A n i m a l W r i t e s © sm
The official ANIMAL
RIGHTS ONLINE newsletter
Established
1997
Editor ~ JJswans@aol.com
Issue # 07/05/03
Publisher ~ Susan
Roghair - EnglandGal@aol.com
Journalists ~ Greg Lawson - ParkStRanger@aol.com
~ Michelle Rivera
- MichelleRivera1@aol.com
~ Dr. Steve
Best - sbest1@elp.rr.com
THE ARTICLES IN THIS ISSUE ARE:
1 ~ Vaja Con Dios! A Quest for Vegan Food in
Spain by Dr. Steve Best
2 ~ The Best of the Best by Michelle Rivera
3 ~ AR2003 East Closes, AR2003 West Ahead
4 ~ The Labradoodle: Coming Soon To A Shelter Near You! by
Patty Adjamine
5 ~ Too "Dam" Funny
6 ~ Billy by Kristen Sharer
7 ~ Memorable Quote
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~1~
Vaya Con Dios!
A Quest for Vegan Food in Spain
By Dr. Steve Best - sbest1@elp.rr.com
I just returned from a three week trip throughout Spain, which prompted
reflections on both Spanish cuisine and bullfighting culture. This is the first
of two articles.
<><><><><>
Like
the Americans, the Spaniards love their meat and dairy. Con mucho
gusto, they consume ducks, sheep, cattle, chicken, pork, and seafood. Spain
is an integral part of the Mediterranean cuisine touted for its taste, variety,
nutritional completeness, and health benefits. The Mediterranean diet centers
around wheat, rice and legumes, greens and vegetables, cheese and yogurt, fish,
meat, and eggs, garlic, olive oil, and fruit. It is laced with delicious wines
from the grapevines of fertile hills and valleys. Although Spanish cuisine in
particular is renowned for its quality and variety, these delights are targeted
for the palate of carnivores.
While European Union countries are ahead of the United States in their
treatment of farmed animals and regulation of genetic engineering and
agricultural chemicals, Spain and its neighbors are far behind in the
availability of vegan alternative products. Having traveled throughout the
European continent, I find that eating vegan is the most difficult in Spain.
With all its Indian and Thai restaurants, London is one of the easiest places
for a vegan to eat. In France, good fruits and salads are abundant. In Italy,
there is always excellent pizza and pasta. Germany is rough, but major cities
like Berlin have world cuisine. In Spain, however, the vegan meets the true
test of principles.
Importantly, there are a growing number of vegetarian restaurants in Spanish
cities such as Barcelona, Madrid, and Toledo, but they are still few and
inconveniently located. Throughout Spain, one finds the amalgam
“bar-restaurant” that is not much of either, and the “cafeteria” that is more
like a bad diner that serves liquor. Many places don’t even offer meals, but
rather the popular menu of “tapas”– a selection of snacks that are all
meat or seafood with the exception of bad patatas fritas (French fries)
that a high school cafeteria would be ashamed to serve, or patatas bravas,
fried potatoes drizzled with hot sauce. Not bad at first try, but a little goes
a long way.
If you find ensalada verde, the green salad, you might think you will
luck out with some bulky spinach or dark greens mixed with other fresh
vegetables. Instead, you will likely get chopped iceberg lettuce with a couple
of tomato slices and maybe an olive or two. One edible concoction you can
sometimes get is “tostada,” French bread with aceite (olive oil),
and some places might even throw on some tomate (tomato sauce) so that
you can fantasize you are eating gourmet pizza. You do sometimes find pizza and
pasta, but they suck and you may not be able to count the number of times the
server’s eyes roll when you ask for pizza sin queso.
Very few restaurants serve fruit; for that, you have to find a produce market.
One of the best bets is vegetarian paella, a tasty baked vegetable and
rice dish served in a round skillet. Also relatively easy to get is gazpacho,
a cold tomato-based soup. One delicious cold drink easily available is horchata,
made of boiled almonds flavored with sugar, cinnamon, and lemon. Blessedly,
olive oil is a staple in recipes and I quaffed gallons of it with stale rolls.
But you can forget about chips and salsa, for that great tradition is hecho
en Mexico.
To have any luck at all ordering vegan, you need some Spanish as very few
people in the service industry or otherwise speak much English. You must commit
to memory, “Yo soy un/una vegetariano/a extremo/a.” You unavoidably
stigmatize yourself as an extremist, but “vegan” just doesn’t translate. To
elaborate, you must say, “No leche, no queso, y no mantequilla”
(butter). Despite repeating this mantra at least four times at an Indian fast
food joint in Madrid, I received a falafel platter with a sauce obviously
contaminated with mayonnaise. I cried, “Senor, dijo que no leche!” to
which the clueless waiter replied, “pero es mayonnaise.”
