tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51195710852503485612024-03-14T02:09:07.058-04:00The Academic Activist VeganA critical and scientifically-based take on the Nonhuman Animal rights movement from a vegan feminist perspectiveCorey Wrennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04099780959084371968noreply@blogger.comBlogger49125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5119571085250348561.post-52881351537883977932015-12-27T13:40:00.000-05:002015-12-27T13:40:21.116-05:00The Academic Abolitionist Vegan is no moreDear readers,<br />Due to the extreme abuse and harassment of women (particularly women of color) promoted by the abolitionist faction (and the appropriative nature of the abolitionist approach in general), I have decided to change the name of this blog to The Academic <i>Activist </i>Vegan. As I stated in earlier posts, the abolitionist faction has entrenched and systemic issues with racism and sexism, issues that it seems to have no interest in addressing. I feel it is necessary as a personal and a professional matter to distance myself from the abolitionist project.<br /><br />It is of my opinion that pro-intersectional feminism is the most constructive, respectful, encompassing, just, and effective approach to dismantling oppression. Any approach that fails to take intersecting injustices seriously and insists on promoting wealthy white male elites as the gatekeepers of social change is an approach that simply won't get the job done.<br />
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There are likely to be technical problems with the page until I can update links. It is likely that I will be removing this page entirely in the near future and hosting some of the more important essays published here on my personal website.<br /><br />All the best,<br />
Corey L. Wrenn<br />Professor of Gender StudiesCorey Wrennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04099780959084371968noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5119571085250348561.post-58832956538949386052015-11-19T17:47:00.000-05:002015-11-19T20:38:14.604-05:00'It is Anything But': Sarah K. Woodcock Comments on Equality in Abolitionist SpacesDear colleagues,<br />
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I share this important letter that was today posted publicly on a social media page by my good friend Sarah K. Woodcock, founder of <a href="http://www.abolitionistvegansociety.org/" target="_blank">The Abolitionist Vegan Society</a> (TAVS). This is the first time she has responded publicly to the racist microaggressions and harassment that the abolitionist movement has directed at her and other "intersectionalists" (a slur used by some abolitionists to describe abolitionist vegans who take a pro-intersectional approach) since the recent movement disruption documented on <a href="http://www.vegantrove.com/2015/11/01/vegan-trove-0025/" target="_blank">Vegan Trove</a> (an anti-intersectional abolitionist platform that has been rejected by but still promotes Francione, a prominent abolitionist icon). <br />
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The concern over in-fighting and intra-movement violence in abolitionist spaces is nothing new. In Woodcock's case, she was forced to the center of this turmoil just over a year ago (TAVS has issued a public statement on the matter <a href="http://www.abolitionistvegansociety.org/a-warm-welcome-from-the-abolitionist-vegan-society/#.Vk5E63arSM8" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="http://www.abolitionistvegansociety.org/removed-as-a-speaker-from-the-world-vegan-summit/#.Vk5FjXarSM8" target="_blank">here</a>). Woodcock and others have been upsetting the privilege and white-centrism of the abolitionist faction, only to be met with considerable hostility and limited support. Indeed, many white abolitionists remained silent on the matter of her victimization, or, worse, joined in it.<br />
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The message published here remains pertinent today as the pro-intersectional abolitionist community's commitment to nonviolence continues to encourage negative (and sometimes aggressive) responses from abolitionist leaders. I have omitted the names of those for whom the letter is specifically addressed, as the content of the letter actually speaks to a systemic issue. It is shared here with her permission.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirG2JFgTfFje8lvoirqT_ZFft_RRnjDUZptiEy0T0L9S6CJ0XESPDIhj24fccWpkQFeZVSlBnjcMfbcBZXa-S2jqrkknUF28lYaBhjf8m2p0HMk83xdGjfLJXE_1jzI0Dti7eh9m4DAC8/s1600/20151113_The_Bodhi_Tree_Sarah.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirG2JFgTfFje8lvoirqT_ZFft_RRnjDUZptiEy0T0L9S6CJ0XESPDIhj24fccWpkQFeZVSlBnjcMfbcBZXa-S2jqrkknUF28lYaBhjf8m2p0HMk83xdGjfLJXE_1jzI0Dti7eh9m4DAC8/s320/20151113_The_Bodhi_Tree_Sarah.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>[ . . . ] The abolitionist movement is racist and hostile to people of color. While it spouts off great ideas about being “against all forms of oppression,” its actions are not aligned with its words. It is *uncannily* similar to how nonvegans spout off great ideas about being “against animal cruelty” but live nonvegan. That is why I coined the term badgeally (Corey’s essay with examples, not just accusations <a href="http://academicabolitionistvegan.blogspot.com/2015/04/the-problem-with-badge-allies.html" target="_blank">here</a>). The abolitionist movement is rampant with badgeallies.</i><br />
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<i>And before you or anyone say this “This isn’t about race,” remember that saying that is a privilege only white people have. Please check your privilege.</i><br />
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<i>Because society is systemically racist, the abolitionist movement replicates that system of inequality. White abolitionists have a responsibility to make the movement safe and inclusive for people of color. It is anything but. This is what Corey and I speak up about, and if you [...] and others have a problem with that, that should tell all of you something. I have been experiencing marginalization and microaggressions from white abolitionists since day 1 of my entering the movement. I have been and continue to be invisibilized, which is a classic racist tactic, by white abolitionists since day 1. In the beginning, when I naïvely thought white abolitionists would be concerned about this because they claim to be “against racism,” I raised my concerns to several white abolitionists. I was met with denial, more marginalization, more microaggressions, and more invisibilization.</i><br />
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<i><b>One of the greatest things that happened since I split with Francione & Co. was that I came to the harsh realization that the abolitionist movement is not actually against racism. </b>Of course, it and everyone in it claims to be against racism. But people of color don’t have the privilege or luxury of not seeing the truth behind those claims.</i><br />
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<i>As for reconciliation, it is just like the abolitionist/nonabolitionist movements. There are fundamental ethical issues at stake here. Just as the abolitionist movement cannot “reconcile” with the nonabolitionist movement because it would mean compromising on fundamental ethical issues, the anti-racist abolitionist movement cannot “reconcile” with the racist abolitionist movement because it would mean compromising on fundamental ethical issues. To me, as a person of color, denying the racism in the abolitionist movement is as unacceptable as denying the speciesism in the vegan movement. For those who want to learn more about the racism (as well as the other forms of oppression) in the abolitionist movement, I recommend checking out <a href="http://academicabolitionistvegan.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">The Academic Abolitionist Vegan</a>. Wrenn has written extensively on these topics.</i><br />
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<i>That is one of the things that makes TAVS different from the rest of the abolitionist movement. We refuse to deny and be silent about the racism in the abolitionist movement. We are building a movement that is safe (or safer) for people of color.</i><br />
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<i>Well, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/abolitionistvegansociety/posts/1053319408090903" target="_blank">as I wrote in my recent post on the TAVS page</a>, I rarely post about drama in the abolitionist vegan movement because my time and energy is better spent on building the movement I want, not having exchanges like this, so I will be turning off notifications now. Take care, everyone.</i><br />
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<i>Sarah</i><br />
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If you take anti-oppression seriously, it must extend beyond Nonhuman Animals to include <b>all </b>beings who are vulnerable to systemic violence. It's not only the <u>just</u> and <u>moral</u> approach; it simply makes good sense as a strategic matter.<br />
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Allies are requested to please show their support for Woodcock and The Abolitionist Vegan Society by getting involved with one or more of the many amazing ongoing non-violent, vegan, pro-intersectional campaigns that TAVS is currently running. Readers can join TAVS by visiting the <a href="http://www.abolitionistvegansociety.org/" target="_blank">website</a> or link up by visiting <a href="https://www.facebook.com/abolitionistvegansociety" target="_blank">TAVS on Facebook</a>.Corey Wrennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04099780959084371968noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5119571085250348561.post-33777568743415045112015-11-11T14:36:00.000-05:002015-11-11T14:36:12.460-05:00 Effective Messaging: Is Appealing to Social Justice, Environment, or Efficient, More Profitable Exploitation More Effective?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM6sxknWu3HPjJfITyE1krsCRvlmvr7Z43ivOAtvzWj1dddbvim-8EOG81vZ5EsrI1oHZxAAM_kV5JNznJ6Y_MSi2pRW2nDj5LItI0AejJBkmxnDxq_KurgFwv8MP3edfC0cSt36uzrp8/s1600/Vegan+purists.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM6sxknWu3HPjJfITyE1krsCRvlmvr7Z43ivOAtvzWj1dddbvim-8EOG81vZ5EsrI1oHZxAAM_kV5JNznJ6Y_MSi2pRW2nDj5LItI0AejJBkmxnDxq_KurgFwv8MP3edfC0cSt36uzrp8/s400/Vegan+purists.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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If abolitionists conducted research like welfarists....<br />
