I’ve recently discovered that Abolitionist Online has published a lot of articles about AR work being done around the world. Here are just a few:
Happy reading.
Elaine Vigneault has an interesting series on Anti-Racist Vegan Activism. There’s a reading list, & so far parts one, two, & three.
So everyone has been talking lately about Hezbollah Tofu. When I first heard about it I did a double-take at the name, which is apparently a reference to one of Anthony Bourdain’s comments about vegans, in which he compares them to Hezbollah. In this post, it’s stated that the name is deliberately meant to offend. Linked is this post from a Jewish food blog, in which it’s discussed whether or not the name is offensive. I am going to go digging around to see, but has anyone seen any comments on the name from an Arab perspective?
so say you’re going to a work related conference, dealing with human and sex trafficking. And say that there is an award ceremony at big city zoo being planned. Do you politely decline the awards ceremony or do you voice your concern over having such an event at a place of animal cruelty and how you are opposed to animals living in captivity. Is it too much to ask for a leap of consciousness with human rights activists? I would also like to say that I am first a human rights activists, an immigrant rights activist, a domestic violence survivor activist, an alternative media maker, a radical* parent, living a nonviolent life. But when one mentions all these in addition to believing in animal rights, people think I’m off the rocker. Why is it also hard to conceive the notion of hierarchical privilege and violence that comes with eating an animal to activists already working on violence against men, women and children?
-I changed the title of this post from “musings on activists” to “umbrella activists”
*If radical means to you equal rights, human rights, mujer centered, non gendered parenting, alternative media promoter, domestic violence survivor and activist-then I guess you can say I’m a “radical” parent.
In the comments of Noemi’s post here about veganism & white privilege, reader Hortencia mentioned her experiences in Mexico, where folks told her that they were vegan because they couldn’t afford meat.
Today, via The Animals Voice*, I came across this article about veg*nism in Russia, which says the following:
With the largest part of the population living in the countryside until 1917, the Russian cuisine is based on the cooking of peasants. Syrnikov notes that meat was a rare ingredient in rural meals. “Peasants would eat meat only on holidays. It was hard to get, hard to store, and also there was a lot of fasting to do. They would cook it to store and eat very little of it.”
I realize generally Russians tend to the whiteness. But obviously race/ethnicity, nationality, class, immigrant status, etc. all intersect with each other. I just wanted to point out another instance where someone is talking about veg*nism not as a sign of privilege, but as a result of lack of privilege.
I admit I clicked on the link because the article is called “Mastering Russian Veggies,” & I thought it might be some gross exoticization/fetish-y/stereotype-y thing.
On a related note, I just got the most recent issue of Vegetarian Journal (which, despite the name, is vegan as far as I can tell). There’s an article on African cuisines, & while I was guarded reading it, I thought it did a fair job of not exotifying. No mystical African spices or anything.
* Shouldn’t it be “Animals’ Voice” with an apostrophe? Yes, yes, I know: I’m a smitty (for those of you who remember that term from the heyday of Sassy).
A post on the Animal Person blog drew my attention to the launching of Animal Rights Africa. No time for an in-depth perusal right now, but I would like to know more about the separate groups that merged to form ARA — who started them, who was in them, etc. The “About Us” pages on the site don’t seem particularly informative in that regard.
Also, Dr. Steve Best was the keynote speaker for the ARA launch event. Completely aside from how I may feel about him as an animal rights activist, my first reaction was to wonder why they needed to fly in some American dude. Surely there are African animal rights activists that would be interesting & relevant speakers?
Frazier is a perky senior beagle mix that needs a new home.
According to the Pasadena Humane Society, Frazier is a sweetheart who loves attention, especially being brushed (as you can see in that photo). He gets along well with other dogs & knows some basic commands. The shelter has a Senior for Senior program, which means the adoption fee would be waived for adopters over 60 years old.
Adult animals, especially senior ones, often are overlooked by people fixated on kittens & puppies. But they need homes too, & there are many benefits to adopting an adult companion animal — their personalities are more evident than with baby animals, for one, which means fewer surprises. I speak as someone who’s adopted 3 adult cats, & who hopes to give homes to many more adult animals over my lifetime. When we adopted our cats, we chose ones that the rescue groups said were affectionate & sweet, & yes, that’s just what we got!
If you know anyone who could give Frazier a good home, please get them in touch with the Pasadena Humane Society through the links above.
And as always, I’m stealing Elaine Vigneault‘s idea; her succinctly stated reasons for doing this are:
1. To remind my readers of all the companion animals who need homes
2. To highlight the personhood/personality of animals
3. To give link love to animal rescue organizations
4. To lighten my blog’s mood a bit with adorable animal pictures
Via Breeze Harper of the Sistah Vegan Project: an essay called “Deep & Shallow Vegetarianism” by Dr. Michael W. Fox. I don’t agree with all of it, but it’s an interesting read.
Also, I recently came across this old article from Satya: “Racism and the Animal Rights Movement”.
Vegans of Color 
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