The “Question Authority” Diet

This is a reprint of my latest article for "Planet Kansas" --the Kansas Sierra Club magazine.  I've been fortunate enough to be able to write the "Eating as Thought the Earth Matters" column for several issues. 

The “Question Authority” Diet

One of my favorite bumper stickers is the one that simply states “Question Authority.”  Participating in any justice movement requires that of us.  It is by questioning, rather than accepting, authority that we measure the rules, traditions, customs, and laws against our own ethics and our own moral compass. 

In a New York Times article entitled, “Retracting a Plug for Meatless Mondays,” Amy Harmon described the debacle at the USDA when someone recommended in an interoffice newsletter the following: “One simple way to reduce your environmental impact while dining at our cafeterias is to participate in the ‘Meatless Monday’ initiative.” They went on to explain the benefits: “The production of meat, especially beef (and dairy as well), has a large environmental impact. According to the U.N., animal agriculture is a major source of greenhouse gases and climate change. It also wastes resources. It takes 7,000 kg of grain to make 1,000 kg of beef.”

The Meatless Monday campaign is promoted by numerous organizations, including the John Hopkins School of Public Health.  Its goal is to encourage people to go meatless on Mondays to benefit one’s own health, the environment, and the animals. 

Cries of heresy rang out from those who profit hugely from the animal agriculture industry. It did not take long for the authorities to, not only remove the recommendation, but also to state quite authoritatively: “U.S.D.A. does not endorse Meatless Monday.” 

Meanwhile, we go on questioning, and we find that an October, 2012, United Nations Global Environment Alert Service article (at unep.net) reported that: “…the true costs of industrial agriculture, and specifically ‘cheap meat’, have become more and more evident. Today, ‘the livestock sector emerges as one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems’" (Steinfeld et al. 2006).”  Among the stressors to the earth caused by animal agriculture, they list many of the problems we have highlighted in this column—desertification, deforestation, pollution, overuse of water, using grain to feed animals instead of hungry people, and greenhouse gas emissions.

As we question further, we hear from The Center for Biological Diversity.  They report that scientists are asking legislators to reduce public land grazing in the west.   They cite higher temperatures, accompanied by less snow and water, and more fires.  The combination of global warming and the huge stress placed on these lands by domestic animals is causing a situation in which it is becoming more and more difficult for the ecosystems to recover and support the wild animals who depend on them.  They noted that both BLM and Forest Service land is trampled upon by grazers causing erosion and harming water, wildlife, plant biodiversity, and pollination.

As the Question Authority journey continues, a Norwegian foundation known as GRID-Arendal has posted revealing information on their website at grida.no.  They are a group that collaborates with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Regarding fish, GRID notes that out of 110-130 million tons of marine animals, 30 million tons are discarded as trash and 30 million tons are converted to fishmeal much of which is ironically fed to vegetarian animals such as cows.  What will the “authorities” think of next?

We all know that today’s fishing technologies, aquaculture of captive fish, and land animal agriculture pollution are major causes of dead zones and other severe threats to the health of the earth’s waters. 

GRID also points out that the land needed to pasture and grow crops  to feed animals takes up approximately one-third of all arable land, land that could be used to feed people, including the nearly one billion of the world’s hungry human beings.  Imagine, as the global population increases, if the demand for meat increases along with it, as meat producers hope it will, sustainable meat production will be more of an oxymoron than it is now.  Already, approximately 70% of what was Amazon forest has been slashed and burned and is used for pasture and animal feed crops.

It is precisely because we question authority that the giant animal agriculture machine has proposed “ag-gag” bills in 11 states.  These bills are designed to make it a crime to film, document, or otherwise expose activities at agricultural facilities. Whistleblowers around the country have been able to expose animal cruelty, unsafe food practices, and illegal and unfair treatment of workers, but big ag wants that to stop no matter that both human and animal rights are at stake. 

 

In a May 27 press release entitled “North Carolinians to See TV Ads Showing Animal Cruelty the Chamber of Commerce is Trying to Keep Hidden,” the Humane Society of the U.S. (HSUS) states “The narrator in The HSUS commercial calls on politicians and the North Carolina Chamber of Commerce to stop the legislation because it would criminalize undercover investigations, help protect and shield the abusers and violate the First Amendment rights of freedom of speech and the press.”

