Vegan Soapbox » animal liberation

Online Animal Advocacy: Building Blocks For The Future

Eccentric Vegan — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 18:39:59 +0000

Erik Marcus wrote an essay about online animal advocacy that really captured some of my recent thoughts. In part of the essay, Marcus writes:

“Right now, a whole lot of dynamite is—through non-violent and entirely legal means—being laid out by weak tie animal advocates. My guess is that we’ve still got another ten to fifty years before society’s ready and the plunger can be pushed, but make no mistake that animal agribusiness’ position is quickly eroding. One day a handful of people will take enormous risks, and large scale animal agribusiness will succumb within a decade.”

“I’d wager that anti-meat sentiment is currently spreading far more rapidly than anti-segregation sentiment did at any time between 1870 and 1960. Why is this happening so quickly? In large part it’s because social networking tools like Facebook and Twitter are perhaps the two most potent tools for weak tie activism that the world has ever seen. In essence, online communication is allowing animal advocates to lay their metaphorical dynamite at speeds impossible just a decade ago.”

I agree. I think social networking websites like Facebook and Twitter as well as other online communication forms like blogs and web forums are extremely powerful animal advocacy tools. Here are some reasons why I think this:

The web is the best library ever created. Years ago (when I was a teen) if you wanted to go vegan and didn’t know any other vegans you had to hunt down vegan cookbooks from obscure publishers or special order magazines. Now, anyone curious about vegan nutrition, vegan recipes, or factory farming can learn about it in just a few keystrokes.
Young people are online more than ever and they are the ones whose beliefs and behaviors have the most potential to change the world. We can leaflet on college campuses in person (and that’s absolutely an excellent thing to do) but we can reach those same college students and even high school students through online advocacy.
The barriers to online advocacy are few. Setting up a vegan website can be purely a matter of time and knowledge without any financial cost or physical tools. Using social networking websites is even easier. Heck, I maintain this vegan website while my baby crawls around at my feet. There are few other animal advocacy methods I could be seriously involved in while caring for a small child. The web makes it possible for millions of people who are trapped at home or in offices to get active for animals on a regular basis. With so few people interested in actually standing up for animals’ rights and doing something, the easier it becomes, the more people will get involved. And the more people involved, the more quickly the movement grows.
The web makes some forms of advocacy more effective. Online, people have to choose to pay attention to us in order for our messages to have any power. Offline we can force the issue a bit more. A large banner on the sidewalk is hard to ignore. Megaphones are hard to ignore. But avoiding clicking on a link from Facebook, that’s easy. This sounds like it means online advocacy is less effective, but in some situations this is actually a positive thing. It helps filter out the uncaring, heartless people who think animal suffering doesn’t matter and creates a safe space where compassionate people can grow an learn from each other. Vegan websites and messageboards that are intended to provide support for vegans can counteract much of the anti-vegan sentiment newbies encounter offline, helping these new vegans stay vegan.

What do you think? Do you think online animal advocacy is important because it builds the foundation for radical change or do you think spending advocacy time on the web is mostly a waste of time?

Bold Native Trailer

Eccentric Vegan — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 01:16:24 +0000

The official description of the film:

Bold Native is a fiction feature film. Charlie Cranehill, an animal liberator wanted by the United States government for domestic terrorism, emerges from the underground to coordinate a nationwide action as his estranged CEO father tries to find him before the FBI does. The film simultaneously follows a young woman who works for an animal welfare organization fighting within the system to establish more humane treatment of farmed animals. From abolitionists to welfarists, Bold Native takes on the issue of modern animal use and exploitation from several angles within the context of a road movie adventure story.

The filmmakers’ background in documentary informed the creative approach to Bold Native. Self-financed and shot with a four person team in real-world locations, sometimes using real activists, lawyers, and formerly imprisoned animal liberators, the film weaves an intricate tale of one of the most important issues facing America and the world morally and ecologically – the impact and consequences of industrialized animal use. And with a character who faces prosecution and potential lifetime imprisonment under the recently passed Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (AETA) for property crimes currently considered terrorism, the film also illuminates the danger of corporate interests influencing the law in a post-9/11 world.

