Rights Aren’t Meant To Be Voted On – Rachel Maddow

text of quote: But here’s the thing about rights – they’re not actually supposed to be voted on. That’s why they’re called rights. ~Rachel Maddow

I Am Vegan – there is power in a word

So, you have decided you want to be an Animal Rights Activist… then say it loud, say it proud, shout it from the mountain tops — I Am Vegan.

Assuming that you are Vegan, saying “I am Vegan” is a powerful statement.

I Am Vegan, it is more than what you do, its more than how you see yourself, it is you saying you want to stand with every other vegan out there with a shared desired for justice for animals in this world.

It is more than a label – it is a statement of who “I AM”.

Whether you meet any other vegans, it doesn’t matter, you are someone who identifies with what a vegan is. And when you say I Am Vegan, other vegans will know exactly what you mean:

The word “veganism” denotes a philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude — as far as is possible and practical — all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose; and by extension, promotes the development and use of animal-free alternatives for the benefit of humans, animals and the environment. In dietary terms it denotes the practice of dispensing with all products derived wholly or partly from animals. - Elsie Shrigley and Donald Watson (1944)

For a more indepth unpacking of what this definition mean to me, see Vegan.

Deep within human mythology and history, naming something gives a person power over that which is named. In the Abrahamic religion, in fairy tales, in popular culture (the power of the name in The Usual Suspects, for example; or The Doctor in Doctor Who: “I named her. The power of a name. That’s old magic“).

In choosing to label – or name – yourself a Vegan, you are taking the power contained within that concept and bringing it into your own life.

This can be especially important at a time when Animal Rights Activists are being cowered with anti-terrorist laws, such as the draconian AETA in the United States.

AETA (Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act) makes virtually every form of protest against animal cruelty a terrorist act – Including the advocating of veganism (diet and lifestyle) and taking photos on a farm and taking animals across state lines for the purpose of avoid vivisection.

The criminalising of compassion, the use informants and collaborators, wire taps, email hacks, sock puppets, and the hyper-surveillance by vegans against other vegans creates a culture of fear. This can leave some people reluctant to say what they really think.

Vegans might begin talking about being “strict vegetarian”, “plant based diets”, “compassionate / green lifestyle” – or just avoid the word completely, after all, we don’t want to scare the meat eaters.

Are You Afraid of the Word “Vegan”? some are, and it’s time more people opened the door to the “vegan closet” they’ve been hiding in, and dare to step out into the light.

Maybe, then less people might hide in there, finding comfort in the dark, with all the others too reluctant to acknowledge the “way of being that dare not speak its name”.

Being Vegan is not scary, or weird, or dangerous or “extreme and not sustainable” but when vegans don’t use the word, it gives the impression that there is something wrong with people who are vegan.

And when we stop using the right words, what is left? Neutral, bland, average, non controversial, inaccurate, tergiversate (evasions or ambiguities) words, spoken by people unwilling to act for fear of making a mistake.

If vegans are too unwilling and reluctant to describe themselves as Vegan, then how will they ever find the courage to act on animals behalf.

It’s time to scream it from the roof tops, I Am Vegan, it doesn’t mean you are a terrorist, it means you are a compassionate human being.

By reclaiming the word “Vegan”, we can unite as vegans with a common goal – the elimination of the use of all animals – we can begin to undo some of erroneous assumptions created when people such as “Veggie Girl” start to divide vegans into militant=bad and non militant=good. By dividing vegans this way, she is in effect saying there are some that are not like her, when they stand up against milk and humane meat they are being “militant” and not all vegans are like that. That is “those” vegans over these, “those” militant ones, when that is exactly what Vegan is.

Splitting off vegans into groups according the vegans we like and those we don’t reduces the power of the word. Vegan is what it is, why are we trying to redefine it.

When certain celebrities continue to eat dairy and eggs and call themselves “vegan” and no one stands up, we are losing the power of the word vegan.

Think of how many times you have heard about fish-eating vegetarians, or bacon-eating vegetarians, or chicken-eating vegetarians. If vegetarians eat fish, bacon and chicken then the word has lost all its meaning.

Are we going to allow VEGAN to get devalued the same way, by people who says that a cheese eating vegan is about “being flexible that way makes more people comfortable“?

The word vegan cannot be taken-over and watered-down by cheese-eating, fur-wearing celebrities, or criminalised by governments trying to win elections by whipping up fear by deliberating confusing animal rights with terrorism.

