Reasons For Optimism in 2004

[Guest guest]

AR-News: Reasons for optimism

 

Preface:

 

Ten years ago, all of the following would have been assumed to have been

a long way off, and yet here we are, looking at the following figures,

prosecutions, initiatives, and so on, and they've happened. Rather than

state, for each item, " this couldn't have happened 5-10 years ago, "

please just assume that if it's down here, consider it to be a

remarkable thing indeed.

 

* A Gallup Poll on animal rights in May 2003 found that Americans

support passing strict laws concerning the treatment of farmed animals,

62% to 35%, while 96% of Americans say that animals deserve some

protection from harm and exploitation, and 25% say that animals deserve

" the exact same rights as people to be free from harm and exploitation. "

 

* Animal behaviorists are finally studying society's most

neglected animals-rats, mice, and farmed animals (chickens, pigs, cows),

and they're publishing their findings, so we now know that rats and mice

dream, play, and have a sense of fun, and we know that chickens, pigs,

and cows are every bit as interesting and intelligent as any dog or cat.

 

* Just last year, Florida banned gestation crates, marking the

first time a standard agricultural practice has been banned in the U.S.,

and the state (a conservative one) banned them by a margin of 55-45

percent.

 

* Last year, five of six ballot initiatives passed. In the past 13

years, 17 of 25 ballot initiatives for animals have passed. In previous

history, only one ballot initiative for animals had ever been passed

(and it was overturned).

 

* The very first felony cruelty prosecution for cruelty to farmed

animals took place a few years back in Belcross, N.C., when PETA went

undercover on a pig farm there. We secured more felony indictments in

rural Oklahoma as well after another investigation. These are not

bastions of progressive thought, yet they saw that pigs are more than

meat.

 

* In 2000, McDonald's eliminated some standard abuses of

laying hens, the first time any large company had said that birds have

some interests that matter. Burger King, Wendy's, and the trade groups

for fast food restaurants (National Council of Chain Restaurants) and

grocery stores (Food Marketing Institute) are being brought along.

 

* This year, The New York Times and The New Yorker both did

stories that discussed chicken intelligence, which had never happened

before. Once people start to see chickens as interesting and deserving

of respect, some basic protections are sure to follow, and fewer and

fewer people will eat them.

 

* A study this year funded by Safeway in the UK (not the same as

Safeway here) suggested that all the UK will be veg. by 2047, at present

rates of change.

 

* Last year, Burger King introduced a veggie burger in all of its

8,000 U.S. outlets. McDonald's is now test marketing one in more than

500 restaurants in California. Top companies see that the future is in

vegetarian foods: In 1999, Kellogg's bought veggie food maker

Worthington Foods, and Kraft bought Boca Burger, the best veggie burger

manufacturers. Check out <http://www.BocaBurger.com> www.BocaBurger.com

to see how much they're promoting it!

 

* Last year, two drunk guys were convicted of felony cruelty for

abuse of a calf, and misdemeanor cruelty for psychological abuse to the

calf's mother, who watched them drag her calf behind a truck. I have

this article if you'd like it.

 

* In the last few years, Germany put animal rights into their

constitution, the UK banned fur farming and an array of standard farming

practices as cruel. The EU is keeping countries out on the basis of

animal concerns. Just last night, the House of Commons voted

overwhelmingly to ban fox hunting. Can the U.S. be

far behind?

 

* This year, Matthew Scully, senior speechwriter for George W.

Bush, published Dominion to rave reviews across the media spectrum. The

book does the best job of putting forth the perspective

of a pig. Among other amazing developments, Charles Colson and Pat

Buchanan were both deeply influenced and wrote and talked about the

book. Buchanan did a cover story in American Conservative about it and

Colson recorded two of his weekly commentaries on it!

 

* Animal Law is now taught at more than 20 law schools, where 10

years ago it was only taught at Rutgers and the Vermont Law School.

There are also two animal law casebooks. The first just came out in

2000, and is already in its second printing.

 

* A Zogby poll on vegetarian issues and concern for animals

indicates that a majority of Americans in all ethnic groups sometimes,

often, or always eat vegetarian at home. It was commissioned by PETA.