Learn more at boldnative.com

Do More. Or Support The People Who Do More.

Eccentric Vegan — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 04:52:44 +0000

There aren’t exactly a ton of vegan capitalists, but they do exist. Along with these rare folks, any nonvegan capitalist should be angry about this government bail-out of dairy farmers:

“the Dairy Economic Loss Assistance Payment Program [is] a $290 million effort aimed at helping the nation’s dairy farmers get through hard times. Earlier this year, the average Wisconsin dairy farm was losing about $100 per cow each month – $4 million a day for the state’s dairy industry – as farm-milk prices plummeted.” (source)

Either it’s a free market or it isn’t. Either we can vote with our dollars or we can’t.

It appears that we can’t.

And just to connect the dots here, it’s not just self-identified capitalists who should take note: Anyone who promotes the idea that conscientious consumption is enough to change the world must acknowledge that declining demand for immoral products won’t result in any change if governments step in and rescue immoral businesses.

Said another way,”The world is vegan. If you want it.” campaign is terribly fllawed.

Conscientious consumption/ boycotts/ personal veganism is one of many tools in our toolbox. But alone, it won’t change the world. At best, to think it will is naive. At worst, it’s delusional and distracting.

Go vegan, stay vegan, encourage others to go vegan. Do it because it’s the right thing to do, not because you have some delusion of your importance and you think your habits will change the world. Just do the right thing! Do it now!

But don’t think being vegan is enough to change the world. Do more. Or support the people who do more.

And… for those who condemn conscientious consumption campaigns completely, merely because they’re too myopic, consider the campaigns you promote and how narrow their focuses are as well. If you say “by any means necessary” you can’t also reject effective methods like culinary activism. “Creative nonviolent vegan education” won’t do everything, but it is more than “viral vapidity.”

Do you hear yourselves, Prof. Francione and Dr. Best?

Lawsuit Claims Morgan County Demands On Protesters Unconstitutional

Guest — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 14:14:48 +0000

A lawsuit was filed on October 29, 2009 in Federal District Court on behalf of the animal rights organization Salt Lake Animal Advocacy Movement (SLAAM) and two of its members, Colleen Hatfield and Jeremy Beckham. The lawsuit was filed through counsel Brian Barnard and alleges that Morgan County enacted laws and regulations that infringe on the constitutional rights of members of SLAAM.

SLAAM intends to hold a protest on November 28, 2009 in Morgan County outside fur farms. The county has enacted ordinances specifically intended to curb the rights of SLAAM to protest on November 28. SLAAM has established a website at FurFreeUtah.com outlining plans for the protest. The full complaints against Morgan County and UDOT can also be found on the website.

“Free speech is quickly becoming fee speech,” said Colleen Hatfield, SLAAM director. “First UDOT wants a $1,000,000 liability insurance policy and now Morgan County wants us to pay for their police officers’ time. If we were to let these policy decisions stand, only the rich would have the right to get their message heard in America.” Morgan County Chief Deputy Kevin Edwards indicated to SLAAM that the charge would be $40 per hour per officer. In addition, the lawsuit alleges that Morgan County may not constitutionally prohibit protesters from picketing within 1,000 feet of a fur farm, even if a residence is found on the farm.

With fifteen operating fur farms, Morgan County has more fur farms than any other county in the U.S. Fur farms have long been the target of animal rights organizations due to their controversial animal husbandry practices and killing methods. Animals on fur farms are killed by anal electrocution or suffocation to keep the coat intact. Last year, members of the underground Animal Liberation Front (ALF) released thousands of mink from fur farms in Kaysville and South Jordan.

“SLAAM wants to shed light on the unspeakable and unnecessary animal suffering that is typical on American mink farms,” said Jeremy Beckham, SLAAM member. “The mink farmers want to keep their cruelty hidden from public view – we intend to shed light on it this November 28th.”