The importance of whistleblowers and authority questioners cannot be underestimated.  HSUS reports: “A 2008 whistleblower investigation into a slaughter plant in California revealed sick animals being slaughtered, leading to the recall of 140 million pounds of tainted meat, tens of millions of pounds of which was originally destined for school cafeterias across America. Images of workers kicking cows, ramming them with a forklift and using electric prods and high-pressure water hoses to force sick animals to slaughter led evening newscasts and shocked consumers. This one investigation led to cruelty convictions, Congressional hearings, new policy, a shut-down of the plant and the largest meat recall in U.S. history.”

It may not always be the most popular path to take, but without questioners and whistleblowers, this earth and all who live here will continue to suffer under the heels of the toxic industries that profit from exploiting and killing animals, people, and nature.

Refusing to support these industries by eating a vegan, plant-based diet and living nonviolently is one of the most radical, revolutionary acts anyone can take.  Questioning authority leads to researching the origins of the products we buy.  If the source of that product is steeped in violence, we can refuse to support it. Therein lies our power to bring peace and healing to the world.
Copyright 2013 Judy Carman

Compassionate response to turkey's death

Recently a fraternity holiday party at Kansas University turned disastrous for one turkey who was “rented” for the event. Tragically, during the party the combination of too much liquor, underage drinking, no adult supervision, and bravado turned deadly for this turkey who was on display in a cage. The boys kicked in the cage causing the turkey to run terrified into the mob, members of which then decided to torture her or him. Her limbs were broken as the sadism continued.

The band stopped playing and several members attempted to rescue the turkey, but the mob killed the turkey before they could intervene. So they called the police.

The bad news is that this happened at all; that human beings do such things.

The good news is that the University, the Interfraternity Council, the District Attorney, and the main office of the fraternity itself have publicly declared this to be unacceptable behavior. This is punishable as a felony in the state of Kansas, and the display of the turkey is illegal in Lawrence, KS. The police have promised to investigate. Karen Davis of United Poultry Concerns  and Animal Outreach of Kansas both sent out mass emails, and the letters, emails, and calls are flooding into the authorities. Also, the local newspaper, Lawrence Journal World  printed my letter to the editor.

Here is the text of the letter:


"On Dec. 14, the Kansas University Beta Theta Pi fraternity gained unwanted national attention as a result of alleged abuse and killing of a turkey who had been “rented” for a party. According to band members and witnesses, the bird was chased and choked and thrown like a football.

"According to witnesses cited in news reports, when the turkey’s wing snapped, and then her leg, the animal began screaming. After this abuse, the innocent, defenseless bird was killed. KU officials, the Interfraternity Council, and the Beta Theta Pi office have expressed their dismay at this cruel, violent crime.

"If we find this conduct disturbing and cruel, I believe it is because this is one turkey with whom we can identify and for whom we can feel empathy. We might imagine what it would be like to be in the hands of a mob that finds it amusing to torture us.

"And yet, the anonymous turkeys whom we eat are just as innocent and defenseless. If we are capable of feeling compassion for this one, then our hearts are telling us to have the same concern for all turkeys. We can save them from the torture and death they endure every single day on farms and in slaughterhouses by refusing to eat them."

A decade or so ago, such behavior might never have been made public, much less have the possibility of prosecution. Compassion for animals is increasing. In honor of this one turkey, let us give thanks for all the people who are being proactive in seeking justice for her violent death. In honor of the millions of turkeys who are tortured, killed, and eaten every single day, let us give thanks for all those people with caring hearts who refuse to eat them and strive to protect them. May our prayers and our actions never cease as we visualize and work toward a world in which all beings are safe from cruel human hands, and all humanity finally comes to understand, love, and live in harmony with all living beings.

May all beings be happy. May all beings be free.

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This post can also be found in the Prayer Circle archives at www.circleofcompassion.org
Please visit the website www.circleofcompassion.org  often to see updates and special prayers, and also to join in our “A prayer a day for animals” which features a prayer for a different group of animals each day of the week.

