You’ve probably caught this undercover footage of little calves being bludgeoned with pickaxes at E6 Cattle Co. that Mercy for Animals released last week. That is, if you haven’t been hiding under a nice, heavy rock, which I have, because I can’t bear to watch any more videos, please god, no more videos of little animals being kicked and burned, AHH!
If you did watch it, you’re in very good, anonymous company; after seeing the video, an MFA supporter is matching donations to the org up to $2,500 at Vegan Drinks this Thursday, April 28. Which is so great, because who doesn’t love MFA? I mean, really, is there anyone? Because I will find them, and peel their eyes open and force them to watch this video because it is what’s UP.
Oh, and disclaimer before I post the video: I found it super disturbing. To be totally up-front, actually, I could only stand about 25 seconds, so I’m posting it below, but BE WARNED, this will make you wonder why, why, why there isn’t a cow on her hind legs stabbing farmers with a pitchfork and yelling, YOU LIKE THAT, YOU SICK SON OF BITCH? THAT’S WHAT YOU DID TO MY BABY, and recording that, and posting it on YouTube to put the fear of death in all their twisted farmer friends.
But do watch. If nothing else, it’ll make you want to empty your wallet at Vegan Drinks, leaving yourself only enough moola to buy Matt Rice, MFA’s Director of Operations, and Eddie Garza, their New York Campaign Coordinator, a very tall beer.
It’s that time of year again — when it’s appropriate to laugh out loud to help rescued farm animals. For the fourth year in a row, the “funny farm” is back with another installment of Comedy for Karma benefitting the Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary (WFAS).
When: Tuesday, April 5, 2011. Doors at 7:30 pm. Show starts at 8 pm sharp. Where: Gotham Comedy Club, 208 West 23rd Street between 7th & 8th Avenues in Manhattan.
Tickets are $40 general admission in advance, $50 at the door and there are $75 VIP tickets available as well. You can order tickets online or by calling 845-679-5955.
The funds raised will go directly to the care of over 200 rescued farm animals at the sanctuary and the advocacy work of WFAS. Here’s a video from last year’s show in case you still need convincing that this is an event you don’t want to miss.
On a rainy evening last October, over 100 folks found warmth and cover at Loft 56 in Midtown Manhattan as we gathered to listen to Kathy Stevens, founder of Catskill Animal Sanctuary, discuss her latest book, Animal Camp: Lessons in Love and Hope from Rescued Farm Animals. Stevens shared a story called “The Audacity of Love,” about Rambo the sheep who is adored by both Hannah the sheep and Barbie the hen. The tale spoke of both cross-species love and jealousy and shows the complicated emotional lives of these rescued animals. (Check out SV’s Patrick Kwan’s short video montage of the event.)
Animal Camp is Stevens’s second book, following Where the Blind Horse Sings. It is perfect for anyone who has ever wondered what it’s like to run an animal sanctuary, and also a heartwarming and accessible introduction to the lives of farm animals.
The first part of Animal Camp focuses on three outcasts–a pig named Franklin, a cow named Tucker and horse named Hope–who had a difficult time adjusting to their new home at CAS and fitting in with others of their species. Stevens decides to set up a “summer camp” for these three at her partner David’s place in High Falls, NY. There, they would get individual attention and she could search for answers to her own questions:
“I wondered whether, and how, the weak ones from their respective herds would bond. Would a lonely horse and a picked-on pig become friends? Would they gain the confidence that they needed to fare better back at home, or would they cower once more as soon as they returned?”
What is the definition of a superhero? Here’s one: A superhero is someone who has unnatural, absolute life-or-death power over other beings and chooses to use that power for good, to correct injustice or stop cruelty.
I was inspired to think about this when I saw this charming restaurant review, “Celebrate World Vegan Day by becoming a Super Hero,” which explains that some people go vegan “because they want to save our endangered world as Superman does.” I love that notion.
Indeed. As the supremely dominant species, we humans have unnatural, absolute life-or-death power over all fellow creatures and the health of this planet. Like most superheroes, none of us asked for this dominance. Still, with this power comes great responsibility.
Every time you put food in your mouth, you are making a choice to either reduce suffering or create it. A superhero acknowledges his or her power and makes the moral choice to use it for good.
It’s really not hard and the lives saved are very real. We don’t have to fly around the earth multiple times or be in accidents with radioactive stuff or catch bullets with our bare hands. It’s easy: just think.
We vegans are saving the world one bite at a time. All we do is think before we eat, making us superheroes every single day.
Speaking of, I couldn’t help but notice that Pamela Anderson’s recent Peta ad–the one that was banned in Canada-–looks so darn similar to the cover of The Sexual Politics of Meat. I know the Canadians got hot and bothered about it (a Montreal official explained that the city’s decision was based on being pro-equality, not puritanical) but the image wasn’t all that shocking in my opinion–more a riff on the book cover. So I thought I’d check in with Carol and PETA and get their takes on the ad.
