Gary L. Francione: Introduction to Animal Rights: Your Child or the Dog?
Carol J. Adams: The Sexual Politics of Meat: A Feminist-Vegetarian Critical Theory
Bob Torres: Making A Killing: The Political Economy of Animal Rights
Lee Hall: Capers in the Churchyard: Animal Rights Advocacy in the Age of Terror
Gary L. Francione: Rain Without Thunder: The Ideology of the Animal Rights Movement
Hey folks -
Sorry it's been so long since I've done a blog post. Summer in Minnesota is always packed with activities since you only get about 4 months of good weather. :)
Anyway, ARC was very involved in this year's gay pride parade in Minneapolis. Parade participants marched with "Go Faux" flags, a pack of beautiful dogs, and handed out suckers and stickers that said, "I fake it!" The stickers were a huge success. Here are some pics for your viewing enjoyment.
Here are just a few pics from this year's may day parade. Our flags said, "go green, go veg," and aside from the fact that we were way in the back of the parade, i'd say we were pretty successful in getting our message across. We had a number of dogs marching with us, all wearing "vegan dog" signs which, of course, made the biggest impact of all.
Thanks to all the volunteers for their help and committment to this event.
Peace.
ARC is looking for volunteers to march in this year's May Day Parade and Festival. The May Day Festival is put on every year by In the Heart of the Beast Puppet & Mask Theater in Powderhorn Park. It is one of the most unique and exciting events in Minneapolis! ARC's theme this year is, "Go Green. Go Veg!"
If you're not comfortable marching in the parade, then volunteer to work at ARC's informational booth, which will be set up in the park. May Day always brings a lively and interested crowd! It's a great place to get the veg message out!
This year's parade is on Sunday, May 3 at 1 p.m. Email ARC's Program Director, Dallas Rising or call her at 612 822-6161 if you'd like to help.
World Week for Animals in Laboratories
ARC Speaker Series: Undercover Investigator Michele Rokke
Sunday, April 19, 3:00 pm, ARC / Fast & Furless, 2615 E. Franklin Ave., Minneapolis
Michele Rokke began working as an undercover investigator for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals in 1994. Her first assignment was to investigate allegations of animal cruelty at a horse ranch in North Dakota. She worked undercover at numerous facilities, including the Boys Town National Research Hospital, various chicken farms, and, most notably, Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS), where she spent eight months investigating animal cruelty.
Michele will speak about her experience working as an undercover investigator and the day-to-day life of animals in laboratories. She has a unique perspective based on her first-hand experience working directly with animals in labs.
This event is free and open to the public, but space is limited so come early for seating.
Be sure to watch tonight's HBO documentary on factory farming.
Death on a Factory Farm
Premieres Monday, March 16 at 9pm
From the makers of HBO's 2006 documentary Dealing Dogs, this film takes a harrowing look at animal cruelty in an Ohio factory hog farm, as chronicled through undercover footage taken by "Pete," the same animal-rights investigator who appeared in the first film.
Kudos to HBO for being brave enough to expose this issue to a mass audience!
The Animal Rights Coalition (ARC) and Fast & Furless Vegan Boutique will host "Vegan Drinks" on Saturday, March 7, 2009, from 7-9 pm, at 2615 E. Franklin Ave., Minneapolis. Vegan Drinks is a monthly social networking event for people interested in veganism and animal rights. Tip back a cosmopolitan, munch on some grubbin' vegan snacks, and meet other like-minded people. This event is free and open to ages 21 and up.
Vegan Drinks groups have started up all around the world. With its beginnings in New York City, Vegan Drinks' mission is to bring together a diverse group of people—from cupcake aficionados, to animal lawyers, to vegans of all stripes in between—to build new coalitions and promote the sharing of resources. The premiere Vegan Drinks event in Minneapolis on March 7, 2009, will be catered by Rhymes with Vegan creator and host, Meagan Holtgrewe. (www.rhymeswithvegan.com)
If you have a vegan-friendly business, this is a great opportunity to talk it up. Share your interests, your favorite restaurant, your dream job helping animals, your blog, or whatever unique ideas you can bring to the table. All that is expected is an interest in animal rights, veganism, and the pursuit of a little fun on a Saturday night. Remember, bring business cards to share, a bit of tip money for the bartender, and your "A" game. ARC and Fast & Furless hope to have a new event each month.
Alternet has this great article out right now about the hypocrisy surrounding the "happy meat" movement. CLICK HERE to read in full. Like the author says... "it's still dead flesh!"
The Animal Rights Coalition is hosting a lecture by award-winning, independent journalist, Will Potter, titled: " The Green Scare: Using Terrorism Laws to Silence Political Activists." The lecture will be held on Thursday, February 12, 2009, at 7 p.m. at Cowles Auditorium, Humphrey Institute, Potter, based in Washington, D.C., is a leading authority on the erosion of civil liberties, post 9/11, and how terrorism laws are being exploited to push a political and corporate agenda. Specifically, Potter focuses on how animal and environmental advocates are being branded "eco-terrorists," in what many are calling "The Green Scare." Think red-baiting, with a green twist. "The entire animal rights and environmental movements, perhaps more than any other social movements, directly threaten corporate profits," Potter states on the website he created, GreenIsTheNewRed.com, where he blogs about the Green Scare and history repeating itself. "They do it every day. Every time activists encourage people to go vegan, every time they encourage people to stop driving, every time they encourage people to consume fewer resources and live simply. Those boycotts are permanent, and these industries know it. In many ways, the Green Scare, like the Red Scare, can be seen as a culture war, a war of values." Potter has written for publications including: The Chicago Tribune, The Dallas Morning News, Legal Affairs, The Chronicle of Higher Education, In These Times, The Texas Observer, The Washington City Paper, Z and Counterpunch. His work has been circulated widely on political websites, and has appeared in Opposing Viewpoints (Greenhaven Press, 2006), Punishing Protest (National Lawyer’s Guild, 2007), Censored ’08 (Seven Stories Press, 2007), and course materials for universities. His reporting on the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act has been recognized by Project Censored for outstanding investigative journalism,” as one of the top 25 “stories that didn’t make the news” in 2007. He has also received the Mark of Excellence award for feature writing, presented by the Society of Professional Journalists, in addition to recognition from Scripps Howard, Lantern Books, and the Press Club of Dallas.