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The Humane League's "labs" recently conducted a "study" inappropriately framing abolitionism as a matter of "purity" in its bid to prove that welfarism (THL's approach) was most effective. This "purity" label, <a href="http://academicabolitionistvegan.blogspot.com/2015/10/report-finds-that-vegan-avoidance.html" target="_blank">as I have explained in previous writings</a>, sets up an immediate bias. First, what abolitionist frames their work as a matter of purity? Really? Second, given the choice between "cruelty" and "purity," what participant would ever look fondly on this fictional stickler? The study was rigged, specifically designed to fail abolitionists.<br />
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Just today, Faunalytics (a non-profit that benefits from grants supplied by elite-run foundations which profit from status-quo inequality) was promoting the "study" with a title that reflects THL's biased framework: "<a href="https://faunalytics.org/feature-article/effective-messaging-is-appealing-to-purity-environment-or-cruelty-more-effective/" target="_blank">Effective Messaging: Is Appealing to Purity, Environment, or Cruelty More Effective?</a>" When assessing self-produced, self-serving research, it is important to think structurally. Like Faunalytics, THL also remains "in business" by appealing to speciesism. Speciesism is where the money is.<br />
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It should go without saying, but abolitionism isn't about purity. <b>Abolitionism uses the frame of social justice and liberation, and this frame that is threatening to elites. </b>This is why non-profits like Faunalytics, THL, etc. do the work of speciesists in regularly mischaracterizing abolitionist activism. They must distance themselves from this threat in order to protect their income.<br />
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The sharp increase in "science" used to support corrupted approaches is a theme I explore in my new book, <i><a href="http://www.palgrave.com/page/detail/a-rational-approach-to-animal-rights-corey-wrenn/?sf1=barcode&st1=9781137434647" target="_blank">A Rational Approach to Animal Rights</a></i>. It is available for purchase through Palgrave Macmillan.Corey Wrennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04099780959084371968noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5119571085250348561.post-12419528948494687622015-10-21T12:10:00.001-04:002015-10-21T12:10:47.578-04:00Everyday Vegan Racism: Cinco de Meow<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I'm not a betting woman, but if I were, I believe it would be a safe bet that this adoption promotion was designed by a white-identified person:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixDMfev1SoiHRWpjPVcbmpMLu5wsGfDR6nFJTHpuf90ikaj8Zje2-Lh0ImkzMM_NM2WYuaufW5yAoGBuqK173so_55HssqKotWJg6ctVBd6j76nOvz_G7DWdu7f0eBcLfP9s-Cbf7D6-I/s1600/Cinco+de+Meow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Adoption promotion that reads, "Cinco de Meow! $5 adoptions all day. Una Gran Fiesta" Shows a cat wearing a sombrero and a moustache while smoking a cigarello" border="0" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixDMfev1SoiHRWpjPVcbmpMLu5wsGfDR6nFJTHpuf90ikaj8Zje2-Lh0ImkzMM_NM2WYuaufW5yAoGBuqK173so_55HssqKotWJg6ctVBd6j76nOvz_G7DWdu7f0eBcLfP9s-Cbf7D6-I/s320/Cinco+de+Meow.jpg" title="" width="320" /></a></div>
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And what are the odds that <a href="http://www.nokilllearning.net/#!How-are-You-Engaging-Your-Public/xe6st/5621413d0cf2c6c643788479" target="_blank">No Kill Learning</a>, the website that promoted this image as a positive example, is operated by someone who is white-identified? Pretty good, I think.<br />
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The author writes:<br />
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<i>[...] fun, creative adoption promotions, like the one [featuring the racialized cat], engage people, dramatically increase adoptions and save lives [...]</i></blockquote>
And finally, what are the odds that non-white people would be interested in adopting or joining a movement when their culture is stereotyped and mocked?<br />
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Place your bets.<br />
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The author continues:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>As I have previously written, Engaging the Public is one of the most important aspects of animal sheltering and rescue. Without doing that, you basically can't do anything else. </i></blockquote>
What public exactly?<br />
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This is a brilliant example of how white-centrism in animal advocacy creates significant disconnects, disconnects that disempower our message and aggravate the very social inequality we seek to dismantle.<br />
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Unfortunately, Google reaffirms that companion animal "shelters" are white spaces intended for white visitors:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiElEGgPtOLX_Am-d31kQSnMzKNpkUghvBmQrxbyhkZwFU7O2oZDWC12S4JkCAogJf8nZtMN1DA7OorMC7mT8hRGjV86jDcufh0scHDua-8Uicu6ahyphenhyphenTyXW0rbL5fcg28VT9ZnYi5JMbEM/s1600/Cinco+de+Meow+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiElEGgPtOLX_Am-d31kQSnMzKNpkUghvBmQrxbyhkZwFU7O2oZDWC12S4JkCAogJf8nZtMN1DA7OorMC7mT8hRGjV86jDcufh0scHDua-8Uicu6ahyphenhyphenTyXW0rbL5fcg28VT9ZnYi5JMbEM/s320/Cinco+de+Meow+2.jpg" width="246" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhisy8Ato0G1FzNRn2hodDgSxXGsdo-_jiew4TwWsP0w5-RV3Zk9dAE1DS1nBC-CT2txJAYx0qq89ZHasrJHQz2h37gR7Fc4f_O7cxAShWSm52KgnWvqMc9AVfOaz_Lrw6sNJdctsiS5pM/s1600/4.28.14_CincoDeMeow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhisy8Ato0G1FzNRn2hodDgSxXGsdo-_jiew4TwWsP0w5-RV3Zk9dAE1DS1nBC-CT2txJAYx0qq89ZHasrJHQz2h37gR7Fc4f_O7cxAShWSm52KgnWvqMc9AVfOaz_Lrw6sNJdctsiS5pM/s320/4.28.14_CincoDeMeow.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh25P3DhWWj2fmFiJISeugGdTw58Fg2620gCjlSOsySi_mvwbpGAJbiFm29gZ79S8b6ruNwLGLcBjOMjg5FkfPQj_OF5j7zgBALhZkYQ1pZdDw_Djvd_0DDmNPYB8Pw8ZNC_rgHsHsQPsE/s1600/Cinco-de-Meow-o-2014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh25P3DhWWj2fmFiJISeugGdTw58Fg2620gCjlSOsySi_mvwbpGAJbiFm29gZ79S8b6ruNwLGLcBjOMjg5FkfPQj_OF5j7zgBALhZkYQ1pZdDw_Djvd_0DDmNPYB8Pw8ZNC_rgHsHsQPsE/s320/Cinco-de-Meow-o-2014.jpg" width="247" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir5Ms6qOEb2Q1q8aH8w8HGT6c7tu5D2XNzFXas64T0P_jFTvX6BT0aVXsHnlYjLVNsABcH93MK9Vqj0KHSmUe-T4yOZGMNSPdUxFAFtMkKCuUhf5aq5BzHZdI3-90Q_0kWwbMiVY8KvzQ/s1600/cincodemeow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEir5Ms6qOEb2Q1q8aH8w8HGT6c7tu5D2XNzFXas64T0P_jFTvX6BT0aVXsHnlYjLVNsABcH93MK9Vqj0KHSmUe-T4yOZGMNSPdUxFAFtMkKCuUhf5aq5BzHZdI3-90Q_0kWwbMiVY8KvzQ/s1600/cincodemeow.jpg" /></a></div>
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And, no, just in case you were wondering, slapping a mustache and a sombrero on a cat is not "honoring" Mexican culture. It's stereotyping Mexican culture to appeal to a perceived white audience and nothing more.</div>
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<br />Corey Wrennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04099780959084371968noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5119571085250348561.post-55229202551228584752015-10-01T17:14:00.002-04:002015-10-01T17:14:48.118-04:00Report Finds that Vegan-Avoidance Outreach Results in Vegan Avoidance<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Jbr14WJqLt-niTJ-70kSSAudKt8PqmqEFZBY-bfNwCSi90pkW2c_LKtnDs1I1ohNwC9OXvIkb14v9YNJfsDcLGrHudfYsFWtHIIBIKfU650YcAceteZB_wW6-Q2byfuodyThVwjHsgM/s1600/Humane+League+Bias+Research.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Little girl grimaces and turns away from a piece of broccoli held toward her" border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2Jbr14WJqLt-niTJ-70kSSAudKt8PqmqEFZBY-bfNwCSi90pkW2c_LKtnDs1I1ohNwC9OXvIkb14v9YNJfsDcLGrHudfYsFWtHIIBIKfU650YcAceteZB_wW6-Q2byfuodyThVwjHsgM/s400/Humane+League+Bias+Research.jpg" title="" width="400" /></a></div>
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A colleague passed on some new research conducted by The Humane League (see <a href="https://humaneleaguelabs.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/humane-league-labs-best-request.pdf" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="https://humaneleaguelabs.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/animal-cruelty-vs-22abolitionist22-messaging.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>) (a non-vegan, pro-welfare organization dependent on grants and fundraising for survival) and has asked for my input. I will not go into the details of the methodological issues with the report, as the same issues surface time and time again and I have written about them in previous posts (see <a href="http://academicabolitionistvegan.blogspot.com/2014/12/the-non-profit-bias-studies-by-non.html" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="http://academicabolitionistvegan.blogspot.com/2014/12/an-update-on-non-profit-bias-and.html" target="_blank">here</a>) as well as my upcoming book to be released this month, <i><a href="http://palgrave.com/page/detail/a-rational-approach-to-animal-rights-corey-wrenn/?sf1=barcode&st1=9781137434647" target="_blank">A Rational Approach to Animal Rights</a></i>. But in a nutshell, here's what's going on: a non-vegan organization that does not promote veganism or support veganism seeks evidence to support that its approach reduces the most harm and is thereby better than a vegan approach.<br />
<br />The organization's status as a non-vegan entity is important. As I told my friend, The Humane League (THL) investigating veganism with it's non-vegan approach is akin to an atheist organization investigating to what extent people will become religious after reading its promotional material. THL is not in the business of veganism, just as an atheist organization is not in the business of bringing folks to god.<br />
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The tendency for welfarist organizations to conduct their own research with staff members is also extremely problematic. These employees will understandably exhibit a strong conflict of interest. They will be expected to find data that supports the organization's grant-friendly, compromised approach. This just isn't good science. Seriously--imagine if the research found that a strong vegan message worked, do you think that this data would see the light of day, much less inform the organization's operations?<br />