We must protect the meaning of the word Vegan, so that when someone says “I am Vegan” there is no confusion. No longer hiding our belief in concepts of justice, animal rights, animal liberation or veganism opens it up to others to ask us questions.

Being vegan is a journey not a destination.

Living a vegan life is a step towards the reduction and suffering of animals.

Speaking for myself, I cannot separate vegan from animal rights, for me, being vegan means support AR (Animal Rights), and supporting AR means being vegan. I try, but I cannot see how someone can call themselves an “animal rights activist” unless they are a vegan.

If you fight for animal rights, you fight for the rights of all animals, there are no exceptions for those you think taste good or those who aren’t cute. A concept I explore in more depth here: If you start a debate with “I fight for animal rights, but I’m no vegan” don’t expect applause

(While I think someone can be vegan without fighting for animal rights, I don’t think it is possible to call yourself an animal rights activist if you consume the products of animals bodies, particular dairy, eggs, honey which require the deaths of those animals to produce the “by”-products.)

I cannot separate animal rights and veganism.

To me it is simple, the most basic right is to not be killed and eaten by someone more powerful, exploited for any purpose.
As the Abolitionist Vegan Lee Hall says:
Veganism is Direct Action (Lee Hall’s Vegan Means)
Vegan Baking as Direct Action … (Lee Hall’s Friends of Animals)
Veganism as Direct Action (Abolitionist Online, where Lee Hall writes “Above all, the key change is diet, for it is absurd to discuss the rights of animals as we eat them. The vegetarian movement employs the most direct action of all”.)

I would disagree with Lee Hall here, only in as much as, the vegetarian movement inflicts intolerable cruelty on animals, especially those that are eaten, the dairy, egg and honey industries necessitate unspeakable cruelty and slavery, and to me, that is not RIGHTS.

And second, I would suggest going beyond Diet, and living a vegan life.

Other than those two minor quibbles, I would agree wholeheartedly with Hall, we can’t speak of animal rights while we eat or use them or the products of their bodies.
Make the move, go vegan, be vegan, be a proud vegan, and you are already involved in Direct Action.

From the I Am Vegan archives

Next post in this series: Civilian’s Guide To Direct Action

*Sock puppets: an online identity used for purposes of deception within an online community, either multiple identities for the one person or a governments use of false online personalities to spread US government “information” and security

---

Post 2011 ‘Vegan Animal Liberation Alliance’. Copying and distribution of this entire article, text and / or graphic, is permitted in any medium, but please include the credit:
Written by RedGlitter of VALA http://redglitterx.wordpress.com/
or at least a link to this page, that would be nice

9 of Your Vegan / Animal Rights Questions Get Answered

Because I believe “there are no stupid questions, it’s those who don’t ask that remain stupid”.

So, what is it that people ask me – not of vegans in general, I’m sure other vegans get asked different questions.

• Which animal rights advocates to follow on twitter?

Depends what kind of animal rights you are into – if you are abolitionist, they generally have “abolitionist” in their bio. If you are Liberationist maybe look for specific people. Search for the hashtag #vegan or #AnimalRights and you will find people you want to follow.

People who have forums, blogs, nings or facebuck sometimes include their twitter @name, if you find a blog you like, look for that.

• But, isn’t animal testing necessary for beauty products?

Beauty products that test on animals are not beautiful.

It is NOT necessary. Why they test is because they are using combinations of chemicals that might cause death, disfigurement, and long lasting health side-effects. These chemicals enter the blood stream and nobody knows what effect they will have on the body. Do we even know that BSE (mad cow disease) can’t be spread via cosmetics?

Now, isn’t it better to use healthy ingredients in the first place than take the risk with these dangerous products that “only” kill 50% of the lab rats they test on.

As this piece here Animal Testing: Pass or Fail explores, reasons for testing aren’t always about consumer health.

• Abolitionists talk about Non-violence being the only way to end animal cruelty, but doesn’t Noam Chomsky say that non-violence cannot work?

I’m generally reluctant to mention Nazis but Noam Chomksy said it first:

Non-violent resistance activities cannot succeed against an enemy that is able freely to use violence. That’s pretty obvious. You can’t have non-violent resistance against the Nazis in a concentration camp, to take an extreme case…
The Real History of Capitalism

• What are some veggie symbols?

I don’t know what “Veggie” means. Seriously, I don’t.
Does it mean Vegan or does it mean Vegetarian? Is it meant to be a combination of both?
Does it mean “vegetable”? I’m in Australia, we spell it “vegie”.
This Ⓥ is a symbol some vegans use on social network sites.

