Shedding Light on Animals Used in the Name of Research

World Week for Animals in Laboratories (April 20 – 28) spotlights the millions of animals who needlessly suffer and die each year in research and testing. This is an important time to address the myth that animal experiments are a "necessary evil," essential for medical progress.

In February, the National Academy of Science published an extensive study that revealed how decades of research and billions of dollars spent on mice experiments were effectively useless because the mice responded in ways that are completely different from people.

This is not the first study to demonstrate that a significant area of animal research has been a costly waste. Remember Vioxx, the arthritis drug that was deemed safe but later pulled from pharmacy shelves after killing 60,000 people? According to the New England Anti-Vivisection Society (NEAVS), adverse drug reactions cause more than 100,000 deaths in the US each year. More than half of the drugs given the green light by the FDA are pulled or relabeled for serious or fatal side effects that were not discovered during animal testing.

A new era in biomedical science has emerged without the use of animals, using human cell cultures, genomics and digital imaging, to name a few of the many available methods. Increasingly, scientists are acknowledging that animal research is not producing the results attributed to it, or deserving of billions of taxpayer dollars. Moreover, it does not justify the incredible suffering involved.

For his new book, Bleating Hearts: The Hidden World of Animal Suffering, Mark Hawthorne thoroughly investigated the animal research industry and found that animals in labs are “beaten, burned, and blinded. They are nailed down, tied up, and sliced open. They are starved, suffocated, shaken, and shot. They are forced to drink alcohol, inhale tobacco smoke, and consume a variety of highly dangerous narcotics, including heroine. Their organs are pulverized, their limbs are severed, their bodies are irradiated, and their spirits are broken." 

Nonanimal testing methods benefit human health, eliminate animal suffering and save money. It's a no-brainer. As consumers, we can make a difference by simply doing the following:

• Only buy consumer products that say "not tested on animals" or have the leaping bunny seal of approval (leapingbunny.org).

• Support charities that do not waste donations on ineffective and cruel animal tests. You can find them at humaneseal.org.

Written with In Defense of Animals.

Dear Citizens: Stop the Senseless Gun Violence; Dear Hunters: Please Continue to Kill at Will

The United States' ever growing problem with guns reached a crescendo following the Newtown, Connecticut massacre. Nevertheless, in the spirited discussions that have followed; politicians and media pundits alike continue to kowtow to hunters and give them a pass when it comes to guns and various animal "population control" measures.

This past year Costa Rica became the first country in Latin America to ban hunting as a sport. Under the new law, those caught hunting can face up to four months in prison or fines of up to $3,000. It appears the United States has a long way to go to achieve similarly progressive ideals.

Township officials in one New Jersey town (Colts Neck) recently bemoaned the “unhealthy spike in the number of deer in town.” After assessing the situation over the last year, the town’s deer control subcommittee determined, quite incredulously, that the “green open layout” is largely to blame for the presence of deer. Darn those green spaces!

Here’s the reality: Colts Neck, like every other town, is trying to cope with an increasing human population problem—and a greedy one at that. I was reminded of this when I saw a new sign along the road announcing more land for sale on one of those pesky green spaces. It proposed an approved subdivision of 5 estate homes (million-dollar homes) at 2.5-plus acres each. What's more, the Colts Neck Township Committee recently passed an ordinance that would provide more latitude to individuals who wish to build “large estate homes” in Colts Neck’s agricultural zone. Sure, no deer there!

In the words of one Colts Neck committeeman, “the proliferation of the deer population has made the streets unsafe . . . ruined acres of cropland, and trampled the landscapes of most residential properties.” If it weren't for the word deer, you might have thought he was talking about a gang of hoodlums. I guess those streets and residential properties will invariably be built deer be damned.

Where exactly does Colts Neck Township (or any township for that matter) expect the deer to go when we’re constantly building on their green spaces? Does the committee need to be reminded that the deer were here first; that we do not have the right to trample over every square inch of land that we can get our grubby little hands on? And when will we start to get a handle on the real problem—our own human population and all that we impact?

According to Colts Neck Township, from 2009-2011, 184 deer bodies were removed from the roads and 230 car accidents occurred that involved deer. As I understand it, that's 184 deer who lost their lives, so it would certainly seem that the deer are the victims here. And while motor vehicle accidents are nothing to scoff at, we choose to drive cars that kill animals and most of us are driving as if we own the roads—distracted and too fast. Furthermore, insurance companies have found that cars hit deer most when deer are being hunted. 

