A n i m a l   W r i t e s © sm
                                   
The official ANIMAL RIGHTS ONLINE newsletter

 
Publisher   ~ EnglandGal@aol.com                                   Issue # 10/10/01
      Editor    ~ JJswans@aol.com
  Journalists ~ Park StRanger@aol.com
                   ~ MichelleRivera1@aol.com
                   ~
sbest1@elp.rr.com

  THE NINE ARTICLES IN THIS ISSUE ARE:

  1  ~ Anthropornography  by Carol J. Adams
  2  ~
Deadly Anthrax May Affect You  by Robert Cohen
  3  ~
Children With Pet Dogs Adjust Better to Parents' Divorce
  4  ~
Screening of "The Witness"
  5  ~
P&G Lies
  6  ~
Strange Species
  7  ~
Taliban Victimizes Animals, Too
  8  ~
Osama bin Laden
  9  ~ Memorable Quote

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Anthropornography
by Carol J. Adams - cja@airmail.net
from The Animals' Agenda - Volume 21 * No. 4

Here's a "hot" topic: Why is meat sexy?  Is it just because sex sells products, that to any meat eater, meat is a product, and so sex is used to sell meat?  Some would argue that it is as simple as this: Sex sells, so meat producers use it
.
When sex sells, say, cigarettes or alcohol, an implication exists.  For heterosexual men, the implication is "If I use this product, I will have women."  But with meat eating, a more complex relationship to sex is going on.  I explored it in The Sexual Politics of Meat, but it is time to revisit the issue.  Back in 1989, when I finished writing The Sexual Politics of Meat, I thought I was done with this subject.  Much to my surprise, I was not.  Readers started sending me examples of the sexual politics of meat that they found in advertisements, on billboards, T-shirts, matchbook covers, etc.  And I realized it was getting worse, not better.  In the tenth anniversary edition of the book I describe this realization.  Traveling around and showing the slide show that I created based on these images, I have become more pessimistic about the problem.

While sexist institutions topple around us, meat eating is one of the bastions of sexism that seems to be growing in strength Sexist acts such as harassment and discrimination can be legally challenged, but meat eating is a safe arena for the expression of sexism; contempt for women is one of the messages that accompanies these ads.

It is not just that meat eating is positioned to appeal to the idea that men (not women) eat meat.  Of course it does that.  It is not just that species of animals that become "meat" are depicted in pornographic poses.  We have to understand that pornography, like meat eating, is repetitive behavior; it is a highly structured product, cued to arousal.  Sometimes when meat is sexualized, animals whose species are consumed -- cows, pigs, chickens -- are depicted in pornographic poses that would not be publishable if a woman were being shown.  My friend Annie Hamlin has suggested the word "anthropornography" for this.

The pornographic cues announce that sexual objectification is happening, but no one is held accountable because women are not being looked at -- animals are.  With most sexist ads, an implication exists.  With the sexualization of meat, an unspoken equation exists.  Women are to men as animals are to humans -- consumable beings.  This is a dangerous equation.  We know that meat eating's strength is related in large part to the objectification of animals, the denial of their own individuality.  People do not have to deal consciously with the fact that they are eating an animal; they are eating a "piece of meat."  A similar objectification occurs often before women are attacked, raped, or battered.  They, too, are seen as pieces of meat.  The sexualization of meat exploits this equation.  (To the question "What about men?  Aren't men cast as 'meat' too?"  I would say, men are usually the possessors of their meat, whereas women are depicted as meat.)

Something else is going on as well.  Meat eating will cause people an attack of conscience.  At some point they might think, "Gee, I am eating a dead animal.  Should I continue?"  They might feel uneasy.  But feeling uneasy is an uncomfortable feeling.  Most of us don't like feeling uncomfortable.  Most of us want uncomfortable feelings to go away.  In our culture, men are still less likely to know what to do with uncomfortable feelings.  Where can feelings of uneasiness about meat eating go?  They can go outward, in anger towards a vegetarian.  Or they can be sexualized.  When meat is sexualized there is somewhere for that energy to go -- it gets transformed into a sexual feeling.  Now that is something our culture says is OK.

We animal activists proclaim, "Look, we are animals, too!  Animals are like us in so many ways.  They have feelings.  They have social relationships.  They have consciousness.  Anthropornography undercuts these claims.  It takes the sensibility that animals are like us, a sensibility that is disturbing if you benefit from animal exploitation, and lodges it safely within a sexual economy.  These uncomfortable feelings find a release.  The cues have their desired effect and nothing changes.

Carol J. Adams is the author of The Sexual Politics of Meat: A Feminist-Vegetarian Critical Theory, the series The Inner Art of Vegetarianism: Spiritual practices for Body and Soul, and Living Among Meat Eaters, which will be released on November 6.