• Is Carrot cake Vegan?

It should be, yes.
But people will always find a way to shove animal products into any food. However, it does contain oil instead of eggs, and is not low fat, but is vegan.
This recipe contains fruits and vegetable, and is very easy to make, and non-vegans will love it, I mean, if they like carrot cake:

LINK >> Animal Liberation Carrot Cake – vegan recipe

• Does Angelina Jolie eat?

Maybe that was “WHAT does Jolie eat?”
I’m going to guess not a lot of vegetables, she thinks eating a vegan diet (“strict vegetarian”, because she continues to wear animal products) nearly killed her. She says “I joke that a big juicy steak is my beauty secret. But seriously, I love red meat.”

• Camille Marino / Steve Best

Wow, there is a lot of interest in these two. And often people are interested in CamilleMarinoAndSteveBest, as if it is one word, almost like they have morphed into one person with one brain. But no, they appear to be two separate people.

Best and Marino are USAmerican animal rights advocates. Best is from The Institute for Critical Animal Studies and has his own personal blog and together they are Negotiation Is Over.

Their use of a match as their symbol is problematic for me, since matches are an animal product, but no more problematic than PeTA using naked women and leather-wearing celebrities.

Do you need to follow their every word in order to be a good little MDA (Militant Direct Action) activist?
That’s a personal choice. Some people say NO.

• who is the woman in Moby’s “disco lies” video?

Shayna Steele, who also provided the female vocals. This is the video in which the chicken gets revenge on a KFC-inspired Colonel.

• Benjamin Zephaniah

Who is Benjamin Zephaniah, and where can I find a copy of his poem “Vegan Delight“?
Zephaniah is a British poet who has written and spoken about veganism. Some of his work is featured in this post on him Vegan Delight, Benjamin Zephaniah (plus vegan onion bhajji recipe).

Vegan Delight (and not Onion Delight) – is a poem that answers the question “What do vegans eat?”. When omnivores say that all vegans eat is tofu and broccoli, this poem would set them straight. With the exception of “omelettes” – I don’t know why that is listed in the poem.

VEGAN DELIGHT
Ackeess, chapatties, Dumplins an nan, Channa an rotis, Onion uttapam,
Masala dosa, Green callaloo, Bhel an samosa, Corn an aloo.
Yam an cassava, Pepperpot stew, Rotlo an guava, Rice an tofu,
Puri, paratha, Sesame casserole, Brown eggless pasta, An brown bread rolls.

Soya milked muesli, Soya bean curd, Soya sweet sweeties, Soya’s de word,
Soya bean margarine, Soya bean sauce, What can mek medicine?
Soya of course.

Soya meks yoghurt, Soya ice-cream, Or soya sorbet, Soya reigns supreme,
Soya sticks liquoriced, Soya salads, Try any soya dish
Soya is bad.

Plantain an tabouli, Cornmeal pudding, Onion bhajee, With plenty cumin,
Breadfruit an coconuts, Molasses tea, Dairy free omelettes, Very chilli.
Ginger bread, nut roast, Sorell, paw paw, Cocoa an rye toast, I tek dem on tour,
Drinking cool maubi, Meks me feel sweet,

What was dat question now?
WHAT DO WE EAT?

If you have any more questions, feel free to ask.

Vegan bite size pieces, for feeding Vegan trolls

drink milk as often as you can

When vegans talk about Not Exploiting Animals! the necrovores (“death eaters”) of the world start screaming PETA PROPAGANDA! Vegan Propaganda! TOFU propaganda! Communist Propaganda!

But what happens when schools start telling people “drink milk as often as you can”? And that message is brought directly to the students via a Dairy Lobby Group and a Government Department.
How can this be anything but propaganda for AA (Animal Agriculture)?

One woman (at The Tasty Vegan | A hotbed of veganic activity in British Columbia and beyond.) takes a look at this disturbing issue of dairy-indoctrination

LINK > More Dubious Advice on School Foods by Dairy Industry

And if anyone still has doubts about the evilness of Dairy – a Land O Lakes subsidiary has poured millions of dollars into Monsanto, “that shady agro-giant, that food-world Voldemort” (Elizabeth Farrelly), owning the world – one gene at a time.

Got milk? Got mutant genes!

And in other milk news, a store in London started selling human breast milk ice cream full story here: (“London cooing over breast milk ice-cream”) – and the social networks were buzzing – URGH! was the common reaction.

