Meet Yvette: The Chimp Who Survived 30 Years in Medical Research. Meet Yvette. She was born in the wild and captured when she was less than two years of age. Her mother and other members of their community were probably killed in the process. Imagine trying to take a human baby away from her mother; you would get the same response from chimpanzee mothers, who are as deeply connected to their young as we are. She was transported from Africa to a medical research laboratory where she spent 30 years as a test subject and as a breeder. Thirty years. In 2002 she was rescued by Dr. Dr. It’s sad to say, but Yvette is considered one of the lucky few. We can all help put an end to the use of animals in laboratories. Purchasing power: Every time you spend money on a product, you are supporting the person or corporation who made it. Advocacy: Speak up for animals in laboratories. Support sanctuaries: Help primates such as Yvette, and organizations such as Save the Chimps continue their invaluable and necessary work.
Out With the Races: The Cruel Truth Behind Horse Racing. So here we are, a day after the Kentucky Derby, with the Preakness and Belmont Stakes galloping close behind. Just last month, Dooneys Gate and Ornais died in the Grand National at Aintree, near Liverpool. The winning horse, Ballabriggs, was too exhausted to be ridden into the winner’s enclosure. Each year, some 18,000 foals are born into the British and Irish racing industries. Fewer than half of them will go on to race. The fate of those who don’t make the grade is rarely discussed on television or in betting rooms.
Of those who race, about 420 each year will be run to death, according to Horsedeathwatch.com, which has tracked horse deaths since March 2007. In Australia’s steeplechase events, five horses have died this year alone. The horses don’t all die in plain sight. Yes, as I child I watched jumping events. The show went on. According to the Department of Agriculture, horses are Kentucky’s largest agricultural product. Clearly the vested interests are significant.
The Truth About Horse-Drawn Carriages in New York City. “Excuse me. We’re collecting signatures to support Intro. 86, which replaces horse drawn carriages in the park with electric energy efficient vintage cars. Better for the environment and no animal abuse. Are you interested in signing?” I muttered this phrase all afternoon as I volunteered for New Yorkers for Clean, Livable & Safe Streets (NYCLASS), an organization dedicated to increasing the quality of life for New Yorkers and our horses through “education, advocacy and legislation.” There are over 200 horses in New York City working nine hour shifts, carrying carriages that weigh hundreds of pounds, breathing in exhaust, and getting spooked by the taxis and buses. It costs the city hundreds of thousands of dollars annually to monitor the horse-drawn carriage industry, and a 2007 audit by the city’s Comptroller revealed that the horses are not adequately cared for. The carriages slow down traffic, increasing exhaust and pollution around Central Park.
What can you do to help the horses? “Cruelty-Free” Is More Than A Label: Animal Testing And You. In the game of life, animals have become pawns for the human race; they are selectively bred, used and abused so we can feed our insatiable appetite for progress, luxury, comfort and pleasure. Besides the issue of eating animals, no other issue has been the subject of as much widespread attention and controversy as animal testing. Although many claims have been made either way, large-scale studies of their efficacy in advancing human health and well-being have been rare.
Many experiments cause extreme suffering, often to the point of the animal’s death. Even when they are not being experimented on, animals suffer stress in laboratories where they are typically kept in barren containers or kennels. Some spend their entire lives in solitary confinement and are denied any company or comfort. After the animals have been used in experiments they are usually killed, although many are kept alive to be used in ongoing experiments over a period of months, or even years. 1. 2. 3.
A Poignant Riddle: Are Cows Herbivores or Omnivores? It’s heartening to see that the Occupy Wall Street protesters have included widespread industrial animal abuse in their list of atrocities perpetrated by the corporations that have taken over our governments: “They have poisoned the food supply through negligence, and undermined the farming system through monopolization. “They have profited off of the torture, confinement, and cruel treatment of countless animals, and actively hide these practices.” (www.nationofchange.org) As we are awakening to the widespread corruption and inequity that are devastating our economic, governmental, environmental, and cultural well-being, I’ve found it to be highly illuminating to look deeply into our food system and its enormous repercussions that radiate into every aspect of our lives.
As I discuss in The World Peace Diet, our unwillingness individually and collectively to recognize and take responsibility for the massive violence required by our food choices is our defining blind spot as a society.