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Welfarist organizations have invested decades of energy and billions of dollars into manipulating the social imagination into viewing veganism as unrealistic, weird, and undesirable. They even refer to veganism as a matter of "purity" in the language of the report--this loaded language demonstrates bias from the onset. Large charities have made reductionism the "common sense" approach for anyone who cares about animals.<br /><br />As with many things that become "common sense," we forget that <b>there are other possibilities</b>. "It's better than nothing" logic obscures the fact that we aren't really dealing with compromise vs. nothing; there <i>are </i>options. We also lose sight of the powerful economic interests behind the enforcement of this ideology. It's no accident that alternatives are so difficult for activists to conceptualize. As I've been uncovering in my dissertation research, these organizations work very hard to keep the activist community and the public at large acquiescent.<br />
<br />Veganism is a radical, life-saving, capitalist-threatening political force. There is a reason why anti-vegan organizations like THL rise to power: elites that control the funding will certainly not fund organizations that threaten their livelihood. They are more likely to fund groups that are not threatening. In fact, they're even<i> more</i> likely to fund groups that are not threatening<b> <i>and </i></b>help to delegitimatize the vegan grassroots collectives that <i>do</i> pose a threat. More bang for their buck.<br />
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To see a vegan world, it's not just a matter of supplying vegan pamphlets. The onus is really on the large charities to start promoting veganism as something that is admirable, desirable, and within reach. It's on these groups to start breaking down the systemic barriers to veganism. Unfortunately, as it stands, these groups<i> are </i>the systemic barriers to veganism. Sure, food accessibility is a problem, as is unfamiliarity with vegan food, or even social conformity. But anti-vegan groups posing as Nonhuman Animal "rights" organizations do the most damage in my opinion.<br />
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Here's the bottom line: just as we would not look to the beef and dairy industry for unadulterated, unbiased research on nutrition, we should not be looking to funding-focused large non-profits as an authority on effective activism. I think it's great that more organizations are actually taking some time to figure out if procedures are worth the investment, but it seems that science is simply being wielded as an ideological defense for corrupt tactics. These reports aren't intended to guide activists; they're intended to please funding agents.Corey Wrennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04099780959084371968noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5119571085250348561.post-39336167510161866742015-09-10T17:03:00.000-04:002015-09-10T20:08:42.581-04:00The Vegans on the Bus Go Round and Round! New Campaign Announced<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzW1I76ardfs0vTszpr4Q8oVJkOJcZaqXGXPNNqisopSE29fiR5m2FstFrxDdFum6OgnIKuJKBj5amJ75ZfFnROnYiqxDjwfDr20BKRPASE7BG1FAJSHdgQxUenlgvrnTvv2LmVYOYaAE/s1600/TAVS+Vegan+Bus.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzW1I76ardfs0vTszpr4Q8oVJkOJcZaqXGXPNNqisopSE29fiR5m2FstFrxDdFum6OgnIKuJKBj5amJ75ZfFnROnYiqxDjwfDr20BKRPASE7BG1FAJSHdgQxUenlgvrnTvv2LmVYOYaAE/s400/TAVS+Vegan+Bus.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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I am pleased to announce that The Abolitionist Vegan Society (TAVS) has launched its crowdfunding campaign to place vegan advertisements on the back of buses in major American cities. This is a cost-efficient means of bringing the vegan message to a large demographic of people, directing them to the TAVS "Why Veganism?" website where introductory anti-speciesism theory and vegan shopping resources are readily available.<br />
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This media tactic has already been widely adopted by groups like PETA and Mercy for Animals, but never in a coherent manner that takes the interest of Nonhuman Animals seriously. <b>TAVS seeks to bring a truly vegan, truly anti-oppression message to the American public</b>. I had a chance to speak with Sarah K. Woodock, founder of TAVS and designer of the campaign. She explains, "This campaign gives us the opportunity to reach literally millions of people with veganism. It would take us tens of thousands of hours of leafleting and tabling to reach the same number of people that we will reach over a period of months instead of years."<br />
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"Furthermore," she adds, "as abolitionist vegans, we talk about all of the ways not to do advocacy (i.e. engaging in nonabolitionist campaigns, using sexist tactics, using racist tactics, etc.).<b> But here is a campaign that all vegans can confidently support—one that promotes veganism as the moral minimum and that is run by an organization that takes a pro-intersectional approach to vegan advocacy</b>."<br />
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TAVS is hoping to meet their target by the end of 2015, can you help make it happen?<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/412dU6" style="color: #cc0000;" target="_blank">Click here to offer your support</a>. </span>Corey Wrennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04099780959084371968noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5119571085250348561.post-44915552859786593172015-07-29T11:46:00.000-04:002015-08-07T17:05:11.147-04:00Students Think Vegan Food Tastes Better, Research Finds<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDuDnp0nJssykyvO4m5yl_DAcuE7ALT84u3BTJgk_9fnbz5cpmwDZSa1iDs11TdGwP5aW3eqRHgvFuP_LgXovgRkT8YO4uJxi6tkfjY4E11VvxUQqSryB1Z7zoy3VXHzxALWW64UAIWkk/s1600/cafeteria.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDuDnp0nJssykyvO4m5yl_DAcuE7ALT84u3BTJgk_9fnbz5cpmwDZSa1iDs11TdGwP5aW3eqRHgvFuP_LgXovgRkT8YO4uJxi6tkfjY4E11VvxUQqSryB1Z7zoy3VXHzxALWW64UAIWkk/s400/cafeteria.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Researchers suspect familiarity with veganism is increasing fondness for plant-based fare</td></tr>
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A <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0950329314002079" target="_blank">2015 publication in </a><i><a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0950329314002079" target="_blank">Food Quality and Preference</a> </i>finds that college students are more receptive to veganism than non-profits and policy makers may be willing to admit.<sup>*</sup> The study suggests that foods that are similar will elicit similar responses, regardless of ingredients and origin.<br />
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Eighty students were provided a number of vegan and non-vegan food items, some were aware that the products were vegan or non-vegan, but others were not. The results?<br />
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<i>Vegan products were not rated as less familiar than the animal-based equivalents. Even when people were told that they were eating vegan substitutes, their familiarity ratings were no different from those of subjects who were told they were eating foods of animal origin. </i> </blockquote>
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<i>[...]subjects did not indicate that they were less willing to try vegan products or foods they thought were vegan than the foods of animal origin or those they thought were of animal origin.</i> </blockquote>
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<i>[...]subjects also did not find the foods that were vegan or that they were told were vegan as more dangerous or disgusting than the foods that were of animal origin or that they were told were of animal origin. </i> </blockquote>
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<i>[...] there was no difference in expected liking for the taste of the foods [...] between the vegan and animal-based versions of the foods nor was there a difference in expected liking between subjects who were told they were rating vegan foods and those told they were rating animal-based foods. </i></blockquote>
Researchers also find that, for the most part, <b>believing a food to be vegan actually <i>increased</i> how much the participants liked the taste</b>. The only significant exception was vegan chocolate milk. The Daiya-based vegan macaroni and cheese even did well . . . until students were told it was vegan. Meatballs, both animal-based <i>and</i> plant-based, were the only items that were snubbed as disgusting, presumably because college students are not as familiar with meatballs as they are with the other foods in the study (chicken tenders, milkshakes, and macaroni & cheese).<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1v1WthyphenhyphenuB-d1Uz9zTMpZt7LvptRJfpadlwmVNgcQlb0pWzQMhFyiOfkPFJFVvrQubLAX3OXTkeCLkkvuKXndFZi-i3W6IyFak05V8dbS4fpi-vxcM9Mfv4aPfpED3sf-pfauNzDN3RZo/s1600/Vegan+Meatballs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1v1WthyphenhyphenuB-d1Uz9zTMpZt7LvptRJfpadlwmVNgcQlb0pWzQMhFyiOfkPFJFVvrQubLAX3OXTkeCLkkvuKXndFZi-i3W6IyFak05V8dbS4fpi-vxcM9Mfv4aPfpED3sf-pfauNzDN3RZo/s320/Vegan+Meatballs.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vegan or not? Students can't tell the difference.</td></tr>
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Researchers suppose that this familiarity and openness to veganism could be a result of increased accessibility to vegan options for students of this particular campus. Their access is also increased by living in a metropolitan area (the study took place just outside of New York City). The New York/New Jersey/Pennsylvania area has a well-established vegan community with a number of restaurants and grocery stores offering vegan options.<br />
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What does this mean for non-profits that refuse to promote veganism?<br />
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Popularizing veganism increases positive associations for veganism, and folks seem to be quite receptive to trying vegan foods. They even like many of the vegan foods more than the non-vegan foods. So, it is suspicious that non-profits are so insistent that the public will not be receptive to veganism and we must "<a href="http://academicabolitionistvegan.blogspot.ie/2013/01/vegan-outreach-insists-we-must-choose.html" target="_blank">meet them where they are</a>." <a href="http://academicabolitionistvegan.blogspot.ie/search/label/Non-Profit%20Industrial%20Complex" target="_blank">Non-profits rely on elite- and corporate-run foundations for funding</a>, and many of these elites and corporations have relied on speciesism and oppression to amass their wealth and have no interest in dismantling inequality. As a result, vegan advocacy tends to be ignored by foundations and high-dollar individual donors, thereby encouraging non-profits to diminish or even demonize veganism as a strategy of survival and growth.<br />
