Veganacious

Archive for the ‘Environment’ Category

A google alert for “overpopulation” apprises me of current news on the topic. Sadly, about 95% of the articles deal with humans complaining about animal overpopulation.  Most of the articles have to do with dogs and cats who end up killed or homeless, but other articles frequently lament the number of deer, or other birds and mammals. We have failed to heed the warning of Native Americans many years ago who asked us to consider living in harmony with all other life forms. In Japan, they consider dolphins “pests” because they depend on sealife, fish, for their existence. We humans do not need to eat fish, but we want them, and therefore have pitted our selfish desires against the very existence of a species who must rely on the fish. We kill and eat the dolphins, which due to our abuse and negligence of the oceans are now inundated with mercury, thereby endanger little Japanese schoolchildren who are given the mercury-laden fare in school lunch programs. (For more information, see this review of The Cove).  And while we are fighting the dolphins for the fish, we are taking so much that the oceans may be completely depleted of sea life in the very near future. Who is overpopulated? Who is destroying the ecosphere? It would seem like it isn’t the animals, it is the deadly spread of humanity.

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Early one morning, I decided to capture the morning dew in the green belt, but before I even left the yard, this handsome chap was posing for me. If you notice, he seems to tilt his head ever so slightly and wait for me. I was able to take several shots before he left; he was a very patient subject.  I have noticed that because I get so excited when I find an interesting photographic subjects, the boys are beginning to get excited too. “Wow, this one is beaOOOtiful!”  I will hear them remark. Beautiful indeed.

Notice the collar around his neck that appears almost studded by tiny gold dots, the transparency of his wings, the beautiful golden color of his antennae.  Here he is clinging to a post about 4′ high; how did he hop up so very high? How does such a fragile little creature survive in the world?  It is one blessing of being vegan; I no longer find other earthlings to be invisible. I appreciate them, and recognize what their life must be like, their struggle for existence, their importance to me and to the future.  A casual glance, and the green belt is quiet and still.  But a more careful look, and it is alive with birds, bugs, frogs, lizards, squirrels, snakes, geckos, cicadas, wasps. I can only imagine how alive it must have been before these homes were built. I hope there will be enough life left in the green belt for future generations of these magnificent animals to remain here.

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When I first heard about William Kamkwamba, I knew he was someone who would motivate many other people.  In a time where the obstacles we all need to overcome to help the planet heal, to save the animals, the water, the earth, our health, our future; when those obstacles seem so insurmountable that it is tempting to throw in that proverbial towel, one has only to consider William.  His story is so amazing that he may well be the template we need to save ourselves.  If one young man, with nothing but his excellent mind and good spirit, could dive in and overcome an energy shortage, who knows what else is possible?

William is from Malawi.  At 14, his family was unable to pay the fees that would allow him to continue his education.  But William’s keen mind found books outside of school, and he learned about wind generators.  He had nothing in the way of appropriate tools or materials. The locals all thought he must have been out of his mind, what with the strange creations that were appearing near his home.  But when he was finally successful, ran a wire from the wind turbine to a small radio, and reggae music began to play, the villagers began paying attention.  So did the rest of the world.

Mr. Kamkwamba has now spoken in such prestigious venues as MIT and TED.  He has met many famous people and has received support from all over the world.  But when he was sitting in that library, when he was building his first windmill, no one was cheering him on.  Yet he persevered.  That tenacity is what we all need right now.  We must not let the naysayers have their way.  The most important thing we can do is maintain a positive attitude.  I was personally cheered when I read a post by Angel Flinn, Care2 blogger, about her absolute belief that things were going to turn around, that we would one day have a planet filled with kindness, that animals would one day be free to live their lives without threat of slaughter, torture or abuse.  People like William and Angel have a message for us all.  As long as there is one human being like them alive in the world, the world is already a different place, a place of change.  What they offer us is not just the technology of creating electricity from the wind, or the ability and talent to capture the interest of potential vegans; what they offer us is a can-do attitude of hope and optimism.  There is no hand-wringing here; there is work to be done.  Let’s all get to it!  Go out and build whatever windmill you need to build and speak to whomever needs to hear you.  Remember, William Kamkwamba can create electricity and Angel Flinn can maintain hope despite the odds. So can you.