But all milk comes from breasts – cow breasts, sheep breasts, goat breasts, yak breasts. Urgh!

Milk from some animals is more acceptable than milk from others.

Video of the week

Ask Your Doctor About Meat™
A brilliant, humorous look at propaganda of meat eating coming from “experts” who know nothing about nutrition (doctors receive very little training in nutrition).
“Meat… It’s dead and it’s made from animals”

Vegany Sweet Goodness

This recipe for Vegan chocolate bars inspired by Mars® Bars
because – not only are Mars® Bars filled with cruelty ingredients, but Mars tests on animals .
A Mars France spokesperson has “admitted that the business division Symbioscience does test on animals while developing “pharmaceutical and therapeutic food ingredients”, including flavanols.”

Image via Wikipedia

Vegan Mars Bars from Veganarchy Foods
*nuttelex in the recipe is vegan margarine

Be kind to cows… and be kind to your body. Vegan junk food!

So, if you’ve been missing out on that nougat-chocolate treat since going vegan, click on the link > VEGAN MARS BARS http://moralcuisine.tumblr.com/post/3515109080/these-were-something-ive-want-to-try” and enjoy the cooking!

 

 

 

 

Blog post that says so much

The Vegan Swagg blog is up and running: First post: “An Open Letter from a Militant Vegan” a look at animal rights / veganism and social networking.

What I do love about this, it completely tears down the false “I’m one of you” vegan platitudes of a pseudo vegan and …

the best part is I don’t have to deal with the negative feedback from the trolls who seem to think militant vegans are the enemy (yes ALF, I’m looking at you).

This is an issue I looked at here The New Enemy: The Militant Vegan (say what?), so another perspective on any issue is always good.

tweet of the week

@VeganMudblood: Sexism, transphobia, homophobia, racism, classism, sizeism, ageism, etc., have NO place in the #animalrights movement. #vegan

… all I can add to that is, cruelty, torture, exploitation, abuse, slavery and murder have no place in animal rights either.

TROLL of the week

@sarrabee
For sickening, disgusting, hate speech against women and transgender people.

This is a person who rants at, trolls and spams other users, especially those who she/he does not follow – is all about arguing and not about social networking.

He/She is a person who seems to think feminism is all about hating on women, progressives, vegans, non whites, and transgender.

And to me, that is NOT feminism.

For example – @sarrabee
“I’m not actually responding to that person at all. I’m simply reposting his/her tweets. It’s important.” Thursday, 24 February 2011 12:53:23 PM

which was either aimed at me, or a woman called Cindy.

Why the faux gender unknown act?

Which may not seem like anything until followers realise, (and this is what I find amusingly ironic) this same person, he/she was calling out progressives for labeling Ann Coulter a “he/she”. And this @sarrabee person thought that was transphobic. And yet, turns around and uses transphobic terms as an insult against others.

If you don’t know someone’s gender, and it is important to you, as it seems to be for this @sarrabee transgender hater person, then use someone’s name. Or, gender neutral “them”, “their”, “they”, which is becoming increasingly acceptable to use for singular other.

Although, I’m not sure why someone’s gender should be important to anyone other than that persons loved ones and doctor.

In the above tweet, she/he could have said “I’m reposting THEIR tweets” – but his/her insistence on use a gender descriptor for the person he/she was reposting, seems to me that she/he (@sarrabee) cares a lot about gender and calling out progressives and doesn’t really care about transgender people at all.

This person comes across as a twitter troll – follow at your own risk.

from the Feeding Trolls archives

completely selfish fkn moron of the week

from the Im a selfish, self centre, heartless loser files

This comment (You can be both an animal rights activist and an omnivore. Some people don’t have the need to eat meat but some do.) was found at the Facebook group Fight For Animal Rights.

Let’s go over this one more time for the braindead idiots – one of the most basic rights any living thing has, is LIFE. When you eat meat, or consume any animal product, you are depriving that being of LIFE.

Eating animals is not ANIMAL RIGHTS.

You absolutely CANNOT be an animal rights activist who consumes the corpses of animals.

But thanks Shanghai GoGo Discotheque for playing. And losing.

And showing the whole how selfish and greedy you are.

Dr Steve Best “borrows” BBC homage to British Suffragettes

Dr Steve Best, animal activist, associate professor at a Texas University and one of the leading voices in militant activism in the United States, a man who I think has been good for animal rights in his fight for “total liberation”.