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This research supports the notion that the continued invisibility and stigmatization of veganism facilitated by non-profits will only inhibit progress for vulnerable humans and nonhumans that would benefit greatly from veganism.<br />
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">*This study specifically explores veganism as a diet, though participants were aware of the ethical considerations behind the food choices to the extent that it shaped their responses.</span></i><br />
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<b>Work Cited</b><br />
S. Adise, I. Gavdanovich, & D. Zellner. 2015. "Looks Like Chicken: Exploring the Law of Similarity in Evaluation of Foods of Animal Origin and their Vegan Substitutes." <i>Food Quality and Preference</i> 41: 52-59.Corey Wrennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04099780959084371968noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5119571085250348561.post-66662296345890728692015-04-03T12:07:00.000-04:002015-04-03T12:07:00.494-04:00Corey Wrenn featured on Under the Toadstool<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUJVpAk6XwHO8OQNOBQ5On_Vatk-5ZTJUwmeKsAMdyjpxf_ywIIdziW3LCkubze65im6we0CYLojyNcoVb5y5USC2fMZbzcXzcavSNIehD85tlclaHS8YJ8A0RflTQ8QuXYvhPDdKTGVM/s1600/under_the_toadstool_web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUJVpAk6XwHO8OQNOBQ5On_Vatk-5ZTJUwmeKsAMdyjpxf_ywIIdziW3LCkubze65im6we0CYLojyNcoVb5y5USC2fMZbzcXzcavSNIehD85tlclaHS8YJ8A0RflTQ8QuXYvhPDdKTGVM/s1600/under_the_toadstool_web.jpg" /></a></div>
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I joined Sonia Chauhan and Sarah K. Woodcock on their <i><a href="https://abolitionistveganism.wordpress.com/2015/04/01/episode-2-of-under-the-toadstool-podcast-feminism-and-the-ar-animal-rights-movement-with-corey-wrenn/" target="_blank">Under the Toadstool</a></i> podcast for a serious discussion about the state of sexism in the Nonhuman Animal rights movement. In this episode, we talk about the history of sexism in the movement, current events in sexism, and concrete steps we can take to disrupt it. I highly recommend this episode as an introduction to intersectionality topics in vegan spaces. We worked hard to keep it short (42 min.) so it will not be overwhelming. A mild trigger warning: we do speak frankly about these issues, and it could be upsetting for those personally impacted.Corey Wrennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04099780959084371968noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5119571085250348561.post-44657411154923785832015-03-26T20:56:00.001-04:002015-03-27T14:37:56.874-04:00Should We Troll Tom Regan?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhTNHSaRwLEtp2mVBFjRxqoI0gsDp5O8aLM4lRut0iq5bZiCCfhd5v8X_hdHvb3HYYArb_UxKMJFQQTs-d0rbYwa_VRxtMm0x_6L-VBep2oFCIIGh1R0G8lKpOBC-fzal1MFXd0k22BQU/s1600/Tom+Regan+Troll.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhTNHSaRwLEtp2mVBFjRxqoI0gsDp5O8aLM4lRut0iq5bZiCCfhd5v8X_hdHvb3HYYArb_UxKMJFQQTs-d0rbYwa_VRxtMm0x_6L-VBep2oFCIIGh1R0G8lKpOBC-fzal1MFXd0k22BQU/s1600/Tom+Regan+Troll.jpg" height="147" width="400" /></a></div>
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For women like myself with an active and public presence on the internet, we are fully aware that we "set ourselves up" for abuse by simply being present and by having an educated opinion. Women are expected to be silent and invisible. For those who dare to disobey these gender norms, retribution is swift.<br />
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<a href="http://www.psmag.com/navigation/health-and-behavior/women-arent-welcome-internet-72170/" target="_blank">Women on the internet experience about <i>twenty-five times more</i> harassment than men do. The internet was designed by men to suit male interests and it continues to be a male-dominated space. Programs and websites are usually not equipped to deal with the needs of women and have pitiful means of recourse or protection for those women who are victimized.</a></div>
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Whenever I publish something critical of violent tactics, I can expect a fresh onslaught from advocates who are violently opposed to my stance against violence and are dead set on "teaching me a lesson" or shutting me up. Female colleagues who share my work sadly experience similar punishment. It is unfortunately lost on many that aggressive retaliation of this kind is also a form of violence, especially when it is directed at women and relies on scripts of sexism.<br />
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The thing is, a number of male-identified leaders in the movement are quite outspoken about illegal or violent direct action. Tom Regan, for instance, regularly publishes and lectures on the problems with violence in the name of Nonhuman Animal liberation. Indeed, an entire chapter of <i>Empty Cages </i>(2004) chastises violent advocacy. How can it be that Regan and other men like him can contribute ideas so freely?<br />
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First, retaliation against women who are critical of violence tends to reflect gender policing. That is, a male-led movement will turn on women who challenge patriarchal norms in order to push them back into their proper feminine roles of subservience and silence.<br />
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Retaliation also reflects a general devaluation of femininity. While men can be opposed to violence as well, we recognize that aggression and violence is associated with masculinity, while peace-making and non-violent, inclusive, education-based advocacy is associated with femininity. Therefore, when male activists gang up on women speaking out against violence, they're actually reacting to their discomfort with (and even disdain for) feminist politics and women's power.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG3HFbDBpp70-_JX_lpvFOhDOch2UG5C4xKx1JDe-_REaN3qkAPtkN86WBgoU_SKNkpHbuqEUw6knkYrF25Y4mMsqoCyn5eFMTFEhBf61R92c4gxlkkA3EM7xcbciY63kAb49gHQhlyf8/s1600/Tom+Regan+Trolling.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG3HFbDBpp70-_JX_lpvFOhDOch2UG5C4xKx1JDe-_REaN3qkAPtkN86WBgoU_SKNkpHbuqEUw6knkYrF25Y4mMsqoCyn5eFMTFEhBf61R92c4gxlkkA3EM7xcbciY63kAb49gHQhlyf8/s1600/Tom+Regan+Trolling.jpg" height="235" width="400" /></a></div>
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Tom Regan is our great movement patriarch, so going for his jugular over his anti-violence position seems unthinkable. We pay deference to men, but we distrust women. Male leaders and activists get to disagree and still have their positions relatively respected. Men's ideas get full consideration; women's get tone-policed. Men are acknowledged as equal participants; women's motives are questioned. For women who speak out, there will be a price to be paid.<br />
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Though some male-identified activists surely do face a good bit of criticism, <i>we do not inhabit a post-gendered society</i>. What this means is that men and women will not be criticized similarly, and the consequences of that criticism will not be comparable. Male privilege will always buffer the blow.<br />
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Until direct action advocates are prepared to blast Tom Regan with trolling and <a href="http://simplikation.com/why-sealioning-is-bad/" target="_blank">sealioning</a> with the same ferocity that female activists experience, we must recognize this for what it is: sexism. </div>
Corey Wrennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04099780959084371968noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5119571085250348561.post-80957123170958910852015-03-18T09:56:00.001-04:002015-03-18T09:56:27.465-04:00Donations & The Small Print in Animal Advocacy<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYZ-JiXN0UajIdAkrl3iZhqqahXLT5D028KnpldT9rRF1wN5ED99ZL7dSgAs0HnQknmuAJajLlj0YI2bJqU2zyjV3mYFfGWsUvA5GaSrgGQj9MkhoYW9lr5Ik6-iPQKOavL4Z0Fq5zPsk/s1600/Non-Profits+Animal+Rights.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYZ-JiXN0UajIdAkrl3iZhqqahXLT5D028KnpldT9rRF1wN5ED99ZL7dSgAs0HnQknmuAJajLlj0YI2bJqU2zyjV3mYFfGWsUvA5GaSrgGQj9MkhoYW9lr5Ik6-iPQKOavL4Z0Fq5zPsk/s1600/Non-Profits+Animal+Rights.jpg" /></a></div>
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How often do you check the 990 IRS form for your favorite non-profit before you donate? I think many readers would be shocked to learn <a href="http://academicabolitionistvegan.blogspot.com/2013/12/where-do-your-donations-really-go.html" target="_blank">how often non-profit claimsmaking seriously mismatches its actual financial situation</a>.<br />
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Free From Harm claims it reached 6 million web users in 2014 with a budget of only $45,000. This information is part of a call for donations. The assumption is, the more money you donate, the more money it can put towards outreach.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc6bzaMn8sGQP844Q1K7OAAqZnDu-k2Dowu9J0YpE4-hUKtYcSBgS-7WDEU0M-uGs-VKZRoEy_l13IJw-yzweA1rmtRiyCR_s0nFr2Uagb2CJsc6quGFK6ABVSOBhvmmJNGXuqBX44gEg/s1600/Free+From+Harm+Donate.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Free From Harm Facebook Post: "Galliano is the picture of the happy, starry-eyed youngster. He's also a great ambassador for his species offering us a tremendous opportunity to build awareness about the 95% who are used and treated as "utility" animals. But he's not an exceptional case. Instead he embodies the spirit of what all chickens, and all sentient beings, desire: to simply be appreciated for their intrinsic value. You can help us in this mission by donating to Free from Harm at http://freefromharm.org/donate and sharing our posts. We reached 6 million web users in 2014 on a budget of about $45,000 dollars. And we are poised to do even better in 2015, but we need your help. Thanks in advance!"" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc6bzaMn8sGQP844Q1K7OAAqZnDu-k2Dowu9J0YpE4-hUKtYcSBgS-7WDEU0M-uGs-VKZRoEy_l13IJw-yzweA1rmtRiyCR_s0nFr2Uagb2CJsc6quGFK6ABVSOBhvmmJNGXuqBX44gEg/s1600/Free+From+Harm+Donate.png" height="320" title="" width="314" /></a></div>
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While I was not able to access the 2014 records, <a href="http://www.guidestar.org/organizations/46-1163821/free-from-harm-nfp.aspx" target="_blank">2013 records are publicly available</a>. In 2013, Free From Harm pulled in $92,000 from a grant, and only $20,000 of that was spent on social media outreach and web fees (the only major expenditure listed). About $70,000 was leftover in cash, savings, and investments. </div>
