Livin’ Veg

Take Action Friday: Help Chimps March 19, 2010

As I mentioned last week, Fridays are now a day when I will post a take action. This weeks issue is about nine chimps. This group of Chimps have been used in the past for cognitive research. The study involving them has ended. They are being held at University of Louisiana-Lafayette’s New Iberia Research Center (NIRC), a facility that has a proven record of cruelty. HSUS did an undercover investigation that showed 338 possible violations of animal welfare. Let’s not let this facility keep these chimps. They have already been tested on. They deserve a break. They deserve to live out the rest of their days on a sanctuary behaving like animals instead of like test subjects.

Click here and fill out the information in the form. Personalize it if you have the time, but if not, sending it as a form letter is great too. Voices make a difference. Let’s all put our voices together.

Say No To Canned Hunts March 12, 2010

I am certainly not a fan of hunting. However, not all kinds of hunting are the same. Internet hunts and canned hunts are in a class all their own.

What do those terms mean?

The practice of killing animals remotely via the Internet and the abhorrent practice of shooting confined, tame, exotic animals in an enclosed space.

Let’s make this a take action Friday. In fact, every Friday from now on, I think I’m going to post a take action. Through the form on HSUS, write to your representative and urge them to support the Sportsmanship in Hunting Act.

Even proud hunters find this practice horrific. They see no sport in hunting an animal by moving a computer mouse, or shooting an animal that’s fenced in. It’s a lazy cruel pastime for lazy cruel people. Let’s make it illegal everywhere.

NY Restaurant Uo Serves Diners Live Fish - Take Action February 2, 2010

The Japanese restaurant Uo in NYC serves a traditional Japanese dish, live sashimi. And when I say live, that’s exactly what I mean. Every Tuesday night - yes, today is Tuesday - chef David Bouhadana stuns the fish, slices them open and serves them to diners while the animal’s heart is still beating.

Let me say that again. The heart is still beating while the creature is on the plate. This article from Tastings Table describes the process as follows:

Bouhadana begins the process by making graceful slits along the fish’s flesh before picking it up and slamming it down on the cutting board, where it curls and seizes, rendering it firm to the bite–in some cases, almost crunchy.

Please call the restaurant, send a letter, or stop by and ask them (very politely) to please stop this inhumane process of serving fish. The very least we can do for animals is ensure that they are actually dead before people slice and bite into them.

Here is the contact info:

Sushi Uo,
151 Rivington St. (between Suffolk and Clinton sts.)
212-677-5470

Mercy For Animals Dairy Investigation On ABC January 28, 2010

Mercy for Animals just released footage of their latest investigation. What’s the topic? Dairy farms. ABC gave them great coverage showing the inhumane treatment of dairy cows. I normally avoid the video…it’s too hard to watch but this, because it was on primetime gets the point across without spiraling a person into a state of depression and anxiety.

They talk about milk’s fabulous marketing campaigns with happy healthy cows and people. The reality is perpetually pregnant cows, tail docking without pain relief, open wounds, violence from the workers towards the animals and little or no space to move for the duration of their lives. Click here for the full story and video or visit Mercy for Animals for more information. Note, the footage on the MFA site is going to be way more graphic than the footage on ABC.

Repost the article to your facebooks, twitters and whatever else you have. The truth about dairy should be shown to the masses. We can help spread the word!

Want To Save Lives? Avoid Plastic. December 10, 2009

Plastic serves many purposes. It keeps our food fresh. It’s convenient. It’s light weight and strong. We all know that plastic has changed the way we live our lives but I don’t think enough attention is given to the fact that we have also changed the lives of animals in devastating ways.

The problem is many people don’t see plastic anymore. It’s become so integrated with our every day lives that when we chuck it in the garbage, we don’t even notice. It’s effecting our marine life. In fact, it’s killing our marine life.

For some inspiration, I urge you all to go and view Chris Jordon’s disturbing images of the albatross. They are haunting, beautiful and horrific all at once and will make the viewer think twice about all plastic used in daily life. Notice the lighter in the picture to the right. Yes, a bird ate it. I’m sure the person buying it never dreamed about where it would end up, or that it would help end a life.

Some ways to avoid plastic:

1. Buy foods like rice, nuts, quinoa, granola etc. in bulk. My husband gets his peanut butter from Whole Foods every week and brings his own container. He gets the stuff that is made from freshly crushed peanuts.

2. Say no to plastic bags every time. Not just in the supermarket, but also at CVS, department stores, and every place that wants to load you up with plastic. Bring your own bag.

3. It’s not just plastic water bottles that are polluting the earth. It’s plastic bottles for all drinks. If you’re going to buy a drink when out, buy glass. Glass can be recycled an infinite amount of times. But better yet, bring your beverage in your reusable bottle when you go out.

4. When comparing items to buy, choose the one with less packaging. And if you see an item that is so overly packaged, write to the manufacturer and tell them the reason you didn’t buy it.

5. Bring your own utensils so you don’t have to use disposables.

The point of this is all really to rethink the way plastic is used in our lives. We don’t just use it to keep food fresh, it’s biggest useful purpose. We use it for everything. So my plea to everyone is to ditch the plastic. Avoid it like you avoided drunk Uncle Tim at Thanksgiving.

Understanding Cap And Trade December 2, 2009

There is a big conference on climate change coming up in Copenhagen. Lots of world leaders are attending, including I believe, ours. Cap and trade is talked about as the solution for our climate issues. However, a new video by the same people who made “The Story of Stuff” (a fab resource) shows us that cap and trade is not the shining knight we hoped it was.

