Veganism, PETA, Farm Sanctuary, Peter Singer, “Personal Purity,” and Principles of Justice
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) says: Being vegan is about helping animals, not maintaining personal purity. Boycotting products that may contain trace amounts of animal products can actually be harmful to animals in the long run. For example, by refusing to eat a veggie burger from a restaurant because the bun may […]
A Betrayal of the Animals
I just got an email containing a press release from a PR firm on behalf of Mercy for Animals. In the press release, Mercy for Animals praises cage-free eggs: With the enactment of Prop 2, California is leading the way towards a society in which farmed animals are treated with the respect they so rightly […]
Happy 2015!
Here are the New Year posters that we put on our Facebook page (click to enlarge): ********** If you are not vegan, please go vegan. Veganism is about nonviolence. First and foremost, it’s about nonviolence to other sentient beings. But it’s also about nonviolence to the earth and nonviolence to your body. The World is […]
The Focus on “Factory Farming”
Most of the large groups focus on “factory farming.” This is absurd for at least three reasons. First, these groups claim to be eliminating the “worst abuses” of the system. That is false. The entire system is one big “worst abuse” and the animal groups are merely focusing on (i.e., doing fundraising campaigns on) a […]
A Thought for Christmas Eve
If you are a Christian, think about how bizarre it is to celebrate the birth of the one you call “Prince of Peace” with violence. If you celebrate Christmas, make it a vegan day. If you really believe in peace and love, make it a vegan life. Nothing else makes any sense. Happy Christmas. ********** […]
“Philosophy Bites” Audio Interview on Abolition Published
The 2012 audio interview I did on Philosophy Bites at the University of London has been published by Oxford University Press in Philosophy Bites Again. ********** If you are not vegan, please go vegan. Veganism is about nonviolence. First and foremost, it’s about nonviolence to other sentient beings. But it’s also about nonviolence to the […]
Veganism: It’s Not Just a Animal Rights Issue
According to Cornell University Professors David Pimentel and Marcia Pimentel, it takes 13 kilograms (a kilogram is 2.2 pounds) of grain and 30 kilograms of forage to produce one kilogram of beef; 21 kilograms of grain and 30 kilograms of forage to produce a kilogram of lamb; 5.9 kilograms of grain to produce a kilogram […]
Go Vegan. See the Connections.
For decades, I have been writing that the anti-fur campaign (among others) is sexist. For example, various groups have been using this sort of imagery for years now: (click to enlarge) But fur is no different from wool, leather, or silk. In my book, Rain Without Thunder: The Ideology of the Animal Movement, published by […]
More on Michael Vick, Andre Robinson, and “Animal Abusers”
I often hear people say that the difference between “animal abusers” like Michael Vick and Andre Robinson, and non-vegans, is that Vick and Robinson inflicted suffering on animals because they enjoyed the process of inflicting harm on animals whereas non-vegans just enjoy the taste of animal products but don’t want to harm animals. This difference, […]
The Unfortunate Racism of Some “Animal Lovers”
I posted an essay from this site on Facebook concerning Andre Robinson, the man who kicked the cat named King, and who faces anticruelty charges in New York. The point was simple: What Andre Robinson did was terrible but was no different from what non-vegans support and participate directly in every single day. I got […]
Moral Schizophrenia–Again, and Again, and Again
Gavin Dingman, an 11-year old from Michigan, killed an albino deer. Many people are upset about this, with some even making death threats to Gavin. It is tragic when any healthy animal is killed for “sport” or any other purpose. And it is tragic that we teach our children that violence is “fun.” But those […]
More on Andre Robinson, Kicking Cats, and Consuming Animal Products
Here is an essay I wrote on the Andre Robinson that was published on October 10, 2014 in the New York Daily News. ********** If you are not vegan, please go vegan. Veganism is about nonviolence. First and foremost, it’s about nonviolence to other sentient beings. But it’s also about nonviolence to the earth and […]
Veganism: It Follows From What Most People Already Believe
You don’t need a theory of animal rights to get you to veganism. You don’t even need to believe in human and nonhuman equality to get to veganism. If you believe–as most people believe–that: (1) animals matter morally; (2) because animals matter morally, we cannot justify imposing “unnecessary” suffering on them; and (3) pleasure, amusement, […]
My Happy Exploitation Label is Better Than Your Happy Exploitation Label
In this article, HSUS happy exploitation czar Paul Shapiro complains that the American Humane Association American Humane Certified Label, which will be on Butterball turkeys this Thanksgiving, is inadequate: Paul Shapiro, vice president for farm-animal protection for the watchdog group Humane Society of the United States, gave an even harsher assessment: “It’s an industry-friendly standard […]
CNN Interview on The Andre Robinson/King Case
On October 4, 2014, I did a brief interview on the Michael Smerconish Show on CNN concerning the Andre Robinson case. You can watch the interview here. ********** If you are not vegan, please go vegan. Veganism is about nonviolence. First and foremost, it’s about nonviolence to other sentient beings. But it’s also about nonviolence […]
New York Times Debate on the Legal Rights of Animals
The New York Times Room for Debate examined the issue of “Enforcing the Legal Rights of Animals,” and included discussion of the Andre Robinson case. The abolitionist perspective was represented. You can read the debate in it’s entirety here. Gary L. Francione Professor, Rutgers University
Andre Robinson, King the Cat, and Our Confused Thinking About Animal Ethics
Andre Robinson kicked a stray cat, at the Brevoort Houses in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. Someone captured it on video. Robinson was arrested. The cat, now named King, was rescued and adopted. The Brooklyn District Attorney has announced that he plans to prosecute Robinson for animal cruelty. And now, many people are calling for his imprisonment and […]
Video of Rutgers Conference: “Animal Ethics: Abolition, Regulation, or Citizenship?”
On April 11, 2014, Rutgers University School of Law had a Conference, Animal Ethics: Abolition, Regulation, or Citizenship? that featured: Anna E. Charlton, Adjunct Professor of Law, Rutgers School of Law–Newark, and former Director, Rutgers Animal Rights Law Clinic Luis E. Chiesa, Professor of Law and Director, Buffalo Criminal Law Center, SUNY Buffalo Sherry F. […]
The Vegan Society: “Corporate Partners” With “Sustainable” Animal Agriculture
Triodos Bank invests in, among other things, organic/”sustainable” animal farming. (Click to enlrage.) And guess who’s a Corporate Partner with Triodos Bank? That’s right. The Vegan Society. (Click to enlarge.) (Click to enlarge.) Please understand: I am not saying that The Vegan Society should not accept a donation from Triodos–or anyone else. No money is […]
The Vegan Society: You Decide
In the face of significant criticism for embracing “flexible veganism” in the form of its “You don’t have to be vegan to be buy products with the Vegan Society Trademark” rebrand, The Vegan Society put out a statement on August 5, 2014 that read, in part, that its “aims and objectives remain unaltered from those […]