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Given that billions of Nonhuman Animals like Galliano are desperately in need and could be hugely benefited if that surplus was unlocked, why not spend it? Why sit on the profits? Why am I being asked to donate when Free From Harm has more money than it can use? </div>
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In fact, many non-profits hoard their income in this way. Non-profits act according to a capitalist logic of economic growth whereby bigger is thought to be better. Like most non-profits, Free From Harm likely hopes to achieve the status of Farm Sanctuary or PETA. Getting to that size will necessitate offices and paid staff. Interestingly, Free From Harm was not long ago crowdfunding in advocacy spaces looking for donations to support a salary for one of their volunteers. This occurred in spite of evidence in the 990 IRS form indicating that the organization has several thousands of dollars on hand that are not being put towards outreach.</div>
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Non-profitization has its benefits, to be sure. Becoming a non-profit means access to these huge grants, salaried activism, free postage from the government, relaxed repression from the state (as a group must deradicalize and become transparent in order to achieve the privilege of non-profit status), and increased public presence which is helpful for dispersing claimsmaking, but also for bringing in more funding. But the focus on growth is expensive. </div>
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Counterbalancing these benefits are the many costs to the group's goals and tactics. Free From Harm has been known to take some questionable positions on <a href="http://academicabolitionistvegan.blogspot.com/2013/06/everyday-vegan-racism-live-sushi.html" target="_blank">racism in the Nonhuman Animal rights movement</a>, as well as <a href="http://academicabolitionistvegan.blogspot.com/2013/06/a-note-on-mental-illness-and-advocacy.html" target="_blank">ableism</a>. Many professionalized non-profits are hesitant to take a stand against human oppression, as <a href="http://academicabolitionistvegan.blogspot.com/2015/03/mobilizing-anti-muslim-sentiment-for.html" target="_blank">capitalizing on racism can be profitable</a> to the group. Free From Harm also features many essays from famous welfarists who are regularly hostile to abolitionist advocacy. This is probably because the celebrity association is more important for traffic than abolitionist veganism. To be fair, I think it is amazing that an education-based vegan group was able to land such a large grant. I do worry, however, that the logic of growth will undermine these goals as Free From Harm (and other groups like it) climb to the top.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6ZnCEVXFnLIsDmKUi38Ba1VWVoLwAc18vFus1p4zKKtmlY6Ltdi6koRkfSxTbMP9kDVCBG04TxcNHIcLHYOHbu4TV89sk2Tp8yt90VfQ1sZL2nEgIi0hy-q2W_mSOGKb00Y1iLMm2UUs/s1600/Donate+Activism.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6ZnCEVXFnLIsDmKUi38Ba1VWVoLwAc18vFus1p4zKKtmlY6Ltdi6koRkfSxTbMP9kDVCBG04TxcNHIcLHYOHbu4TV89sk2Tp8yt90VfQ1sZL2nEgIi0hy-q2W_mSOGKb00Y1iLMm2UUs/s1600/Donate+Activism.jpg" height="290" width="320" /></a></div>
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A final point. The commodification of advocacy is a growing trend in social change spaces, and one that should be seriously reevaluated. In a heavily non-profitized social movement, meaningful, engaged, collective action is rarely engaged. Instead, calls to action are merely replaced with calls to donate. This serious squandering of advocate energy and people power is perhaps the greatest cost of all.Corey Wrennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04099780959084371968noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5119571085250348561.post-70799240339455794452015-03-05T23:09:00.001-05:002015-03-07T01:39:58.374-05:00Reining in the Elephants: Thinking Critically about Single-Issue Campaigns<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdPmdUp27sJ07sj-PZ0-__dzheRuBWark0GqfGC4T6lAZp5KqWqLuNXBl_Gp-iQUTSrsAGxFr92Iz2wVoEUHGTpeqcFDCCwswuhIscEaPZGnURFd5_qVtYvKKbD8GwPcpDbelFU58XRvs/s1600/CircusElephant.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdPmdUp27sJ07sj-PZ0-__dzheRuBWark0GqfGC4T6lAZp5KqWqLuNXBl_Gp-iQUTSrsAGxFr92Iz2wVoEUHGTpeqcFDCCwswuhIscEaPZGnURFd5_qVtYvKKbD8GwPcpDbelFU58XRvs/s1600/CircusElephant.jpg" height="240" width="400" /></a></div>
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Before I begin this article, I want to start out by saying that I am happy <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/business/2015/03/05/ringling-brothers-elephants/24423553/" target="_blank">for the handful of elephants who will never again step foot in a Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus</a>. But for the remaining elephants <i>who will continue to be exploited in the circus's "conservation" facility</i>, the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/19/arts/ringling-circus-camels-one-hump-or-two-are-singular-attractions.html" target="_blank">camels that are being <i>added to the show</i></a> to take their place<i>, </i>and the <i>billions</i> of animals who have been snubbed by the Nonhuman Animal rights movement as activists rally around charismatic species like circus elephants while ignoring the importance of veganism, I continue to mourn. Not to rain on the parade, but it is at this time we should give pause and think critically about our tactics and goals.<br />
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The first thing that strikes me about this "victory" is how it is being handled <i>by the circus itself </i>as a means to improve their image and improve sales. The circus corporation writes:<br />
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<i>This is the most significant change we have made since we founded the Ringling Bros. Center for Elephant Conservation in 1995. When we did so, we knew we would play a critical role in saving the endangered Asian elephants for future generations, given how few Asian elephants are left in the wild. ...This decision was not easy, but it is in the best interest of our company, our elephants and our customers.</i></blockquote>
Gosh, if I didn't know any better, I'd say this circus is the elephants' best friend! This process is known as "humane-washing." It happens when a company uses the rhetoric of "humane" to increase sales and public comfort with their inherently problematic product. This is not unique to the circus. Consider the following excerpt from <i>Eco-Business: A Big-Brand Takeover of Sustainability </i>(2013) by Peter Dauvergne and Jane Lister. Walmart and other large companies that profit from suffering are:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>[ . . . ] taking over the idea of sustainability and turning it into a tool of business control and growth that projects an image of corporate social responsibility [ . . . ] </i></blockquote>
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<i>[It is] proving to be a powerful strategy for corporations in a rapidly globalizing economy marked by financial turmoil and a need for continued strategic repositioning. It is also enhancing the credibility and influence of these companies in states, in civil society, in supply chains, and in retail markets. And it is shifting the power balance within the global political arena from states as the central rule makers and enforcers of environmental goals toward big-brand retailers and manufacturers acting to use "sustainability" to protect their private interests."</i> (p. 2)</blockquote>
We must be suspicious when a company appears to be appealing to customer demands for a "humane" or "sustainable" product when the business itself continues to profit from the exploitation of the vulnerable. By taking the initiative, the corporation retains the power to define both the problems and the solutions. It is infinitely wiser for the corporation to act first to superficially address ethical concerns before the state steps in to create those definitions for it. What does it mean when corporations like Barnum & Bailey are in charge of "liberation" and "conservation"? Customer concerns are placated, future restrictions from the state are avoided, and the strategy actually becomes marketable.<br />
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Customers and activists alike can feel good about the circus now. However, as with many corporate-driven attempts to improve ethical problems, the improvements tend to be relatively meaningless and hide continued issues. Abolitionist project "My Face is On Fire" (MFIOF) reports on the new home for the "liberated" elephants:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>This center is basically a breeding and training center. They loan out elephants and/or provide sperm to zoos so that they can stay well-stocked with elephants for their own customers. The Center has been criticized repeatedly for being a dreary place for the elephants. It's sometimes been called the elephant equivalent of a puppy mill. So how is this a victory for the elephants?</i></blockquote>
<a href="http://www.usatoday.com/videos/news/nation/2015/03/05/24442161/" target="_blank">Even PETA calls bullshit</a>. The "conservation center," Newkirk insists, is a for-profit enterprise that continues to hurt elephants under the guise of charity and with all of the benefits that a true charity might receive in the form of government and public support.<br />
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Ultimately, this is the corporation taking matters into its own hands to capitalize on the public's concern for animals in order to rebrand itself as "humane" and "sustainable." Make no mistake, this circus continues to enslave and exploit many other species. But as non-animal acts like Cirque du Soleil seem increasingly modern and fresh, and Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey seem more like archaic and outdated relics of the past, the organization knows that riding the wave of the "humane" movement will be good for business. Of course, dumping animal acts altogether is likely not an option, as the corporation is well aware that the public still sees Nonhuman Animals as objects of resource, and animals sell. Elephants bad. Camels good. This moral inconsistency is thanks in part to the Nonhuman Animal rights movement that has always prioritized "special" species and ignored vegan education efforts. MFIOF continues:<br />
