Vegan vandalism

I recently saw a photo that was circulating among some of my friends of a chicken restaurant that was vandalized with spray-painted "meat is murder" and "go vegan" messages. The Facebook page with the original photo had a bunch of comments, mostly negative, about the perpetrators of this vandalism. This made me think about my own views on this type of extreme activism.

Generally, I do not approve of this sort of thing. I find it rather counterproductive to the cause, and not effective in achieving goals that I think are important: the expansion of the average person's consciousness to include caring about animals, and the saving of animal lives. First, let me say that I do not disapprove of this type of action only because it is illegal. Animal liberation by way of breaking into labs and rescuing animals that are being experimented on is also illegal, but at least it fulfills one of the two above-mentioned goals, the saving of animal lives. I mostly have a neutral view of organizations such as the ALF, because I believe that sometimes people do feel powerless when faced with all the animal abuse going on around them, and believe that legal ways of saving these animals' lives are either non-existent or too complicated. I understand this.

However, liberating animals and spray-painting "meat is murder" on a restaurant window are two different things. The latter, although expressing a true and important sentiment, will do very little to raise awareness among the people who see it, most of whom will simply dismiss it as extremist vandalism. This, in turn, will make it harder to get these people to discuss animal suffering in the future. Thus, the effect on the opinions of customers and restaurant staff would be minimal, and the perpetrators will most likely be seen in a negative light. Apart from this, no animals will be saved by this action. All in all, it's an act born out of frustration, but there are better ways to get the point across. Instead of spray painting slogans, why not pass out pamphlets to people outside a restaurant, explaining why it's best to avoid eating meat? Why not pressure your politician to pass new laws that protect animals? Why not pressure your teacher (or your children's teacher) to set aside some time to talk to kids about animal rights and how to treat animals well? If direct liberation is your thing, why not get in touch with the Animal Liberation Front, and see how you can help them? Right there, off the top of my head, you have several things which would be much more productive than the above-mentioned vandalism.

Who's to blame for the California Water Crisis?

So, apparently my home state of California only has one year of water left, more or less.

While, in the short run, rationing and other such solutions might help a bit, it's important to be aware of the bigger picture. In this case, the bigger picture is that agriculture is responsible for most of California's water use. While exact percentages are hard to come by, I'm pretty sure we can all agree that raising animals for meat, dairy, eggs, etc. accounts for a huge chunk of this. I don't write much about the environmental impact of our addiction to meat and animal products, but the current situation in California does bring this to light quite well.

Read this: http://www.onegreenplanet.org/news/californias-drought-whos-really-using-all-the-water/

Suffering vs. death in regards to animal welfare

A friend of mine and I recently discussed animals that are killed in various food industries, and whether or not suffering is, in fact, even worse than death for these animals. At least, my friend would say, the moment of death comes quickly, and the bigger problem, in fact, is the suffering they endure while they are still alive.

I understand his reasoning, and I only slightly disagree. On one hand, the suffering that these animals endure is immense. The reason for my disagreement is that I believe that, ultimately, killing another sentient being is still the worst thing you can do. This is why I do not support so-called, "ethical meat", where animals are supposed to have "happy lives" before they are killed; relatively happy lives, sure, though they are still murdered at the end. That said, making another innocent being suffer, as animals are made to suffer in many food industries, including the dairy industry, is almost as bad, so getting active in diminishing this particular suffering is also crucial. Thankfully, this doesn’t need to be an “either-or” decision. We can easily fight to end both.

My friend and I are basically on the same page. The only difference is that he would prefer to kill an animal than to see him/her suffer. Of course in some situations this may be necessary, though the concept becomes problematic when, for example, the animal that is killed is simply replaced by another suffering animal. This is the case with many animal shelters in the US. They use killing as a method of population control of dogs and cats, while no-kill methods can work just as well if one implements them correctly. Another good reason to respect animals’ right to live is that often awakens us to the idea that this life should be dignified and suffering-free. Many people start off with a simple “we should not kill animals”, and then move on to an even more empathetic awakening of their consciousness regarding the unfair way that we currently treat these animals. This is why many

La Senda, Playa del Carmen, Mexico - Vegan and vegan-friendly places around the world

La Senda is the only all-vegan restaurant in trendy Playa del Carmen, Mexico. A relatively small, colorful place with some outdoor seating, it's located a block north of the central tourist-trap 5th ave. The food is good (though not spectacular and sometimes takes a while to arrive), the service friendly, and the prices reasonable (many dishes within the $4-6 range). There is no alcohol here, but they do have a good selection of freshly squeezed juices and smoothies. They also have a good selection of coffee drinks and vegan desserts.

