They are, as I’ve said, honest. Animals-not humans-are the best this planet has to offer.” And, interestingly enough, despite my soapbox rant, not a one of them made a snide comment or a hint of laughter. The conversation actually rolled into shared stories of animals they’ve known, stories of animal loyalty and intelligence, their humor and innocence. And it was me who’d become the listener with the occasional comment: “Now, if only humans could only be, well, like animals.” And that is why I fight the good fight; I rise on behalf of the best among us.”
Brenden,
So its more humane to let them over populate and starve to death? I think not. And your argument that we don’t need to eat meat is fallible, because I can assure you those of us who rely heavily on meat, if we were to stop eating it we would become very sick because meat not only provides essential nutrients(iron, sodium, fat) but also it is our main source of sustenance and our bodies would not react to well to giving it up. Your examples are of very rare occurances on animal crulty, stop looking at the PETA website for news because the vast majority of farms are well maintained and the animals are treated ethically. I have had the opportunity to visit many farms and observe the treatment of animals and the killing/ butchering process and can honestly say I have never seen anything that you mentioned. Honestly it is ethical for me to eat animals because I understand what happens in nature and the way we kill thm is typically more humane than what goes on in the wild. I hunt not only because its fun and healthy but because game meat(deer, elk, antelope) is healthier then beef and also to help alliviate animal overpopulation. One can not imagine the satisfaction of being able to eat the food you kill and know that you fed your family and also helped the ecosystem. Also the animal tastes preatty good, Mule deer roast tastes great when you rostisery it over a mesquite fire.
Plus God would have not put animals on this Earth if he did not intend us to eat them.
“Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet.” Albert Einstein
“The animals of the world exist for their own reasons. They were not made for humans any more than black people were made for whites or women for men.” Alice Walker
“In fact, if one person is unkind to an animal it is considered to be cruelty, but where a lot of people are unkind to animals, especially in the name of commerce, the cruelty is condoned and, once large sums of money are at stake, will be defended to the last by otherwise intelligent people.” Leo Tolstoy
“Until he extends the circle of his compassion to all living things, man will not himself find peace.” John Muir, Naturalist and explorer (1838-1914)
“A man can live and be healthy without killing animals for food; therefore, if he eats meat, he participates in taking animal life merely for the sake of his appetite. And to act so is immoral.” Howard Lyman
“You put a baby in a crib with an apple and a rabbit. If it eats the rabbit and plays with the apple, I’ll buy you a new car.” Harvey Diamond
“For as long as men massacre animals, they will kill each other. Indeed, he who sows the seed of murder and pain cannot reap joy and love.” Pythagoras, mathematician
“The time will come when men such as I will look upon the murder of animals as they now look on the murder of men.” Leonardo da Vinci
“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” Mahatma Gandhi, statesman and philosopher
“Non-violence leads to the highest ethics, which is the goal of all evolution. Until we stop harming all other living beings, we are still savages.” Thomas Edison, inventor
C – where did you get your degree in dietics? Meat has no magical nutrient that I can’t get on a plant based diet. No, all healthy diets do not include meat. The seventh day adventists have been studied for decades and they live an average of 4 years longer and many are the picture of good health. Please know what you are talking about before you click ” submit” on a comment board.
BTW, “people eating tasty animals = cliche and not at all original.
Linda, we are not Lions, and no we are in no way humane. Cutting off baby chicks beaks, killing their brothers by grinding them alive or allowing them to simply suffocate is not humane. The Lion eats animals becuase he has to to survive. Humans do not. You do not need to consume animals. Since we have that choice, why not opt for the compassionate, ethical choice?
Milander, I could care less what other primates do. Other primates don’t warehouse and slaughter over 10 billion sentient creatures a year. We don’t need to eat animals to thrive, so I really don’t see how it is ethical to do so, especially with the realities of factory farming.
Im a member of peta: People Eating Tasty Animals. All healthy diets include meat, without eating meat your body will lack essential nutrients it needs to support itself. The pills that these people take still do not cover what the meat provides to the body. Simply put not eating meat is unhealthy. Looking on the bright side hunting season is only 6 months away!
I think the billboards are great. It is not often that people think about the life the animal lived before they eat it. If everyone can make even small adjustments in their diets and even cut back on meat, it will help not only the animals, but the environment as well.
What a great article! Thanks for going above and beyond in your researching the topic. We aren’t cavemen anymore!! Our ability to reason and use our superior brains has allowed us to make more healthy and compassionate choices. For the record, my compassion knows no species. It’s all connected. Animal rights teaches kindness to others.
What cruelty? We are much more humane in the way we treat our meat animals than a lion or coyote. Those predators slowly suffocate or rip a food animal apart before it is even dead to eat it. Every seen a cat play with a mouse while killing it? It’s called nature. These animal rights and vegan groups are full of nuts who hate other humans and use animals as a front for that hate. Maybe it is the lack of nutrition from meat that is causing their neurotic behavior… for me I’ll continute to enjoy my hamburgers and steaks thank you very much! yummm!
The simple reason why one was domesticated and teh other wasn’t is called fit for purpose. Dogs and cats have a function, cats kill vermin and dogs protect kept animals as well as their fellow pack mates (their owners). Chickens, pigs, cows protect nothing and have no other purpose for humans than as a source of food.
Incidentally, in many countries dog, cat and other ‘cute’ animals are eaten as a source of protein/nourishment.
Also, as Mohan said, vegetarianism is a lifestyle choice. It is not normal (biologically speaking) for a human to be a vegetarian and no primate is a strict vegetarian. All primates eat meat without exception the only difference is in quantity and frequency. fyi all vegetarians, unless pathologically addicted to food hygiene, eat meat, albeit in the form of insects, which constitute 2% of average fruit/vegetable consumption.
well I think they both look equally tasty….
Awesome article!
Thank you for including a variety of Vegas Veg* members’ voices and highlighting the diversity in our group.
I hope the billboards encourage people to rethink their burgers, steaks, hot dogs, and chicken wings in favor of compassionate and healthy choices.