A n i m a l W r i t e s
© sm
The official ANIMAL
RIGHTS ONLINE newsletter
Publisher ~ EnglandGal@aol.com
Issue # 08/30/00
Editor ~ JJswans@aol.com
Journalists ~ Park StRanger@aol.com
~
MicheleARivera@aol.com
~ SavingLife@aol.com
Layout ~ Corrynthia@aol.com
THE EIGHT ARTICLES IN THIS ISSUE ARE:
1 ~ A One-minute Course on the
Psychology of Vegetarianism -
by
MicheleARivera@aol.com & Psych SLW@aol.com
2 ~ League of Humane Voters Website - submitted
by BnzaJ@aol.com
3 ~ Home again - by Pat Ritz
4 ~ Essay Contests - The Fund for Animals
5 ~ Rally For Horses - submitted by
blueiris@net1plus.com
6 ~ Recipe: Banana-Oatmeal Lunchbox Cookies -
corrynthia@aol.com
7 ~ Poem: Eulogy to the Dog - by
Senator Vest
submitted by
DRAGONGYRL@aol.com
8 ~ Quote to Remember - Thomas Alva Edison
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A
One-minute Course on the
Psychology of Vegetarianism
by MicheleARivera@aol.com & Psych SLW@aol.com
I
was pleased to learn that a longtime subscriber to a little weekly newsletter
that I publish, The Prayer Alliance For Animals, lives close to me and is a
doctor of psychology. This revelation came about when I mentioned that I
truly enjoy the pet therapy that I have been doing at Hospice with my canine partners,
Woody & Katy. Dr. Weiss disclosed that we had a little something in
common, as she is a psychologist who has a a general practice in West Palm
Beach, and has many patients who are disabled and elderly. We moved our
conversations from the internet to the telephone and found we had a lot more in
common, like our aversion to meat. When Dr. Weiss sent a letter to the
editor of Psychology Today, she was kind enough to send me a copy of the
letter, which I enjoyed reading. I asked her permission to share it with Animal
Writes readers as well, because I think there are so many of us who have
had exactly this experience.
Dr. Weiss, Stephanie, has a philosophy regarding the consumption of
meat, fish and fowl, as contributors to violence in our society. Carol
Adams thought so too, particularly when it deals with violence towards women,
and discussed that philosophy in detail in her book The Sexual Politics of
Meat.
Speaking of her childhood, Stephanie said "I had a fierce aversion to the
blood found floating under a steak, or soaking a hamburger bun. Although my
parents told me it was "juice," I knew that animal juice was none
other than blood. I could not help but imagine the killing of the poor animal
on my plate, and the image of that pain and suffering made me sick inside.
Thereby, a vegetarian was born. It has always struck me as strange that more
people don't share my aversion, as most people wouldn't be able to kill an
animal for meat.
Is the human ability to block out the unpleasant that powerful that
someone who would rather die before clubbing a cow or lamb to death feels
comfortable paying someone else to do that for them? Dr. Weiss puts this
question to the editors of Psychology Today. I guess we all wonder
about this from time to time too. I know I certainly have.
Dr. Weiss continues: As a psychologist, I am also reminded of a theory
that I learned about in college, 'cognitive dissonance.' .....this theory
illuminates people's blocking out one part of their reality when dissonance
arises. In the case of meat eating, 'I could not kill. I love animals' and the
conflicting reality that 'Everyone eats meat. It is on every menu. It is fed to
me by nice, loving people,' creates dissonance. With the strong social
pressure inherent in the latter message, is it no wonder that the former gets
magically erased from consciousness?"
In this culture of violence where we concerned citizens are asking "why,
why?" after such atrocities as Columbine, sadly, we must look at our own
culture for answers. Our children are desensitized towards bloodshed at an
early age. Our acceptance of the mass slaying of animals for our own desire,
hand in hand with the violence depicted in movies, TV and video games,
powerfully desensitize people early in life to the pain and suffering of
others.
Dr. Weiss closed her letter to the editors by asking if perhaps they would
assent to discussing this view in a future issue of Psychology Today;
and proffered this quote:
"In my forty years of ministry it has become quite
evident that
vegetarian families have far fewer problems than
those who are not
vegetarian. If children are raised as vegetarians,
every day they are
exposed to nonviolence as a principle of peace and
compassion.
Every day they are growing up they are remembering
and being
reminded to not kill. They won't even kill another
creature to eat,
to feed themselves. And if they won't kill another
creature to feed
themselves, they will be much less likely to do
acts of violence
against people."
~Satguru Sivaya Subramuniyaswami
I agreed with Stephanie and look forward to such an article because of the
obvious dichotomy inherent in the idea of compassionate, civilized people
thinking nothing of living in a constant state of denial. It would be
lovely if a mainstream, conservative magazine would embrace an idea that,
heretofore, has been only addressed in animal-rights magazines, such as
Animals Agenda and pseudo animal-rights magazines such as Vegetarian
Times.