There is established science that shows that deer are able to control their own reproduction based on food available and that deer respond to hunting pressure with increased fertility as fewer competitors results in more food for surviving females. Not surprisingly, however, hunters and the gun lobby oppose non-lethal methods like contraceptives calling it “a declaration of war on sportsmen” because it detracts from their sick desire to kill. Whoever believes that killing another living being is a "sport" should have their head examined.

Killing is killing, and animals are no less victims of gun violence than their human counterparts. The difference is pure semantics. When humans kill other humans we call it murder, yet when human animals kill other animals it’s called hunting. According to Wildlife Policy Specialist Susan Russell of the Animal Protection League of New Jersey (APLNJ), deer “scream” when shot at or hit with a razor-tipped arrow. The animal stumbles, cries out, and suffers.

Hunters are part of the problem, and their actions are no less violent than that of deranged individuals who shoot up schools and movie theaters. Despite making up just less than 5 percent of the national population (and less than half of 1 percent of the NJ population), hunters keep getting license from government officials and the media to do what they love to do most—kill. Just hope you do not get in their crossfire, too. 
 

Can a Plant Ever Be Called Non-Vegan?

Veganism is a lifelong journey. There is always room to learn and grow, new food discoveries to be made, and newfound knowledge to ponder in order to reassess one’s values and reaffirm one’s commitments and convictions.

Armed with recently acquired information about the horrors of palm oil production; I have now reexamined my consumption of this omnipresent ingredient. My new awareness has left me asking the question: Can a plant used by humans that results in environmental degradation, animal cruelty and deaths, and social injustice be considered vegan and cruelty free?

Palm oil is derived from the cooked fruit and kernels of the palm plant. Since it comes from a plant it is inherently vegan—not derived from an animal. Nevertheless, the increased demand for palm oil—due to its lack of trans fat—has caused production to skyrocket leading to massive environmental destruction, the slaughter of hundreds of species, and the confiscation of land from indigenous peoples—surely un-vegan outcomes.

According to the Rainforest Action Network, palm oil is now found in roughly fifty percent of all packaged goods and is used to make a wide variety of consumer products from cookies to breakfast cereals, to cosmetics, soaps and detergents. Just try to find a ready-made vegan cookie or pie crust that doesn’t contain palm oil. Take it from me; it’s extremely difficult.

The increase in palm plantations, specifically in Indonesia and Malaysia which together control 90 percent of the market, has left the orangutan fighting for survival. According to Thomas King, founder of SayNoToPalmOil.com, some dozen orangutans are killed every day due to palm oil production. In fact, palm oil workers are actually paid a bounty for every orangutan they kill. Orangutans are often caught wandering through plantations desperately hungry for food. The workers are instructed to do whatever they have to do to eliminate them—run over them with logging machinery, beat them to death, bury them alive, or set them on fire. Those who are not killed, often abandoned babies, are sold into the illegal pet trade or are shipped overseas to be used in abusement [sic] parks, zoos, circuses, or are made to perform in commercials and movies.

It is estimated that more than 50,000 orangutans have already died for the production of palm oil. Scientists believe that if nothing is done, these great apes will vanish from the wild as early as 2015. And they are not alone. In addition to orangutans, other species such as the Sumatran tiger, Sumatran rhinoceros and Asian elephant are also being exterminated directly and indirectly through palm oil production, making the profitable plant terribly cruel to animals.

There are also grave environmental consequences from manufacturing palm oil. The increase in palm plantations is causing widespread environmental destruction as old growth forests are destroyed to make room for palm plants, essentially releasing tons of trapped carbon into the atmosphere. Nearby waterways are polluted from toxic pesticides, herbicides, and insecticides, while the air is choked with smoke due to slash-and-burn techniques used to clear forests. According to a United Nation Environment Program report, Indonesian rainforests will be all but destroyed by the year 2022 due to illegal logging and palm oil production.

Lastly, indigenous peoples are often ejected from their land at gunpoint so that palm oil thugs can make a profit by selling what they harvest to influential agricultural companies like Monsanto and Cargill. According to a recent VegNews magazine article by Mark Hawthorne entitled The Problem with Palm Oil (Feb. 2013), Indonesian state authorities murdered 22 people involved in land struggles with palm oil companies. In one case, a Filipino farmer was powerless to stop guards who sprayed his banana and coconut trees with chemicals so that they would die in order to bulldoze his land to make way for more palm plants.