However, Dr Best recently blogged this fascinating piece about the British Suffragettes

Note to pacifists: the UK suffragettes used sabotage, arson, and CD to win their campaign, attributed “Filed under: Uncategorized by drstevebest”. (*CD= civil disobedience)

Screen shot

Click image for full size

This blog piece explores the history of the fight for women’s vote (suffrage). It shines a light on some of the leading figures in the women’s Suffrage movement, and some of their tactics – arson, violence, sabotage and civil disobedience.

It starts with “The votes-for-women movement exploded in popularity the UK in 1903 – hence this year’s centenary celebrations – but the story of the campaign begins before the reign of Queen Victoria.” (source: Steven Best’s blog article – Note to pacifists: the UK suffragettes used sabotage, arson, and CD to win their campaign)

This is what made this piece stand out, something in the phrasing didn’t sound right. The maths didn’t add up.

We are long past the centenary.

So let’s try that again
“The votes-for-women movement exploded in popularity the UK in 1903 – hence this year’s centenary celebrations – but the story of the campaign begins before the reign of Queen Victoria.” (Source: The history of the suffragettes By Dominic Casciani BBC News Online http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/3153388.stm dated : Thursday, 2 October 2003, 16:07 GMT 17:07 UK

A quick string search found the BBC article, dated 2003, written by Dominic Casciani. I can find neither the name Casciani or BBC or a link to the original article in the Best blog article.

The a screen shot of end of the Best page is found here: graphic of the end of the article, to show that there is no attribution at the end of the blog piece either.

The original BBC piece was written in 2003, to coincide with the centenary of the “votes-for-women” movement, and uses the word “centenary”, which is what the year 2003 would have been.

Although it is possible that the BBC borrowed their piece from Dr Best and back-dated their website, I’m not sure that it happened that way

Even the images used to illustrate these pieces are the same.

This 2011 version of this article has been reproduced here: Negotiation is Over , using the title of the Best blog post, rather than the original title on the original 2003 web post.

It seems strange to me, that so many in the militant divide of the animal rights infighting, point the finger at the “Cult Of Francione”, yet fail to notice their own enthrallment with Steven Best, to the point that anything he says is taken and reproduced as if it was sacred words – without even checking if someone else had written them first.

A simple reading of the text of the blog piece should alert any reader that phrasing is odd. It is 2011, it seems strange year to be celebrating the centenary of 1903 event, not even the British would take that long to organise a celebration.

I am not out to cause trouble for anyone, lest of all a university professor. However, I have been a university student, and If I had have handed in a paper that was as similar to something else, as these two articles are, I would be given an automatic fail.

I am also sure if someone went through my blog they would possibly find instances of graphics and pictures that haven’t been attributed correctly (though wordpress has a function that allows you to insert public domain graphics, which makes this easier). I try hard to list sources, and if I cannot find a picture I like, I will create my own.

I am probably going to end up alienating every animal rights activist and vegan who I have ever respected in posting this piece, but surely the leaders of the animal rights movement should be held to higher standards than a teenage undergrad. I am probably going to lose every shred of credibility I have ever had as a blogger on animal rights.

I imagine I will get hate mail, saying why must I be mean to Dr Best. I hope not, I don’t think it should be sacrilege to point out the similarity between the two articles.

I sincerely hope that followers of Steve Best can respect my reasons for pointing this out. I did not enjoy writing this, I even put out a request of other animal activists, if they could double check for me, and see if what I read was accurate.

I will happily remove this post, if I am asked to
(Edited to add, I will happily remove this post, IF I AM WRONG and am asked to).

Tasha and her “meatgasms” – Vegan-No-More

Annoying the vegan abolitionists and the direct action vegans since March 2009.

Over-hyped Saga of the week:
Tasha (the blogger formerly known as “Voracious Vegan”) and her “meatgasms”

When Sally Met Harry: I'll Have What She's Having

After last weeks 15 minute outrage regarding Alicia Silverstone Is She / Isn’t She Vegan (see post: what do you call a cheese-eating vegan?… a celebrity) comes this little blog post that had the twitterverse a-tweeting.

Vegan No More

The former “Voracious Vegan” is now just “Voracious” (which according to Webster’s dictionary, is a synonym for “greedy, rapacious”.

After 3/1/2 years on a vegan diet, Tasha eats meat and is “moaning with pleasure and joy” (hence the title of my post).

The only appropriate response to this publicity fuelled confession, from Tasha, is ignore it until it goes away. But the online vegan community is small, we like to laugh at the ridiculousness.

