Are We Seeing a Pattern? Yet Another Factory Farm Fire in Manitoba...

Two hundred pigs died in the latest factory farm fire in Manitoba. The fire happened yesterday. Firefighters were called out to a farm that housed 1600 pigs. Two hundred sows died in the inferno. Just the other day, I blogged about the infamous "horror farm" in Manitoba, where hundreds of pigs starved to death after being neglected for a prolonged period. Shortly after the appalling discovery of countless pigs who had starved to death, the "horror farm" burned to the ground. Then came yesterday's fire, which caused $300,000 in damages. The farm is "salvageable," according to observers. (Source)

Readers of this blog might also recall my Blog Entry of May 29 about my column in The Waterloo Region Record on the rash of factory farm fires across Canada. At the time I wrote that column, the end of May, 78,466 animals had perished in factory farm fires just since January 1, 2010. That figure has already skyrocketed, especially with the 32,000 broiler hens who perished in a factory farm fire in Abbotsford, British Columbia. Why haven't these factory farm fires caused more outrage? These animals are dying the most violent deaths imaginable. This ghastly state of affairs has to change, or else Canada will develop a reputation as a country that treats its animals horribly.

Sometimes, You Just Gotta Laugh! :D

This is a hilarious scene of Sacha Baron Cohen's outrageous character Ali G. Check it out! Ali G interviews animal rights activists and a woman with a hedgehog. It is so damn funny, like everything else Sacha Baron Cohen does. He asks all kinds of stupid questions, and I know that some sensitive souls might not like his "mouse in the microwave" comments, but the key to remaining committed for the long term to a set of ideals such as veganism or animal rights is to have a good sense of humor.

Incidentally, all of the Ali G episodes - which also includes the alter egos Borat and Bruno - are every bit as funny as this clip. Whenever I'm feeling depressed, I put Ali G in the DVD player and guess what? It cheers me right up...

Winning the Struggle... One Convert at a Time

This is a wonderfully reflective video by actor John Schneider. John was the star of The Dukes of Hazzard in the late 1970s and he still acts in movies regularly and has appeared in several episodes of the new 90210. Like me before I discovered the truth and became a vegan, Schneider thought vegans and animal rights activists were on the extreme fringe. Now he's rethinking that position. Like so many new converts to the cause, Schneider's eyes were opened by the powerful, tragic and thought-provoking documentary Earthlings. This film has converted countless individuals to animal rights and veganism. It didn't convert me - I was won over by the time I watched it. As you probably know by now, the film that moved me to this point was the HBO documentary Death on a Factory Farm. But we owe a huge debt of gratitude to the makers of Earthlings for bringing so many folks over to our side.

I am including this video of John Schneider's reflections because it is deeply touching and it gives me hope.

If he can be won over - hell, if I can be won over - our movement has hope. We're growing. We're on the move. We're winning struggle after struggle. And history is on our side. There are so many reasons to be hopeful - not fake, "whistling in the dark/don't worry be happy" hope, but genuinely hopeful.

Please Take 1 Minute Out of Your Day to Help These Abused Pigs

All it takes is one minute. One minute to help animals who need your help. Please visit this URL:

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/500-pigs-starved-to-death--those-involved-need-to-be-prosecuted

I beg you to take a moment to sign this petition and let the authorities in Manitoba know that the horrifying abuse of thousands of pigs at a farm in Notre Dame de Lourdes, which resulted in the unspeakably awful deaths of well over 600, will not be tolerated. (See my Blog entry here on the subject.)

The very barn that became a ghastly pig torture chamber burned last Wednesday in a fire, not long after authorities raided it and found hundreds of dead pigs and countless others suffering. Luckily, the authorities saved 2000 of the beautiful creatures.

Our animal friends need our help right now. These are extraordinary creatures who all - each and every one - deserve to live much better lives than the awful existences they have lived up until this point.

Time to punish the offenders. And punish them hard.

Even though this case is an extreme form of animal abuse, we should not lose sight of the violence inherent in the factory farm system. Combating awful cases of abuse such as this one should be our Number One priority. The poor pigs who suffered so terribly deserve justice.

Surely, this is a cause around which omnivores, vegetarians, vegans and anyone else with a healthy respect for the sanctity of life can rally.

Vegan Pizza: A Slice of Heaven!

This weekend, I ate pizza for the first time since last year.

It was vegan pizza. I bought it at a wonderful joint called Valentino's in Kitchener. I topped mine with artichoke hearts, two kinds of onions, mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes.

Oh my God. Where's Michael Landon when you need him? This truly was a Highway to Heaven episode...

If you're a vegan and you haven't had a vegan pizza yet, please, please do yourself a favor: Go out and try one right away.