Like the blood diamond industry, there is no fool proof way to ensure that palm oil is produced in an ethical manner, or in a way that is environmentally sustainable, fairly traded, and doesn’t negatively impact the lives of both human and non-human animals. The existing methods of production are not tenable and are highly destructive to people, wildlife, and the entire planet.

If to be vegan means to avoid all forms of animal cruelty and exploitation while promoting products and ideas that benefit humans, animals, and the environment, then the consumption of palm oil as it is made today does not adhere to the spirit of veganism.

For all intents and purposes, palm oil is a vegan product, however, as with most things, humans have turned a thing of nature (the palm plant) into a cruel and destructive commodity (palm oil) that ought to be avoided any way possible. Currently, there is simply too much suffering associated with the production of palm oil to excuse its usefulness any further.

What You Can Do:

• Spread the word.
• Boycott products with palm oil.
• Contact companies that continue to use palm oil and ask them to stop.
• Support conservation efforts in Borneo, Indonesia and Malaysia.

For more information, visit the Rainforest Action Network.

For Many, "Pro-Life" is Merely a Misnomer

Every day on my way to work I pass by the local Planned Parenthood. Standing at attention in the same place near the entrance—rain or shine—is an older gentleman holding a crucifix and rosary beads, and wearing a banner with an image of the Virgin Mary. I realize he stands there in protest of abortion; yet, I can't help but admire him for his passion and the tenacious activism he exhibits for his cause.

I wonder, though, if this man is aware that just down the street from where he's standing is a slaughterhouse—Catelli Brothers—where baby cows and lambs go to be wantonly killed for human consumption. I also wonder if he realizes that the hundreds and thousands of animals who spend their final days there, were already born and had mothers who tried to care for them but were robbed of this innate desire. Finally, I wonder if he is conscious of the fact that these innocent and once very alive beings are victims of a human society that sees them as little more than unfeeling objects to be used and discarded.

Those who claim to be pro-life should ask themselves if they really are for life—all life? Do they eat animals who are killed for their gustatory pleasures? Do they wear the skins and fur of animals who are killed for their vanity? Do they patronize venues and events that torment and sometimes kill animals so they can be entertained? Can they truly be called pro-life when their actions support cruelty, murder, and death?

 

New to the area, I inquired about the Catelli Brothers slaughterhouse. A coworker informed me that neighbors had complained about noises emanating from the abattoir—specifically that of screaming animals. The company had to make alterations to keep the noises hidden within. Sadly, rather than change our archaic habits in order to end this senseless and gratuitous brutality, we blame the animals for shouting out for mercy, calling out for their lives because they want to live and not have their throats slit or have a bolt shot through their brains—all standard methods of slaughtering animals for food.

Animals are no less creatures of God than human animals. Those who take the Bible literally and believe humans are made in the image of God have a moral obligation to respect and protect every living creature whether that fellow creature is an ape, a pig, a spider, or another human. I believe all life is equal, that no one being is superior to another, and that all life should be afforded the same dignity, respect, and right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. I marvel at how people can compartmentalize animals (animals we pet, animals we eat, animals we lock up at zoos, animals we experiment on, etc.), and disconnect themselves from those who, just like us, feel joy and pain, happiness and sadness.

There are so many living (read: already born!) beings in this world who needlessly spend their days in endless misery. It doesn't have to be like this. It is grievous that as a species we can have so little compassion for the suffering of others, especially those animals whom we label as "food"—pigs, chickens, cows, goats, turkeys, ducks, lambs, etc. Unlike the unborn embryos and fetuses of human animals, who don't have nerve pathways to even feel pain until about 28 weeks in the womb; these animals already exist and feel pain every moment of every day of their short miserable lives. "Food" animals are expressly created to be killed—63 BILLION of them every year. If that is not immoral and unethical—and sinful—then I don't know what is.

As each workday begins, I pass by the gentleman standing outside the Planned Parenthood and can't help but feel a tinge of sadness and a sense that he is lost. The Catelli Brothers slaughterhouse is just down the road but a world away.

Visit Vegan Starter Kit to learn more about how you can help animals by going vegan today!