Rethos.com - davidbarrie's Global Feed

Cage Free Eggs: Behind the Myth

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 07:03:34 -0400

From HumaneMyth.org, which was created by award-winning filmmakers James LaVeck and Jenny Stein and launched this week.

Oprah Tries Veganism as a"Cleanse"

Wed, 21 May 2008 17:43:44 -0400

Pictured are Delectable

Vegan Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Baked by Yours Truly

Kathy Freston has a new book, Quantum Wellness, wherein she writes of the importance of "Conscious Eating," which sounds very much like part of Animal Rights Africa (ARA) was launched last month in South Africa, with the One Struggle conference, "ushering in a brand new era of strengthened activism for animals. ARA is committed to the promotion of inclusive justice, showing compassion across species and building a better future through campaigns, research and analysis." Dr. Steve Best was invited to deliver the Keynote, as he has ...

Is "Compassionate Carnivore" an Oxymoron?

Sun, 06 Apr 2008 18:05:43 -0400

Is Compassionate Carnivore an Oxymoron?

It's become fashionable to call yourself a compassionate carnivore if you aren't going to stop eating animals and their secretions (milk) and menstrual excretions (eggs), but you don't want to appear barbaric and you want people to know that you don't agree with the atrocities committed in the name of factory farming.

I don't personally know anyone in 2008 who thinks factory farming is anything but cruel. But I do know a lot of people--and I read about similar people every...

Ally Request - Daniel Carrapa

Thu, 13 Mar 2008 19:20:14 -0400

Alliance Accepted! - Kemper Barkhurst

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 02:00:55 -0400

Alliance Accepted! - DanRose

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 04:01:02 -0400

New comment! - Are foodies killing us?

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 06:57:17 -0500

What appears to be missing from this equation is mindfulness. If we attend to what we eat, when we eat and where we eat, gorging becomes virtually impossible. And if we choose food that feeds the mind and body: organic fruits, vegetables, grains, nuts and seeds, we save money, do less damage to the environment, AND create less of a possibility for diseases and obesity.

New comment! - A moral dog's breakfast

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 06:50:23 -0500

If you're eating grass-fed cows. Or grain-fed cows, for that matter, I see no moral problem with eating dogs. Sentience is sentience. And sentience doesn't lie. It's culture that lies to us by telling us some animals are for eating and some are for petting.

Alliance Accepted! - Mary Martin

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 06:44:13 -0500

Animals and Culture, Part Deux

Sun, 02 Mar 2008 14:20:49 -0500

Animals and Culture, Part Deux

Part of our culture is the media that confirms the values we're supposed to have. In most of the United States, when we're young, we play with all manner of furry creatures and stuffed animals, and most of us enjoy that experience and feel a kinship with other creatures. At the same time, our parents and the world around us tell us that our instinct of kinship across-the-board is not acceptable, and they begin to whittle away at any connection we naturally experience with other creatures, with the excepti...

New comment - Social Change and Food

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 18:27:07 -0500

Actually, David, for vegans our attitude toward nonhuman animals and our attitude toward human animals are connected already. We begin with nonviolence toward the individual. Respect for the individual's right to live their life free of my interference. Just as I wouldn't breed humans to drag me around on a sled, I wouldn't breed dogs to drag me around on a sled. Just as I wouldn't dominate and control people and use them against their will for my own gain, I wouldn't do so to animals. Slavery in the developed world is history for a reason--it was wrong. The Holocaust and other instan...

New comment - Social Change and Food

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 07:17:12 -0500

I like me some faux meat that crumbles into red sauce and gives it some chew. The meat-eaters love it, too. As for helping people, Fast Food Nation is a great primer for just how hideously many slaughterhouse workers are treated. For those who love their cheese, just remember that dairy cows are probably the worst treated animals on the menus, and they die horrible deaths. Also, the rennet in cheese comes from calves (as in, VEAL), so cheese has the unique distinction of being one of the most cruelly-produced items you can consume. I hate to be the buzzkill, but if you eat cheese you ...

New comment - Social Change and Food

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 01:35:10 -0500

Hi Mary Some excellent points and although I don't subscribe to a full Vegan fare. (Love my cheese, milk & free range eggs) Maybe if we pushed Alex suggestion a little harder - school training- we might not only stop or reverse: (your quote) "Though we used nonhuman animals for virtually whatever purpose we wanted before then, the Industrial Revolution led to the dominance, control, exploitation, mutilation and slaughter of nonhuman animals as an industry. And as an industry that is part of a capitalist system, its main objective is profit." We might even make some progress to stop ...

New comment - Social Change and Food

Thu, 21 Feb 2008 00:48:27 -0500

God bless you! You said everything I think and feel on the subject. I especially like the comment "it doesnâ€™t have to involve soy products or any â€œfauxâ€ meat." However, I do enjoy faux meat. I want to keep my heritage and still eat ethically. Therefore, I want to create vegan versions of Armenian food. In the book of Genesis, in the Bible, it doesn't mention eating animals, or killing them, until Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit.

Animals and Culture

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 12:32:56 -0500

Animals and Culture

Through an accident of birth and geography, you grew up with a certain name for your god and certain beliefs about animals. You were taught that some animals are for eating and some are for petting. And yet others are for entertainment. Your beliefs about your god and about animals are similar in that, whether you think of it this way or not, you hold them both sacred.

But what does it mean to hold something sacred? Why do we cling to beliefs and customs? Is there something intri...

New comment - Social Change and Food

Fri, 08 Feb 2008 17:02:04 -0500

Thanks, guys, and good point Alex. I think everyone should know where their food and consumer goods come from. Plants, animals, clothing, sneakers, everything. We should know who made it, put it together or harvested it, what their living conditions and wages are (slaughterhouse workers tend to be immigrants who are low paid, have no health insurance and are frequently injured. Meanwhile, the migrant workers who pick oranges or work sugar here in South Florida have entire nonprofit organizations working to help them out of some of the most hideous conditions where they are sometimes treate...

