Livin’ Veg

Who or That for Animals? January 7, 2009

I’ve been thinking about grammar lately and the difference between who and that. For example, this first sentence is correct: “I’m the kind of girl who thinks animals are not food.” Vs. “I’m the kind of girl that thinks animals are not food.” When referring to a person, who is the correct word to use.

Where am I going with this? Well, according to all the places I checked, animals are considered thats, keeping company with inanimate objects.

Here is one description I found:

“That” can refer to animals, things, and people and should be used when the clause is restrictive. As mentioned before, “that” can be used to refer to human beings but is not the preference of most writers and editor.

They say about who:

“Who” (as well as its inflections “whose” and “whom”) can only be used to refer to people or entities equated with people (like deities and occasionally pets). It should never be used when referring to things or animals.

In my writing I naturally bought into this, because it’s what I learned. But in the last few months I’ve been doing my best to shift my mindset into using the word “who” for all animals - not just animals that are important to people. Why is this important? I believe that each animal is an individual/sentient being, and not to be confused with an inanimate object. If my cat Cthulhu is a who, then so is the squirrel hanging out on the tree outside my window. So a sentence would read like this: “The squirrel who won’t stop eating my birdseed, is just trying to keep his body fat so he doesn’t starve this winter.” Grammatically, that sentence is incorrect. But that’s how I’m doing it from now on. A small rebellion of grammar attempting to show that animals are individuals. After all, humans are animals too.

Veggie New Years Resolutions? December 31, 2008

Want to be kinder to the environment, be healthier and help decrease suffering in the world? For your New Years resolution this year, try a vegetarian or vegan diet. You’ll help limit your carbon footprint, save the lives of animals and likely lose weight and reduce your risk of health problems like heart disease. And all that from eating a plant based diet instead of meat.

Don’t think you can do it? Well, you don’t have to change your entire diet over night. Try being veg 2 days a week for a month, then 3 days for another month and increase your veg days by 1 each month until you find that you really don’t eat mean anymore.

Lots of people are becoming vegetarians and vegans. The options in supermarkets and restaurants are better than ever, and the baking…yes the baking is absolutely delicious…

Click here to get COK’s fabulous veg starter guide…

Be safe and happy tonight….and remember, think veg for your resolution:)

Take Action Right Now December 18, 2008

110,000 miles of wilderness in Utah is under threat from President Bush. He wants to auction it off to oil and gas companies.

Take action right now and tell the Pres. that his actions are not in the best interest of this country.

Here is a bit of text from Robert Redford’s opinion on it from the Huffington Post:

This morning I stood with my friends at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and Rep. Brian Baird (D-WA) to announce an emergency lawsuit aimed at stopping this wanton destruction of Utah wilderness. Sharon Buccino, the head of NRDC’s lands program, has been fighting the Bush administration for eight years, holding the line against an industrial juggernaut. She says it’s illegal under federal law for the Bureau of Land Management to just snap its fingers and sell off national treasures. In its rush, BLM just ignored the rules.

Let’s all do what we can to stop Bush from screwing the environment (and the wildlife who lives there) even more in his last few weeks in office. Soon…a brand new day will be here. One in which we can hopefully stop thinking of the goverment as an institution out to screw everyone.

A Compassionate Secretary of Agriculture December 12, 2008

One of the most important positions in the U.S. government is the Secretary of Agriculture. It’s going to effect our food system, the treatment of farm animals, our environment, and our health. The problem is - people in this position usually care more about the factory farmers than they do the people who the factory farmers are screwing with factory farmed animals. In fact our government encourages factory farming and a broken system by subsidizing with our money. And they end up screwing small family farms.

Check out this opinion piece in the NY Times to learn more…

Who can fix it? Well the President Elect can and one of the first clues to indicate his seriousness on the issue will be who he nominates for the Secretary of Agriculture position.

Through Farm Sanctuary you can do this:

Please urge President Elect Obama to appoint a Secretary of Agriculture who will bring needed change to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and our broken food system. Tell the Obama Administration your vision of a government where the treatment of farm animals matters.

Good News and Bad News November 25, 2008

Let’s start with the good. A pod of pilot whales who beached themselves have joined up with a larger group deeper in the ocean and are doing well. A total of 64 whales beached themselves. The really terrible news is that 52 of them died over night despite rescue attempts. They overheated. But the rest of the whales made it and are looking good. Often times there is a fear that whales will get disoriented again and go to shore. But the survivors of this ordeal are out in the deeper ocean showing that rescue attempts can be successful. Thank you to rescuers and volunteers who made the difference.

Now for some news about Bush. He’s in the midst of pardoning people before leaving the white house. I don’t think I even have to comment on these two. I’ll just say that the man hates the environment and hates animals. Here are two people he pardoned:

Leslie Owen Collier of Charleston, Mo. She was convicted for unauthorized use of a pesticide and violating the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act.