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<i>Members of the general public will probably fall all over themselves to rush to the circus over the next three years to get "one last chance" to see the elephants go through the motions they've had hammered into them by their "trainers". When they're gone, they'll no doubt breathe a collective sigh of relief (after all, elephants are like land dolphins or giant baby seals) and then feel "better" about continuing to support the circus once they're gone. After all, animal advocates are cheering, aren't they?</i></blockquote>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Retiring elephants is a corporate strategy to dilute activist pressure and improve customer confidence in their brand</td></tr>
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So what sort of victory are we celebrating here? Instead of embracing a consistent, holistic vegan-centric message of liberation, the movement has irrationally focused on a few popular species, succeeded in moving elephants from one prison to another, and made a wide open space for the new camel act. For that matter, activists may have had little to do with the so-called "victory" at all. Barnum & Bailey is on elephant conservation like Walmart is on organic veggies.<br />
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If single-issue campaigns are so limited in their impact, so dependent upon unethical corporate interests to succeed, and so expensive in the resources they require, why engage them at all? In response to the "victory," <i>T.O.F.U. Magazine</i> writes:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Yes, there's more to be done, but everyone needs to know that progress is possible. </i></blockquote>
That, I believe, is one of the main reasons that single-issue campaigns are engaged: for activist morale, not for effectiveness in the grand scheme. Activist morale is, of course, important to sustain a movement, but when the psychological needs of human activists surpasses effective strategy, it is time to get critical about what tactics we are choosing and why.<br />
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The Abolitionist Vegan Society writes:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Brace yourselves, abolitionists. Here come the "Victory!" (fundraising) emails from the nonabolitionist orgs because of the Ringling Bros. news.</i></blockquote>
Indeed. Perhaps even more important than upholding morale, single-issue campaigns are tools for fundraising. This is a point I explore in an article published in the academic journal, <a href="http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/bloomsbury/fcs/2013/00000016/00000004/art00008" target="_blank"><i>Food, Culture & Society</i></a> (please email me for a full text copy if you are interested). Again, this is less a matter of effective liberation strategy, and more of a matter of financial sustainability. Campaigning to reform or abolish "low hanging branches"--those social problems 99% of the public already agrees with, problems that generally pertain to "popular," "cute," or "majestic" animals--means that a social movement organization can count on easier access to resources. Again, it is important to take a serious look at our priorities. Are we a movement that seeks to capitalize on the public's preexisting pro-animal attitudes? Or are we a movement that seeks to challenge society's entrenched speciesism?<br />
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Decades of protesting, millions of dollars spent, and we've "succeeded" in shuffling elephants out of the circus ring and into a for-profit "breeding" center to the effect of improving the Ringling Bros. brand name. What if we'd put those resources into vegan education?<br />
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<b>To summarize:</b><br />
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<ol>
<li>Single-issue campaigns are generally a failure in disguise as they appear to abolish one form of oppression, but ultimately only make room for the increased oppression of others, or the oppression is simply transformed (in this case, elephants go from one jail to another, and tigers, dogs, camels, etc. will fill their space on the circus floor)</li>
<li>Single-issue campaigns aggravate the irrational and speciesist compartmentalization of certain acts of animal oppression as especially "bad," while making invisible the higher-impact forms of animal oppression (like animal food consumption, the institution of domestication, etc.)</li>
<li>To remain competitive, corporations will adopt superficial "humane" or "sustainable" measures to improve their brand image and increase sales</li>
<li>Single-issue campaigns are low-impact for liberation, but beneficial for sustaining activist morale</li>
<li>Single-issue campaigns are low-impact for liberation, but high impact for mobilizing resources</li>
<li>Activists should consider whether or not capitalist growth is either necessary or congruent with a goal for achieving social justice (in other words, can capitalism solve our problems? Can we buy the revolution?)</li>
<li>Activists should consider if their need to feel effectual is more important than actually being effectual </li>
<li>Vegan education may be less "exciting," but it is a higher impact form of low-cost activism that addresses all forms of oppression and avoids the problematic task of ranking which species and which forms of oppression are more important (decisions that ultimately lie on speciesist human preferences)</li>
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<b>UPDATE 03/07/2015:</b> It appears that the circus's decision to cut elephants from the show also had a lot to do with the <a href="http://m.nydailynews.com/news/national/ringling-bros-elephant-retirement-due-rampant-tb-peta-article-1.2140041" target="_blank">high levels of tuberculosis</a> that are difficult to control among exploited elephants. Again, this is not a victory, this is a business move. </div>
Corey Wrennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04099780959084371968noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5119571085250348561.post-65758737102299656922015-03-05T13:00:00.000-05:002015-03-05T13:00:05.749-05:00Defending Non-Abolitionism Bingo CardFrom my good friends at <a href="http://www.abolitionistvegansociety.org/" target="_blank">The Abolitionist Vegan Society</a> . . .<br />
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There is a social psychological tendency for us to assume that because something exists or predominates, it must be good and most appropriate. Challenge yourselves and others to think critically and to value evidence before supporting a position. Remember, ad-hominems are not valid arguments; neither is it valid to <a href="http://academicabolitionistvegan.blogspot.com/2013/08/what-are-you-doing-to-help-animals.html" target="_blank">accuse vegans of hurting the animals for daring to disagree</a>. </div>
<br />Corey Wrennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04099780959084371968noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5119571085250348561.post-74260832293814747412015-03-04T19:49:00.001-05:002015-03-13T14:46:11.612-04:00Mobilizing Anti-Muslim Sentiment "For the Animals"<b>Trigger Warning: Post contains discussions of racism against Muslims and the Nonhuman Animal rights movement's role in promoting it.</b><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anti-Muslim protests in the U.K.</td></tr>
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The hatred of and discrimination against all things Muslim is a social justice issue that is especially poignant in today's post-911 world where many live in fear of the latest reports on ISIS and few understand the complexities of Middle Eastern current events. In the West, the ubiquitousness of hate crimes against Muslims or anyone who "looks" Muslim makes life unsafe and unfair for many. Even the KKK is on board. <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/03/02/kkk-fliers-washington_n_6785614.html" target="_blank"><i>The Huffington Post</i> reported earlier this week that Ku Klux Klan literature has been promoting increased discrimination against Muslims</a>.<br />
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Unfortunately, it doesn't end with hate groups. The Nonhuman Animal rights movement itself has a long history of mobilizing racist sentiment in order to garner support for Nonhuman Animal protection. True, many of the early activists were active in the anti-slavery abolitionist movement, but it is <i>also</i> true that many early rights and welfare laws specifically targeted communities of color at home and abroad in the colonies. In some ways, this was an act of deliberate racism, but movements also make "compromises" by pulling on racism to increase resonance.<br />
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Muslims in particular have routinely been the target of Nonhuman Animal rights activism, specifically in regard to slaughter practices. "Live export" campaigns go back at least as far as the 1980's, with organizations demonizing Muslim regions for their "barbaric" treatment of livestock sourced from Western countries. In my research, for instance, I have uncovered reports produced by direct action advocates in the U.K. who had been protesting live export, only to have Compassion in World Farming take credit for their activism without even being present at the protests.<br />
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Compassion in World Farming, "the world's leading farm animal welfare organization," continues to benefit from racist campaigning today. In a newsletter released today in promotion of their "The Secret is Out" campaign against Muslim slaughter, CIWF invites us to "Expose the Truth" by supporting their campaign, specifically, by donating and signing a petition.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo5Xcrv5bcaKhObkpxBx-z21dNc6zmpT-CN5yBqlRfy_ACCgzINDPNGNt-uIfHBX7BuYY1Uzsj094zWDIza2YfaUWCVJn_LxIUjxeEr6PnOQ9_BqxsY76nOsZzNhlvw1GkZ2aZ389CARE/s1600/CIWF.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="From the CIWF newsletter: EXPOSE THE TRUTH I've got a secret to tell you. And I need your help to expose it. When we received a tip-off about a hidden trade in European farm animals we knew we had to find out more. But to do that our Investigation Unit had to visit one of the world’s most volatile border crossings, the Israeli‑controlled Kerem Shalom border, where the Gaza Strip, Israel and Egypt converge. They brought back some shocking evidence, which I’m sharing with you today. What they found was a trade in cattle, transported from the EU, being sent alive into war-torn Gaza to be slaughtered. They tracked down animals who had travelled thousands of miles by land and sea from Romania and Hungary – via Israel – to Gazan slaughterhouses where, frankly, it just isn’t possible to slaughter an animal without causing immense suffering." border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo5Xcrv5bcaKhObkpxBx-z21dNc6zmpT-CN5yBqlRfy_ACCgzINDPNGNt-uIfHBX7BuYY1Uzsj094zWDIza2YfaUWCVJn_LxIUjxeEr6PnOQ9_BqxsY76nOsZzNhlvw1GkZ2aZ389CARE/s1600/CIWF.png" height="400" title="" width="360" /></a></div>
