Multiple Choice Test
Dear Colleagues: I just received an announcement of the Seventh Annual World Congress on Alternatives and Animal Use in the Life Sciences, which will take place in Rome, Italy, August 30-September 3, 2009. Take a look at the announcement. And then answer the following question: This conference: (A) is a great event because it will […]
The Santería Case: Michael Vick, Part 2
Dear Colleagues: Many people are very unhappy with a recent decision of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, Merced v. Kasson, in which the court enjoined officials of the city of Euless, Texas from enforcing various ordinances to stop Santería practitioners from performing animal sacrifices using goats, lambs, and other animals, […]
It’s Time for a Change
Dear Colleagues: Animal welfare—the notion that we should treat animals “humanely”—has been around for 200 years. It has gotten nowhere. We are using more animals now in more horrific ways than at any time in human history. The 19th century founders of animal welfare opposed human slavery but they never opposed the property status of […]
In Defense of Mark Bittman
Dear Colleagues: In Spring 2009, New York Times food writer Mark Bittman announced that: All day long, he eats a vegan diet. But after about 6 p.m., anything goes. And then, in July 2009, Bittman announced that in training for the New York City Marathon, he was advised that he needed more animal protein so […]
Creative, Non-Violent Vegan Education—Easy and Effective
Dear Colleagues: I recently posted several essays (e.g.,1, 2, 3) on various creative, non-violent vegan education. I am interested in canvassing the range of things that people are doing. So I posted a note on Facebook asking for people to tell me about their efforts at non-violent, creative vegan/abolitionist education. In one day, I got […]
A Comment on “Blood and Guts” Advocacy
Dear Colleagues: Animal advocates often debate whether to use gory materials in their educational efforts. For example, should advocates show videos of slaughterhouses or other brutal situations? I am not sure that there is a right or wrong answer here but I do want to offer some thoughts for your consideration.
On Vivisection and Violence
Dear Colleagues: In today’s Mail Online, the internet edition of the Daily Mail, a U.K. newspaper, there is a fascinating article about vivisection by Dr. Danny Penman, a former research biochemist who now does science journalism for New Scientist and the Daily Mail. Penman makes it clear that he supports vivisection: Like most people, I […]
“Truth, Love and Liberty”
Dear Colleagues: Let me preface the following remarks with the observation that I am no way questioning the sincerity of the individuals involved in the event that I am about to discuss. The purpose of this essay is to focus on what I regard as the very confused and morally problematic message that such an […]
A Revolution of the Heart
Dear Colleagues: Many animal advocates assume that we need an organization–some organization–in order to advocate for nonhuman animals; that we need a leader–some leader–to show us the way. I suggest that this is the wrong way to look at things.
The Religion of Non-Violence
Dear Colleagues: This past weekend, JAINA, the Federation of Jain Associations in North America, held its 15th Biennial Convention. The Convention was held in Los Angeles at the Jain Center of Southern California, which is one of the most beautiful buildings I have ever seen anywhere in America. The theme of the Convention was “Ecology: […]
Is there anything that you want to eat that badly?
Dear Colleagues: I never fail to be amazed when I hear people—including well-known promoters of animal welfare—claim quite remarkably that animals do not have an interest in continued life; they just have an interest in not suffering. They do not care that we use them; they care only about how we use them. As long […]
Another Welfarist “Revolution” That Wasn’t
Dear Colleagues: As you know, I do not believe that welfare reforms provide significant benefits for nonhuman animals even when these reforms are implemented. But they often are not even implemented. That is, there are campaigns and fundraising efforts and declarations of “victory” (accompanied by parties complete with celebrities) but the supposed reforms often never […]
A Disturbing Partnership
Dear Colleagues: In much of my writing, I have argued that the promotion of the “happy meat” approach has led not only to making the public more comfortable about consuming animal products but it has resulted in the creation of a disturbing partnership between animal advocates and institutionalized exploiters. This topic is one of the […]
“Happy Meat:” Making Humans Feel Better About Eating Animals
Dear Colleagues: Two recent articles from Gourmet Magazine show us the clear direction in which the “happy meat” movement (see, e.g., 1; 2; 3; 4; 5; 6; 7; 8) being promoted by virtually all of the large animal welfare organizations is taking us.
And Another…
Dear Colleagues: The Associated Press has reported the following story: (AP) A 23-year-old woman who got a friend to kill her Jack Russell terrier was charged with skinning the puppy to make a belt out of its hide. Krystal Lynn Lewis and Austin Michael Mullins, 26, were being held Friday in the Muskogee County jail […]
Yet Another Example of Moral Schizophrenia
Dear Colleagues: For many years now, I have been using the expression “moral schizophrenia” to describe the confused and deluded way in which we humans think about the moral status of nonhuman animals. This morning, I saw an example of moral schizophrenia that even I found quite remarkable.
Poor Che Guevara
Dear Colleagues: Although I am opposed to all violence, and, therefore, I do not approve of the violence that Ernesto “Che” Guevara used to liberate Cuba from the U.S. backed Cuban dictator Fulgencio Batista, I found it profoundly sad to see the latest PETA campaign that features Che’s granddaughter, Lydia Guevara, posing semi-nude in a […]
Context Makes All the Difference
Dear Colleagues: Professor Gary Steiner alerted me to an interesting video from the Onion News Network. It involves a “news” story about a young gymnast who is “euthanized” by her parents after she suffers a minor, but career-affecting, injury. By applying the language that we hear when injured race horses are “put down” in a […]
Making a Vegan Education Kiosk
Dear Colleagues: The abolitionist approach, as it is discussed and developed on this site and in my work over the past 20 years, maintains that going vegan and using creative, nonviolent methods of educating others about the importance of ethical veganism, are the most important forms of social activism available to those of us who […]
HOME Parties: More Nonviolent Activist Education
Dear Colleagues: Last week, I blogged about HOME, an extraordinary documentary about how human greed and materialism are destroying our planet. Although HOME was (and as of today still is) available on YouTube, it is also available on DVD at most video stores. After watching it on a computer screen and then seeing it play […]