Marin Vegetarian Education Group
January, 2017
Something I learned from Phillip Moffitt, author of Dancing With
Life, is the difference between goals and intentions. At the start
of the new year, I thought I'd share this with you.
Goals are about the future. They may or may not be achieved.
Intentions are about moment to moment experience and have countless
opportunities for success. You may forget to act on them, but every
new moment is a new opportunity to practice them. Meeting our
intentions is within our own control. Meeting our goals, usually
not so much. For example: My goal may be to stop the change in
zoning that would allow slaughter houses in Marin. And my intention
is to meet each interaction in that campaign with dignity and
kindness. So when I work toward that goal, whether writing,
speaking or listening, I bring my intention to every moment, using
dignity and kindness as best as I am able. This way, whether or not
I achieve my goal (and I certainly hope I do), I am comfortable
knowing that at least I met my intentions, as best as I was able,
along the way.
Especially in challenging times, I find it helpful to set intentions
every day and to stay focused on what is in my control.
I wish you every good blessing in 2017!
Vegan Race Car
A Well Fed World (one of my favorite not for profits) has teamed
up with vegan, professional race car driver Leilani Muter to raise
funds to decorate and advertise Leilani's car as a pro-vegan
message. This will be the first vegan themed race car in Daytona or
anywhere. The go-vegan message will reach millions of race car
fans, on and off the track. To learn more and to contribute, go to https://veganpowered.org/
Global Tribal Cinema and Holistic Nonviolence
To initiate and sustain positive change, the good people at
Tribe of Heart have launched a new, multi-lingual, commercial-free,
free, on line program called Global Tribal Cinema. Now, for the
first time, the films made by Tribe of Heart, including Peaceable
Kingdom: The Journey Home, The Witness, and many shorter films are
available for free, in many languages, on line. The work of Tribe
of Heart is based on the belief that "one person's change of heart
can change the world." By sharing their films, along with essays,
access to resources, and a new approach to justice advocacy called
Holistic Nonviolence, Tribe of Heart hopes to build a strong
community and a widespread understanding of the common roots of all
forms of oppression. This worthy endeavor deserves our support. To
learn more about this new endeavor, to watch a film, or to make a
contribution, visit http://www.tribeofheart.org/hb/pkannounce.htm
Miyoko's Butter at Trader Joe's
This thrilled me: Miyoko's butter is now available at Trader Joe's
up and down the west coast. And it's only $4.99, much less than at
Whole Foods or the Good Earth. Thanks to the many readers who shared
this terrific news. Congratulations to Miyoko on her growing market
and ongoing, well deserved success! Read more about the butter and
Miyoko's Kitchen's move to Petaluma here: http://vegnews.com/articles/page.do?pageId=8800&catId=1
Beyond Meat Burger Now at Veggie Grill
Veggie Grill announced that it now offers the VG Beyond Burger
from Beyond Meat. I have not yet tried it, and not sure I will,
given how much like animal flesh it is supposed to taste. Still,
it's a wonderful addition to the vegan menu for people who say, "I
can never give up burgers" when they are asked to go veg.
Slaughter House Update
We continue to oppose the zoning change that would lift a ban on
slaughter houses in Marin. There will be a strategy planning
meeting at 5 PM on Friday, January 6 at Veggie Grill. If you want to
know what meetings are coming up, please send an email to Bee and
ask her to add you to her mailing list (I will be out of town for
most of January.) Write to Bee at: bee@healingisgiving.com
Also, you can look at and share the Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/CitizensAgainstMarinSlaughter/
Recall of Some Cuisinart Food Processor Blades
If you have a Cuisinart food processor, check your S blade. If
there are rivets in it, the blade may need to be replaced for safety
reasons. Go to this web site to see which model numbers (found on
the bottom of the machine) are being recalled. There are photos
here as well to help you know if your blade is at risk. https://recall.cuisinart.com/#poster_anchor
Mathew Scully in the National Review
In December the author of the 2002 book Dominion, Mathew Scully
wrote an intelligent, piercing article about the human relationship
to animals raised for food. He is optimistic about the demise of
animal based food, and points out at least three other well known
people, including Pope Francis, who are calling for a reassessment
of the way we treat animals. This is a very long article, but well
worth reading. Near the end of the article Scully writes, When an industry inflicts boundless abuse on
animals, weighing ever more on the conscience of men and women
everywhere, adversely affecting human health, and, moreover,
when it s a blight on the natural environment, it s not
implausible to imagine that industry s eventual extinction.
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/443161/animal-welfare-standards-animal-cruelty-abolition-morality-factory-farming-animal-use-industries
Vegetarian and Vegan Diets are Safe
This won't be news to many of us, but it's still good to see it
affirmed by experts. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
published a paper in December that again declares vegetarian and
vegan diets safe at all stages of life. Thanks to all the readers
who sent me links to various versions of this story.
https://consumer.healthday.com/vitamins-and-nutrition-information-27/food-and-nutrition-news-316/vegetarian-diets-called-good-for-people-and-the-planet-717307.html
Veterinarians
The East Bay
Times recently published an article (misguided, in my view) about how
veterinarians will help to feed the world. "The world s
population will increase by 2.6 billion by 2050. Feeding these
billions of new mouths will require a 70 percent boost in food
production including 200 million tons of meat." In
response to it, Elliot Katz, a veterinarian
who founded In Defense of Animals, and Karen Davis, founder of
United Poultry Concerns, both painted a more realistic picture. Here
is the original article, followed by their responses.
http://www.eastbaytimes.com/2016/12/27/commentary-to-feed-the-world-look-to-veterinarians-for-the-answers/
From Elliot Katz:
Dear Friends,
I am sure you are aware of this but let me send this any
way. The veterinary profession and associations were developed
long ago to primarily benefit the Ag and vivisection industries.