Her eyes met mine as she walked down the corridor peering apprehensively into the kennels. I felt her need instantly and knew
I had to help her. I wagged my tail, not too exuberantly, so she wouldn't be afraid.
As she stopped at my kennel I blocked her view from a little accident I had in the back of my cage. I didn't want her to know that I hadn't been walked today. Sometimes the shelter keepers get too busy and I didn't want her to think poorly of them.
As she read my kennel card I hoped that she wouldn't feel sad about my past. I only have the future to look forward to and want to make a difference in someone's life.
She got down on her knees and made little kissy sounds at me. I shoved my shoulder and side of my head up against the bars to comfort her. Gentle fingertips caressed my neck; she was desperate for companionship.
A tear fell down her cheek and I raised my paw to assure her that all would be well. Soon my kennel door opened and her smile was so bright that I instantly jumped into her arms. I would promise to keep her safe. I would promise to always be by her side. I would promise to do everything I could to see that radiant smile and sparkle in her eyes. I was so fortunate that she came down my corridor. So many more are out there who haven't walked the corridors. So many more to be saved. At least I could save one.
I rescued a human today.
...Unknown
As a vegan, I get lots of questions about where I get my calcium and protien, which I feel well-equipped to answer. Lately, however, I've had several people ask me about vitamin b12. I felt stupid not really having a well educated response. So, I set out on the world wide web recently to see what I could find. The following is well-researched, very thorough info. (CLICK HERE to visit the site).
Vitamin B12 is needed for cell division and blood formation. Neither plants nor animals make vitamin B12. Bacteria are responsible for producing vitamin B12. Animals get their vitamin B12 from eating foods contaminated with vitamin B12 and then the animal becomes a source of vitamin B12. Plant foods do not contain vitamin B12 except when they are contaminated by microorganisms or have vitamin B12 added to them. Thus, vegans need to look to fortified foods or supplements to get vitamin B12 in their diet. Although recommendations for vitamin B12 are very small, a vitamin B12 deficiency is a very serious problem leading ultimately to anemia and irreversible nerve damage. Prudent vegans will include sources of vitamin B12 in their diets. Vitamin B12 is especially important in pregnancy and lactation and for infants and children.
A number of reliable vegan food sources for vitamin B12 are known. One brand of nutritional yeast, Red Star T-6635+, has been tested and shown to contain active vitamin B12. This brand of yeast is often labeled as Vegetarian Support Formula with or without T-6635+ in parentheses following this new name. It is a reliable source of vitamin B12. Nutritional yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, is a food yeast, grown on a molasses solution, which comes as yellow flakes or powder. It has a cheesy taste. Nutritional yeast is different from brewer’s yeast or torula yeast. those sensitive to other yeasts can often use it.
The RDA for adults for vitamin B12 is 2.4 micrograms daily. About 2 rounded teaspoons of large flake Vegetarian Support Formula (Red Star T-6635+) nutritional yeast provides the recommended amount of vitamin B12 for adult. A number of the recipes in this book contain nutritional yeast.
Another source of vitamin B12 is fortified cereal. For example, Nature’s Path Optimum Power cereal does contain vitamin B12 at this time and about a half cup of this cereal will provide 2.4 micrograms of vitamin B12. We recommend checking the label of your favorite cereal since manufacturers have been known to stop including vitamin B12.
Other sources of vitamin B12 are vitamin B12 fortified soy milk, vitamin B12 fortified meat analogues (food made from wheat gluten or soybeans to resemble meat, poultry, or fish), and vitamin B12 supplements. There are vitamin supplements that do not contain animal products.
Vegans who choose to use a vitamin B12 supplement, either as a single supplement or in a multivitamin should use supplements regularly. Even though a supplement may contain many times the recommended level of vitamin B12, when vitamin B12 intake is high, not as much appears to be absorbed. This means in order to meet your needs, you should take a daily vitamin B12 supplement of 5-10 micrograms or a weekly vitamin B12 supplement of 2000 micrograms.
We store between 2 and 5 micrograms of vitamin B12 and only excrete a very small fraction of this each day. Nevertheless, over time, vitamin B12 deficiency can develop if stores are not replenished with vitamin B12 from the diet or from supplements. Although bacteria in the large intestine of humans do produce vitamin B12, this vitamin B12 does not appear to be absorbed, is not adequate to prevent a vitamin B12 deficiency. Although some vegans may get vitamin B12 from inadequate hand washing, this is not a reliable vitamin B12 source.
Tempeh, miso, sea vegetables, and other plant foods are sometimes reported to contain vitamin B12. These products, however, are not reliable sources of the vitamin. The standard method for measuring vitamin B12 in foods measures both active and inactive forms of vitamin B12. The inactive form (also called analogues) actually interferes with normal vitamin B12 absorption and metabolism. When only active vitamin B12 is measured, plant foods including fermented soy foods and sea vegetables do not contain significant amounts of active vitamin B12.
Very small amounts of vitamin B12 have been found in plants grown in soil treated with manure. It is not clear whether this vitamin B12 is the active form or the inactive analogue. In any case, the amounts are so small that more than 23 cups of organically grown spinach would have to be eaten every day in order to meet the adult RDA for vitamin B12.
