A Gore-Free Video That Says It All

Please show this to your friends and family who are meat eaters. It is a gore-free video. It shows a cow shedding tears over the horrific fate he is about to experience. I quote from the wonderful Facebook page Animal Rights Activist:

This 34 second footage clearly shows a beautiful, sweet cow shedding tears in the seconds before slaughter. There's no blood or guts in this film so if you eat meat, it's something you can watch. Animals have the same feelings and desires we do. They long for life and love their children. They know love and feel pain, suffering, sadness and terror... just like we do. Reconnect your heart to life and respect for everyone we share this planet with. It just makes no sense to savagely destroy an innocent creature for 20 minutes of taste bud pleasure. We hope you will watch and realize that no amount of personal pleasure is worth taking an innocent life over.

There is no reason to continue this brutality and violence. It is time to end the Dark Ages that animals have been subjected to for so long. The only way possible to bring an end to these tragedies is to go vegan. How many millions - ultimately billions - of cows and pigs and chickens have wept as their lives have been violently taken away from them? This is mass murder on a gargantuan scale. The question is: Are we going to allow it to continue? Or are we going to move on to the next phase of our evolution and insist on treating animals with respect and dignity, and not as commodities?

The decision rests with humanity.

Some videos are so powerful, they need no commentary...

... such as this one. Please watch. Please share. And please do your best to stay away from dairy, for the reasons explained here.

A Mother's Day Message: The Truth About Dairy

Just When I'm Starting to Miss Milk Chocolate...

This is a painful video to watch, but we have to see these videos. I watch them over and over, because they remind us of why we fight (that, is what we stand for). This video is about the price that is paid for the milk that goes into Cadbury Chocolate. And I'm not talking about the financial price. I'm talking about the moral price - the prince in pain, in suffering, in death. Cadbury is a very popular brand in England and North America (Canadians love it). Cows spend "virtually their entire lives" in cramped spaces, giving birth to babies that will be murdered instantly, and milk to human beings who do not need it to survive. Thanks to the group Viva in England for bringing these horrible atrocities to our attention. Let us work toward the day when sentient beings are no longer treated so horribly.

Ask Yourself: Is this really the sort of world we want to create?

Thanks to the folks at Animal Liberation of Australia, we have this stark reminder (above) that calves have shorter lifespans than flies. This sickening state of affairs is thanks to the Dairy and Veal Industries.

Our Israeli brothers and sisters in the Animal Rights Movement run a wonderful website called CHAI (Concern for Helping Animals in Israel). As Chai's Website points out:

In North America, over a million infant calves pass their short lives in wooden crates to produce veal for the table. Their mothers in the dairy industry are condemned to a continuous cycle of pregnancy-birth-lactation to keep producing milk. The veal and dairy industries are therefore completely intertwined and interdependent. In a dairy operation the female offspring replace the slaughtered milking cows, but the male calves, once born, have little value for farmers. One common outcome is to simply leave the calf to die of exposure or to smash his skull with a handy shovel or sledgehammer.

Where there are dealers to collect them, newborn calves are sold as "bob" veal for about $50 apiece and killed, barely able to stand, at under a week old. In larger dairy operations, where more infants are available, traders buy them for sale to veal producers. Once there and crated, they are treated as nothing more than mechanical units of production, never as living creatures with needs and natures of their own.

What kind of a civilization are we when the lives of sentient beings become so meaningless to us that we murder them within a week of their birth? Where is the pro-life movement to help these most vulnerable of beings?

Here's a suggestion: Get rid of those obnoxious "Got Milk?" ads, like the one below with singer/actress Miley Cyrus, replace it with the image above. "Got Flies?" says the new motto. "Well, thanks to veal and dairy, they enjoy longer lives than calves."

The Courage to Stare Truth in the Face

Do you have the courage to stare truth in the face?

If so, watch this video about how our dairy products are made. Even if you're already a vegan, even if you think you know what you're going to see in this video, please take six and a half minutes and watch it anyway.

Truth is not always easy to bear. To watch the suffering that cows and their calves endure is heartbreaking. Many people can't take these videos. They find them too grim. I recall reading a Blog post from one of my favorite vegan cookbook authors, Sarah Kramer, where she said something to the effect that she couldn't watch too many of these videos. She already knew what was in them, and she simply couldn't stand to watch them again and again.

Fair enough. Vegans have already paid their dues. They "get it."

But if you're not a vegan, please have a look at this video. Even if it doesn't stop you from drinking milk or consuming other dairy products, it is important that you think before you eat or drink. Know what you are taking into your body. Know the price that has been paid by living, breathing, sentient beings. Know the violence and suffering that certain choices entail.

Life is short. It's precious. And it means as much to a cow - or any other animal - as it does to us. At this point, I'm going to let the wonderful singer Kate Bush have the last word:

I just could not stand the idea of eating meat - I really do think that it has made me calmer.... People's general awareness is getting much better, even down to buying a pint of milk: the fact that the calves are actually killed so that the milk doesn't go to them but to us cannot really be right, and if you have seen a cow in a state of extreme distress because it cannot understand why its calf isn't by, it can make you think a lot.