My first bite of meat after 3.5 years of veganism was both the hardest and easiest thing I’ve ever done. Tears ran down my face as saliva pooled in my mouth. The world receded to a blank nothingness and I just ate, and ate, and ate. I cried in grief and anger, while moaning with pleasure and joy.

She eats one steak, and instantly her health is miraculously returned (quote: I had only eaten a small piece of cow flesh, and yet I felt totally full, but light and refreshed all at once) Hallelujah! Praise Jesus! Praise Buddha! Praise Allah! Praise Deity Of Your Choice…. Let’s get real

Oh my, tears are running down my face right now, from laughing so hard. I am almost literally rolling on the floor laughing. People in the cafe I am writing this from are looking at me, I haven’t laughed like this for a long time. Is this Tasha woman serious?

What kind of nutritional deficiencies are cured in an instant? Does this sound accurate to anyone?

Here is another, less funny, extract:

I delicately broached the topic of my ill-health with several vegan friends. I even made comments on other blogs and on twitter highlighting my struggles. The response was nothing short of shocking. In the span of just a few days I received an outpouring of emails from fellow ‘vegan’ bloggers, who told me in confidence that they weren’t really vegan ‘behind the scenes’. They ate eggs, or the occasional fish, or piece of meat, all to keep themselves healthy, but were too scared to admit to it on their blogs. I even received emails from two very prominent and well respected members of the vegan AR community. One a published and much loved vegan cook book author, the other a noted animal rights blogger, their emails detailed their health struggles and eventual unpublicized return to eating meat.
Vegan No More

She makes a few delicate comments and true celebrities vegans are pouring their inner most secrets out in an email? Does this sound logical to anyone?

People who make their living based on their vegan reputation would risk it all by confessing in an email to someone who is now clearly anti vegan (her quote: “I can no longer think it is wrong to eat animals” shows where her beliefs are).

And if this is true (IF!) name them. Go on, name names. Do not go around making baseless accusations, by throwing around these allegations, everyone is under suspicion.

Maybe that is what she wants. It’s a cheap shot, and I prefer to not believe her.

I do not want to go around suspecting everyone I read to be a pseudo-vegan. That is a Stalinist tactic that does nothing to foster cohesion and a sense of community, in what is otherwise a fragmented and fractious group.

Tasha has now giving up veganism, whatever that meant to her (it sounds like it was purely about diet), and has turned into a “feminist”…….. (Oh feminists – may the goddesses have mercy on your souls that this woman is speaking for you, how long before she decides she is really a patriarch and move on to the next cause de jour)

But on this, the abolitionists, the liberationists and the unaligned, all agree – hahaha, (hint: Tasha, we are laughing at you, not with you).

Vegan No More is great for a laugh, so is the responses, the blog posts, the gossip, the comments. I haven’t seen the vegan community so united in, well – ever!

The whole thing is a gift to the vegan community online, for once we could put aside our petty differences over which we fight so viciously, and get a great laugh at this nonsense, this completely laughably ludicrous self-serving, rambling, incoherent piece of anti-vegan propaganda.

And, while there are so many other things I would say, but I won’t, because I’m not a mean person. Instead, I’ll leave the talking to others. All these articles are well-worth following the links, and reading the original articles, and comments:

* From the dietitian
Do Ex-Vegans’ Stories Make the Case Against Vegan Diets? by Ginny Messina
“…….. In her more than 7,000 word post, she’s rather vague about these details, as is Lierre Keith in her book. I do know that a lot of vegans think they are eating healthfully when they really aren’t. And I believe that a lot of vegans get sick and return to eating meat when all they needed was more sound information about vegan diets and less misinformation from the pseudo-scientific anti-vegan world ………”

* Satire perspective
Omnivore: Fail by Vegan Feminist Agitator
“…….. The path from which I began straying from omnivorism was painful, difficult, heart-wrenching even. People might try to tell me that I did something wrong, that I just didn’t try hard enough, but they are mistaken: I tried with all my being to live as an omnivore……”

* the activist
A worthy reply to “Vegan No More”
“……….. I see incredible potential and use for websites, blogs, chats, forums as sources of information, connection points for activists, and means of fast communication. But when things degenerate into repetitive arguments, shit-slinging, defamation and egotistic posturing … well, time to turn off, both figuratively and literally. So that’s all the time I’m giving to this odd internet chapter which will be known as “Vegan No More” (after the ex-vegan’s blog post of the same title)……….”