As animal-rights activists we pay close attention to the local matters that we
hear and see every day through our local media that involves animal cruelty and
abuse. But as activists our energies are far more focused on the
institutionalized, legalized, accepted animal abuses, such as those that occur
in factory farming and slaughter. There is no such thing as humane
slaughter, that is an oxymoron. To think otherwise is to be firmly rooted in
denial. Denial. Perhaps that's the biggest social evil of all time,
since our collective society suffers from it.
When we continue to kill animals for food, fur and research, or because they
are homeless, pesky or surplus, we demoralize ourselves as a society. We
bring ourselves down. Way, way down. We love Gandhi's quote The
greatness of a society and its moral progress can be judged by the way it
treats its animals, but have we really taken the time to think about what that
means? What he is saying, essentially,
is that the morals of the citizens of our country are judged by how we
treat the sentient beings that live here with us. I guess thats no
surprise given the popularity of the Jerry Springer show. If we didnt
kill animals for such senseless reasons, I wonder if the final effect would be
the cessation of those behaviors and our fascination with them.
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League of Humane Voters Website
submitted by BnzaJ@aol.com
We
are pleased to announce the launch the League of Humane Voters web site.
The League strives to advance the humane and ethical treatment of animals
through political action. It is our belief that establishing an organized
national and local "pro-animal" voting block is critical if
significant progress is to be made in all areas of animal activism.
In short, the League organizes registered voters for the purpose of
coordinating support for elected officials that have an established record on
humane and ethical animal policies and legislation and those willing to
establish one.
Please visit our web site at:
http://www.humanevoters.org
to
find out more and/or sign-up. In any event, feel free to distribute this
notice to like-minded people.
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Home again
by Pat Ritz
<catspjs6070@hotmail.com>
I
guess it had to happen some time during our long road trip of thousands
of highway miles. It occurred in Georgia, as we were on our way home. One
of those huge triple-tier trucks barreled past me on I-75. I glanced over
and saw a lot of black and white. Cows.
Joan was sleeping beside me, and I didn't want to wake her. So there I was
driving 70 miles an hour and trying not to sob out loud. Thinking about the
cows enduring 90+ heat, with no food and water. Knowing that they are headed
for the slaughter house. If the trip breaks them down and they can't walk to
slaughter, they will be dragged there in chains. They are supposed to be
stunned before the killing, but it's an imperfect system and they may still be
conscious when they are hung upside down to have their throats cut.
Many images and learnings from our trip came to mind. The huge and gentle cows
we met at the Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glen NY and at PIGS, a Sanctuary in
Charles Town WV. I remember one of the interns telling me about a giant cow, 7
feet tall at the shoulder, who "licked me -- and its tongue was THIS
LONG" gesturing with hands about three feet apart.
I remembered hearing about dairy cows, how they are kept constantly pregnant
and their babies are taken away from them almost immediately. The males go
directly into veal production, the cruelest meat industry. The dairy cows lead
unnatural lives, pumped full of hormones to maximize milk production, often
suffering painful mastitis. When their milk slows down, they get on those awful
trucks and go to slaughter -- for hamburger meat.
Joan and I have become more and more convinced that veganism is the only
ethical food choice. It is not only compassionate toward animals, but it is the
most healthy for both people and the environment. We may share more of this
information, but hope all of you will be thinking about where your food comes
from. In the meantime, we are back home in Florida and planning to be activists
and advocates for the animals.
Blessed
be,
Pat & Joan
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Essay Contests
The Fund for Animals
Email: fund4animals@fund.org
To
honor the millennial year, which has been declared The Year of the Humane
Child, The Fund for Animals is sponsoring essay contests for students at the
Elementary, Middle, and High School levels. In each age group a first prize of
a $100 US savings bond and a second prize of a $50 US savings bond will be
awarded.
Elementary School (grades 4-5): write an essay of 200 words or less as
if you were a deer during deer hunting season.
Middle school (grades 6-8); write an essay of 500 words or less as if
you were a deer during deer hunting season.
High school (grades 9-12); write an essay of 750 words or less answering
the question, Why should animal cruelty laws protect dogs and cats but not
animals who live in the wild? Take into account that animals in the wild have
the same sensibility to fear and pain as companion animals, i.e. similar
sensory organs, nervous systems, and brains.
Elementary and Middle school entries will be judged on language skills,
empathy, and humane sensibility. High school entries will be judged on the use
of evidence and logical argument, language skills, and humane
sensibility.
Deadline is December 1, 2000.
For further information, contact
Project Respect
The Fund for Animals
8121 Georgia Avenue, Suite 301
Silver Spring, MD 20910
Telephone 301-585-2591
fax 301-585-2595
e-mail: lmiller@fund.org
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Rally For Horses
Submitted by blueiris@net1plus.com
To protest the destruction and butchering of over
four million US horses for human consumption overseas since 1980, and to
prevent this slaughter from continuing, the Humane Organization for the
Protection of Equines (H.O.P.E.) will hold a rally in Lafayette Park, in
Washington, D.C., on September 18, 2000.