I fled the restaurant in disgust only to encounter yet another obstacle to
gastronomic satisfaction sure to frustrate the vegan gringo. It was 4 pm, and I
had already put in a long day of walking with nothing in me but a couple of
apples. I felt like the emaciated figure in Kafka’s short story “The Hunger
Artist.” I was roaring to eat, but it was siesta time! Restaurants close from
around 3-8 pm, or even later. Where Americans like to dine around 6-7 pm,
Spaniards don’t eat dinner until mid or late evening. For hours I walked the
streets aimlessly in search of at least some more crappy pizza, but to no
avail. Around 8 pm, I gave up and settled for a bland falafel sandwich with
ketchup at a Turkish fast food dive.
Unlike Americans, who intently close their eyes to the graphic details and
images of slaughtering animals for food, Spaniards do not blanch at the thought
or sight of eating a rotting corpse. Typical of bar-restaurants is the
spectacle of pig legs, from the top of the thigh to the bottom of the foot,
hanging behind the front counter. One of the grisly legs is ensnared in a
cutting block to slice pieces of flesh for the sandwiches or tapas. The
Spaniards apparently love ham, as one regularly passes ham specialty shops
called Museo de Jamon that, true to the name of “ham museum,” look like
a slaughterhouse inside and feature every imaginable way to dismember, display,
and consume a pig. If pig is not to the Spaniard’s taste, there are always the
seafood shops that feature a glass window of lobsters, crabs, squid, and other
ocean delights waiting for the human command to boil them alive. Author Carol
Adams writes about the “absent referent” of animal bodies in food consumption
in order to mask the reality of death and suffering. While this may be true for
Americans, the animal referent is unflinchingly present for Spaniards enjoying
menu delicacies such as “blood pudding” and “brains.”
Like other European peoples such as the Italians and French, Spaniards smoke
and drink copiously. But to my observations, Spaniards suffer far more obesity
than their continental counterparts. The many obese children and adults I
thought were American tourists in fact were natives who have joined the
unfortunate ranks of the Chinese, Japanese, Indians, and other cultures in
embracing the American-style diet high in animal fat and centered around fast
food. Needless to say, McDonalds, Burger King, Wendy’s, Kentucky Fried Chicken,
and other American fast food franchises litter the Spanish landscape, both in
large cities such as Barcelona and Madrid and in smaller towns like Segovia.
Europe is hauntingly beautiful in its preservation of an antiquity unknown to
citizens of the US. Europe has maintained its medieval towns and castles, and
in cities like Granada one can behold the stunning interplay of Renaissance and
Moorish architecture. In Rome, the visible traces of history date back not only
five or eight centuries, but 25, whereas in the US little can endure the
juggernaut of incessant development and the race for the next strip mall.
But Europe increasingly is ensnared between competing cultures of antiquity and
modernity where the beautiful architecture is the backdrop of a traffic jam,
where cell phones rudely ring in the cathedrals, and where American empires
such as McDonalds and the Gap encroach ever deeper into ancient geography and
cultures.
There are many signs of hope, however. As noted, there seems to be a steady
increase of vegetarian cuisine and restaurants in Europe. More than in the US,
there is sensitivity among the politicians and general public about the need to
regulate factory farming. There is widespread opposition to globalization,
genetic engineering, and the use of chemicals in food, as the US insists on
peddling its poisons and Frankenfoods abroad. As evident on sites such as World
Animal.Net, there are many organizations in Spain and other European countries
attacking bullfighting and other hideous forms of animal abuse.
So if you haven’t been to Spain, go, it is gorgeous. But if you are a vegan, vaya
con Dios!
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~2~
The Best of the Best
By Michelle Rivera - MichelleRivera1@aol.com
Last
September, I reported on my visit to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary and
encourage all of our Animal Writes readers to make a pilgrimage to this
very special place. The article started out this way:
In a tiny Utah town just south of the Utah/Arizona border called Kanab lies a
little slice of heaven, the Rainbow Bridge and some of the world's most
compassionate people.
For there, in Kanab, is Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, a truly unique place.
I had the privilege of visiting Best Friends while on a road trip that began in
Las Vegas and took us through Arizona and Utah.
As a professional humane educator, I serve on the board of APHE, the
Association of Professional Humane Educators. It was through this
association that I first met Nathania Gartman, Humane Educator for Best Friends
Animal Sanctuary. Over the past few years we have shared stories about
our experiences in the field, working with inner-city kids, trying to teach
compassion for animals to kids who barely know the meaning of the word.