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Please note the following statement from the above excerpt which I have found to be especially problematic (emphasis mine):<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>They tracked down animals who had travelled thousands of miles by land and sea from Romania and Hungary - via Israel - <b>to Gazan slaughterhouses where, frankly, it just isn't possible to slaughter an animal without causing immense suffering</b>. </i></blockquote>
This language implies that Muslims living in Gaza are inherently incapable of anything but cruelty. This statement also wrongly implies that killing Nonhuman Animals can be done without suffering. By contrast, readers are left to assume that 1. killing can be done "humanely," as long as it is 2. done by the "right" people in the "right" places. The language of "exposing the truth" and the "secret is out" also, I believe, pulls on Western conceptualizations of Islamic terrorism. CIWF frames their campaign as though the underground, clandestine evil of Muslims in slaughterhouses is being "leaked" to the public, who can now use that knowledge to intervene in the name of justice.<br />
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And what of the immense <i>human</i> suffering taking place in Gaza? Suffering brown bodies don't sell. CIWF relies on graphic images of animals being murdered and the societal hatred of Muslims in the West in order to promote their campaign. I charge that such an approach is morally problematic in that it diminishes the integrity of Nonhuman Animals whose suffering becomes a selling point, and it diminishes the immense human rights violations taking place against Palestinians living in Gaza. Indeed, the violence against humans taking place in Gaza is made <i>invisible</i>.<br />
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Nonhuman Animal rights campaigners should not be in the same business as the KKK. There is no justifiable reason to target vulnerable groups for their seemingly more horrific use of Nonhuman Animals, especially when the West engages in a number of equally horrific acts of violence (including the failure to protect Palestinians). This is not done by accident: Nonhuman Animal rights organizations know that by targeting the activities of wealthy whites in the West, they are not likely to garner as much support as they might by targeting poor brown people in a war-torn region. It is easy to demonize them, because the rest of the world is already doing the same.<br />
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Compartmentalizing violence against other animals is morally problematic for a number of reasons. The tendency to vilify the practices of vulnerable human groups while ignoring the practices of those in power is one of those reasons. To avoid fanning discrimination, it is best that we promote a holistic vegan position. Cows in slaughterhouses are no more deserving of protection than any other species oppressed by humans, and slaughterhouses in Gaza are not measurably worse than many in the United States. Creating a hierarchy of concern only replicates systems of inequality and systems of privilege. Until we situate our vegan message within an intersectional framework of social justice, we will remain a marginalized movement that few take seriously.<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;">Thank you to Sarah Woodcock of <a href="http://www.abolitionistvegansociety.org/" target="_blank">The Abolitionist Vegan Society</a> for bringing this campaign to my attention.</span></div>
Corey Wrennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04099780959084371968noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5119571085250348561.post-85893146874596627752015-02-09T20:19:00.001-05:002015-02-09T20:24:26.363-05:00Is DXE a Vegan Abolitionist Group?The short answer is no.<br />
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The following meme is being shared on social media networks by a DXE leader:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-kJQ89OUHBR0_qEgRoeV9q25htoV4Shx1S-X9Fj3EbRe-hZ0ZetArPMI2aXojbvwDF4TFkisJ76VKntn0WD-p0XwLTe2pjHAJ38pM27L0-Zz3M58J4epZqc8q5owISc4PFlgdAVqp9vQ/s1600/10847340_10205757433645795_4076578467127432062_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Meme of Batman smacking Robin. Robin asks, "But you'll never get people to go vegan if you go into restaurants and yell at them." Batman says: "We're not a vegan outreach group."" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-kJQ89OUHBR0_qEgRoeV9q25htoV4Shx1S-X9Fj3EbRe-hZ0ZetArPMI2aXojbvwDF4TFkisJ76VKntn0WD-p0XwLTe2pjHAJ38pM27L0-Zz3M58J4epZqc8q5owISc4PFlgdAVqp9vQ/s1600/10847340_10205757433645795_4076578467127432062_o.jpg" height="371" title="" width="400" /></a></div>
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In my opinion, DXE is not a vegan abolitionist group because they utilize welfarist tactics (open rescues, single-issue campaigning, branded campaigning, and a general mirroring of large non-profits like Mercy for Animals, Animal Equality, and Compassion Over Killing, etc.). Of course, all of these characteristics are up for debate. I suppose it may be possible to make a good argument for the utility in open rescues as an abolitionist endeavor (not that I would agree with such an argument, but I concede that there is room for debate). <b>However, when a Nonhuman Animal rights organization explicitly rejects veganism, this is a clear indication that this is not an abolitionist organization.</b> I suspect that, <a href="http://academicabolitionistvegan.blogspot.com/2015/01/on-problems-with-open-rescues-response.html" target="_blank">based on my earlier observations</a>, DXE is on the path to professionalization. The utilization of tactics intended to grab media attention and the rejection of veganism are two unspoken requirements to achieve bureaucratic growth and access to grants and donations.<br />
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Vegan Outreach and other large non-profits also make the convoluted claim that abolition is possible without advocating veganism. DXE is unique in this respect only because they choose to yell at people instead of hand out leaflets or hire Playboy models to strip for billboard ads. If yelling at people won't get them to go vegan, then what exactly is the point of yelling at people at all? What's liberation without veganism? My guess is that yelling at people gets media attention, and media attention increases access to resources. Unfortunately, non-profit growth and Nonhuman Animal liberation are mutually exclusive. Institutionalization and capitalist success is the cause of speciesist oppression, not the solution.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">You can read DXE's statement on direct action <a href="http://directactioneverywhere.com/why-direct-action" target="_blank">here</a>.</span>Corey Wrennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04099780959084371968noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5119571085250348561.post-12256050023008200032015-02-07T17:49:00.002-05:002015-02-07T18:39:45.246-05:00If You Believe it is Wrong to Force Your Beliefs...<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyLFnJcBw_3cxP6so8s92JbZsW3W-Q54PywPdAsuGV49pWKH_ICSRfdT76wW-AnV1OxTrAdMn-vvkpagqFIRBR4-XOg7c6nKTq3NhN3cOeLOvb_OCBFxoaRpH1rpPfUNSdxCABXM7Gr_w/s1600/batterhen2012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyLFnJcBw_3cxP6so8s92JbZsW3W-Q54PywPdAsuGV49pWKH_ICSRfdT76wW-AnV1OxTrAdMn-vvkpagqFIRBR4-XOg7c6nKTq3NhN3cOeLOvb_OCBFxoaRpH1rpPfUNSdxCABXM7Gr_w/s1600/batterhen2012.jpg" height="190" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image from Cedar Row Farm Sanctuary</td></tr>
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<i>If you are a person who believes it wrong to force your beliefs on others, then you are obligated to go vegan.</i></div>
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<br />- John Tallent</h2>
Corey Wrennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04099780959084371968noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5119571085250348561.post-73134425652177012462015-02-04T14:42:00.000-05:002015-02-04T18:56:58.854-05:00Join the Vegan Club for the Low, Low PriceVegan Outreach has repeatedly explained in a number of essays, position statements, and interviews that they do not want a "vegan club." A consistent vegan position, they explain, is sanctimonious and off-putting. Vegans are angry, loud, and too concerned with morality. "Meeting people where they are," they insist, is a more "practical" approach. What this means is that promoting reductionism (eating less "meat" or "humanely-raised" "meat," vegetarianism, flexitarianism, etc.) is most appropriate. In order to protect this compromised position, they spend a great deal of effort "bashing" veganism. So, imagine my surprise when I received an email invitation from Vegan Outreach this morning asking me to join their vegan club.<br />
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That's correct, Vegan Outreach has launched their own vegan club and you don't even need to be vegan to join. True to Vegan Outreach practicality, one only needs to fork over $120. In other words, their club membership is a monthly $10 donation. It is membership by proxy.<br />
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When Vegan Outreach says they don't want a "vegan club," what they mean is that they are opposed to holding veganism as the baseline, a basic requirement for taking the interests of Nonhuman Animals seriously. A vegan club to them is a nonpolitical, non-active, non-involved donor. Vegan or not vegan, it doesn't matter as long as you pay up and buy stuff.<br />
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The following is pulled directly from today's Vegan Outreach newsletter (I've included the sexist "Chicks Dig Vegans" logo for context. It appears sexism is becoming as standard in animal advocacy as donating as activism).<br />
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Making a Difference without Breaking the Bank!</h3>