* the fair and balanced response
A vegan controversy
“……….. My problem stems from her reasoning. My problem stems from her complete reversal to proselytizing that vegans are the ones who are wrong. … My problem stems from her rejection of science in favor of finding a new moral high horse to ride. She no longer believes veganism isn’t right for her or the planet, so you shouldn’t either………”

* the vegan community weighs in
Your Daily Vegan: Vegan Defenders talk back
“…………..Oh, that vegan defector? Defector- is she implying that veganism is as horrible as life in North Korea? The movement she was once such a zealous member of was really just the same as living in a communist dictatorship? She’s a fraud. She’s a once-self-described vegangelist. What cause will she attach herself to next? Apparently the meat-eating cause. ……………”

[Side bar: Tasha claims to have received "death threats", my response to that is
honey, if you are receiving death threats, that is an issue for the FBI, or since you are living in an artificial oasis in the Saudi Arabian desert (which probably has a much bigger impact on the environment than a few grains, which you complain extensively about), try interpol. If you seriously believe vegans want to kill you, blogging about it doesn't really convey that seriousness.]

Feedback welcome.

PETA, objectifying women… again

From the PeTA degrade Women archives

Is it surprising to anyone that PeTA comes out with more of the same. Images that degrade, objectify and otherwise stereotype women.

The use of women’s bodies, such as this ad, which got banned from Superbowl, and resulted in an avalanche of publicity without the million-dollar pricetag for airing a commercial during Superbowl.

Or, the use of women’s bodies, in the picture at the top of this post… how exactly will that save any animals.

In both cases PeTA are promoting a VEGETARIAN diet. Maybe someone should force them to watch their own videos of dairy cows and egg-laying chickens…

Sidebar: have PeTA ever done any ‘anti-honey, save the bees’ exposé videos?

As an anti-censorship feminist, I don’t always understand the criticisms levelled against PeTA, for their use of women. PeTA is not a feminist group, they are not NOW (National Organization of Women) so they do not have feminist goals as their main objective. Their objective is animal… welfare? liberation? (I’m not sure what their objective is, other than promote PeTa).

I think that activists that use a diversity of tactics, a range from non-violent education to direct action may stand a better chance of ending the exploitation and enslavement of women, than those who narrow their arsenal down to an extremely limited range of tactics.

However, PeTA aren’t about Animal Rights, if they were, then it might be easier to overlook their exploitation of women, by justifying it, as – “if it saves an animal”.

PeTA, though, are not promoting Animal Rights, Animal Liberation or the end of animal slavery in any way at all.

Could someone tell me what all this “Go Vegetarian” nonsense is??

Among their many anti-animal-rights activists, they don’t even advocate people “Go Vegan”

I’ve written about PeTA before:
Celebrity Vegans And Vegetarians: their use of fur-wearing celebrities in their campaigns, 9.6 million dead animals… business as usual: PeTA (and other brand-name welfare groups) euthanising healthy but unwanted animals, and, PETA, you are not the voice of Animal Rights (so stop talking): a deeper look at the hypocrisy and failings of PeTA…
and it continues to astound even the most casual of animal activists, how PeTA continue to get away with their stunts.

And yet, the more moral outrage PeTA cause, the more publicity they attract, at the expense of real animal rights organisations and people. Leaving the general public to think that PeTA are representative of “Animal Rights Activists”. And leaving feminists to fight the exploitation of women.

Would it be acceptable to promote feminism – career success and a fulfilled life, by using the image of a fur-clad woman, stepping out of her luxury car with leather seats? No. So why is the degradation of women an acceptable tactic to promote animal welfare?

I have said it before, and I’m sure I will say it again… “PETA, you are not the voice of Animal Rights (so stop talking)”

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Articles copyright 2010 ‘Vegan Animal Liberation Alliance’. Verbatim copying and distribution of this entire article is permitted in any medium without royalty provided this notice is preserved.
Written by RedGlitter of VALA http://redglitterx.wordpress.com/

Feedback welcome.

A Militant, Radical and Powerful movement

These following two videos, are compliments of each other. The first one from Naomi Klein, talks about the reasons why we need to create a movement, the new radical left. While the second video, is from an insider’s point of view, Will Potter, an activist who knows very well the impact of the increasingly totalitarian laws designed to crush dissent but also thoughts of dissent.

“We have to build that independent left. It has to be so strong and so radical and so militant and so powerful that it becomes irresistible.”
Naomi Klein

Naomi Klein: Building a Real Left
- Watch more like this: here.