And as a South Florida resident, I frequently run into the problem of language
barriers as so many of my students are speakers of Creole or Spanish. But
Nathania's challenges have been even greater, for her students are more apt to
be Navaho Indians, with a sub-culture and tradition like no other, and teaching
them about animal rights, animal welfare and just basic companion animal care
when the closest veterinarian is a half-day drive away is more intimidating
that I can even imagine. But Nathania never complains and she always
speaks of her community with grace and gratitude. When I heard Nathania had
been battling breast cancer, my admiration for her soared even higher given the
challenges she faces in her professional and now in her private life.
Unfortunately, Nathania was away at an APHE conference (from which I was
playing hooky) during my visit but we were given the royal tour just the same.
I knew, at the time of writing that article, that Nathania was battling breast
cancer but was winning the battle. Indeed, it was only a few months ago when I
traveled to Lafayette, Indiana, to meet with her and other humane educators for
another APHE conference and to interview her and others for my new book, Canines
in the Classroom (Lantern Books, Fall 2003 publication). Nathania was
the picture of health. She told me stories of how her doctor was amazed at her
progress in fighting the disease, and how she had immersed herself in education
about breast cancer so that she could mount an aggressive assault on it.
She was even teaching others about the merits of a plant-based diet to avoid
cancers such as hers! Ever the teacher, the educator, Nathania was traveling
around Kanab helping others face the fears of cancer.
Sadly, I must report that the humane education movement has lost another
soldier, another teacher, another activist. Nathania succumbed to breast
cancer on July 3, 2003 and leaves a terrible void at that little slice of
heaven that is Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah.
During my visit with Nathania, she gave me some sage advice to pass on to other
humane educators. I leave you with Nathania's words:
"Be clear about what you want to do, the message you feel you have the
expertise to give, if you are a mother with a child who has gone back to school
and you want to give classroom presentations, be clear about what you can do,
know your audience, know your teachers, if you are with an organization, know
what their policies or mission is. Know what is age appropriate. If you are not
comfortable with kids, work with the rotary club or find some other adult
groups. Stay focused. Organizing humane education means to stay
focused and move humane education along. The animals will benefit from
all your hard work. They will reap the rewards of your initiative and
energy."
I am sure that Nathania has stopped at the Rainbow Bridge along the way to be
greeted by the hundreds of animals whose lives she touched before being called
home. What a tail-wagging, tongue-slurping, purrs and kitten kisses
greeting that will be!
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~3~
AR2003 East Closes. AR2003 West
Ahead
From chair@animalrights2003.org
The
Animal Rights 2003 East conference closed on Wednesday with a Humane Education
Seminar, Congressional lobbying, and a demonstration on the National Mall.
Several hundred photos are posted on the conference website. Outlines of
many presentations are linked to the Program Schedule. Audio tapes are
available from JOB_CRS@worldnet.att.net,
202-269-2000, for $8+P/H. Videotapes of the plenaries are available from FARM
for $25.
The program for Animal Rights 2003 West is currently in the works. A
preliminary session schedule will be posted this weekend, and a final program
is expected around July 22.
The first west coast animal rights conference since 1985 will take place on
August 1-6 at the Westin - LAX Hotel in Los Angeles. Approximately 500
participants are expected, including 100 speakers representing more than 50
animal organizations.
Key speakers scheduled thus far include Carol Adams, Alan Berger, Steve
Best, Linda Blair, Theo Capaldo, Lawrence Carter-Long, Robert Cohen, Joe
Connelly, Rod Coronado, Karen Davis, Karen Dawn, Joyce D'Silva, Michael Greger,
Alex Hershaft, Steve Hindi, Kevin Jonas, Elliot Katz, Greg Lawson, Howard
Lyman, Bill Maher, Jim Mason, Jack Norris, Sherry Schlueter, Paul Shapiro,
Lauren Ornelas Sullivan, Peter Singer, Joyce Tischler, and Paul Watson.
The program will include plenary sessions, workshops, 'rap' sessions,
campaign reports, videos, and exhibits, as well as Newcomer Orientation,
planning meetings, group workouts, Employment Clearinghouse, networking
receptions, and Awards Banquet. Several post-conference activities are
scheduled for August 6.
Be there for the animals, and bring your friends!
Sign up today at www.animalrights2003.org, before
the rates go up!
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~4~
The Labradoodle:
Coming Soon To A Shelter Near You!