An average of 1,000 horses are cruelly slaughtered in the United States every
week, and more horses are shipped weekly from this country, alive, to
slaughterhouses in Canada, and by air to slaughterhouses in Japan.
Gathered by slaughter buyers at auctions, and sometimes stolen, these horses
travel for days in crowded trailers, going from auction to auction until a full
load is reached, then traveling up to 1,500 miles, often without food or water,
in extreme heat or cold, to one of the four US slaughterhouses in Texas,
Nebraska, and Illinois, or to one of the slaughterhouses in Canada.
Witnesses and former buyers report that stallions and unruly horses are often
deliberately blinded to prevent trouble on the trailers, and that stallions
often are castrated, without anesthesia or surgical cleanliness, by the buyers.
A buyer was arrested in Pennsylvania for having two equines, in extreme pain
from untreated broken legs, on his trailer, facing the long trip to the
slaughterhouse.
At the slaughterhouse, the horses are struck with a stunning device, intended
to cause unconsciousness, and hung up by one rear leg to bleed out.
Undercover videos taken in the slaughterhouses show horses struggling
frantically, while being struck again and again by the stunning devices.
Young and old, pregnant mares near term, are all fodder for slaughter, looked
upon by that industry only for their value as meat.
The goal of the Rally is to educate the public about horse slaughter, and to
educate women about the hormonal replacement therapy products which are made
from pregnant mare urine, an industry which causes thousands of young foals to
be slaughtered each year.
The Rally will be held in the Southeast Quadrant of Lafayette Park, Washington,
D.C. on September 18, 2000, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. There will be speeches on
slaughter, on the transportation to slaughter, and on the pregnant mare urine
industry.
The H.O.P.E. website is at http://hoperally.end-horse-slaughter.com, and
digital cards supporting the Rally may be sent from that site. Anyone
interested in attending the Rally may contact H.O.P.E. by e-mail at:
info-hoperally@end-horse-slaughter.com
Regular
postcards in support of the Rally, or requests for further information, may be
sent by regular mail to
H.O.P.E.
P.O. BOX 59
Morris, CT 06763
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Recipe
corrynthia@aol.com
Banana-Oatmeal Lunchbox Cookies
These yummy, three-bite nuggets are moist, chewy and delicious.
They pack well for take-along lunches. Be sure to save some for
after-school treats, too!
1/2 cup unbleached white flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder (non-aluminum, such as Rumford)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1 cup Succanat
1 cup rolled oats
2 T vegetable oil
2 T soy milk
1-1/2 tsp En-R-G egg replacer powder
2 T water
1 VERY ripe banana, mashed
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Lightly coat baking sheet with non-stick spray.
In medium bowl, stir together white flour, whole wheat flour, baking
powder, cinnamon, ginger, Succanat and oats. Add oil, soy milk, egg
replacer powder, water; stir. Add mashed banana and stir well to mix
completely. The dough will be rather stiff, but be sure to incorporate all the
dry ingredients into the wet.
Drop walnut-sized balls 2 inches apart on baking sheet. (Since these
cookies don’t spread, I can fit 20 on the sheet I use!) Bake 8-10
minutes. Cool completely on wire rack.
(If you prefer your cookies flatter, simply press the cookies down with the
spatula immediately after removing them from baking sheet.)
Optional Add-Ins:
1 cup of chopped nuts, any kind
1 cup raisins or dried currants
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
For recipes that call for mashed bananas (breads, muffins, or even smoothies
and shakes) look for inexpensive, really ripe bananas in the bargain bin
of the produce section at the market and put them in the freezer as soon as you
get home. To thaw for use, simply set on the counter for 20 minutes or so, then
peel.
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Eulogy to the Dog
by Senator Vest
submitted by DRAGONGYRL@aol.com
The one absolutely unselfish friend
that man can have in this selfish world,
the one that never deserts him,
the one that never proves ungrateful
or treacherous . . . . . is his dog.
A man's dog stands by him
in prosperity and poverty,
in health and sickness.
He will sleep on the cold ground
where the wintry winds blow
and the snow drives fiercely,
if only he may be near his master's side.
He will kiss the hand that has no food to offer;
he will lick the wounds and sores that come
in encounter with the roughness of the world.
He guards the sleep of his pauper master
as if he were a prince.
When all other friends desert he remains.
When riches take wings
and reputation falls to pieces
he is as constant in his love
as the sun in its journey
through the heavens.
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Quote To Remember
"Non-violence
leads to the highest ethics, which is the goal of all evolution. Until we stop
harming all other living beings, we are still savages.
~
Thomas A. Edison
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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=-
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