William Kamkwamba’s Blog

Angel Flinn’s Care2 Blog

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Learning to be an ethical consumer is no overnight task. Finding out about Fair Trade chocolate, learning to avoid products produced in sweatshops, and steering clear of companies that test on animals requires some investigation and research.  No problem is quite so difficult to unravel as that of palm oil.  A small little seed from the palm plant, it provides one of the most commercially popular and profitable sources of oil for most baked goods, snack foods, vegetable spreads, as well as soap and lotions. In fact, you may be using it without it being labeled as such – many products just say vegetable oil, not letting you know what kind of vegetable oil you are purchasing. Rainforest Action Network has developed a list of over 300 companies that are currently using palm oil.  Angelfire has their own list, too.  Some groups are advocating for labeling so that consumers may avoid this oil. Arbonne, Beauty without Cruelty, and Toms of Maine are some of the companies that use this oil.

When foreign agribusiness comes in, the locals are pushed out of tribal lands.  There are herbicides and pesticides that damage the environment, kill aquatic wildlife and ruin air quality.  In Papua New Guinea, Sumatra and Borneo, animal species are endangered, with a decimation to the orangutans and other species.  With rainforests and peat swamps being consumed for palm oil production, Indonesia has become the world’s third largest producer of greenhouse gases along with a subsequent decrease in rainforest. The Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil was started in 2003, and the Malaysian Palm Oil Council is also looking at improving their practices, but as yet, the problems in palm oil production continue.  And there is evidence that it is bringing heart disease to the locals as well as proliferating it across the globe.

One of the problems with palm oil is that it is leading to deforestation as land is cleared for the palm plantations.  Orangutans have particularly been threatened, and many thousands have already been killed. It is estimated that 50 or more orangutans are killed every week due to this practice. Burned in the fires of clear-cutting, starved from lack of habitat, and captured by plantation owners, these close relatives of ours have been paying a grave price for the convenience of a box of crackers or some butter-like spread.  One of the problems is that there are three major U.S. purchasers of palm oil: ADM (Archer Daniel Midland), Bunge and Cargill.  The impact these large corporations are having on local people and wildlife is disastrous, producing mostly non-essential goods for American consumers and leaving devastation for the natives, both human and nonhuman, in their wake.  They are not increasing the quality of life for the locals, either. but in most cases are driving it downwards.

All agricultural land divests the natural world.  But at this late juncture, with ever-increasing extinction of animal species, with run-away human overpopulation posing the gravest threat to the planet that the world has known, with the rainforest the last best hope for being the lungs of the world and fighting against greenhouse gases and the crush of carbon footprints, it hardly seems worth it to purchase products that contain palm oil.  Many vegan cheeses contain these oils, but so do many products that do not identify the oil. Odwalla and KissMyFace, two products from the whole foods arena, use palm oil.  Dove soap is a big customer of palm oil. Check on the above links to determine if anything you intend to purchase contains the oil.

Different people who have investigated have differing opinions of the problem.  Colleen Patrick Goudreau of Compassionate Cooks believes that Earth Balance is an ethical product; yet Earth Balance admits it is difficult for any company to obtain ethically produced palm oil right now. Their organic blend is certified sustainable and comes from the Agropalma plantation in Brazil; however, they are unable to certify all their palm oil at this time as some may not be from sustainable sources. Since the three large corporations that produce palm oil do not certify the origins of their oil, smaller companies that purchase the oil for their products may be incapable of determining where the oil was harvested. In an article by Deb on Invisible Voices, she came to the conclusion that avoiding palm oil makes sense.  Some folks are using another type of spread substitute, although I have not yet tried it nor have I researched if it is an ethical substitute. Some have turned to Daabon products, although some sources report the company is not without flaw either.  They did not respond to my request for information. What’s a vegan to do?

After speaking to T. J. McIntyre of Earth Balance, it was apparent that his company is trying to be ever more ethical and environmentally sound.  They recently reduced the resin in tubs used to hold Earth Balance by 25%.  They are also converting their exterior cardboard packaging, which will save thousands of trees. They rely on the use of the palm fruit oil, not the palm kernel oil, so their product is reportedly better at reducing cholesterol. With so many products failing to even denote palm oil on their labels, it seems unfair to penalize those that do. Yet it is even more important to protect the native human and nonhuman animals, plants and biosphere.  With global warming ever looming as a threat to the planet, this is not time to divest ourselves of the remaining rainforests.

To summarize, the problems with palm oil are:

• Lack of labeling so consumers can make the choice to avoid palm oils
• Lack or information regarding origin of the oil from the Big 3
• As with animal agriculture, there is a demand, and that demand will be met
• The oil is primarily grown in areas that are being deforested and that are critical to ALL life
• Palm oil is a commercially profitable commodity that endangers wildlife and local people

I have heard it put like this: We can live with only one kidney; we can live with only one ear, one arm, one leg. But at some point, if we keep slicing away at ourselves, we cannot sustain the organism.  I believe this is where we are in respect to chopping away at the earth, the habitat, the animal species.  And for what?  These are non-essential items.  I use soap that has no palm oil and it is better than any commercially prepared soap on the market.

