Comments Off on Daryl Hannah Backs UN’s International Day Of Diversity For Environment
Vegetarian Daryl Hannah says that children have Nature Deficient Disorder–where they spend their time playing video games or watching television instead of getting outside and learning about the Earth.
That’s why she’s throwing her support behind the UN’s International Day of Diversity on May 22, designed to teach children about looking after the planet.
According to Contact Music, Hannah told Britain’s Live from Studio Five, “We are in the midst of the biggest extinction crisis in human history. We’re losing 150 to 200 species every 24 hours and it’s all human caused. The UN and the CBD – the Convention for Biological Diversity – are trying to figure out ways to get kids engaged because they’re our future champions of the planet.”
Hannah then offered suggestions to get children involved, such as land cleanup or looking after local wildlife.
“You want as much diversity as possible and to encourage that with (children planting) seeds is a great way. Another great way to encourage kids is to put up a bird’s nest or to go out and be little scientists and track what’s in their neighborhood, and clean up their neighborhood – a park or a river.”
Comments Off on Sea Shepherd Announces Plans To Assist In Gulf Oil Spill Cleanup
Sea Shepherd has announced its plans to assist with the oil spill cleanup and wildlife rescue in the Gulf Coast.
According to the organziation’s website, Sea Shepherd is working to secure a boat in Europe to bring to the Gulf area. The HAZMAT trained crew will assist in rescue operations on both land and sea, working with BP officials, local fisherman and other government officials.
Captain Paul Watson is calling on other organizations with both manpower and supplies to join their efforts.
“Sea Shepherd and other organizations have ships,” said Watson. “These groups, as well as governments and corporations, have resources. We need to mobilize these resources now. This is going to be a long, dirty, and fatiguing process, but we must act, and we must act now.”
Sea Shepherd is looking for volunteers to assist, as well as donations of detergents, towels, fuel and other supplies.
Sea Shepherd has a history in assisting with oil cleanup and marine rescue, including the Exxon Valdez spill in 1989.
For information on how you can assist, email gulfrescue [at] seashepherd [dot] org.
Comments Off on David Kirby Eats Less Meat After Writing “Animal Factory”
Animal Factory by David Kirby
It’s amazing the impact a little education can have on your decisions.
After spending three years researching animal agriculture for his book, Animal Factory, David Kirby eats a lot less meat, as he explained to the Washington Post.
“Before I started working on the book, I would go to the supermarket and buy meat. I was completely ignorant about where my food came from. I knew that it wasn’t Farmer Joe down the road. But I never put together the idea that if it weren’t from there, it wouldn’t be from a real farm somewhere. I pictured mechanization. But I didn’t picture what was really going on.”
Read the entire interview with Kirby at the Washington Post.
From 1995 to 1998, 1,000 spills or pollution incidents occurred at livestock feedlots in 10 states and 200 manure-related fish kills resulted in the death of 13 million fish.
Ammonia, a toxic form of nitrogen released in gas form during waste disposal, can be carried more than 300 miles through the air before being dumped back onto the ground or into the water, where it causes algal blooms and fish kills.
Ammonia, a toxic form of nitrogen released in gas form during waste disposal, can be carried more than 300 miles through the air before being dumped back onto the ground or into the water, where it causes algal blooms and fish kills.
Yeah, factory farms and meat give you nothing good to sing about, that’s for sure.
Comments Off on John Salley Announces He’s Pro Vegetable, Anti Fast Food Rejected Meat
Basketball legend John Salley recently went to Congress to throw his support for the Healthy School Meals Act, H.R. 4870.
The bill, that would offer more plant based proteins and non dairy beverages in schools, currently has 51 co-sponsors in Congress, according to Afro.
Salley is eager to see these items on the menus, even if meat is still served besides them.
“It’s important for folks to know that I’m not against meat, I’m for fruits and vegetables, just like I’m not against war, I’m for peace,” Salley said.
Currently, in some schools, it may be better to send a child to McDonald’s for lunch.
A USA Today investigation found that many fast food giants like Jack in the Box require more rigorous testing for pathogens in meat used in their restaurants, testing it up to 5-10 times more than the USDA does for school lunches.
Or try packing some cat chow in the lunchbox.
Chicken normally only acceptable for pet food was also routinely accepted by USDA standards.
Just another reason to forgo the “mystery” meat, where unknown substances don’t just refer to animal parts.
Comments Off on Jonathan Safran Foer On The Incubating Factory Farm For Viruses
Credit David Shankbone on Wikimedia Commons
So you love the taste of a well done steak or a ham and cheese sandwich.
You don’t give a flying saucer about animals and their pain and suffering.
Why should you make an effort to eat less meat, especially factory farmed meat?
Well, you don’t really want everyone in the office (not even the co-workers you don’t like) to come down with Swine Flu next year, do you?
Jonathan Safran Foer, author of his book on factory farming, Eating Animals, has interviewed with Vegetarian Times in the May/June 2010 issue where he gives this argument for those who aren’t interested one bit in “animal” welfare and rights.
“We known where the flu came from: it came from factory farms in North Carolina. The link between flu pandemics and animal agriculture is not an opinion. It’s a well documented fact by scientific organizations that have no interest whatsoever in promoting vegetarianism.”
Swine flu, of which cases were seen in humans over the past few years, has traditionally been confined to outbreaks among pigs.
Like other viruses, it sometimes develops an affinity for a different host.
According to Wired, in 1998, scientists found a strain of swine flu in U.S. factory farms that spread quickly, and experts warned then it could one day evolve the ability to infect humans, resulting in a pandemic.
Bob Martin, former executive director of the Pew Commission on Industrial Animal Farm Production and a critic of factory farms, called these environments, “super-incubators for viruses.”
Comments Off on Chrissie Hynde–JP Chrissie & The Fairground Boys–Concert Benefits Woodstock Farm Sanctuary
Chrissie Hynde and Welsh singer JP Jones have collaborated to form JP Chrissie & The Fairground Boys and the group is set to give a benefit concert for Woodstock Farm Sanctuary.
According to Ecorazzi,the show will take place Saturday, May 29, 2010 on the Woodstock Farm Sanctuary headquarters in Woodstock, NY and tickets are priced at $20 in advance, $25 day of show, with all proceeds going towards the sanctuary.
Hynde has been consistently vocal about animal issues from zoos to McDonald’s and opened up a vegan Italian restaurant in her hometown of Akron, Ohio a few years ago that is quite successful.
The Vegiterranean uses Gardein faux meat products in many of its dishes, including the Linguini Carbonara and Spaghettini with vegan meatballs.
Update: The event will be held at Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary in Woodstock, NY. The previous version of this post placed the event at Farm Sanctuary, which has locations in Watkins Glen, NY and Orland, CA. Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary and Farm Sanctuary are two separate organizations and not affiliated with one another.