Milton Kirk Cordes of Rapid City, S.D. Cordes was convicted of conspiracy to violate the Lacey Act, which prohibits importation into the country of wildlife taken in violation of conservation laws.

Vote! November 4, 2008

What else could I really say today other than ask for you to vote? Nothing. Nothing is more important.

So here they are - my opinion on two important decisions you will ultimately make today…

National: Put Barack Obama and Joe Biden in the White House.

Californians: Vote Yes on Prop 2 and give egg laying hens, sows, and veal calves a better life.

So please, vote today. Together we can change the world for the better…

Animal Ag Industry Reveals 5 Biggest Foes October 29, 2008

The cattle network posted its top 5 enemies yesterday. Who do you think is at the top of the list? One guess…..Okay, give yourself a vegan cookie if you said Wayne Pacelle, CEO of HSUS. We all know Prop 2 will be voted on next Tuesday (Vote Yes!). And this proposition along with it’s predecessors in Florida and Arizona make Mr. Pacelle a dangerous man to the animal ag world. The best part is, never before have I read such a flattering description of a number one enemy. I bolded my favorite part…

Pacelle (Puh-selly) has headed up this organization for a scant 4 years. In that short time, this self-confessed vegetarian has taken the organization from a group of little old ladies who saw themselves as kindly protectors of cat and dogs to something he likens to the National Rifle Association for the animal rights movement. He’s also the founding father of California’s Proposition 2, the biggest single threat to the current state of American animal agriculture.

He’s gone after pigs, poultry, eggs, veal calves, and your cattle and he’s done it with great skill and an innate knowledge of how to manipulate public opinion.

Want to know who the other four enemies are? Click here and find out…

And if you’d like to learn more about Mr. Pacelle and the work being done at HSUS, click here to read his blog.

Undercover Footage from Mercy for Animals October 16, 2008

Mercy for Animals, with their impeccable timing, has just released undercover footage exposing cruelty at Norco Ranch in Riverside County, CA. Of course it’s always terrible to see such horrible conditions and acts of cruelty. But this latest proof that factory farming needs to go comes just three weeks before the compassionate citizens in California vote on Prop 2.

The LA Times said:

The footage, the latest by animal rights activists working undercover at factory farms, is intended to boost support for Proposition 2. The November ballot initiative would require that confined cattle, pigs and chickens have enough space to lie down, stand up, turn around freely and extend their limbs. Because there are few veal producers in the state and the largest pork producer here has already said it would eliminate small crates, the initiative would apply to the 19 million laying hens in California.

Now is the time folks, to contact your friends and relatives in California and urge them to vote yes on Prop 2. And thanks to Mercy for Animals for working so hard to protect farm animals.

Sir Paul McCartney Calls for a Boycott on McDonalds October 9, 2008

Why? Because McDonalds was dumb enough to put up a picture of the Beatles in the McDonalds restaurant in McCartney’s home town. This is a direct question for McDonalds: Did you not know that Sir Paul McCartney has been a vegetarian for the last 30 years?! He wouldn’t buy anything from your restaurants - even your salads. It’s kind of like what happened with his daughter Stella a while back. Some stylist actually used a Stella McCartney bra in an advert for fur. She made them stop using the ad.

Geoff Baker, a spokesman for Sir Paul said: “What sort of morons do McDonald’s think Beatles’ fans are.

“It’s ridiculous and insulting to use images to peddle hamburgers. Fans should boycott Mcdonald’s, and not just in Liverpool.”

Crazy huh? Veggies will rage against being used to help sell anything they deem unethical. So corporations beware: Don’t use veggies to sell animals. You’ll just get smacked down in the press.

Scientists: 1 in 4 mammals faces extinction October 7, 2008

The headline of this blog is the headline of a news article I just read. And this is the kind of bad news we keep getting warnings about. And when I say “keep getting warnings” it means that the problems aren’t going away. Just ask the polar bear where she thinks she’ll be in 50 years.

The article says:

We estimate that one in four species is threatened with extinction and that the population of one in two is declining,” the researchers said.

“I think the bottom line is, what kind of a world do you want to leave for your children,” Andrew Smith, a professor in the Arizona State University School of Life Sciences, said in a telephone interview.

The problem we face isn’t getting the vegans on board to change our behavior. The problem is to make the environment and wildlife a global priority. How does one make that happen? Well, the truth is that no one country or culture can do it. The non profits do their best. But really, it’s the governments that have to take action - that have to protect our rain forests, our oceans, our forests and plains.  Vegans need to be environmentalists. Scratch that. Everyone needs to be an environmentalist. That is, if we don’t want to systematically wipe out everyone who isn’t human. I’m realizing now that this is a pretty bleak post, and I apologize. Usually I’m for positive activism and blogging. But headlines like the one above scare me. I hope they scare you too.

Tomorrow I’ll list a bunch of take actions you can do - groups that are trying to make a difference for our wildlife and their habitats. Check back. The best way to stop feeling helpless is to do something. And we are NOT helpless.