  "Reprinted with permission from The Animals' Agenda, P.O. Box 25881,
  Baltimore, MD 21224, (410) 675-4566, www.animalsagenda.org."
  Email: office@animalsagenda.org

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Deadly Anthrax May Affect You
by Robert Cohen - i4crob@earthlink.net   
http://www.notmilk.com

YOUR EMAIL IS SAFE TO OPEN

The same may not be said for your snail-mail.

It appears that the deadly anthrax infection in Florida was "delivered" by somebody with evil intentions.

FBI will soon arrest that individual, and America will be lulled into a false sense of security.

Today we learn that the Florida anthrax was delivered in letter form by a man
with Middle-East connections. That story can be found on Matt Drudge's website. (Drudge is the reporter who first broke the Monica Lewinsky story).

http://www.drudgereport.com

Here is what you will not read on Drudge.

AMERICA'S ANTHRAX EPIDEMIC

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently averted a meat and dairy panic by using their enormous resources to censor and keep the truth about America's meat supply from Americans.

USDA's mission is to protect the health and safety of America's food supply, but their one true mission seems to be to protect meat and milk producers, at all costs.

THE UNTOLD STORY

I have learned that there was an enormous meat recall this past August, and that recall may very well have been traced to an anthrax epidemic in cattle and cows in the state of Minnesota.

Hundreds of thousands of pounds of meat were affected.

Americans have not heard the story, which you will first see here.

When meat is recalled, the usual reason given is "listeria" infection. When chicken is recalled, the usual reason given is "E coli 157" infection.

This past summer, the reason for the recalled meat was given as "E coli"
contamination.

In July, hundreds of deer and several horses and cattle died in south Texas
after an outbreak of anthrax.

http://www.msnbc.com/local/ktsm/m65959.asp

In September, anthrax was found in a South Dakota buffalo herd.

http://www.msnbc.com/local/kdlt/m86829.asp

On August 30th, a total of 500,000 pounds of beef were recalled from various states.

http://stacks.msnbc.com/news/622019.asp

It appears that the recalled meat was processed at IBP's Dakota City beef factory in Nebraska.  Were cattle trucked a mere 100 miles from Minnesota to Nebraska, and the slaughtered meat distributed to Sam's Clubs in Mississippi?

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010830/clth023.html

Wisconsin:

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010830/dath042.html

Texas:

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010830/dath045.html

and Florida:

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/010830/dath044.html

Anthrax victims die from pneumonia-like symptoms. It might be appropriate to autopsy those who may have been infected from diseased cattle and dairy cows.

England reacted to Hoof and Mouth Disease by destroying millions of farm animals. British citizens recognized that meat and dairy consumption may be hazardous to one's health, despite the fact that Hoof and Mouth is rarely passed on to humans from farm animals.

An American anthrax epidemic might very well have ended the consumption of meat in America.

USDA did their job very well. They protected those who raise cattle and dairy cows so that an unsuspecting public might eat diseased flesh and drink diseased body fluids.

I do not have the resources to check every trail from every animal, but our government does. Conflicts of interest prevent USDA from conducting an unbiased investigation.

The one American government body having the authority and power to do the right thing is the Government Accounting Office (GA0). The GAO is the investigative branch of Congress.

What can you do? Look up the phone number of your Congressional representative.

Print this column. Send a WRITTEN letter requesting a GAO investigation. That is all we can do to hope that truth can be found.

Americans have sacrificed freedoms and placed their trust in government to protect their safety. Such faith is not what made America great.

It is up to each of us to insure that our children, parents, and loved ones continue to enjoy complete health and safety.

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~3~
Children With Pet Dogs
Adjust Better to Parents' Divorce

by Alexandra Frean, Social Affairs Correspondent
http://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/0,,2-2001331313,00.html

CHILDREN who have pet dogs adjust better if their parents divorce than those who do not, researchers in Germany have found.  A study into the behaviour and feelings of 150 children whose parents had divorced found that one year later those with a dog were less aggressive and better socially integrated than those without. Children without a dog tended to be prone to vandalism, stubborn and irritable, and likely to act up to gain attention.

Tanja Hoff, a psychologist at the University in Bonn and co-author of the research, said that pet dogs appeared to provide children from divorced families with a strong sense of security and could help in stabilising mood swings.

Her research, presented at the International Conference on Human Animal Interactions in Brazil, is based on questionnaires completed one year after divorce by a representative sample of 150 divorced mothers of only children aged six and 11. Of these, 75 had a pet dog and 75 did not. The 75 children who had a dog were also interviewed.

More than 40 per cent of children without a dog displayed aggressive behaviour, frequently breaking things on purpose, compared with 25 per cent of the children with dogs. Extreme irritability was displayed by 38 per cent of the dog-less children compared with 24 per cent of those with dogs.  Thirty-six per cent of children with no dog were found to misbehave to draw attention to themselves, compared with 27 per cent of the children with a dog.