By Patty Adjamine - Mandy787@aol.com
Director, New Yorkers for Companion Animals
As
millions of friendly, adoptable dogs and cats are destroyed in our animal
shelters for lack of homes, the breeding industry and the media now market and
promote the creation of the "Labradoodle" (originally bred as
"guide dogs"). Touted as having the "intelligence"
and "non-allergic" coat of the Standard Poodle and the personality of
the lab, the dogs were featured this morning (JULY 2, 2003) on the TODAY SHOW
-- and thus seen by millions of viewers aand potential demanders/buyers.
The breeder said these dogs sell for at least $1,800.00 and higher. She
also said "THERE IS A SHORTAGE OF BREEDERS." What of course was
NOT said is how many wonderful dogs are DYING in our shelters, including many
Labs and some Poodles. What was NOT said, is that both Lab and Standard
Poodle puppies are HIGH ENERGY dogs and are an extremely daunting challenge to
raise, especially in an apartment. Where will this new breed of dog be
"found" a few years down the line? Our animal shelters of
course. And in desperate emails and postings circulating on the Internet
begging for "homes."
Pressure needs to be put on "The Today Show" for this irresponsible
"reporting." (Matt Lauer did the interview). Demand that they
do a segment about all the friendly, healthy and beautiful dogs and cats dying
in shelters (especially this time of year!). Admonish the promotion of
any "new breed" of dog as these are essentially MIXED BREED dogs
("mutts") and mixed breeds die by the millions on streets and in
pounds. NO so-called "responsible breeder" creates "new
breeds" by mixing pure breeds together. The stated purpose behind
so-called "responsible breeding" is to maintain the "integrity"
and "standards" of the recognized breeds of dogs and to prevent
extinction. It is NOT to create new breeds for the purpose of making
money!
Please write the Today Show at: today@nbc.com. We cannot let
this slide if we want to prevent "Coming soon to a shelter near you: The
Labradoodle!" Please demand that TODAY expose the carnage that
occurs in shelters everyday due to human irresponsibility -- this
"report" being a prime example and contributor to such
irresponsibility.
*´`³¤³´`*:»§«:*´`³¤³´`*:»«:*´`*´`³¤³´`*:»«:*´`³¤³´`*:»³¤³´`*:»§«:*´`´`*:»«:*³¤³´`³¤³´`
~5~
Too "Dam" Funny
From Jim Willis - jwillis@bellatlantic.net
The Tiergarten Sanctuary Trust
The
following is an actual letter sent to Ryan DeVries from the Michigan Department
of Environmental Quality, State of Michigan, and his response.
Mr. Ryan DeVries
Pierson, MI 49339
SUBJECT: DEQ File No. 97-59-0023; T11N; R10W, Sec. 20; Montcalm County
Dear Mr. DeVries:
It has come to the attention of the Department of Environmental Quality that
there has been recent unauthorized activity on the above referenced parcel of
property. You have been certified as
the legal landowner and/or contractor who did the following unauthorized
activity: Construction and maintenance of two wood debris dams across the
outlet stream of Spring Pond. A permit must be issued prior to the start
of this type of activity.
A review of the Department's files shows that no permits have been
issued. Therefore, the Department has determined that this activity is in
violation of Part 301, Inland Lakes and Streams, of the Natural Resource and
Environmental Protection Act, Act 451 of the Public Acts of 1994, being
sections 324.30101 to 324.30113 of the Michigan Compiled Laws, annotated. The
Department has been informed that one or both of the dams partially failed during
a recent rain event, causing debris and flooding at downstream locations.
We find that dams of this nature are inherently hazardous and cannot be
permitted. The Department therefore orders you to cease and desist all
activities at this location, and to restore the stream to a free-flow condition
by removing all wood and brush forming the dams from the stream channel.
All restoration work shall be completed no later than January 31, 2002. Please notify this office when the
restoration has been completed so that our staff may schedule a follow-up site
inspection. Failure to comply with this request or any further
unauthorized activity on the site may result in this case being referred for
elevated enforcement action. We anticipate and would appreciate your full
cooperation in this matter.
Please feel free to contact me at this office if you have any questions.
Sincerely, David L. Price
District Representative
Land and Water Management Division
RESPONSE
Dear Mr. Price:
Re: DEQ File No. 97-59-0023; T11N; R10W, Sec. 20; Montcalm County
Your certified letter dated 12/17/97 has been handed to me to respond to.