La Senda
Avenida 10 N, between 10th and 10th bis streets
Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo, Mexico
+52 (984) 148 65 97
https://www.facebook.com/lasendadepaz

The Caye Caulker Animal Shelter

A couple of months ago, I wrote about the importance of helping animals when you travel. I am currently in Belize, and I had a great opportunity to practice what I preach yesterday when I came across the Caye Caulker Animal Shelter.

I was walking along, when I saw their sign on the main street. I struck up a conversation with Kenny, the man who runs the shelter, who then invited me to tour around the premises to see first hand the great work that they do. The no-kill shelter takes in abandoned dogs, cats, and iguanas, and from what I saw, takes very good care of them. They have about 20-30 animals in total, and rely on private donations to keep helping the animals of the island.

Caye Caulker is a very touristy place, and thousands of tourists walk up and down the main street where the animal shelter is located. If you're a true animal lover like myself, and ever find yourself there, stop by and say hi to Kenny and the animals, and leave even a little bit of money to show your appreciation for what they do. Or, better yet, adopt one of the pets and take him or her home with you. A friend for life is better than any souvenir you can buy.

The Caye Caulker Animal Shelter Facebook Page
The Caye Caulker Animal Shelter official website

A short lesson in ethical living for the new year

Certain ethical points that should be pretty obvious:

We shouldn't exploit children just because they are weaker than us, or people with mental disabilities just because they're less intelligent;

We can't simply go up to someone and have sex with them just because we find them attractive;

We can't go and live in a stranger's house just because we think it's nicer than ours;

We can't take someone's coat off their back and start wearing it just because we like how it looks/feels;

We shouldn't physically hurt someone just because we find them annoying;

We shouldn't eat the meat of animals, just because we like the taste, or wear their fur/skin because we like how it looks/feels.

While the first five points are fairly obvious to most of us, many of us still have no problem with eating meat, even though the latter is arguably even worse than some of the other points since it involves taking innocent lives. This is because we see animals as lesser beings that are meant to serve us, and to give up their lives for our benefit whenever we want. While not as advanced as humans, the animals with whom we share the planet are sentient beings, meaning they feel pain, fear, and many other emotions, just like we do. They are often very intelligent creatures. In most parts of the world, there are more and more healthy alternatives to eating meat. If you haven't done so already, today could be the day when you say "enough", and advance to a higher level of consciousness by saying no to meat. Today is the day when you can become part of the solution, instead of part of the problem.

My favorite movies of 2014

Here are 10 movies that I found inspiring and/or moving in one way or another. This is not a "best of" list, it is a personal list of movies that I enjoyed in the previous year, one in which I saw somewhere around 200 movies (not all new of course). I haven't seen every critically acclaimed movie (Interstellar, Birdman come to mind, among others). I enjoyed a couple of blockbusters (Edge of Tomorrow & the last X-men, for instance), though the list of my personal favs is mostly blockbuster free. Some movies I thought were really good (Nightcrawler & Locke, for example), but they didn't inspire me beyond a feeling of respect for them. Others, such as Frank and The Grand Budapest Hotel, I suppose I'm just not enough of a stereotypical hipster to enjoy. Anyhow, without further ado, and in no particular order...

1. Comet - one of my top three for 2014

2. These Final Hours - Australian end of days/ coming to terms with one's conscience type movie

3. Boyhood

4. Her - yeah, it came out in the last week of 2013, so it still counts

5. White Bird in a Blizzard - possibly Araki's best, good retro feel

6. Fury

7. Blue Ruin

8. Under the Skin - a sad poem with violent undertones

9. Noah - anyone who knows my position on animal rights will not be surprised to see this on here ;)

10. '71

...and I'm sure I've forgotten a couple. :) Anyway, if you agree with some of these, what can I say...