Tuesday, April 29, 2008

A request

A new group is starting up in north Queensland which I am very excited to be a part of—Animal Rights Townsville (ART). We are still in the very early stages of formation, and we’ve only got a few members. But we have a google group, so the few of us have been sending lots of brainstorming emails back and forth to one another. We’ve got big plans, which I’ll tell you more about as things progress.

But the very first project we’ve set ourselves is to design a display. It may be put up in one of Townsville’s libraries (which have display cases and areas), or we might just bring it to markets and shopping centres, along with vegan treats. The information we’d like to convey will show four ‘pillars’ of animal rights: veg*nism/welfare, health, the environment, and human rights/economics. I’ve taken on the task of gathering information for the economic and human rights facet.

I have a few things in mind, especially a comparison of costs for tofu, beans, grains, etc. and animal products. That will cover the individual side of the economic argument. In terms of more global aspects, I’m asking you all, dear intelligent blog readers, for some assistance.

I’m wary of making claims that veganism will solve world hunger. Although there is a lot of food that goes into animal agriculture, and that food could be distributed to the needy, capitalism means that is not likely to happen. There is already enough food to go around in the world; the problem is with distribution (and the need for profits). But, sources for concrete statistics about just how much food goes into raising food animals, where companies like McDonald’s source their meat from, and any other economic arguments to veganism would really help me. Sure, I could do a google search myself, but it takes time to find quality sources. So if you know of any off the top of your head, please send them my way!

And if you’re reading this and you live in Townsville, you should join our group! Send me an email, and I’ll send you the info.

To say thanks in advance for any help I receive, I will leave you with a series of Nacho photos, taken a few minutes apart from each other while she was lounging on her cattree.

11 comments:

Amy said...

I'm of absolutely no help in regards to links but give that little Nacho chin a big scratch for me. She's beautiful as ever!

Alicia said...

Uf, I wish I could help you, but I only know the basics. Maybe someone can recommend a good book? I'll be willing to read it...

The Voracious Vegan said...

Aw! I love the pictures of the beautiful Nacho!

Vegan_Noodle said...

I think it's great what you're doing! The only thing I can think of off the top of my head is that I remember some numbers about that type of stuff in the book Fast Food Nation. I'm sure there are other sources, and I'll pop back in if I think of more.

Nacho is so cute.. makes me want to do some stretching!

Leng said...

Nacho Nacho Nacho! Too cute!

Leng said...

I agree with Vegan_noodle, that FFN is a great source!

You can also talk about how cattle manure contributes to global warming more than cars (I think landfills too? not sure). Anyway, most people don't realize what good can be done but just cutting out meat or even eating less of it. Say 2 times a week instead of multiple times in a day.

There are so many people out there who complain how the our planet is slowly dying, but they don't really know what causes it! I always tell these individuals that in order to REALLY MAKE A DIFFERENCE on earth is not to take less showers (we all need to be clean), but to watch what goes into your body.

here are a few sites. I'll send some more your way once i find them

http://www.greendiary.com/entry/cow-emissions-far-more-responsible-than-co2-from-cars-in-global-warming/
http://www.umich.edu/~gs265/society/greenhouse.htm
http://jds.fass.org/cgi/reprint/78/12/2760.pdf

oh, you can also talk about the rising prices of grains i.e. rice. How there is a so called problem with providing grains for human consumption. The general public does not know that the majority of our grain is going to cow-who are meant to eat grass.

Hope this helps!

Theresa said...

Thanks leng and vegan_noodle. I read FFN years ago and will have to look through it again. Keep 'em coming!

ChocolateCoveredVegan said...

I love the Nacho photos.

Goveg.com has some good stuff--

http://goveg.org/environment-wastedResources-water.asp?pf=true

Here's another good one: http://www.mindfully.org/Water/2008/Burger-Water-Studies11jan08.htm

Good luck!

Bianca said...

Nacho is so darn cute! As for the AR group, congrats! I had to start one up here several years ago because Memphis didn't have one. Now we have a pretty active, though small, veggie society. We're all really close.

Zara said...

Haha, cute little pole dancer.

Anonymous said...

That first photo of Nacho cracked me up. I had to show Marty and he also enjoyed it. Just adorable.

How is it that I hadn't seen this post before? It's kind of random that it just showed up in my feed reader.