They are there to help these industries be as profitable as
possible, and to help placate the public against their obvious
cruelties. When a veterinarian who is employed by them dares
criticize their work and cruelty, he will be given a warning and
then fired if he continues to speak out on behalf of the
animals. Veterinarians are forced to become "pimps" of
the animal exploitation industries. Have you ever heard of a
veterinarian/s who works for the AG, vivisection, circus, rodeo
and zoo industries speak out about the hideous cruelties
documented by all of you. They are first and foremost apologists
for the animal exploitation industries. I first experienced this
when I attended veterinary school and witnessed the horrors they
perpetrated on unwanted companion animals.
Companion Animal veterinarians are for the most part humane
and compassionate individuals towards their patients. But they
too will rarely speak out and condemn animal exploitation and
the senseless killing of innocent animals.
I and our fellow animals owe you all a great debt of
gratitude, which I often have neglected to express. Since Eric
was kind enough to link us all together, allow me to express my
gratitude to you all by sending you a thank you note I recently
sent out to my FB friends.
"To my FB friends, and to all compassionate, caring and loving
people everywhere, guardians, rescuers, adopters educators,
advocates and vegans, etc. In spite of the massive work and
heartaches that we must deal with and overcome on an almost daily
basis, allow me to wish you, your families, your loved ones
and organizations a Very, Very Merry Christmas. I Thank you for
never giving up in your/our efforts on behalf of our fellow beings
who need our voices, energy and protection so very, very much. You
truly represent the very best of humanity, never ever forget
that." Elliot M. Katz, DVM, Founder, President Emeritus In
Defense of Animals; Coordinator IDA's Guardian Initiative.
And this from Karen Davis:
Dear Elliot,
Thank you for your eloquent words about the
veterinary profession and for reminding us of the true origin
and allegiances of the profession. When on behalf of United
Poultry Concerns I spent 15 years from 1991-2005 seeking to
expose and eliminate the starvation practice known as forced
molting by the US egg industry, even after several prominent
poultry researchers, the FDA and USDA publicly supported our
campaign (primarily because we promoted the fact that forced
molting by food deprivation is a major source of Salmonella
contamination of eggs) even after McDonald s paid lip service
to not serving eggs from suppliers of force molted hens the
AVMA refused to issue a policy statement revising their support
for humanely inducing a fast by removing all the food from
the hens for as long as 14 straight days. They even absurdly and
unscientifically compared forced molting by starvation with a
hen brooding her eggs on a nest.
The arm of the AVMA that deals with birds,
American Association of Avian Pathologists (AAAP), would not
budge, and only when a group of animal advocacy organizations
banded together financially to run a full-page ad in The New
York Times exposing the AVMA s complicity in cruelty to
chickens and cows only then did the AAAP revise its policy
statement on force-molting to oppose total food and water
deprivation. Likewise, the AVMA refused to support legislation
to include birds under the federal Humane Methods of Slaughter
Act. I will say without hesitation that the AAAP is a fascist
group of horrible people, mainly hard, brutal men. The AAAP
conducts every type of cruel research on birds. An example of
their attitude and character is one of their top poultry
welfare members, Gregg Cutler, who told the owners of
battery-caged hen egg ranch in San Diego in 2003 that throwing
unwanted full-grown hens into wood chippers was humane.
( Quick and painless. )
In previous years I attended some AVMA
conferences and one that sticks in my mind was a forum on Bird
Welfare where it was brought out how the stress of confinement
in parrots causes stress lesions to form in their abdomens and
other sad and sickening things. So when an attendee, a female
college student, stood up and asked the panel, so why then do
you support the wild-caught pet bird industry, the
veterinarian s reply was, Everyone deserves a little piece of
the rain forest.
As Elliot says, there are caring and
compassionate companion animal veterinarians. The entry of more
women into the profession has made a difference in tone and
attitude. Our veterinarian here on the rural Eastern Shore of
Virginia is wonderful with our sanctuary chickens, but I can t
imagine her getting involved in any ethical issues. She and her
husband who is also a veterinarian support and participate in
the rounding up, each spring, of the Chincoteague (VA) ponies,
an event that involves tearing the nursing young away from their
mothers and selling them. People on the Eastern Shore think this
annual pony round-up spectacle is something to celebrate.
All this being said, I wish everyone a very
happy and productive New Year.
Karen Davis, President
United Poultry Concerns
http://www.upc-online.org
Choose compassion. Choose vegan.
Events in January
As always, check these web sites for places to go and people to
see:
http://www.bayareaveg.org/events.htm
http://www.meetup.com/marin-vegan/
www.socoveg.org/
www. SFVS.org.
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