Karuna For Animals--a website to treasure

I wrote this for a recent Prayer Circle for Animals Weekly Update. 

Our prayers for all animals continue to circle the earth, to uplift humanity’s consciousness,

and to bless the animals themselves. Thank you for joining people around the world

who are praying this prayer in many different languages but all with the same love: “COMPASSION ENCIRCLES THE EARTH FOR ALL BEINGS EVERYWHERE”

This internet world, techie though it may be, is linking us together in ways few could have imagined 100 years ago. With it, the power of our prayers has grown exponentially along with the realization that millions of us are praying together for a world of peace for all beings. Recently, I met a wonderful new e-friend when she ordered some of the animal prayer flags. Her name is Erica Settino, and I want to share what she is up to, because I know you will love it. Her group is called Karuna for Animals: Compassion in Action. “Karuna,” of course is the Sanskrit word for compassion. They are an all volunteer yoga based group “whose members seek to promote compassion (karuna), peace (shanti), and loving-kindness (metta) for animals of all species. It is our mission to raise awareness and funds for the rights of all animals. Through a dedicated practice of the science of yoga, community outreach, humane education, vegan cooking and nutrition education, and monthly fundraisers, we aim to cultivate the change we hope to see in the world.” The group also has a goal of creating an Animal Sharanam (Sanskrit for sanctuary) on Long Island.

Suresh Jindal is quoted on the website: “Once we experience and feel this inter-dependence of all living beings, we will cease to hurt, humiliate, exploit and kill another. We will want to free all sentient beings from suffering. This is karuna, compassion, which in turn gives rise to the responsibility to create happiness and its causes for all."

Please visit Erica’s website when you get a chance. Not only is it lovely, inspiring, and informative, but it lets us know—there are so many of us holding the vision, doing the work, praying the prayers. So this week, let us hold in our hearts a special prayer for all those out there, many whom we have not yet met, who are faithfully praying for the animals. May the compassion and loving-kindness being endlessly sent out by all of them and by us radiate into every heart on earth.

Thank you from my heart to yours. No matter how long it takes—we are all connected in Divine Love and Truth.

May all beings, including all people, be happy and free.

With Love, peace, and gratitude from Judy

Going Wild for Wildlife

This was my Planet Kansas column, “Eating As Though The Earth Matters," for the Kansas Sierra Club magazine, October-November, 2012, Issue. 

Going Wild for Wildlife

Years ago in the ‘70’s, when I volunteered for Save the Tallgrass Prairie, we made t-shirts for one of our conferences with the saying on it—“Wild Kansas—It’s Big Medicine.” The idea behind it, of course, was that we must keep the wild places wild and protect those who live there, because without them we would “die from a great loneliness of spirit” as Chief Seattle is often quoted. And also because it is simply and obviously our responsibility not to destroy them.

Wendell Berry, in his famous poem “The Peace of Wild Things,” longs to “lie down where the wood drake rests in his beauty on the water…” For many environmentalists, our love for the outdoors and the animals who live there was the main impetus that got us involved in the movement in the first place. And for those of us who were actually alive in the ‘70’s, we’ve accomplished a lot, but we have also mourned many losses and experienced firsthand that “loneliness of spirit” that comes from learning of another oil spill or another animal who has been killed or whose entire species has been lost.

Polar bears and whales

The fragile and pristine Chukchi Sea area in Alaska is under attack by Shell Alaska, now that the federal government has granted Shell a permit. In recent news they had to stop drilling for oil due to huge chunks of ice moving in their direction, but they intend to return and their actions, if they are not stopped by legal means, will cause unimaginable destruction to the land, air, and water there and suffering and death to the many threatened and endangered wild creatures whose habitat is being invaded—polar bears, walruses, bowhead whales, and many others. In addition to the drilling permit, Shell received a waiver for clean-air standards.

Wolves

In Washington state, a rancher lost two animals, allegedly to wolves. The Department of Fish and Wildlife there now plans to kill four of the wolves in the Wedge pack ( also known as a family) causing devastating trauma to the rest of the pack. There are only eight packs in the state barely hanging on after they were exterminated decades ago. Wyoming, on the other hand, plans to kill wolves statewide as their protection as an endangered species has been lifted.
Turtles and sharks

The National Marine Fisheries Service is allowing California to continue fishing with mile-long gillnets. Endangered sea turtles, whales, and many other marine mammals and thousands of fish and sharks, considered trash by the fishermen, are killed by these nets, not to mention the millions who are sold and eaten.

