EPA is finally discussing plans to end animal testing for chemicals and pesticides by 2035. Wish it was sooner but happy for any progress.
An end to cosmetic testing on animals should be immediate. But for those who are impatient just check the back of you products to see if they are tested on animals. Then email the company with a complaint and stop by their products. Lots of alternatives out there
By the way candidate Julian Castro has made it part of his platform.
This is a graphic video but one showing the kindness that activists show towards the chickens that will be starved and denied water for the ritual know as Kaporos Sent to me by one of my friends in Brooklyn.
Congress just introduced these bills to help imperiled wildlife:
✅ H.R. 2245 - bans imports of hunting trophies from lions, elephants ✅ H.R. 737 - prohibits trade and sale of shark fins ✅ H.R. 1380 - makes it illegal to own big cats as pets
@Morganna and others interested in sustainable foods/locavore discussions, I thought you might be intrigued by the implications of this CSIRO study. This household is certainly re-examining its menus in terms of a ‘water budget’ and not just because of the current drought
I found the comparison of potato crisps and chocolate bars really fascinating, and how not-water-friendly they are scary. Also, impressed at how water-friendly chickpeas are - good for us in soooo many ways!
The thing to remember (as the authors point out) is as weather becomes more unstable with hotter temperatures, there'll be less standing and free-flowing water available for non-livestock animals. Environmental flows are hard enough to protect anyway; irrigation waters are becoming so heavily monetised that wild animals have no chance of access.
We've already had at least two summers of horrific inland aquatic deaths (last year's made internal news), and to avoid another, there's been massive evacuation of fish stocks from major river systems in three states.
Climate change has hit our alternative milks market, our fruit and veg producers, and we're losing arable land to winds and fires. Lack of water is a critical issue. (No food for wildlife, for pets or us)
PETA was an organization that started grass roots but went off in a controversial direction. I've gone to small events where Ingrid Newkirk spoke and I find her a compelling figure.
She believes in attention getting stunts. I know as I participated in one. As someone who ran a large group with a friend, one that was started in PA and brought to NY, I quickly learned that getting news coverage for our causes was almost impossible so this memorial that PETA proposes is in that vein.
There may be better ways to get people talking. It may appear to some as silly, its not, but we struggle with perception.
One problem is getting TV ads published as they compete with sponsors. So she is trying for a billboard.
She has been a huge success at getting celebrities on board and running some great print ads.
I hope she succeeds.
She is running into heavy criticism from dog and cat rescues. Once I moved from NYC to South Orange, I switched my focus from anti vivisection, factory farming etc to join the folks I used to call the dog and cat people. PETA has taken harsh criticism for some of their positions and actions with regard to shelters and rescues. But that's another story.
Any light shed on factory farming makes me happy. I'm thrilled that we have our first 2 vegan presidential candidates and a 3rd who has an elaborate animal advocacy program.
Just some good news in this video. Vegan restaurant in Dubai, Adidas making yet another vegan sneaker, using recycled plastic, lots of big corporations making positive changes. Very uplifting. I watch this site Livekndly.com and it is almost all upbeat and exciting. Companies looking at climate change, compassion for animals and our health.
Me too, seriously. With Castro, Gabbard and Booker gone, I don't know who would go out of their way to bring it up. But I remain hopeful. If you look up a site called LIVEKINDLY.com you will find quite a bit of positive news in this arena.
Another site that has a variety of positive stories about all aspects of society is Global Citizen.
Science and ethics seem to collide more frequently than the general public realizes. There are several articles out there about this experiment so no this is not from the National Inquirer.
“I think we’ve become very disconnected from the natural world,” he said. “We feel entitled to artificially inseminate a cow and when she gives birth we steal her baby, even though her cries of anguish are unmistakable. And then we take her milk that’s intended for the calf and we put it in our coffee and cereal. We fear the idea of personal change, because we think we need to sacrifice something; to give something up. But human beings at our best are so creative and inventive, and we can create, develop, and implement systems of change that are beneficial to all sentient beings and the environment.”
As we struggle with COVID 19, I've decided to share a few articles on factory farming. This short article discusses our growing resistance to antibiotics. Nothing graphic. This one is from One Green Planet.
Elizabeth Warren signs onto Cory Booker's bill to curtail factory farming by 2040. A companion bill will be sponsored in the house by Ro Khanna. While it focuses on the dominance of big corporations as opposed to the inhumane conditions and health concerns, it is a welcome start. I'm optimistically hoping it will have some humane results. For those concerned about the control of big corporations, it should be of interest.
The timing was perfect, since a Nextdoor post about hawks attacking squirrels, provoked lots of comments and joking about wishing the death of more squirrels. Plenty of pictures of hawks killing squirrels were shared. Lots of laughing emojis. My comment about cold and insensitive remarks and laughter at the death of an animal was met with obvious remarks that nature was cold and insensitive. It ignored the obvious that nature is not a person and has nothing to do with my being upset by the cheering on of the death of a small creature.
A small kind gesture by Ali Velshi, was restorative. And I will send a note of appreciation to MSNBC asking for more such compassionate coverage. And of course I shared it on Nextdoor as I'm sharing it here.
Let's see if this link works. The title is How Many Worlds Would We Save If We Stopped Eating Meat.
It is short not at all graphic and just points to the amount of land or water needed to feed our world's growing population and suggests a plant based diet would offer a solution.
Hope this list comes up tonight!
Opinion piece on meat eating and its effect on climate change.
https://www.bing.com/news/search?q=The+Hill+Our+Gluttony+For+Meat&qpvt=the+hill+our+gluttony+for+meat&FORM=EWRE