This is one issue that is going to require some thoughtful investigation. I would urge you to read the links in this article, check out the links to the articles of others, and come to your own determination. Here are some options:

1. Use only Organic Earth Balance, which uses certified palm oil sources from sustainable businesses
2. Use another vegan spread that does not contain any palm oil (if you can find one)
3. Quit using any products that contain palm oil from any source (this is admittedly difficult to ascertain)
4. Limit use to only those products whose practices seem ethical
5. Become active in trying to protect the remaining rainforests
6. Become active in holding the corporations accountable and promote accurate labeling
7. Spread the word about palm oil
8. Boycott companies that use the oil, especially the “Dirty 19″ (see link above for list of companies using palm oil)

You will not discover your ethical options without at least a few clicks of the mouse. This article has been the most research-intensive article I have written to date, and I still have much to learn.  Personally, the life of one orangutan is more significant to my future than a tub of butter; I am just not certain how my consumer choices can best protect that orangutan, especially when ethical consumers are in the minority;  I think some activism is also required. Without proper labeling, corporate accountability, or protection for the native land, I am not convinced there will be an answer in time to protect the animals or their habitat.  I am fortunate in that I buy very few commercially prepared items, but have purchased Earth Balance in the past.  It is a product well-loved by many vegans.  I know researching fairly produced and traded items can be difficult. But when did vegans ever let that stop them from being ethical consumers?

Here is a list of organizations that may help you take action:

Send a letter to ADM and Cargill

Rainforest Action Network

Save the Orangutans

Earth Balance

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I grew up on the West Coast but had family in northeastern Oregon; there was always a culture clash between us. My grandmother used to prepare huge breakfasts with biscuits, gravy, elk meat and grits, but we city kids used to prefer a bowl of corn flakes.  She would always tell us at every meal that we needed some flesh on our bones.  She also told us that the dark meat was roast beef, but we knew better.  My thinking was still pretty compartmentalized as a child – some things you ate, some things you did not eat.  One thing I knew for sure: those beautiful elk were not for eating.

When I was very tiny, I went elk hunting with my father’s relatives.  I loved being outdoors and enjoyed the company of all the little cousins. Despite the relentless teasing of my uncles, I loved my family and spending time with them, because it happened so rarely.  But I will never forget the confusion of seeing people I loved doing cruel things to animals.  Those gorgeous, graceful creatures with large antlers that graced the forest seemed to belong there, not us humans.  I remember vividly seeing my uncles string up their “kill” and looking at death – those animals who only minutes before were living their lives, now with eyes that were seeing nothing, dead.  There was always blood on them; nothing died so easily as we were led to believe on television. They always wanted to get photos of the dead animals and made us tiny kids stand near them, but I would rather take photos of the living animals and be on my way.  That was the way I felt when I was 4 years old, and that is still the way I feel today. I wanted no part of their death parties, leaving nothing but grief in their wake.

My father quit hunting decades ago, although he accompanied my uncles on their annual hunting trips every year.  He had shot a young buck but did not kill it; it wandered off and had to die an agonizing death, alone’ he tried to track it but was unsuccessful.  He never forgot it and never again picked up a rifle. Growing up on a farm, his attitude about food animals is very different form mine.  He long ago shut down his emotional connection to animals, although some of it still is in evidence when I talk about his favorite dog, Thumper, or his favorite horse, TV Lark.  I don’t think he spends much time thinking about what happens to factory farm animals or caring much about animals in shelters; he finds it odd that I do. We are very different. Perhaps that old culture clash is still alive and well between us.

I always wanted to move to northwestern Oregon, or even further north, where there were forested areas and more animals, less people.  I came close quite a few times, most recently only a few years ago. There are several areas in the Pacific Northwest that would be quite hospitable to a vegan, but other forces have kept me moving in different directions. Now I too love shooting animals, but mainly human and domestic, and only with a DSLR. Better yet, I love knowing the forest is there but allowing the animals their space, without instrusion from this human.