Wild horses

Wild horses are being driven from their last remaining homes by terrifyingly noisy helicopters into holding facilities where their lives become completely disrupted. How tragic to think of that icon of wildness and unbridled freedom being captured and left without any semblance of the life that they love. The reason for this, of course, is once again to allow ranchers to maximize their range.

And let’s not forget prairie dogs and the many other innocent animals who are losing ground (literally) to make room for more livestock or tossed away as trash into the sea Not only are they being killed to get them out of the way, but also their water and ours, their air and ours, and their land and ours are being horribly contaminated by livestock raising and cruel, wasteful fishing practices, particularly when it is intensive factory farming (for both fish and land animals).

The earth matters to us, and the earth matters to all these animals. What can we do to save them and their habitats? Of course, there are many things we can do from letter writing to active protests, but there is one thing we can do that takes no extra time or money. Every day we eat. And how we eat directly affects the earth. Eating animals and their products , as you can see from the sampling above, causes wild animals to lose their habitats and their lives.

There are many programs aimed at getting ranchers to peacefully coexist with wildlife, but progress is too slow. We must do more. Reducing and eventually eliminating the buying of meat, milk, and eggs would end the arrogant practice of killing wildlife to protect animals who are also going to be killed. If you’re wondering why I included drilling for oil as relevant to what we eat, such activities are also deeply entrenched in livestock raising. A November/December Sierra club magazine article (p. 21) reported that if everyone in the U.S. eliminated meat and cheese just one day per week, that would be the equivalent of “taking 7.6 million cars off the road.” To expand that out to eliminating meat and cheese altogether, 7 days per week, that would be equivalent to reducing the need for fuel for 53.2 million cars.

If it sounds like a wild idea, well, I guess it is.

Let’s go wild for the wilderness and all those who live there too.

It’s “Big Medicine” for all of us.

Copyright, Judy Carman, 2012

Dreaming the "impossible" dream

Last Tuesday, October 16, 2012, our elephant campaign to free Tembo and Sunda from the Topeka, Kansas, Zoo ran into a roadblock bigger than any so far. The Zoo hired Alan Roocroft, an expert on captive elephants and their feet, to inspect Tembo and Sunda and make his recommendation regarding their future. Prior to his arrival, we were hopeful, because we had read some of his writings which were strongly worded and indicated that captive elephants suffer greatly from the hard surfaces on which they are forced to stand and lie down.


Yet, to our sad surprise, he stated that Tembo and Sunda were in great health (in spite of USDA violations) and recommended that they stay at the Zoo for the rest of their lives. He suggested a few enrichments, including moving hay around at different heights and locations to keep the elephants busier. The vote from the city council is anticipated to take place October 23, this Tuesday. We will be there but fully expect to see the council vote against sending Tembo and Sunda to The Elephant Sanctuary.

As I have pondered this over the last week, an old song keeps coming to mind. It is “The Impossible Dream.” You can hear it sung beautifully at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dGiemu7IF4. The words bring tears to my eyes for our elephant campaign, but also for all the work that all of you and all animal activists are doing to teach the world that animals are not ours to use, enslave, incarcerate, exploit, eat, experiment on, or force to entertain us. Like the Man of La Mancha in the song, we may be seen as crazy for this revolutionary idea, but our hearts will not rest unless we dream this impossible dream, pray this impossible prayer, and always, always know that ‘though it appears impossible in the physical realm, it is not only possible but the only true reality. Here are the words to the song by Mitch Leigh and Joe Darion. May they bless you and inspire you in your quest to right the terrible wrongs being done to our animal brothers and sisters.

