IVU Online News
| International Vegetarian Union (IVU) | |
|
|
|
IVU Online News |
|
|
|
|
October 2009 Do Hens Suffer? Read the entire article at: hamandeggonomics.blogspot.com/.../great-egg-debate..
Vegetarian Society Memberships for Members of Other Species? Reply 1: I do not understand why we need to add other species. If we start with the animal kingdom then we will need to add the plant and mineral kingdoms to membership status to make it equal and to continue with such logic. Reply 2: With due respect to the dog owner, NO, it is not acceptable even for fund raising. Let us be reasonable and put some reason in rational expectations! A people Society can not be down graded to a level where animals (with due respect to animal lovers and activists) would join members like their owners. Any effort to do so will discredit the Society and will make it a laughing stock of the world out of which it will never be able to come out. If he or she wishes to donate, it can be done in many other ways. I am also sure there are many Societies around the world which will meet the "Animals need to join Societies". Reply 3: Sorry to disagree with the general tone, but I don't find the idea that ridiculous. Of course, animals must not have the right to vote, for the very
simple reason that they are hardly able to have their opinion or transmit them. And obviously their owners are not entitled to vote for them. Reply 4: Your [the author of Reply 2] explanation is understandable. It's not 'what' you said, but 'how' you said it, the words you used, to be more precise: "dog owner", "a people society", "down graded", "animals and their owners", "animal lovers", and so on. This is just a respectful reflection. If we who respect all sentient beings don't change the way we see nonhuman animals, who will? ‘Peaceable Kingdom’ Tours Film Festivals “Presented through a woven tapestry of memories, music, and breathtaking accounts of life-altering moments, the film provides insight into the farmers' sometimes amazing connections with the animals under their care, while also making clear the complex web of social, psychological and economic forces that have led them to their present dilemma.” ‘Peaceable Kingdom’ is now touring film festivals. See the website for details. Welcome to Organisations That Have Recently Registered with IVU PAKISTAN :
Animals Safety Organization Pakistan - www.animalssafety.org
A Taste of Meat Eater Logic August 2009 New Book: ‘Why Animal Suffering Matters’ His new book is ‘Why Animal Suffering Matters: Philosophy, Theology, And Practical Ethics’. [link to amazon.com] The following thought-provoking information was provided by the publisher, Oxford University Press. Lots of people are disturbed by animal suffering, but hard pressed to say why it really matters. It is still sometimes supposed that caring for animals is just an ‘emotional’ issue with no rational basis. Our exploitation of animals rests on a range of ‘differences’ that are supposed to justify their inferior treatment. But when analyzed, these very differences, so often regarded as a basis for discriminating against them, are the very grounds for discriminating in favor of them. When reconfigured, these considerations include:
When these considerations are taken fully into account, it becomes as difficult to justify the infliction of suffering on animals as it is to do so in the case of human infants. In ‘Why Animal Suffering Matters’, Andrew Linzey offers a radical new paradigm for our treatment of animals, maintaining that animals, like young children, should be accorded a special moral status. The argument is buttressed by a detailed analysis of three practical issues: hunting with dogs, fur-farming, and commercial sealing. After reading this book, it will be difficult for anyone to argue that any of these practices is morally defensible. July 2009 Welcome to New IVU Member Society and Supporters Swine Flu and Factory Farming
New Movie – Food, Inc. However, one North American vegetarian activist was less than thrilled with the film. He reported that there is a scene where a farmer "jokes" that the animals have many good days and one very bad day - as he is slaughtering chickens calmly on camera. The activist’s overall view is that it is “vegetarian neutral or even a bit antagonistic”. Events:
June 2009 Government Regulator Backs Animal Cruelty Advertisement The intensive pig farming industry in the UK lodged a complaint against an advertisement by Compassion in World Farming (CIWF). However, the complaint backfired when the UK’s advertising regulator, the ASA, backed CIWF’s claim that piglets feel pain just like a human would when their teeth are clipped without anaesthetic. Review of ‘The Face on Your Plate’ The author is on much firmer ground in other sections of the book where he appeals to the reader’s compassion rather than their self-interest. The first three chapters in particular contain plenty of valuable material and cogent arguments for veganism that will be of benefit to both the converted and the unconverted. The author’s informal, anecdotal style will appeal to many readers. He is astonishingly well read, as shown by the extensive recommended reading list, and some telling quotations are presented at the beginning of each chapter. Masson’s arguments are unashamedly emotional. He wants the reader to empathise with farmed animals, to recognise the cruelties and deprivations inflicted upon them, to imagine themselves in their predicament, and ultimately to stop eating meat and other animal products – in short, to become a vegan. In answer to the charge that vegans care more about animals than they do about people, he asserts: “There is nothing more important to think about than the heart of empathy, which in the final analysis is nothing other than the ability to love. Becoming a vegan is simply one manifestation of that love.” Like Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, quoted at the beginning of chapter four, Masson likens the adoption of a vegan diet to "a change of perception akin to a religious conversion". Though not the most cohesive argument for veganism, The Face on Your Plate has the potential to create many more converts. Paul Appleby, May 2009 New Book for Kids – ‘That’s Why We Don’t Eat Animals’ May 2009 Animal Protection Petition in Bolivia The Animal Activist’s Handbook Here’s a new book by two people active in promoting animal welfare: Here is a review from Compassion Over Killing:
Here’s a piece by a New York Times columnist about the ascendance of the idea that the welfare of our fellow animals deserves consideration. Events
April 2009 Animal Welfare Workshop in Mumbai Books Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson wants to help all meat eaters wake up from the dream of denial they are experiencing. He wants to prepare us for what he describes as a "transformative moment," when we look at the meat or animal product on our plate (fish, fowl, mammal, egg, milk, cheese) and acknowledge that it came from a living being, capable, he has no doubt, of suffering and happiness. Like children when they are first told that the drumstick is actually a leg, the tongue is really a tongue, the bacon was once a pig like Wilbur in "Charlotte's Web," Masson hopes, with all his heart, that we will say, "Eeeuwww, yuck." Events Animal Care Expo – 6-9 Apr, 2009, Las Vegas
March 2009 Launch of Animal Ethics Book Series The new Palgrave Macmillan book series will be jointly edited by the internationally known theologian the Reverend Professor Andrew Linzey, Director of the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics, and Professor Priscilla Cohn, Emeritus Professor in Philosophy at Penn State University and Associate Director of the Centre. The book series will publish work written by new and established academics from a wide range of disciplines including anthropology, ethics, history, law, literature, linguistics, political theory, religion and science. The aim of the series is to provide a range of key introductory and advanced texts that map out ethical positions on animals. Palgrave Macmillan aims to publish the first set of books in early 2010. Commenting on the new series, Professor Linzey notes, “Interest in the ethics of our treatment of animals has increased markedly over the last 40 years. This series will explore the challenges that Animal Ethics poses, both conceptually and practically, to traditional understanding of human- animal relations.” Academics working in relevant areas of enquiry are invited to send ideas and proposals via email to Professor Linzey by emailing director@oxfordanimalethics.com to request a proposal form. Review of Book on Ducks Ducks, in many parts of the world, are such a familiar sight that we tend to take them for granted. Whereas other species of waterfowl such as the reclusive heron or the stately swan might prompt us to stare in admiration, ducks are rarely afforded a second glance unless we have set out to entertain ourselves by feeding them our leftovers. There are around 250 species and sub-species of duck, and fossil records suggest that they have existed for at least 50 million years, surviving the extinction of the dinosaurs. Today, several species are endangered owing to loss of habitat, climate change, hunting and pollution, including the eider duck (the original source of eiderdown and still farmed for this purpose in Iceland) and the Spanish white-headed duck, the purity of the species being threatened by interbreeding with the ruddy duck, a native of North America, leading to the controversial culling of its more numerous relative. Like other titles in Reaktion Books’ Animal series, Duck is more concerned with the cultural significance of ducks than their natural history, although the latter topic is covered in the first chapter of the book. Here Victoria de Rijke, Reader in Arts and Education at Middlesex University, describes ducks’ habitat (anywhere that is wet), migration (all ducks are either completely or partially migratory), feeding (varied and voracious) and their reproductive behaviour (promiscuous, occasionally deviant and often downright dangerous for the females, as many as 7-10 per cent of whom can die from drowning or injuries sustained as a result of forced copulation). Other chapters discuss the rich use of duck metaphor in language, mechanical and animated ducks (notably Walt Disney’s Donald Duck), quack doctors, ducks in art and ducks as toys, including the ubiquitous rubber (actually vinyl plastic) duck, an incredible 165,000 of which were launched into the River Thames at Hampton Court in September 2007 to compete in the Great British Duck Race. Unfortunately, ducks’ sociability has made them easy to domesticate and rear for food: 2.5 billion ducks and geese were killed for food worldwide in 2005 alone. Chapter 2 deals with the hunting and farming of ducks, but the author rather ducks the issue of intensive farming, noting only that “factory farmed duck has its critics”. One can only hope that readers will browse the Viva! website (www.viva.org.uk/campaigns/ducks), listed in an Appendix, to find out what makes the factory farming of ducks so objectionable. The force-feeding of ducks (and geese) to produce foie gras (literally ‘fat liver’) is covered in greater detail. Although the practice has now been banned in twenty countries, a typical EU compromise prohibits force-feeding of animals for non-medical purposes except where it is current practice, and around 20,000 tons of foie gras are still produced worldwide each year. Duck generally makes interesting reading, and it is refreshing to find a book about ducks that is not aimed at children or backyard farmers, but the author’s detached and rather academic approach to her subject matter makes the book less engrossing than it might have been. Nevertheless, Duck would make a reasonable primer for anyone eager to learn more about the inhabitants of their local pond.
|
New Associate Member
Question: Today, another member inquired about buying a membership for the dog who lives with her. Obviously, the dog wouldn't vote and wouldn't be included in official membership figures. I'm thinking of this mainly as a fundraising idea. I
wonder if any societies already include members of other species. Thanks.
September 2009 
‘The Question Is Not, Can They Reason? Nor, Can They Talk? But, Can They Suffer?’ 