The situation now is even more dire for the elk, the deer and all other forest life. Will we preserve any habitat at all for nature?  I am not thinking of saving nature for hunters, but rather for the animals, so that a natural balance of nature can transpire without humans using rifles to trim this population or that. It is so hypocritical because if we really wanted to trim the population that endangers us all, it would be the human population that needs trimming the most. What sport is it, if one side uses technology and the other does not? Maybe what is most enjoyable about hunting is the sense of power; but at its core, it is the power of bullies.

Being vegan now, I no longer have to eat the dark meat or any other. I no longer have to wonder whose eyes were cut away from what is on my plate.  Now if I ever go hunting the elk, it will be with my camera, if that. But I still remember the elk, their heads erect, alert for the humans, for danger, for death, ready to flee with that graceful bounding motion.  I still remember seeing those dead animals, and how horrible and confusing it was to witness their deaths and their cold black eyes, their bodies still and stripped of any dignity or respect, hung up by their feet and photographed. And I still grieve for what was lost.

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I love the idea of planting peace; one of my favorite photos is of guerilla gardening – it is like a crafty kind of quiet urban relandscape that appeals to my mischievious side. When I first hear about Plant Peace Daily, a website linked to VegFund.org and UnitedNonviolence.org, I perused it over several sessions. Following the publishing of a recent article on Examiner.com, I received a kind letter from one of the contributors of Plant Peace Daily.  He had forwarded to me a link to a couple of videos, one of which I had on my blog already (see above).  I watched the other video, also very informative, and promptly shared it on the Veganacious fan page on Facebook.  When time permitted, I perused their website and found it to be tremendously affirmative and helpful, full of wonderful essays, positive ideas, and excellent resources.  I bookmarked it for later viewing.

Since that time, I have returned to Plant Peace Daily many times.  Their ethical consumer printout is a great thing to have on hand before any shopping trip; it is a handy reminder to consider the consequences of your purchases.  Print it out, stick it in your wallet; it may help you to make more conscious choices when you consume. I have had an article titled Like A Caged Animal on my desktop for some time. It is a great article, beautifully and sensitively written, but I did not remember where I found it and thus could not refer to it or incorporate it into a post. I just found out that it came from Plant Peace Daily and it is only one of several excellent articles and essays on the site (see below).  Their blog allows you to enjoy their travels, too; the amazing photographs give you a close up of what is going on in different parts of the world that you may be missing: fairy doors, telephone poles adorned with hearts, dogs awaiting slaughter – all the good, the glorious and the hideous that life has to offer.

Plant Peace Daily is a crew consisting of JC Corcoran, Rae Sikora, Tikvah and Bean; the first two are bipedic and the last two are quadripedic earthlings. They travel together spreading the good word about peace, conflict resolution, the environment, conscious consumerism, veganism, health and nutrition.  They are a sort of mobile fitness team – fitness for the body, soul, planet, mind; a team that teaches living in harmony.  I love one of the cartoons on their blog. It shows two diverging roads: on the left there is a sign that reads, “Truth, Justice, Wisdom” and on the right is a path that reads, “99 cent burgers,” on which all the people are lined up.  This is such a good graphic of what faces us on a daily basis, but with the left-sided path often hidden.  Rae and JC and their canine pals travel throughout the country, giving workshops and speaking at universities, retreats, schools, and anywhere else that beckons them.  Go to their website if you are interested in having them speak for your organization.

Rae has been speaking on behalf of animals for over twenty-five years. She is co-founder of the Center for Compassionate Living, the International Institute for Humane Education, and VegFund.org, a new organization that provides vegan food for fundraisers and events.  JC co-founded VegMichigan (largest veg organization in the state) and VegFund.org, along with Rae. Their diverse educational backgrounds (cultural anthropology and environmental education for Rae, emergency medicine and fitness for JC) make them uniquely qualified to provide inspiration and incentives to help people live in harmony with their values.  Their speaking programs and workshops include titles such as “Human Billboards,”  ”Despair Repair, and “In Their Skin,” programs sure to increase awareness and compassion.

Do not overlook their essays page.  The articles are wonderful and will draw me back time and again for inspiration. Like A Caged Animal touched me, but Despair Repair caused tears to flow that stayed with me all day; I doubt the imagery will ever leave me.  It so graphically revealed the individuality of our shared journeys on earth, if only we weren’t so very blind and disassociated from them.  Then there is JC’s article, Ingrid Newkirk and Al Gore in the Same Leaky Boat – it is spot on and well done.  It is hope-inducing to know these two are out there, creatively working for a better, more peaceful world. Whenever I need an affirmative shot-in-the-arm or a bit of activist encouragement, I will return to Plant Peace Daily — you should, too.

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