To dream the impossible dream; To fight the unbeatable foe
To bear with unbearable sorrow; To run where the brave dare not go
To right the unrightable wrong; To love pure and chaste from afar
To try when your arms are too weary; To reach the unreachable star

This is my quest; To follow that star
No matter how hopeless; No matter how far
To fight for the right; Without question or pause
To be willing to march into Hell; For a heavenly cause

And I know if I'll only be true ; To this glorious quest
That my heart will lie peaceful and calm; When I'm laid to my rest
And the world will be better for this; That one man, scorned and covered with scars
Still strove with his last ounce of courage; To reach the unreachable star

Thank you from my heart to yours. No matter how long it takes—we are all connected in Divine Love and Truth.

May all beings, including all people, be happy and free.

Should religion or spirituality play a role in how we eat?

Good News: The Lawrence (KS) Journal World published an answer written by me to the question—“Should religion or spirituality play a role in how we eat? Why or why not?”  It appeared in Saturday’s paper 9-21-12.  Thank you, Lawrence Journal World,  for the opportunity to share this message of kindness to all beings. 

“Should religion or spirituality play a role in how we eat?

Why or why not?”

Driving down 6th Street I saw a bumper sticker that read “Lovingkindness is my religion.” Who can argue with that? At the root of nearly all religions, lovingkindness and nonviolence are the spiritual ideals. As people of faith, we hope to apply these ideals as best we can in all areas of our lives. But what about how we eat? If we want to eat with lovingkindness, then we must face the brutal and violent process that sentient beings endure before ending up on our plates.

Very few of us have been on the killing floors of slaughterhouses or stood on the decks of ships that haul in thousands of suffocating and dying fish, turtles, dolphins, and others. So it is easy not to think about the animals themselves. Yet while you read this short article, millions of animals are being raised and killed in ways most of us could not bear to witness. Nevertheless, although we may not see them suffer--our souls hear their cries for mercy.

“Spiritual progress,” said Gandhi, “demands from us at a certain point that we stop killing our fellow living beings...” Schweitzer, St. Francis, Jesus, Einstein, Tolstoy, Rachel Carson, and many others have taught us that nonviolence toward all sacred life must be our aim. The nearly universal spiritual ideal to “love one another” requires us to embrace all beings, not just people, in our circle of compassion. As our faith grows, so does our desire to live by our highest ideals. When we stop eating animal products, we are no longer eating violence, and our hearts and souls can at last be at peace.

We are here, not to destroy but to celebrate life and to love and care for all God’s miracles—all animals and all people-- who share this world with us.

May all beings, including all people, be happy and free.

The Cove--Many pilot whales brutally killed in Japan

If you have seen or heard about the film “The Cove,” then you know what happens there. The season for killing dolphins and whales in the Cove began September 1 and will continue through March. This past Thursday, 24 to 26 pilot whales were acoustically captured by Japanese fisherman and forced into the Cove. Three of the whales were caught and will be sold into captivity. The rest were killed brutally on Sunday, September 9, despite heroic efforts by Sea Shepherd and Cove Guardian activists to try to stop the murders. There is an online article at http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/332430.

Today let us honor those beautiful, innocent whales. Each one of us can hold our own quiet memorial for each one of them. May they swim to the Light on the ocean of tears that are being shed for them by those of us around the world bearing witness to their horrible suffering and death.

We also need to hold in our prayers the Cove Guardians whose hearts are broken again and again as they try to stop this brutality. Let us also send our prayers to the men who are doing the killing. Our prayers have the power to lift them out of their ignorance, greed, and unconsciousness. Truly they do not know whom they are torturing and killing. May each of them look into the eyes of just one whale and be transformed. May their souls meet eye to eye with the souls of the whales and in that moment see the Truth. It is in seeing that Truth, that they will gain the peace and liberation that comes from protecting and loving all beings and never again staining their hands with the blood of innocent whales and dolphins.

Thank you from my heart to yours—we are all connected in Divine Love and Truth.

May all beings, including all people, be happy and free.

With Love, peace, and gratitude from Judy

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I recently posted this as a Prayer Circle for Animals Weekly Update.  You can sign up for these updates at www.circleofcompassion.org.  Please visit the website www.circleofcompassion.org  often to see updates and special prayers, and also to join in our “A prayer a day for animals” which features a prayer for a different group of animals each day of the week. It is also a place to send ideas or prayer requests. Please forward this widely so that we may continue to add more people to our ever-expanding worldwide circle of compassion.