First of all, Mr. Ryan De Vries is not the legal landowner and/or contractor at
(address). I am the legal owner and a couple of beavers are in the (State
unauthorized) process of constructing and maintaining two wood
"debris" dams across the outlet stream of my Spring Pond. While
I did not pay for, authorize, nor supervise their dam project, I think they
would be highly offended that you call their skillful use of natural building
materials "debris." I would like to challenge your department
to attempt to emulate their dam project any time and/or any place you
choose. I believe I can safely state there is no way you could ever match
their dam skills, their dam resourcefulness, their dam ingenuity, their dam
persistence, their dam determination and/or their dam work ethic.
As to your request, I do not think the beavers are aware that they must first
fill out a dam permit prior to the start of this type of dam activity. My
first dam question to you is (1) Are you trying to discriminate against my
Spring Pond Beavers or (2) do you require all beavers throughout this State to
conform to said dam request? If you are
not discriminating against these particular beavers, through the Freedom of
Information Act, I request completed copies of all those other applicable
beaver dam permits that have been issued. Perhaps we will see if there
really is a dam violation of Part 301, Inland Lakes and Streams, of the Natural
Resource and Environmental Protection Act, Act 451 of the Public Acts of 1994,
being sections 324.30101 to 324.30113 of the Michigan Compiled Laws, annotated.
I have several concerns. My first concern is -- aren't the beavers
entitled to legal representation? The Spring Pond Beavers are financially
destitute and are unable to pay for said representation --so the State will
have to provide them with a dam lawyer. The Department's dam concern that
either one or both of the dams failed during a recent rain event causing
flooding is proof that this is a natural occurrence, which the Department is
required to protect. In other words, we should leave the Spring Pond
Beavers alone rather than harassing them and calling their dam names.
If you want the stream "restored" to a dam free-flow condition -
please contact the beavers - but if you are going to arrest them (they
obviously did not pay any attention to your dam letter being unable to read
English)
In my humble opinion, the Spring Pond Beavers have a right to build their
unauthorized dams as long as the sky is blue, the grass is green and water
flows downstream. They have more dam right than I do to live and enjoy
Spring Pond. If the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental
Protection lives up to its name, it should protect the natural resources
(Beavers) and the environment (Beavers' Dams.)
So, as far as the beavers and I are concerned, this dam case can be referred
for more elevated enforcement action right now. Why wait until
1/31/2002? The Spring Pond Beavers may be under the dam ice then and
there will be no way for you or your dam staff to contact/harass them
then. In conclusion, I would like to bring to your attention a real
environmental quality (health) problem in the area. It is the
bears. Bears are actually defecating in our woods. I definitely
believe you should be persecuting the defecating bears and leave the beavers
alone. If you are going to investigate the beaver dam, watch your step!
(The bears are not careful where they dump!)
Being unable to comply with your dam request, and being unable to contact you
on your dam answering machine, I am sending this response to your dam office.
*´`³¤³´`*:»§«:*´`³¤³´`*:»«:*´`*´`³¤³´`*:»«:*´`³¤³´`*:»³¤³´`*:»§«:*´`´`*:»«:*³¤³´`³¤³´`
~6~
Billy
By Kristen Sharer - vicki.sharer@wku.edu
When Billy was 6
One fine Easter day,
He received a gift
With which he could play.
It was a sweet little bunny
With hair to the floor.
What could have happened
When it was found dead by the door?
Accidental, they said.
Billy’s just a child.
He just played too rough.
He got a little bit wild.
When Billy was 10
At a neighbor’s house,
He poured some bleach
On a friendly pet mouse.
Boys will be boys
Is what they said.
Be careful, they added
As they patted his head.
When Billy turned 12
They found some deep cuts
On the face and the neck
Of the sweet family mutt.
No harm was done.
The dog’s not hurt bad.
He didn’t mean to do it.
He truly feels sad.
When Billy was 16,
He took a gun to school.
He fired upon them
While calling them fools.
When Billy was finished
Having his fun,
He smiled at his carnage
And lay down his gun.
The town went on weeping
All through the trial.
He showed no remorse.
He showed not a smile.
What happened, they asked,
To a boy so fine?
How could it be
He showed not a sign.
What about me?
Said the ghost of the long dead mouse.
And I the rabbit
Who was found dead in his house?
And the elderly dog
With scars that still showed
Softly whined and wondered,
How didn't they know?
*´`³¤³´`*:»§«:*´`³¤³´`*:»«:*´`*´`³¤³´`*:»«:*´`³¤³´`*:»³¤³´`*:»§«:*´`´`*:»«:*³¤³´`³¤³´`
~7~
Memorable Quote
"...it does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate,
tireless minority
keen to set brushfires in people's minds."
- Samuel Adams
«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»§«¤»¥«¤»
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=-
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