Frau Hoff attributes the therapeutic effects of a dog to the additional security the animal provides to children through its affection and loyalty.  “The dog’s love is unconditional and is always there. He provides continuity and stability.”

Replies from the children backed this up. They included: “When my parents used to quarrel I always went to my dog”; “If I’m playing with my dog, then I don’t think as much about the worries I sometimes have”; “When my Daddy was no longer around, I didn’t feel quite as lonely thanks to my dog”; and “My dog always loves me”.

Frau Hoff said, however, that parents in the middle of a divorce who might be tempted to rush out and buy a dog in a desperate attempt to make their children feel better may well be wasting their time.

“All of the families in my study had had the dog for a long time,” she said.  “Even so, more than 9 per cent of parents said that the dog itself was a cause of stress for them during the divorce. The additional stresses caused by having to deal with a new pet during the divorce crisis might outweigh the benefits.”

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~4~
Screening of "The Witness"

SF BAY AREA SCREENINGS OF "THE WITNESS" - OCTOBER 25-28
WITH EDDIE LAMA, JENNY STEIN, AND JAMES LAVECK


Please join us for a special screening of "The Witness" at several locations around the San Francisco Bay Area. Tribe of Heart's (www.tribeofheart.org) Jenny Stein (the Director), James LaVeck (the Producer) and Eddie Lama (the main figure) will be present at each of the screenings to participate in a post-film discussion.

"The Witness" is an award-winning film documentary that tells the story of one man's remarkable change in animal consciousness. The documentary skillfully interweaves Eddie Lama's life-changing journey with a candid view of our society's treatment of animals.

The Center for Animal Protection and Education (CAPE) will be sponsoring the following screenings and post-film discussions of "The Witness."
* SAN FRANCISCO - Thursday, October 25, 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. - Opera Plaza Cinema (415.352.0810), 601 Van Ness Street ($5 donation)
* MONTEREY - Friday, October 26, 7:00 pm - Monterey Institute of International Studies (MIIS), McCone Building, Irvine Auditorium, 499 Pierce Street
* SANTA CRUZ - Saturday, October 27, 7:30 p.m. - University of California at Santa Cruz, Classroom Unit II ($3 for students, $5 for the general public)
* OAKLAND - Sunday, October 28, 12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. - Parkway Speakeasy Theater (510.814.2400), 1834 Park Boulevard ($5 admission)

For more information, please visit CAPE's website at www.capeanimals.org or contact Jennifer McHale, Program Manager, at 831-688-5225, or jennifer@capeanimals.org.

Note: Please feel free to cross-post and distribute this announcement.

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~5~
P&G Lies
CONTACT: Barbara Stagno, IDA, 914-693-6559
Email: bstagno@ix.netcom.com
Animal Defense League of Cincinnati 513-219-3029
www.idausa.org

P&G Shareholder's Meeting Targeted for Lack of Progress in Halting Needless Animal Tests

Cincinnati, Ohio - Displaying a banner reading "P&G: Where's the Progress?" activists against animal testing to confront participants at this year's Procter & Gamble shareholder meeting to address its lack of movement in eliminating these archaic, barbaric and unnecessary tests.  The protest was to be held at Cincinnati Music Hall on 1243 Elm Street starting at noon on Tuesday, October 9.

In July 1999, P&G responded to the intense and ongoing public pressure over its reliance on animal testing by issuing a news release declaring the company was stopping animal tests. In fact, this proved nothing more than a very savvy public relations move to restore its reputation and win back customer support.

The new announcement carried all sorts of exceptions to P&G's so-called elimination of animal tests. The bottom line is that P&G's announcement only pertained to existing or reformulated products on animals. The company has continued to test new products and new ingredients on animals. In essence, this was not really any sort of breakthrough at all, but P&G hoped to appease consumers into believing it was taking the first step towards a final ban on animal tests.

Now, more than two years later, that misleading "first step" has progressed no further. Meanwhile, P&G was reported by the British media as having "lobbied intensely" to prevent the emerging laws passed by the European Union that will impose a total ban on animal tests on all cosmetic products in EU countries. This effort by P&G shows the company's true intent for perpetuating outdated and cruel animal tests.

Shocking, too, was the recent exposure that the Iams Corporation, a subsidiary of P&G, has been harming and killings dogs and cats, claiming to make a better brand of pet food. In dozens of painful and invasive experiments, the Iams Co., which manufactures the Iams/Eukanuba line of dog and cat foods, has caused hundreds of dogs and cats to suffer and sometimes die in the name of "nutrition research." These experiments were not designed to help the animals involved. These victims were all healthy animals who were used simply as disposable laboratory equipment.