Friends, I was going through some major pizza withdrawals. I know that not all vegan food rivals omnivore food on the Delicious Scale. For instance, I recently watched a crazy clip of Bruce Friedrich from People for the Ethical Treatment going on Fox News right before Thanksgiving 2009 and touting Tofurky, the legendary tofu-based imitation turkey. A right-wing radio talk show guy Mike Gallagher, fresh from devouring a fast food burger, verbally jousted with Friedrich over tofurky. I admired Friedrich for fighting the good fight. But, dude, I wasn't buying his sales pitch for tofurky.

I used to love turkey so much that I'm not even going to bother with tofurky. I have it on good authority (from my companion) that tofurky is a little iffy. Come on, Bruce! I know you mean well, man! But don't ask me to believe that tofurky is every bit as good as turkey. If you believe that B.S., I've got some land in Okefenokee Swamp I wanna sell you. Some omnivore foods simply aren't meant to be imitated by plant-based wannabes.

But this vegan pizza... I mean to tell you: It was out of this world.

Maybe it tasted so good because I was going through serious pizza withdrawals. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that Valentino's just makes damn good pizzas. Or maybe I shoulda given vegan pizza a try long ago. Like vegan hot dogs, vegan pizza is truly as good as the real thing.

Incidentally, my companion loved it, too. I am still - to quote Katrina and the Waves - Walkin' on Sunshine. That vegan pizza kicks ass. Try it, if you haven't. If you don't have a vegan pizza joint in town, go buy the fixin's from the store and cook one up tomorrow.

It is quite amazing, the power of the almighty vegan pizza...

People Making a Difference: Kudos to our British Brothers & Sisters!

Our brothers and sisters are fighting the good fight in England. They're well organized, passionate about their cause and their efforts are bearing wonderful fruit. They are an inspiration to other animal rights activists around the world. They are waging a battle against the factory farm system. And it appears they are winning great victories. We should take note of their efforts. These men and women are truly making a difference for the better.

The New Zealand Herald notes the latest developments:

Plans for three large-scale units in England have encountered fierce resistance from campaigners who say they would cause extra noise, smell and disruption and cause more stress and disease for animals.

Animal welfare organisations fear the proposals are signs that a new intensive system of agriculture could soon replace the UK's patchwork of small livestock farms.

In the past three months, plans have been brought forward for an 8,000-cow dairy farm at Nocton in Lincolnshire and a 3,000-cow unit at South Witham, also Lincolnshire. Both have been withdrawn following fierce opposition.

There is also growing opposition to a 2,500-pig sow farm located at Foston in Derbyshire. The Foston pig farm, according to the animal welfare group Viva, will be the largest intensive factory farming pig farm in the UK. Like all huge factory farm operations, the Foston farm will place pigs in dark, disorienting and cramped places, where they have barely enough room for their piglets.

But the struggle against factory farms in the UK has been a resounding success. And animal rights activists are keeping their marching shoes on to protest the future creation of such gargantuan enterprises. Groups like Viva, Compassion in World Farming and the World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA) are at the forefront of the struggle. Most of these activists do not want to eliminate farming. As Suzi Morris, the director of WSPA, put it:

It's all being driven by economies of scale. We have been importing a lot of milk and the UK dairy industry has been undermined and conventional dairy farmers have been going out of business. We believe that animals should be farmed for food but we don't agree there can be any justification, economic or otherwise, for the commoditisation of animals and their housing in such large units. (Source)

In an ideal world, everybody would go vegan. But it's not an ideal world. And farming is a key part of most economies. I am elated to see so many of these huge factory farm enterprises stopped dead in their tracks before even having a chance to take off. The UK activists are offering a model to the rest of the world on how to resist these giant farming enterprises.

Part of their success has been using populist arguments to their advantage - siding with the small farmer over the impersonal giant factory farm. It's working in the UK. Here in North America, where we have many factory farms and they are fairly well entrenched, that argument is a harder sell. But it is important, nonetheless, that we learn lessons from the struggle in the UK and take heart. Our side is making gains. Each day, animal rights activists have something good to show for their efforts. We're gaining traction. Our ends are noble. Our fight won't end until the life of every animal is respected.

Horror in Manitoba

In Manitoba, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) is investigating a horrifying case of "severe neglect" at a farm (pictured above) in Notre Dame de Lourdes (southwest of Winnipeg).

The scene was straight out of a horror film. The owner of the farm, Martin Grenier, left 2,700 pigs in a barn without feed, water or proper ventilation.

Five hundred pigs died. Authorities were forced to euthanize another 160. The remaining 2,000 were placed in the custody of the chief veterinarian.

Grenier had plenty of food and water to provide for the pigs. Apparently, he simply couldn't be bothered to take proper care of his animals.

Even by factory farm standards, this is ghastly treatment. What is to be done to Grenier? Historically, these sorts of horrific cases of animal abuse have gone unpunished. At the most, the abusers get a slap on the wrist. Rarely are they banned from owning animals in the future. Most of the time, the Martin Greniers of the world get away with it.

