From CNN: “Half-million Pigs To Be Slaughtered in Chile Health Emergency”

A factory farm is closing in Chile this week, after pigs were abandoned to live and starve in their own filth for five days, deeming them too unsanitary for human consumption. 500,000 lives, each one more intelligent than the dog sleeping at my feet, lost. For greed and bacon. My heart is broken. RIP babies. 

“They are going to be slaughtered. They are not going to another farm, nor to another plant.”

- Jose Guzman, CEO of Agrosuper, owner of the farm

As a lifelong lover of pigs (the film ‘Gordy’ turned me veg at 8 yrs old), gestation crates are, for me, one of the most heartbreaking elements of the factory farming system.

More than 6 million pigs in the U.S. are kept as breeding sows on factory farms…For a 400-pound sow, it’s such a tight fit that she can’t turn around, lie down comfortably or take more than a step forward and back for most of her life.

- Farm Sanctuary

Because most humans prioritize a momentary experience of gustatory pleasure above not only animal welfare but also their own health, mama pigs are subjected to a lifetime of loneliness, discomfort, and confusion. 

We can fight this by choosing and promoting a cruelty-free lifestyle (it’s fun, I promise!).

I may be about 2000 years late, but I’m kind of in love with Plutarch.

“Can you really ask what reason Pythagoras had for abstaining from flesh?

For my part I rather wonder both by what accident and in what state of soul or mind the first man did so, touched his mouth to gore and brought his lips to the flesh of a dead creature, he who set forth tables of dead, stale bodies and ventured to call food and nourishment the parts that had a little before bellowed and cried, moved and lived. How could his eyes endure the slaughter when throats were slit and hides flayed and limbs torn from limb? How could his nose endure the stench? How was it that the pollution did not turn away his taste, which made contact with the sores of others and sucked juices and serums from mortal wounds?… It is certainly not lions and wolves that we eat out of self-defense; on the contrary, we ignore these and slaughter harmless, tame creatures without stings or teeth to harm us, creatures that, I swear, Nature appears to have produced for the sake of their beautyand grace. But nothing abashed us, not the flower-like tinting of the flesh, not the persuasiveness of the harmonious voice, not the cleanliness of their habits or the unusual intelligence that may be found in the poor wretches.

No, for the sake of a little flesh we deprive them of sun, of light, of the duration of life to which they are entitled by birth and being.”

- Plutarch, 46-120 AD

Do Plutarch a favor and check out Mercy For Animals.

Me with a beautiful rescue pig at Animal Acres

I’ve been dreading this doctor’s visit for a while. I know my vegan diet drastically reduces my risk of cancer, heart disease, osteoporosis, and type 2 diabetes, but I also know most Americans think consumption of animal proteins is necessary for adequate intake of protein, iron, B12, and other vital nutrients. My Mom (who is now vegan, but is still neurotically obsessed with my health) talked me into getting a full blood test to make sure I’m doing alright. While I eat relatively healthy, I’m not obsessive about supplements or vitamins, so I had no idea what to expect.

My doctor ran a bunch of tests, but the highlights are below.

Spoiler alert: I’m disgustingly healthy.

In conclusion, while it’s very important to pay attention to nutrition (and I promise to do a better job), even if you don’t, a standard vegan diet can provide an exceptionally healthy amount of nutrients and saves you from a multitude of devastating and crippling diseases.

Also, you don’t have to unnecessarily murder any animals, and that’s nice too.

Interested in going vegan? Check out ChooseVeg.com!

If any kid ever realized what was involved in factory farming they would never touch meat again. I was so moved by the intelligence, sense of fun and personalities of the animals I worked with on “Babe” that by the end of the film I was a vegetarian.

~ James Cromwell

I will forever cherish the day I met James Cromwell (in the pig pen at Animal Acres!)

My incredible friend Amanda Fortino snapped this shot today at Farm Sanctuary, and I couldn’t help but share. This pig and cow were bred to end up on someone’s plate or body, but fortunately were rescued by the heroic Farm Sanctuary team. Billions of others just like them are massacred annually to satisfy human greed and selfishness.

These magnificent animals express tenderness and curiosity just like our beloved cats & dogs. They are intelligent, social, and just as capable of fear, loneliness, and misery as any other being.

Choose compassion over convenience. Choose honor over horror. Choose integrity over insensitivity. Choose progress over pain. Choose truth over tradition. Choose action over ambivalence.

Choose vegan.

The next time someone asks you:

“Why do you fight for animals?” or “Why are you vegan?”

This is why.

BEST. NEWS. EVER.

I’ve been raving about Bold Native FOREVER, but until now it hasn’t been available to stream online. Of course you should buy the DVD (I own three copies), but this is a good start! The WHOLE movie is on YouTube!

Seriously, if you’ve ever loved an animal in your life, this movie will rock your world. If you’ve seen it, what did you think?

Accountability in Our Diets

If you wouldn’t personally castrate an animal without anesthetic,

if you wouldn’t work at a factory farm,

if you wouldn’t take a baby away from his mother,

if you wouldn’t brand someone’s skin,

if you wouldn’t cut off beaks, toes or tails,

if you wouldn’t deprive someone of light,

if you wouldn’t deny someone space to stretch or even walk,

if you wouldn’t drive the transport truck,

if you wouldn’t use the bolt gun or the electric prod or wield the knife,

why would you support the end product?

(via sheldrakillher)