A young chimpanzee

Lucy’s Story – Dr. Maurice Temerlin and his wife Jane adopt a newborn chimpanzee and raise her as their own.  The results are documented in Dr. Temerlin’s memoir, Lucy: Growing Up Human.

Lucy’s story highlights the tragedy that occurs when humans use nonhuman animals for their own purpose rather than allowing them to be their natural selves.  This occurs daily to millions of animals; they are misunderstood and exploited.  The tragedy that was Lucy happened not because she was so close to humans, but because the humans who exploited her missed knowing who she was meant to be — a chimpanzee, not a human child. Please see below for more information about Lucy, to see the photograph of Lucy with Janis Carter, or to hear the full Radio Lab program on other primates in the world of humans.

• Slideshow of Lucy, including parting hug with Janis
• WNYC RadioLab – audio about Lucy and two other primate stories
• Recent post by Janis Carter on Friends of Animals website
• Smithsonian article on Janis Carter
• Animal People Online – go to the November 2006 edition for Stella Brewer’s article about the Lucy incident

Last month was the fourth birthday for Hannah Kaminsky’s beautiful blog, Bittersweet.  Hannah is the accomplished author of My Sweet Vegan, an excellent vegan cookbook. Her blog is a food and crafts blog with gorgeous photos.  Not only does she offer wonderful recipes, but she also creates delightful crocheted creations, including a recent hug monster that is cuddly and beguiling. Congratulations on four years, Hannah, and thank you for all of your delicious contributions to the vegan community.

A  recent Veganacious post was the recipe for Orange Chocolate Chip Scones.  One morning, my four -year old grandson was busy playing on the computer when hunger struck. I had to develop something quickly and luckily, it was a big hit. After refining the recipe and getting a thumbs up from my principal taster, I published it. I hope you will enjoy it, too.  The most recent food post was for Vegan Fortune Cookies.  After receiving a personal gift of a homemade fortune cookie with a fortune just for me, I wanted to create a vegan version so others could enjoy the cookie part, too!

An important vegan I would like to mention is Jordan Wyatt of the Coexisting with Nonhuman Animals podcast.  Jordan is an innovative podcaster whose series is always informative and filled with animal rights issues from the New Zealand area, as well as other areas of the globe.  Jordan has been a terrific teacher and encourager to me and is the principal reason I was finally able to get this podcast on the air.

• BitterSweet - a beautiful blog by Hannah Kaminski of My Sweet Vegan fame
• Coexisting with Nonhuman Animals by Jordan Wyatt
• Lucy: Growing Up Human by Dr. Maurice Temerlin -  on Amazon
• Wauchula Woods Accord by Charles Siebert - on Amazon
• Podcast available on iTunes

We share an estimated 98.7% of the DNA with our brethren, the chimps and bonobos.  These highly intelligent, sensitive social animals are our closest cousins in the tree of life.  But what a difference that 1.3% makes in respect and viability.  So many chimps end up as inappropriate pets, in the entertainment industry, or in the medical labs. If they are lucky, they might have a few years in a sanctuary, but that is still a confined life and not the one they were designed to live.  Even those who live in the wild have dismal odds of surviving for long without capture or murder. They face diminishing habitat, callous disrespect, and an uncertain future. Because of our choices as humans, so do we.

The Animals Are More Like Us Than We Knew

Declining numbers and habitat are both taking their toll. What is it about that 1.3% of DNA that allows humans the hubris of thinking we are so divine? It is certainly not our capacity for compassion or sensitivity – no sensitive, compassionate creature could wreak the havoc we wreak on one another and on the animals each and every day. Genocide, war, deforestation, animal agriculture, racism, sexism, are all part of this legacy of uniformity. It is deadly.

We are also learning that other species are much more complex than we had thought.  Fish have been proven to have sensitivity and the capacity for sentience and compassion.  A recent video of a dog rescuing another dog from the busy freeway, after it was struck by a car, rather proves the point (see link below). If indeed we humans are going to claim to be the top of the animal kingdom or food chain, I would suggest we start behaving like it. One does not get privilege without responsibility — yet that is exactly the position many humans claim. How can we regain some of our lost moral footage? We should treat other beings the way we wish to be treated, if we claim that as the single defining principle of our civilization and spiritual beliefs; to claim that only for humans is speciesist.  Here are a few other suggestions:

1. Go vegan and educate others.
2. Fight for maintaining wild areas and animal habitats
3. Learn all you can about the current world situation for animals – watch Earthlings and The Cove, view The Future of Food and Food, Inc.
4. Avoid supporting any industry that exploits animals – and let the corporations behind them know why.
5. Increase demand for animal free products by talking to store and restaurant managers, writing letters to corporations, and supporting the vegan products they do carry. Thank them when they increase their vegan offerings.

A Growing World Vegan Population

If the world vegan population is now 3%, and we each can educate and awaken one other person each year, that 3% would be 6% next year, 12% the next, and 24% the next.  Then it is 48% and 96% – at each step along the way, our collective numbers would save lives, improve health, preserve the earth, and change attitudes towards other life forms. We could change the entire world picture in only five years.  Looking at the number of vegan blogs, on Twitter and Facebook, it would appear our numbers are already beginning to swell.

Okay vegans, start talking– We are running out of time.  Our fellow earthlings, whether they share 98.7% or very little DNA with us, are worthy of their lives and our effort on their behalf. It not only helps the animals, it improves the animals within our own skins, too.

BBC News Article, 2003

Dog Rescues Another Dog

Pain and Sensitivity in Fish