I don’t know about you but I have found cap and trade to be confusing. There is a lot to it and learning enough about it to make an opinion wasn’t something I had yet investigated. Shame on me. But I think a lot of people are in a similar boat. In clear speech, good animation and with a persuasive argument this video will clarify a lot of things for anyone who is still a little fuzzy on the details. So watch this video for our planet, for the animals and for ourselves.

Activism Through Social Networking November 20, 2009

In the age of Facebook, Twitter, Digg and countless other services that allow us to connect with our fellow human beings, the exchange of information is becoming a lot more fluid. When I used to see an article that interested me, I would email it to a few friends. Now, I share it via some sort of social media. That way, instead of a couple people seeing it, a few hundred people are invited to see it, or in the case of twitter, nearly a thousand. Those people might share it and so on. One article shared by one person has the potential to reach thousands. All from a few clicks. That’s activism from the comfort of your couch.

People make fun of facebook and twitter because people post messages like, “Fred Fredson is eating a sandwich.” Well, Mr. Fredson, that’s not so interesting to me personally. But many of my friends on FB and people I choose to follow on twitter are writing about something bigger. They are sharing animal rights concerns, human rights violations and environmental take actions (in addition to talking about their personal lives). They are helping me to filter my news in the age of way too much information. In turn, I try to post information that I think is relevant to the world we live in. Whether that’s advocating for people, animals or the environment, it’s all important.

The big AR orgs are doing a great job using social media to bring about change. I mentioned a while back that HSUS is doing a campaign to get IHOP to switch to cage free eggs. So far, they won’t do it. But once HSUS put it’s army of facebook animal rights activists on the tasks, the IHOP fan page on facebook was hit with hundreds (maybe thousands) of comments all ripping into IHOP’s cruelty.

If you’re not doing so already, look into following your favorite non profits and activists online. Repost news that you think is important and do it all through that “frivolous” waste of time known as social networking.

If you’d like, start by sharing this video from HSUS about IHOP.

Saving Earth’s Oceans And Marine Life November 19, 2009

Last night I was fortunate enough to see Carl Safina, cofounder and president of the Blue Ocean Institute, talk about his work to save our planet’s oceans. As veggies, I think we spend a great deal of our time advocating for farm animals and (because they are in our homes) companion animals. I know that’s where I focus most of my efforts. There is so much suffering taking place and we have the video footage of factory farms and puppy mills to inspire us to be active. Sadly, I do feel as if the AR world ignores marine life a little bit. Especially when it comes to the plethora of life beneath the surface.

Sure, we pay a lot of attention to seals, whales, dolphins, and sharks. The biggies. But overfishing is quickly depleting the ocean of all its inhabitants, not just the popular ones. And we don’t have the undercover video footage to shock us into action because most of it is taking place on boats and away from the watchful eyes of activists. Consider the picture of the Loggerhead turtle I took off the Blue Ocean Institute’s website. That turtle is an unintentional catch. Meaning, the fisherman who caught it were actually looking to catch shrimp off the coast of South Carolina. But the fact is, we pull out millions of creatures from the oceans every day and because of that fact, the earth’s oceans are in mortal peril. They need us to speak for them, to act for them, and to change their fate.

I’m going to be posting about more take actions having to do with ocean life. Safina gave some wonderful advice to activists last night. He said that we should all channel our activism into areas we are good at. If you like the law, become an environmental lawyer. If you like to write, then write. If you’re a teacher, then teach the topics. Personally, I will be writing about the topic and teaching kids about the issues.

Want some ideas on what you can do now? Check out the take action section of the Blue Ocean Institute’s website and make a difference.

No Impact Week - Sign Up And Make A Difference! October 16, 2009

The Huffington Post is hosting No Impact Week. It starts next week! I’m encouraging everyone to sign up and see what they can do in their lives to make a difference. My husband and I are doing it and then next Sunday we’re going to see the film.

What is No Impact Week?

For the inaugural No Impact Week, the No Impact Project has created a detailed guide that describes how to go about reducing your ecological impact one day at a time. No, not everyone has to completely give up their cars and shut off their power; the guide gives many achievable levels of reducing your footprint and you can pick the goals that are right for you. Each day will focus on one aspect of how we live. Sunday’s focus is on reducing consumption, on Monday the spotlight will be on reducing trash, Tuesday will be about commuting without adding carbon to the environment - i.e., encouraging bike riding and walking; Wednesday will be about encouraging eating foods grown locally and/or sustainably — and so forth.

A worthwhile endeavor if I’ve ever heard of one. Sign up here and take the challenge with me. I’ll probably do a post on my experience at the end of next week. So be prepared to share your experiences…

Good luck!

Companion Animals Need Your Help. Seriously. October 14, 2009

My jobs involve many things (I work for two organizations). All of it having to do with animals and the planet. But one of my tasks is a less than glamorous one. I go through and respond to all the grant inquiries that come in. That means I read through each story of an organization in need or an animal in trouble. And more times than not I have to reject them because they do not fall within the funding parameters of the foundation.

But here is something I’ve learned from the over 1500 grant inquiries I’ve received over the last 3 years: Local rescues need your help. They are completely overwhelmed by the millions of animals that are abandoned by their guardians each year. And with the economic crisis, they need your help even more.

Helping doesn’t just mean providing funds. Although any shelter will be eternally grateful if you are able to open up your wallet. Donating dog/cat food, blankets, or whatever else they put on their wish list is incredibly helpful. At your Halloween party (or any kind of party), ask your guests to bring donations. Add a dollar jar to the donation pile and ask people to give lose change or a dollar.

Or, if you have more time, volunteer in person. Walk a dog once a week or socialize with the cats. Foster an animal if a shelter has run out of room. And of course, if you can, adopt an animal and give a gal/guy a home.

Companion animals need our help. The good people running the shelters can only do so much. They need our support.