Me and my bad hair with Ingrid Newkirk, President of PETA

Like most vegans, I was a vegetarian before I made the leap into veganism.  At that time, one of my favorite animal rights group was PETA and I would plaster my social networking profiles with PETA promos.  I have met Ms. Newkirk, and admire her ability to speak so passionately from the heart on animal welfare issues- even though our philosophies/beliefs are not the same.

Since making the evolution to veganism, I’ve since lost my devotion to the group due to their stance on animal welfare. See, PETA advocates for the more humane treatment of farmed animals and it’s this policy that I disagree with (among a host of others).  It may seem strange to think that a vegan would be against advocating for the more humane treatment of farmed animals and, realistically speaking, I’m not.  But more humane treatment means that the animal is still going to die.  I advocate for no animal use – and it’s this unapologetic (consistent) stance that PETA’s President, Ingrid Newkirk, has an issue with. In a recent Times article she has this to say:

The goal for many activists is simply to get more people to eat less meat. “Absolute purists should be living in a cave,” says Ingrid Newkirk, president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). “Anybody who witnesses the suffering of animals and has a glimmer of hope of reducing that suffering can’t take the position that it’s all or nothing. We have to be pragmatic. Screw the principle.”

Something that a lot of people fail to realize is that when you are talking about veganism, you are talking about life and death.  If, as a vegan, you say to someone, “Please eat less meat,” then you are essentially saying that less is good enough.  And that just isn’t true.  Using less animals is still using animals.  Eating dairy and not “red meat” is still consuming animals.  Being a vegetarian that wears leather shoes or carries a stylish leather bag is still consuming animals.  Doing those things less isn’t going to solve the problem.  In fact, it will make the problem worse.

What? How can people consuming less animals make the problem worse you ask? Well, no matter how many times a week you consume a steak the cow still died.  So even if you only have steak once a month, the animal was still slaughtered.  The idea that consuming less provides people with “good feelings” that they are doing something to help solve the problem.  So they will never really move beyond eating less animals.

Only with a consistent vegan message (and a United Vegan Movement – not Candy-Coated Veganism) will true change happen.

Some good stuff coming out of PETA’s Vice President for Policy, Bruce Friedrich.  His piece in the Huffington Post highlights the plight of chickens, due to the recent egg recalls in the U.S.

Friedrich points out that the chicken and her plight is gaining media attention she hasn’t seen before.  The public has become more aware now of how the chicken is mistreated in the human quest for cheap food.  Friedrich takes this opportunity to tell us some things we might not know about this marvelous being.

Chickens are ‘social, intelligent creatures complete with Machiavellian tendencies to adjust what they say according to who is listening.’

Chickens ‘can anticipate the future and demonstrate self-control, something previously attributed only to humans and other primates.’

Chickens know that something they can’t see still exists- something that is ‘beyond the capacity of small children.’

Despite these scientific facts (Friedrich’s article is cited with sources), he discovered that most people tend to put the chicken, as well as cows, pigs, and other “farmed” animals, in a different moral category than, say, a dog or cat.

After all, these animals are made of flesh, blood, and bone–just like dogs and cats. They experience the exact same five physiological senses (i.e., they see, hear, smell, taste, and feel). And they feel pain — just like dogs, cats, and we do.

Recently, while taking part in the “why vegan” conservation, I was asked quite earnestly, “Then why are they (animals) here (if not to eat them)?”  Obviously, this question is based on the assumption that all things on Earth must be here for some reason that we, as humans, can fathom or take advantage of.  I think it’s difficult for some to comprehend the answer, “they are here for themselves.”  They certainly aren’t here for enslavement in CAFOs so that we can get a dollar sandwich at Chick-fil-A.

It’s 2010.  Humans have no need, nor moral right, to eat the eggs of other animals.  Wise up people.

Jane's furry pals

I heart Jane Lynch. I just do. Oh, I could tell you about how she’s been nominated for a Golden Globe, or how she actually won the Screen Actors Guild Award. I could mention how she plays Sue Sylvester on the hit show, Glee.  I could even tell you how damn funny she is- because she is, she so, so is.

But I won’t go on about Jane’s other accomplishments, today I’ll just say that Jane has done something that no other celebrity has managed to do yet- create a PETA video that I can actually get behind 100%.  Now, before ya’ll start to stone me- I’m not saying that every other celebrity video is shit.  I’m just saying I couldn’t agree with them 100%.  Moving on…

Jane uses her wit to tackle a very serious issue- animal overpopulation.  She had this to say:

[T]here’s 8 to 10 million dogs that are put into shelters every year and only about half of them are adopted out, so the other half are euthanized.  And you know, it’s a terrible thing to come into this world only to be, you know, taken out prematurely, so we can control this population by spay and neutering our own pets.

And you know what? She’s right.

via peta.org

PETA is at it again.  When the group heard that US troops in Afghanistan wished for some chocolate to munch on, they created ‘Bin Laden Bites’ – a dairy-free confection perfect for the occasion.  Each 2″ X 2 1/2″ dark chocolate square is stamped with an image of Osama Bin Laden.

“These delicious vegan-chocolate ‘bin Laden Bites’ give a whole new meaning to the saying, ‘Revenge is sweet,’” says PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk. “Our troops deserve a chuckle, and PETA’s vegan chocolates will give them that as well.”

A shipment of the confectionery sweets was sent to Camp Atterbury in Indiana, where the Army reservists from Chattanooga-based 212th Transportation Company are about to ship out to Afghanistan.

If you would like to take a bite out of Bin Laden yourself, don’t fret.  The “Bin Laden Bites” are available for purchase and cost $15.00 for a box of 5.  All proceeds benefit the organization’s SNIP (Spay and Neuter Immediately, Please!) mobile clinic, which provides free and low-cost companion-animal sterilizations and other vital veterinary services to residents of low-income areas.

For real change- be nice to chickens, pigs, cows, ducks, turkeys, horses, dogs, and the other animals on this Earth.  Eat Cruelty-Free!

Please, before you send me a slamming email about PETA, I know- okay?  Thanks.