Will Potter of GreenIsTheNewRed talks how eco-campaigners are the new terrorists

Will Potter in this video says, “Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act … Non-violent civil disobedience as terrorism if it’s done by animal rights activists”

For a more in-depth look at Will Potter and the connection with AETA : Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act: Ever Heard of It?

Is there a connection between these two things?

Those in power, on all sides of the political spectrum, from the left to the right, it doesn’t matter – the poor, the marginalised, the working class, don’t all see a difference when they feel ignored, and life is getting harder, regardless of who is in charge.

Now, those in power are busy propping up the Wall Street and the banks and financial institutions that caused the GFC (Global Financial Crisis). The bail outs, have let the Masters Of The Universe off the hook, enabling them to keep doing more of the same, pillaging and plundering workers, environment, and consumers, without skipping a beat.

Recent legal efforts – from Arizona’s new racial profiling laws against Mexicans, to the expelling of Roma from France, and the manufactured outrage against a Muslim community centre in New York and the terrorist boat-people in Australia, the crack down on protesters and passers-by in Toronto during the G20 – these are all diverting attention from who is benefiting from this world wide financial crisis by blaming the poorest of the poor, activists who are trying to save lives, and the most marginalised.

Who will stop to ask why business leaders are making millions when it is so easy for fear-mongering shock jocks to the point the finger at Muslims, Hispanics, boat people, Roma, terror-babies, and say “they are the cause of your problems.

Although, it is hardly surprising that those who created global financial meltdown, are now holding their collective hands out, expecting tax payer bailouts, with cries of “we are too big to fail” yet, at the same time, claim they are uniquely qualified to solve this crisis, (yes, the crisis that they created).

But like the magicians sleight of hand trick, your eye follows where the finger points, and you don’t notice what the magicians other hand is doing.

When compassion is criminalised, when vandalism becomes terrorism, when babies are “terror-babies”, reality has been turned on it head.

Activists learn the lesson, step out of line and get punished, severely. This is new and improved McCarthy-era communist hunts, this is the modern age Witch-Hunt.

And like the witch-hunts of old, there were no real witches, in this case, there are no terrorists among the eco-warrirors and animal rights activists. It is all an illusion.

It is time to ask who benefiting?

Who gains an advantage when people who fight to save the lives of enslaved animals, the planet and poor are branded terrorist…..

The capitalist crisis & how to fight it… it must be emphatically stated that the struggle for socialism and to abolish capitalism requires the building of a revolutionary working-class party, steeped in the theory of Marxism and imbued with its revolutionary spirit.

Feedback welcome.

The Myth Of Humane Meat

The Myth of Humane Meat
A video I created, not just uploaded to YT.

Former vegans and vegetarians use the concept of humane meat and welfare standards to continue to consume animals. The word animal by-product to describe milk and eggs is shown to also contribute to cruelty and exploitation. Features extreme graphic images of how animals become food. People who eat meat are entitled to know who their food used to be.

Taking one food as an example – the classic burger, this clip shows that for animals, it is not humane.

Music: Knocking On Heaven’s Door – Cold Chisel

VALA’s The Myth Of Humane Meat
Follow my videos on vodpod

Liberation, Peace and Justice

Liberation, Peace, and Social Justice

This is a video clip I made (not just uploaded), against a background of John Lennon’s “Give Peace A Chance”, with quotes, clips, images from the past century. Ranging from women fighting for the vote, to the Gaza freedom flotilla of 2010. Focusing on civil rights and liberation movements, including John F Kennedy, Nelson Mandela, Gloria Steinem, Pearl Bailey and Bishop Desmond Tutu.

Social justice is something people must stand up for. The lessons through history are that people who stand up for their rights and the rights of others get them.

Northern Ireland, feminism, Palestine, Black Panthers, Nelson Mandela, Tienanmen Square, Suffragettes, Australian Aboriginal sovereignty, socialism, peace, justice, fighting hunger, Cesar Chavez, a montage of images and quotes to inspire Liberation of people and animals…

Tags: #46664, Aboriginal, Animal Liberation, Animal Rights, black power salute, burning monk, César Chávez, civil disobedience, civil rights, coffin, cupcakes, Desmond Tutu, Emmaline Pankhurst, famine, feminism, freedom fighter, Gaza, Gloria Steinem, Huey Newton, human rights, Iraq, Israel, It's Time, John Lennon, justice, liberation, Martin Luther King, Nelson Manela, Palestine, protest, revolution, sacrifice, socialist, soldiers, Sudan, Sydney, Tiananmen Square, toxic waste, vegan, Vietnam War, women's liberation