 

* Teens are the future, of course, and they're going veg. in even

grander droves! See www.PETA2.com, which is already more popular than

the vegetarian site, even.

 

* Two years ago, the U.S. Congress provided the first-ever

appropriation for the development of non-animal test methods by the

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA currently requires more

chemical toxicity testing on animals than any other federal agency. In

these painful tests, tens of thousands of animals (including birds,

mice, fish, frogs, rats, and turtles) are killed each year. Dogs are

poisoned with pesticides, and industrial solvents are smeared into

rabbits' eyes. Congress provided $4 million for the EPA's FY 2002 budget

" for the research, development, and validation of non-animal,

alternative chemical screening and prioritization methods. "

 

* The Christian Vegetarian Association was founded a few years

ago, and Catholic Priest Fr. John Dear, S.J., has spoken out about

vegetarianism as a moral imperative for Christians. Even the Vatican has

spoken out about the degree to which modern factory farming systems are

a violation of Catholic teachings about kindness for animals. Last

month, the Rt. Rev. Andrew Linzey, a professor at Oxford and Anglican

Priest recently likened cruelty to animals (e.g., fox hunting) to rape

and child abuse (victimizing those who are weaker).

 

* Dennis Kucinich is, as far as we know, the first ever vegan

Presidential candidate, and he speaks about his veganism openly.

 

* Natural Foods Merchandiser (Jan 03) reports that retail sales of

vegetarian products have increased by 20 to 40 percent annually for the

last five years. In 1996, U.S. retail sales of veggie foods were $3.1

million; by 2001, sales had jumped to $1.25 billion. Mintel predicts

sales will hit $2.8 billion by 2006. Five to nine percent of American

adults-9.7 million to 17.4 million-are " almost vegetarians " who eat some

meat, poultry or fish, and another 38.6 million to 48.2 million

Americans-20 percent to 25 percent of the population-are " vegetarian

inclined, " eating four or more meatless meals a week.

 

* The American Dietetic Association now has a vegetarian nutrition

specialist, a vegetarian working group, and advocates a vegetarian diet,

noting " a considerable body of scientific data suggest[ing] positive

relationships between vegetarian diets and risk reduction for several

chronic degenerative diseases and conditions, including obesity,

coronary artery disease, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and some types

of cancer. "

 

* Starbucks, 7-11, and just about every grocery store in the

country all now sell Silk brand soy milk, which is a boon to cows and

their calves! Even John Stossel (ABC News) did a piece promoting Silk as

a tastier alternative to cow's milk (It was his " Give me a break "

segment, mocking the dairy industry for trying to stop soy milk from

being called milk!).

 

* Just this year, the NIH issued instructions to federally-funded

laboratories about how to properly kill mice and rats (who are not

covered under the AWA) after PETA's investigation into the Univ. of N.C.

revealed cruel killing methods and animals reviving in the " dead animal "

cooler.

 

* There are now 17 cities with bans on animal circuses; this

happened for the first time in 1990 and they've been picking up steam,

with 9 bans in just the past two years.

 

* There are now six states with student dissection laws

(guaranteeing

a student's right not to dissect animals), 3 more states with statewide

policies, and 5 more large school districts that guarantee a student's

right not to dissect.

 

* Within just the last few years, more than 20 leading U.S.

colleges and universities have allowed their students to choose

dissection alternatives.

 

* Despite years and years of defensive rationalizations, it is now

true that two-thirds of all U.S. medical schools, including Harvard,

Stanford, Columbia, and Yale, have eliminated the use of animals to

train doctors.

 

Postlude, in the " won that battle " category:

In the early eighties nearly all cosmetic companies claimed to test

their products on animals out of necessity, but now there are over 550

cruelty-free companies that sell cosmetics that have not been tested on

animals. Major product testers such as Gillette, Estee Lauder, Revlon,

Avon and Mary Kay no longer test their products on animals.

And on the fur issue, fur sales are in the toilet, designers are giving

the stuff away, their own spokesmodels don't even wear the stuff

(Giselle), and this year, we actually hosted a cruelty-free fashion show

during fashion week, another first!

 

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