Inside the Veal Racket: Yet Another Reason to Go Vegan

Nobody loves dairy products more than me. Whipped cream, ice cream, cottage cheese, cheddar cheese, chocolate milk, yogurt - you name it, I probably crave it right now. But we have to face facts. Whenever we consume dairy products, we perpetuate suffering. Sometimes, this is easy to forget. Meat is easy to give up, but dairy is much more difficult.

This incredible video, made by the wonderful group Mercy for Animals, tells the truth about veal, and it connects the dots between the veal and dairy rackets. The video provides us with a glimpse inside the inner workings of the Buckeye Veal Farm in Apple Creek, Ohio. The whole process is profoundly sick and twisted, when you think about it. Cows are kept in a constant state of pregnancy to keep giving milk. Their babies are ripped away from their mothers so we humans can consume milk that is not meant for us. As this video points out, the calves raised for veal live short, incredibly miserable lives before they're sliced, hacked, butchered and slaughtered so human beings can devour their meat. As the Mercy for Animals website points out, the video

reveals baby calves chained inside 2-feet wide wooden stalls – so narrow they cannot turn around, walk, run, play, socialize with other animals, or engage in other basic natural behaviors. In such tight confinement, the animals are unable to lie down comfortably, breathe fresh air, see sunlight, clean themselves or bond with their mothers.

Think about how ghastly this state of affairs is. If a logical and advanced race of aliens from another planet were to land on earth and see this sick spectacle, what would they make of it?

Bob (The Price is Right) Barker narrates this video. At one point, he says exactly what I believe: "As a civilized society, it is our moral obligation to prevent animal cruelty. And veal production is both abusive and totally unacceptable."

Amen.

I remember eating veal parmigiana in my past life and thinking nothing of it. Like so many people, I lived in a state of denial. I did not connect what it was I was eating with those baby calves being hung upside down and having their arteries slashed open, bucking and kicking as their lifeblood drained out of their little helpless bodies. "There is a crime here that goes beyond denunciation," wrote the great John Steinbeck in The Grapes of Wrath (1939). Steinbeck was writing about the horrible treatment of the poor during the Great Depression. He could have just as easily been writing about our gruesome and horrific treatment of animals.

Even if you think you know the horrors of veal production and how it ties in with dairy production, please watch this video because it will break down the walls of denial. The history books won't fondly remember the human race at the dawn of the 21st Century when it comes to our treatment of animals. But thanks to groups like Mercy for Animals, we are slowly making a journey in a new direction.

Great News From Our Brothers and Sisters in Israel!

You know me. I love to balance bad news with good news.

Now for the good news!

Israel, I have said many times in this Blog, is one of the leading countries in vigorously promoting animal rights. Israeli laws have long been strong in forbidding the worst sorts of abuses of animals. And, unlike what we see happening so often in North America, those caught abusing animals in Israel are almost always punished under these laws.

The Israeli Supreme Court has already banned the force feeding of ducks and geese, which was a real blow to the foie gras racket there. There is now a bill in the Israeli Knesset seeking to "outlaw the production, processing, import, export and sale of fur from all animal species not part of the meat industry." (Source) Passage of this bill would be a colossal victory for the global anti-fur movement.

And it was with great joy that I read this article, posted by my comrades at Anonymous for Animals, Israel's leading animal rights group.

Israel's largest veal-farm in Bazra has closed down

The owners of the farm, the Leicht Family, decided to stop the cruel production of "special-fed"or "milk-fed" veal. They announced that their decision comes in the wake of a public relations campaign against them and the new regulations that have passed following the pressure on the government applied by Anonymous for Animal Rights. The new regulations put substantial limitations on calves' husbandry and consequently on the production of veal.

The Bazra veal-farm became a prime target for animal rights lobbyists, because of its sheer size and the fact that it is located close to Israel's economic hub, Tel Aviv. Protests were held at the farm and animal rights activists gave water to the dehydrated calves (dehydration is part of the production method). Anonymous for Animal Rights visited the farm repeatedly for documentation, and filed complaints against the owners for ignoring laws and regulations, to both the police and the Ministry for Agriculture. The Leicht Family was greatly agitated by critical articles in the local press and the lasting public pressue, and even threatened to file a libel suit against Anonymous for Animal Rights, but eventually decided to stop the veal production. Part of the farm is being dissolved now and the last "special-fed" calves have been sent for slaughter. However, the Leicht Family's other business, raising calves by common methods, is continuing. (Source)

Chalk this up to yet another triumph for animals in Israel. Their example is one that all nations around the world should seek to emulate. (Note: The image above is a veal farm in Israel; the Bazra veal farm actually closed last year, but this is such a great development - one I haven't noted on my Blog - that I couldn't resist commenting on it. - A.H.).

Some Compelling Reasons to Steer Clear of Dairy & Veal

If you can spare two minutes and 17 seconds, watch this terrific Humane Society of the United States video about veal and baby calves.