In communications between In Defense of Animals (IDA) and Iams, the company claims it has stopped all such nutrition research in the last two years.  However, it has not yet signed a letter that was presented to Iams in July, asking Iams to more specifically define what it will and will not do in animal experiments. Until such clarification is attained, IDA considers Iams to be sponsoring yet more pain and suffering on animals and will continue to urge consumers to boycott both P&G and Iams.

In Defense of Animals is an international, California-based animal advocacy organization dedicated to ending the abuse and exploitation of animals by defending their rights, welfare and habitats.

IN DEFENSE OF ANIMALS · 131 CAMINO ALTO, SUITE E · MILL VALLEY, CA 94941 · 415-388-9641

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~6~
Strange Species
from CBishop986@aol.com   

Homo Sapiens is indeed a very strange species.  We try our darndest to destroy and kill off our only home that we know and at this point in time, the only place in the whole universe, we, as a species can survive on - the earth.  We do our very best to kill off our fellow non-human inhabitants on this home by many means and under the guise of many rationalizations.  And we do our very best, every nationality all over the world to kill each other, to destroy other, different cultures at the same time, all through the eons of time, again by many and any means and again under guise of many rationalizations.  It is not logical and we, homo sapiens are a very strange species, indeed to behave and act in such a manner.  It is like we, as a species are adamant, whether it is a conscious act or an act buried deep in our psyche about bringing about our own extinction.

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~7~
Taliban Victimizes Animals, Too

http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/274/nation/For_refugees_a_narrow_escape+.shtml
The Taliban fighters herded hundreds of frightened people into the center of the war-ravaged town of Taloqan and paraded out three dogs costumed in Western neckties and waistcoats.

The Taliban had shaved the heads of the three dogs and painted names of the men the regime most despises -- "Bush" for the US president, "king" for the long-deposed monarch whom some want to return to power, and "Rabbani," referring to Burhanuddin Rabbani, a leader of the anti-Taliban Northern Alliance.

The regional Taliban commander, Arif Khan, took out a can of gasoline, doused the animals, and then, according to eyewitnesses, lit a match, proclaiming, "This is what we do to the dogs who oppose Islam!"

Those who did not cheer the immolation of the animals were beaten with sticks, the witnesses said.

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~8~
   Osama Bin Laden
by Gael Murphy - FLVoices@aol.com

Osama Bin Laden,
May his tribe reform.
Began to hate Yanks,
When we fought Desert Storm.

We stationed our troops,
In the deserts of Saudi,
And our female recruits,
Were immodest and rowdy.

They refused to wear burkas,
From their heads to their towses,
And instead of Mohammed,
They liked Jesus and Moses.

In Mecca's direction,
They never once bowed,
And our win in Kuwait,
Made them boastful and proud.

When we drove Sadam Hussein,
In disgrace from Kuwait,
That just made Bin Laden,
And his cohorts irate.

He yelled "Infidels this"
He screamed, "Infidels that",
And he pouted and cursed,
Like a rich spoiled brat.

He had to retreat,
And hide out with Afghanis,
When this creep, once elite,
Was disowned by his granny.

The cruel taliban
Set doggies on fire
and they brutilized women
who wore wrong attire.

Osama was teaching
The virtue of hate,
To young boys who believed,
That to die was their fate

In the guise of religion
In camps and in caves,
He misused the Koran,
to make men into slaves.

He sent little boys,
On a mission of terror,
He thought that would scare us,
And that was his error.

They hijacked four planes,
They knocked down our towers,
They killed lots of folks,
So we marshalled our powers.

We sent over ships.
We sent missiles and tanks,
And the many new soldiers,
Who signed up in our ranks.

And again in our troops,
Were both Sammys and Sadies,
Whose weapons will teach them,
Not to beat up on ladies.

To the poor refugees,
We were humanitarian,
We bombed them with food,
That was pure vegetarian.

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~9~
Memorable Quote

People are unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered,
Love them anyway.

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish motives,
Do good anyway.

If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies,
Succeed anyway.

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable,
Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spent years building may be destroyed over night,
Build anyway.

People really need help, but may attack you if you help them,
Help people anyway.

Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in the teeth,
Give the world the best you have anyway.

~~ Mother Teresa

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Susan Roghair - EnglandGal@aol.com
Animal Rights Online
P O Box 7053
  Tampa, Fl 33673-7053
http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/1395/

 
-=Animal Rights Online=- 
&
Advisory Board Member, Animal Rights Network Inc.,
not-for-profit publisher of The Animals' Agenda Magazine
http://www.animalsagenda.org/
The Animals' Agenda Magazine: WebEdition
«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»
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Whole Or In Part with credit given to EnglandGal@aol.com)

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