New comment - Social Change and Food

Thu, 07 Feb 2008 22:13:34 -0500

I question why most video footage of slaughter houses is censored in our society? Should this footage be mandatory to watch in high school or univerisyt ethics classes in the same way that sex-ed is required?

New comment - Social Change and Food

Thu, 07 Feb 2008 19:45:14 -0500

Hi Mary! Very centred and precise views. You have point out your approach on the basis of humanitarian and justice approach. I am happy to ready your article and I think this efforts inspire other people what they could do for a life If they know a life which sometimes we perceive as a food has gone through cruel murder and pain. I believe there may be a number of sensible people who if just visit slaughter house and witness an animal's powerlessness voice struggling for hopeless efforts to survive, they may think about how to rescue them as a human being without discrimination o...

New comment - Social Change and Food

Tue, 05 Feb 2008 16:44:34 -0500

Mary, Wonderful post as usual. These are precisely the philosophical arguments I struggled with in becoming a vegetarian. I hope this sparks good discussion on rethos. The idea that humans have ultimate control over all other sentient creatures is an idea that needs to be reconsidered. Best, Eli

Social Change and Food

Sun, 03 Feb 2008 17:08:15 -0500

AN UNPOPULAR VIEW OF SOCIAL CHANGE

Food just might be the most powerful medium of social change, although most people don’t see it that way. In the 20th Century, with the development of concentrated feeding operations (CAFOS, or factory farms) the way human animals thought of nonhuman animals took a bit of a turn. Though we used nonhuman animals for virtually whatever purpose we wanted before then, the Industrial Revolution led to the dominance, control, exploitation, mutilation and slaughter of nonhuman animals as an industry<...

Nonviolence and Food

Sun, 20 Jan 2008 17:09:49 -0500

AN UNPOPULAR VIEW OF NONVIOLENCE

If I were to ask you to define nonviolence, what would you say? The traditional macro-type answer would have something to do with peaceful resistance to a government. And either you believe in passive resistance or you think that sometimes force of some kind is necessary; sometimes violence is necessary.

Now what about nonviolence on a micro level—on an individual level. What does nonviolence mean in your daily life? More specifically, do you ever think of your eating habits as ha...

New comment - Urban Harvesting - Collect And Distribute Local Foods

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 21:41:13 -0500

I found a place doing exactly what you describe. Itâ€™s called City Harvest in NYC. See http://cityharvest.org/ If you look at what they accept it is limited but theyâ€™ll still receive some prepared foods. A long time ago, I worked at a deli in San Diego and we always brought home the old bake goods and distributed to all my poor college neighbors.

Thinking Critically About Animal Rights: What you need to know, What you need to question (Part 4)

Wed, 02 Jan 2008 18:06:46 -0500

Thinking Critically About Animal Rights:

What you need to know, what you need to question Part 4

As you know if you’ve read Parts 1-3, I’ve left what is perhaps the most controversial item for last: What to do with your charitable dollars. It’s controversial because most groups that are known for being “animal rights groups” are indeed not. Rather, they are animal welfare groups, meaning they campaign for better treatment of the animals we use for food, clothing, etc… However, unless you’re v...

New comment - Urban Harvesting - Collect And Distribute Local Foods

Tue, 01 Jan 2008 13:01:04 -0500

This is a great idea… and it corresponds to one that I wish could have been enacted when I lived in Key West, where the good weather draws many homeless and low-income folks, but where the economy drags on those with no- or ~~limited~~ resources. It seemed such a waste to have three local deli’s and many local restaurants just throw away food every day… pounds and pounds of good healthy meat, produce, and salads! I asked some of these places if they would be willing to distribute some of their leftovers and I was told that it was “illegal” for them ...

New comment - Urban Harvesting - Collect And Distribute Local Foods

Tue, 04 Dec 2007 01:04:09 -0500

Thanks for your great response. Wow!

New comment - Urban Harvesting - Collect And Distribute Local Foods

Sat, 01 Dec 2007 19:20:21 -0500

We are in Long Beach California, our organization is providing vertical gardens to the poor that can be placed on a small patio or even a door stoop. The gardens can produce tomatoes, beans, peas, strawberries, and herbs. They take little space and can provide fresh produce for families who live in communities where grocery stores are seldom located close by. By providing neighbors with different plants they are able to share their abundance by swapping pound for pound. The addition of sheets of aluminum and some plastic coverings can also turn these gardens into winter hothouses in som...

December 8th Demonstration: BEYOND KYOTO

Sat, 01 Dec 2007 15:50:01 -0500

I have provided some information about an upcoming event that is very important to me. It is a demonstration that will coincide with the UN Climate Talks. There will be thousands (if not more) worldwide who will be demonstrating so that our leaders take climate change seriously. If enough of us come and support this cause we may be able to make a difference. Please, lend me your support by coming to this event. Please, forward this to as many people as possible. Full details are bellow.

Thank you,

Dan Rose

Rallies are currently planned in 80 countries, for d...

New comment - Urban Harvesting - Collect And Distribute Local Foods

Wed, 28 Nov 2007 03:12:05 -0500

I am genuinely enthusiastic about your idea, your purpose. There is too much food going to waste, with too many hungry adults and children in this country going hungry—not to mention the millions of refugees beset by every snare possible…lack of medical care & attention, need for food products, need for more hands to assist them in rebuilding their homes, their lives. Whether it was an Earthquake, a Wildfire, a Flood, Hurricane, Tornado, Cyclone, or seiges of drought or too much rain. We can learn to work with NATURE in order for all of us to ...