Fight Smarter, Not Harder

Eccentric Vegan — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:13:05 +0000

From an interview between Mark Hawthorne and Peter Young:

Hawthorne: So do you think there is any place in the movement for protesting and other types of campaigns?

Young: I’m more fluid in my position on tactics than could be assumed. This is a result-oriented movement, and ultimately we must stand behind that which brings results. I am for protesting when it works, and am against it when it merely provides us the illusion of changes. Being “active” is worse than nothing when it gives us the illusion of being effective. And when protesting works, as has been the case with certain weak-link targets like foie gras restaurants, then it is absolutely to be celebrated as a tactic. Such is the case with distributing Why Vegan pamphlets: approximately 2% of people who read the pamphlet change their diet. When we are distributing millions of Why Vegan leaflets, this is huge. I will say for every protest-victory, I assess the time-costs and inevitably consider we could have avoided months of protest and hundreds of people-hours with one well-calculated act of economic sabotage. We have selective vision in regards to our victories. The last and largest foie gras restaurant in Salt Lake City, which had been protested for months, stopped selling foie gras after anonymous individuals shut down their gas main during a busy Saturday night, and later took out several large glass windows. That was all it took. We should fight smarter, not harder.

Read the rest of the interview here >>
Read more from Peter Young here >>

Why Women Should Care About Animals

Eccentric Vegan — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 06:37:08 +0000

Animal Rights and Women’s Rights go hand in hand. Here, I’ll explain. And I’ll do it in bullet points:

Eating animals kills women:
- Heart disease is the number one killer of women in the United States (source). Most heart disease is prevented or reversed through a healthy vegetarian or vegan diet. (source 1, 2, 3, 4)
- Over half a million women are expected to die of cancer in 2009. Nearly half of all women will be diagnosed with cancer at some point in their lives (source). Cancer is strongly linked to the consumption of meat and dairy (source 1, 2)
Animal cruelty hurts women:
- Women at women’s shelters regularly report that their abusers threaten, hurt or kill the animals in their family. Abusers will often use animals or children as pawns to control women. (source 1, 2, 3).
-Slaughterhouses produce violence: “for men who have to crack the heads of animals all day seem to get into the habit, and to practice on their friends, and even on their families, ” (source). Counties with slaughterhouses have higher rates of violent crime than similar counties without slaughterhouses (source).
Females (of any species) are often primarily valued for their reproductive capacity:
- Egg laying hens’ bodies are so severely over-worked that after only one year of egg laying, they are often too weak to produce more eggs and are sent off to slaughter (source).
- With genetic manipulation, forced impregnation, hormones and more, modern dairy cows often produce ten times more milk than they would produce naturally. As a result, the cows’ bodies are under constant stress. (source)
Kindness to animals rehabilitates women:
- Homeless dogs in Pups on Parole get a second chance at a happy, healthy life through a women’s prison program that let’s the women prisoners train the dogs. “Not only are the inmates rehabilitating the dogs, but the dogs are rehabilitating the women who work with them. The resident dog handlers have gained a new sense of confidence in themselves and learned a valuable new skill.” (source)

This is just a short list. Give me more time and I’ll write a book on this topic.

But til then, check out these books: The Sexual Politics of Meat by Carol Adams or The Feminist Care Tradition in Animal Ethics by Josephine Donovan and Carol Adams. And check out this flier excerpt from Feminists For Animal Rights:

Animal Advocacy is a Feminist Issue

In patriarchal society women and animals are….
raped, beaten, hated, enslaved as pets, exploited as wives, sold for money, used for entertainment, cheap labor, sex experiments…

In patriarchal society women and animals are considered…
inferior, “cute,” childish, uncontrollable, emotional, impulsive, instinctive, irrational, evil, property, objects…

In patriarchal society women and animals are referred to as…
chicks, bitches, pussies, foxes, dogs, cows, beavers, birds, bunnies, kittens sows, lambs, shrews, geese, fillies, bats, crows, heifers, vixens…

Every year in the United States alone…
Billions of animals are enslaved, tortured and murdered in “animal agriculture,” vivisection laboratories, the entertainment industry, by hunters and fishers, in traps and on fur farms, and by other modes of human exploitation

These issues don’t get the attention they deserve from feminists. It’s time to recognize the link between speciesism and sexism. And it’s time to act.