This is actually a very mild video compared to another video about the slaughter of calves that I watched on YouTube. I am linking to the video, titled "Calves Slaughter," here because the imbedding has been disabled for it, so I can't post it on this Blog. Of the two videos, "Calves Slaughter" is much more difficult to watch. It's more graphic. It doesn't have narration. It relies on the power of the image to convince the viewer. If I could post it on this Blog, I would. But I can't. So you'll have to follow the link. Please. The video is three minutes and fifty seconds of brutality.

These videos are difficult to watch. No two ways about it. But I must confess: There are times I really miss dairy products, particularly cheese, ice cream, cream cheese, cottage cheese and whip cream. The other day, I yearned for something - anything - with melted cheddar cheese on top of it. That's pretty normal for a vegan who has spent most of his life as an omnivore. These are the foods we've loved our entire lives and giving them up isn't easy. It was easy to give up meat. It's flesh. I don't miss it one iota. But the cheese - oh the cheese! - was not easy to cut out of my diet.

Every time I get an itching to go back to eating cheese, I watch these videos. I can't say my craving completely goes away, but these videos remind me - in very emotional, primal, meaningful ways - what, exactly, is at stake here.

We shouldn't go vegan because it's the "politically correct" thing to do. We shouldn't go vegan because it will seem to cool to others. We shouldn't go vegan because loved ones are vegan and we want to be accepted by them. And while a healthier diet is a good reason to go vegan, it is by no means the only reason. For many of us, animals are the main reason we go vegan. There is not much in this world that I'm rigid about, but I am rigid in adhering to a vegan diet. I miss some of the foods I gave up. But these videos remind me that giving those foods up was the right thing to do.

A Beautiful (not grim!) Video about Cows Living Life to the Fullest

If you get a moment, please watch this moving YouTube video about cows and calves. These animals are incredibly affectionate and loving. You can clearly see in this video that they form bonds with each other, take care of one another and they love being on the receiving end of affection just as much as your or me. The film footage in this video is really quite extraordinary. And, unlike so many of the videos I post on this Blog, this one does not contain any scenes of violence or animals in distress.

The kinds of scenes like the ones in this video are so important because they help tear down the wall of denial. Long before I became a vegan, I stopped eating pork. Why? About four years ago, I was at the Royal Winter Fair, a huge farming and agricultural event held in Toronto, with my companion. We were able to spend time with the pigs and see just how human they really were. At that moment, we both swore off pork, bacon and all other products that come from pigs. That one fantastic afternoon of spending time with pigs did more to destroy our denial than anything else we had ever experienced.

For a long time, I convinced myself it was OK to eat fish, chicken, beef, etc., even though I didn't think it was OK to eat pork, ham, bacon, etc. The reason I was able to go on eating other kinds of meat was that my other walls hadn't quite been torn down yet. Now that I watch this video of these precious animals living, loving and enjoying life (and bonding with human beings, too), I see how wrong I was about those other animals. Cows, chickens, sheep, and all other creatures deserve to live happy and healthy lives as much as pigs.

Watch this video, especially if you're wondering about the ethics of eating meat. See how amazing these cows are. And ask yourself, "How can I go on eating them?"

The Brutality of the Dairy Industry Exposed by Farm Sanctuary

If you get a chance, please take a few moments to watch this superb video. It won't take you long. It's called "Behind the Mustache" (meaning milk mustache). It is a tragic video by the wonderful folks at Farm Sanctuary that shows, in an uncompromising way, the brutality of the dairy industry.

The day will come, I am certain, when good people will look back on this time in which we live and they will regard our treatment of animals as utterly barbaric. Generations from now, men and women, young and old, will gasp when they watch films such as this one, that show frightened and bewildered calves being reduced to mere commodities. Brutalized. Squirted down with hoses. Left to suffer in the dirt. And dragged off and turned into veal, without tasting the milk of their mothers. Because we human beings rob that milk from their mothers and drink it when we do not need it for our survival.

I watch films such as this one and regret that I was blind for so long. I regret I did not become a vegan 20 years ago.

But there is a wonderfully hopeful side to this video. Please keep watching it. Six minutes and forty-five seconds into the video, a caption comes on that says, "It Doesn't Have To Be This Way." And it shows calves who were going to be slaughtered and ended up in Farm Sanctuary's California shelter. These calves are happy. They're full of spunk and life and curiosity. They run and play and live the long lives that they were meant to live.

So a hundred years from now, future generations will speak of the barbarism that existed in 2010. But just as we today remember tiny pockets of abolitionists in the 1830s, 40s and 50s who resisted slavery, future generations will remember small groups of people living today who made a difference in the lives of animals. True, our numbers are small. But those who advocate for the rights of animals will be regarded the same way that we today regard abolitionists such as Frederick Douglass and Harriet Beecher Stowe.

There is a lot of violence and malevolence in this world. There is a lot of cynicism and indifference, too. But one need not search hard to find inspiring examples of compassion, kindness, courage and hope. These wonderful qualities are as abundant now as they ever were in the past, and they will one day triumph over violence, indifference and the commodification of living beings.