Twyla Francois, the wonderful head of Canadians for the Ethical Treatment of Food Animals, spoke out forcefully against the horrible treatment of these pigs. And farmers in the area are troubled by the terrible discovery on the Grenier farm. As a farmer who lives nearby put it, "We are all wondering how this could be? We don't even know how a person could ever think of doing that." (Source: See the Video of the Story here.)

The real test comes when authorities decide how to punish Grenier. Is he going to get away with it, as so many animal abusers have in the past? Or, for once in the long and sorry history of human mistreatment of animals, is the perpetrator going to receive an appropriate punishment?

We shall see.

(Thanks to Twyla Francois for bringing this to my attention.)

Words of Wisdom

I love this wonderful sentiment found on a pin popular among Animal Rights activists.

"Nothing tastes as good as life feels." How true it is! What a profound statement, when you think about it.

Life is mysterious, beautiful, sacred and - above all - fleeting. For animals and for humans. We must learn to treat all life with awe and respect.

The alternative is unthinkable.

Two Tragedies Involving the Treatment of Chickens and Eggs

Chickens are beautiful animals. They're smart. They know math (more math than a fair number of human beings). They bond with their parents, brothers and sisters, and offspring. And each one is special and has a unique way of doing things.

Chickens also experience the worst treatment of any factory farm animals.

Above, I have posted a video by Mercy For Animals (MFA) showing the treatment of chickens at Ohio Fresh Eggs in Croton, Ohio. It is gory. It is heartbreaking. It shows chickens experiencing the worst treatment imaginable. And it is Standard Operating Procedure in chicken farms across the country.

It is sad to see these beautiful animals being violently de-beaked. It is sadder to see them bleeding and hurt and developing terrible sores from their ghastly treatment. But the saddest thing of all is the look of resignation on their faces. They are the living dead. They've given up on life. They are so used to being packed in together like so many ruthlessly exploited commodities.

My friends, it is so, so painful to watch.

If you don't believe this is how chickens are treated in farm after farm after farm across North America, do yourself a favor: Watch MFA's video investigation of the Weaver Brothers Egg Farm in Ohio. Or watch this video by East Bay Animal Advocates of a California Egg Farm. Watch this video by Compassion Over Killing shot at multiple egg farms. Watch this Associated Press video on the horrible treatment of baby chicks.

I could go on and on and on. You get the picture.

By the way, last month I wrote a column for The Waterloo Region Record about factory farm fires that generated angry letters to the editor and a counterpoint column. Interestingly, not a single one of these people who didn't like me pointing out how ghastly and immoral it is that tens of thousands of animals die horrific deaths in factory fires each year in Canada offered a direct challenge to my assertions.

When confronted with the truth, foes of animal rights seldom challenge the truth. More typically, they lash out at the messenger or try to portray animal rights advocates as nut cases or enemies of farmers. It's a load of garbage. And it's a fallacy. We're not the enemies of farmers. We are opposed to anyone who abuses and mistreats animals. And we are determined to use our voices to help the voiceless, no matter what the cost.

Yesterday, a fire at a factory farm in Abbotsford, British Columbia killed 32,000 broiler chickens. Add that to the almost 80,000 animals who have already perished in farm fires in Canada since January 2010 and now you are looking at MORE THAN 100,000 ANIMALS WHO HAVE DIED IN FARM FIRES IN 2010 ALONE (and we're only in June, people). See the article on the Abbotsford fire here, complete with a video.

There will always be men and women who will do their damnedest to justify this sorry state of affairs. They are the heirs of the same inhumane worldview of the men and women who defended slavery in the 19th Century. History has left slavery's defender's in the dust. In time, History will do the same to those who seek to justify the terrible treatment of factory farm animals.

My Column Celebrating the Men and Women Helping Animals in the Gulf Oil Spill

If you get a chance, please have a look at my column on the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. It ran in the Waterloo Region Record and the Guelph Mercury. I'm including the link here to the Guelph Mercury because they posted it on their Website. My column celebrates the brave men and women from around the world who are volunteering to go down to the Gulf Coast to help the animals. Even though there are reasons to be profoundly discouraged, it is also heartening to see caring people out there doing everything they can to help in times of crisis. Check out the column - I think you'll like it.

Incidentally, in Salt Lake City, Utah, there was a fairly sizable oil spill the other day. A Chevron pipeline ruptured, spewing oil into one of the most beautiful creeks in the city, Red Butte Creek. The creek flows to Liberty Park (where there's a beloved pond) and the Jordan River. Both places are popular living spaces for animals. Now those poor oil-covered animals are turning up dead. As one local told the Salt Lake Tribune: "There's so much wildlife here. But that's not going to return in my lifetime. This is a terrible situation."

Once again, good people are taking action, rolling up their sleeves to help. But like those Good Samaritans helping with the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, these wonderful citizens seldom have anything to do with the big oil companies that caused these horrible disasters.

(NOTE: I've posted a video from KSL Television here that shows the awful impact of the oil spill in Salt Lake City...)