—

(Marc’s post comes to me via Vegan Primate via Stephanie at Change)

Anti-Vivisection Ad: Mascara Needle

Eccentric Vegan — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 04:06:06 +0000

The text says:

“Every year 6 million animals are killed from cosmetic testing. Please boycott animal-tested products.”

More ads like this >>

From Animal Liberation.

Anti-Vivisection Ad: Compact Claw Trap

Eccentric Vegan — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 04:02:27 +0000

The text says:

“Every year 6 million animals are killed from cosmetic testing. Please boycott animal-tested products.”

More ads like this >>

From Animal Liberation.

A Basic Vegan Glossary – 20 Terms

Eccentric Vegan — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 18:56:41 +0000

Vegan - person who seeks to exclude the use of animals for food, clothing, or any other purpose. This is basically the definition provided by those who coined the word “vegan”, the Vegan Society. Veganism is not just a dietary choice, it is a lifestyle, because vegans exclude all animal uses (as much as they possibly can). Many vegans do not believe animals should be property and for them, veganism represents a pro-animal philosophy. Veganism is the praxis of philosophies that regard animals’ interests as ethically relevant. The word “vegan” has been misused by some people who choose a plant-based diet for purely heath or other reasons.* Though veganism has health, environmental, and social benefits, veganism is about excluding animal products and would not permit healthy or environmentally-friendly animal uses.
Vegetarian, Ethical Vegetarian - a vegetarian is simply someone who eats a plant-based diet. However, an ethical vegetarian is a person who excludes the killing of animals for food, clothing, or any other purpose. Ethical vegetarians do not believe animals should suffer and oppose the killing of animals, not the use of animals. They may have additional reasons for their vegetarianism, but if they have no concern for animals, ethical vegetarian is not the best word to describe their lifestyle.*
Veg*n – the inclusive term referring to both vegans and vegetarians. For example, it may be used to describe a group of combined people or it may be used to describe someone transitioning from vegetarianism to veganism or someone who is 80% vegan.
Pescatarian, Beegan, Flexitarian - these are some of the many terms given to people who do not fully subscribe to the vegan or vegetarian philosophy and who practice some modification thereof. Pescatarians eat fish, but not land animals or flying animals. Beegans eat honey but no other animal products. Flexitarians eat as vegans when it is convenient or socially acceptable. None of these lifestyles are vegan lifestyles and they are not rightly associated with veganism. All of these terms are mostly diet-descriptive terms and may not reflect a total philosophy.
Speciesism - “is analogous to racism and sexism, represents: a] The prevalent ideology and bias that prevents equal consideration for nonhuman interests — despite our shared sentience. b] Exclusion from membership within moral community based upon the morally irrelevant criterion of species. c] Discriminatory practices and behaviors that stem from the preceding points.” writes Nathan at Vegan Abolitionist.
Animal rights – the notion that animals deserve to pursue their own interests. The concept that animals’ interests matter and that humans do not have the right to impose their will upon animals. Animal rights is about incorporating animals into our ethical philosophy and respecting their desires to live, to be free, and to pursue their natural desires.
Animal liberation - the movement of humans to respect the interests of animals. It tends to include all forms of animal activism: liberation from suffering or “inhumane” treatment to actual, physical liberation from property status.
Abolition - ending all animal use and exploitation. The abolitionist mantra is animals are not property. This is the goal of many vegans, to abolish the property status of animals. “a] Termination of all breeding and domestication, while care is provided for every nonhuman already bred or captured (that cannot be reintroduced or returned) — until age related deaths occur. b] Cessation of all direct relations between humans and nonhumans. c] The non-interventionist, relatively peaceful future implied by the preceding points.” wrote Nathan at Vegan Abolitionist.
Welfarism - The movement to reduce or abolish animal suffering, but not use and exploitation. That is, welfarists are concerned with how humans treat animals. Welfarism is often at odds with abolition, though not always.
Incrementalism - slow change. In the abolition movement, examples of incrementalism are abolishing foie gras, veal, seal hunting, dogfighting, and other specific animal uses. In the welfarist movement, examples of incrementalism are abolishing veal crates, battery cages, and other specific animal treatments.
Revolution - big change. The building blocks of revolution is seed planting. People who want to see a revolutionary change in our use and treatment of animals will plant seeds of change in other people and spread the revolutionary philosophy. For vegans, this means spreading the philosophy of veganism. This means inspiring others to become vegan so that one day there will be enough vegans to create a real revolution.
Humane - a word used by the welfarist movement in order to reduce animal suffering. The word has since been co-opted by anti-animal organizations to describe less cruel methods of slaughter, caging, hunting, etc. and thus the word “humane” has nearly no meaning any longer and is more of a marketing term than anything else.
Happy meat - describes the meat produced by so-called humane meat producers. The term is deliberately an oxymoron, for meat cannot be happy, it is dead. The term “happy meat” reflects the less obvious oxymoron that is “humane meat.”
Cruelty-free – Originally used to reflect an intention to avoid animal use, the term has merit in describing some products not tested on animals, but the term should be read with caution because it’s been co-opted by animal-exploitative industries. For example, in the US, the term “cruelty-free” has no legal definition and can be applied to any product without penalty. Read more here.
Utilitarianism - an ethical philosophy aimed at maximizing pleasure and minimizing pain. This is the type animal liberation envisioned by Peter Singer. It is welfarism, in that it allows animal use, but it is not the usual welfarism, in that it regards human and animal interests equally. Utilitarianism, by definition, is not a rights-based philosophy for either humans or animals, and thus should not be described as “animal rights.”
Open rescue – peaceful animal liberation. These are nonviolent acts of civil disobedience. An act of open rescue is to treat animals as if they deserve to pursue their own interests and then to accept the legal consequences of that behavior. For example, some one who rescues dogs from a puppymill without the permission of the legal owner or the legal authorities. An open rescue often takes place in daylight, without masks, someone films the rescue, and the rescue is often broadcast on the web or elsewhere. The person responsible for the rescue freely admits what they have done and will accept the legal consequences because they believe it was the right thing to do and the law is wrong, not the rescuer. You can read more about open rescue at openrescue.org.
Direct action – the encompassing term for almost all forms of activism, including everything from strikes, boycotts, sit-ins, and street theater, to violent warfare. Direct action is all activism for social change that doesn’t rely on voting or representatives. Direct action is all violent and nonviolent civil disobedience. Friends of Animals says, “Veganism is direct action” and they are right. Animal Liberation Front often performs direct action of other sorts.
Animal rights activist – someone who acts on behalf of the interests of animals, usually from an abolitionist perspective, though the media is often confused about the differences between abolition and welfarism and may call acts of animal welfare “animal rights.”
Animal advocate – the inclusive term referring to all people who act on behalf of animals, from those people who advocate for better treatment of animals (animal welfare) to those people who advocate cessation of animal use and property status (abolition/ animal rights).
Companion animal – the preferred term for “pet” when the person responsible for the animal’s care is someone dedicated to animal liberation. This term reflects the intended meaning that animals treated as pets are a part of the family and are not the property of humans. Thus, one may not allow their companion animal to engage in activities like dogfighting, nor may they kill their companion animal for food.

*Some people may use the terms “vegan” or “vegetarian” to describe a lifestyle that is not related to animal use, but that still happens to exclude the use of animals for food. This is veganism as a diet, only, not as a lifestyle. I prefer to call this lifestyle choice plant-based or veganesque rather than vegan, (but they’d, obviously, disagree).

Notice: this post have been edited multiple times.