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<tr><td align="left" height="280" rowspan="2" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px;" valign="top" width="30"></td><td align="left" height="76" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px;" valign="top" width="150"><a href="http://veganoutreach.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=2dcd9cb7dfab0062f1a1df75e&id=ac16bd103e&e=bfb2bba9f3" style="color: #4398d1; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><img alt="Sticker" border="0" class="CToWUd" height="66" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEgFRCVzi04dPxctN3jR2j7iuM4BVe9n4Qmqq31kv07JZcN29a3TM_wHrM-pCc7yof0Dqnv7jS83GZnooHuq5Qx41O5CzW7ijlY6nGPMOAgqf3Rh9d7X2Li08miyzDJ4EEjEkRouokQr0dwrfaGuxtgSdKXQ5MmxsUfWig=s0-d-e1-ft" style="display: block; font-size: 12px;" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td align="left" height="204" style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; margin: 0px;" valign="top" width="150"><a href="http://veganoutreach.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=2dcd9cb7dfab0062f1a1df75e&id=7a29aee8ce&e=bfb2bba9f3" style="color: #4398d1; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><img alt="Cookbook" border="0" class="CToWUd" height="194" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/proxy/AVvXsEgNBZlCFtT98E4l_75EqHu67tRIHNdYfUXq6OkG2aJZ2FAXmnSX64p1QJssgfhLaHlqIemapC8a_aYq82AXL5LVB6TECGC_IFDUGSdRHuo4JtMTEQp_oVHaxW_ys6dlTev67xBHEDC7hLZTcMImOcops9H8F1yrxpeHcQvw34qhSQ=s0-d-e1-ft" style="display: block; font-size: 12px;" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
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A $120 donation may sound like a lot, but what about $10 a month? That’s less than four cents a day, but it makes a big impact for animals! You can sign up now for an automatic monthly donation to Vegan Outreach, and make a huge difference by giving a little at a time throughout the year! And you’ll become a member of the “Vegan Club” through VO’s membership program, making you eligible for awesome gifts like our <a href="http://veganoutreach.us8.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=2dcd9cb7dfab0062f1a1df75e&id=1289fbbfe9&e=bfb2bba9f3" style="color: #4398d1; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Chicks Dig Vegans bumper sticker</a>, a copy of <em><a href="http://veganoutreach.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=2dcd9cb7dfab0062f1a1df75e&id=d97b112a3e&e=bfb2bba9f3" style="color: #4398d1; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">Betty Goes Vegan</a>,</em> and so many others!</div>
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Check out our membership levels, thank you gifts, and ways to give at <a href="http://veganoutreach.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=2dcd9cb7dfab0062f1a1df75e&id=f1a34659c9&e=bfb2bba9f3" style="color: #4398d1; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">VeganOutreach.org/membership</a>.</div>
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<i>The<b> first</b> course of action for anyone who wants justice for Nonhuman Animals is to go vegan.</i> The second course of action is to educate others about veganism. Donating is not activism (and "activism" of this sort is reserved only for the privileged few who can afford it). We cannot buy the revolution. When non-profits convince a generation of would-be activists that we can change the world if we just pull out our credit card, we've already lost the battle. When non-profits that claim to represent the interests of vulnerable Nonhuman Animals convince a concerned public that reduction and donation will satisfy their obligations to Nonhuman Animals, this movement is a movement no longer. Rather, it is simply another moneymaking capitalist venture.<br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><b>NOTE:</b> Vegan Outreach issued a correction: </span><br />
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>In encouraging you to consider a monthly donation to VO, we said that $10 a month breaks down to four cents per day, when actually, it's forty cents per day. [ . . . ] PS. Coincidentally, four cents a day does add up to $36 a year, which, as a one-time donation, would make you an official Member of The Vegan Club and get you some pretty neat membership gifts as well.</i></span></blockquote>
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Corey Wrennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04099780959084371968noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5119571085250348561.post-26360156649153683362015-01-31T17:49:00.000-05:002015-01-31T17:49:01.630-05:00Abolitionism and Incremental Reforms<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Image courtesy of <a href="http://www.abolitionistvegansociety.org/" target="_blank">The Abolitionist Vegan Society</a></td></tr>
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Abolitionists are not opposed to incremental reforms; we are of the belief that they will automatically happen as a result of vegan education's effect on the demand for animal products.</div>
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The difference between abolitionists and nonabolitionists, in terms of these incremental reforms, is that abolitionists aren't out there promoting the "humane" exploitation of nonhuman animals. We believe that the incremental "reforms" that happen from advocacy for them results in people believing that they justify the use of nonhuman animals. Ask any nonvegan about using nonhuman animals - they will tell you that it is justifiable "if done humanely."</div>
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These kinds of incremental reforms only work to legitimize the property paradigm of nonhuman animals - not to overturn it. Bigger cages means more efficiency and happier consumers.</div>
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Animal welfare reform is for speciesists; vegan education is for those that wish to see the end of nonhuman animal use.</div>
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Corey Wrennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04099780959084371968noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5119571085250348561.post-6202076026489792012015-01-25T17:47:00.000-05:002015-01-25T17:47:42.535-05:00A Vegan Abolitionist Discussion in Australia<div>
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By Stevie Lynne<br />
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<b>Not Safe for Work: </b>Contains some good natured cursing.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Do we need people like Rupert Murdoch on our side? White men say, "Yes!"</td></tr>
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Went to a vegan abolitionist discussion group last night. It solidified a few things to me that I already knew:</div>
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1. Francione's style of abolitionism is dripping in privilege as evidenced by the total lack of awareness about how a small group of white men insisted on dominating the conversation.</div>
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2. Men literally have no clue as to why "welcoming everyone into veganism" is problematic and threatening as f*ck. One dude insisted we needed people like Rupert Murdoch on side. Calle<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;">d him on it and said that welcoming everyone was a direct threat to my safety and the safety of others. His eyes glazed over and uncomfortable silence followed. Yes, a woman just challenged you on your privilege. Get the f*ck over it.</span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><br />3. Many in our movement are just freaking unaware about the harmful language that they use. </span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><br />4. There are other abolitionist thought leaders out there besides some white dude and who actually rock an intersectional praxis. I managed to drop a couple of names at the end of the discussion - like Corey Wrenn and Sarah K Woodcock (much to the organiser's chagrin)</span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><br />5. Francionists are happy when police can enforce certain laws. You can't be all like "abolish hierarchy and domination over nonhuman animals" in one breath and supporting the police in the next.</span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><br />6. Francionists are happy to talk about human slavery in the past tense, even though they know human slavery is bigger now than ever. That's just downright deceptive shit that makes white people feel good about slavery being "in the past".</span></div>
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline;"><br />7. Francionists don't like to admit that food privilege is like a thing and should be a part of the conversation about veganism. I brought it up. It got swept away asap.</span></div>
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Screw Francione's abolitionism. Give me intersectional veganism any day.</div>
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Corey Wrennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04099780959084371968noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5119571085250348561.post-59669829531090581092014-12-23T00:08:00.000-05:002014-12-23T19:07:52.106-05:00An Update on Non-Profit Bias and the "Downright Stupid" Vegan Position<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqWF8FzOGdvQtGgM-Kv55VODLhwMO6N-3M-r0tGp6tITctMrMgY3xcJu0TBkKlUgHwXIMQ5JNq8bJdouxgiJllPiBDDUZ-mW9CTtBPJtHLDUtkDTxPbaZe3bTKmi7gqPsgNEhtF6E9Vqk/s1600/Science+of+Animal+Rights.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqWF8FzOGdvQtGgM-Kv55VODLhwMO6N-3M-r0tGp6tITctMrMgY3xcJu0TBkKlUgHwXIMQ5JNq8bJdouxgiJllPiBDDUZ-mW9CTtBPJtHLDUtkDTxPbaZe3bTKmi7gqPsgNEhtF6E9Vqk/s1600/Science+of+Animal+Rights.jpg" height="167" width="400" /></a></div>
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Last week I published <a href="http://academicabolitionistvegan.blogspot.ie/2014/12/the-non-profit-bias-studies-by-non.html" target="_blank">a brief critique of the Humane Research Council's new study</a> on vegan recidivism, which I suggested was conducted to legitimate compromised welfarist tactics. I argued this because 1. there is considerable preexisting research on this very topic that comes to much different conclusions and is conducted by academics who are not on the non-profit payroll, and 2. the study was conducted by a non-profit, with the help of other non-profits, and was funded by non-profits. That is, this was conducted by movement elites who specialize in grant-writing, not the scientific method.<br />
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Indeed, I have become increasingly concerned at the misappropriation of science to support some very unscientific claims. "Science" and "evidence" works to legitimize the welfarist position. I worry that few actually question who is conducting this research and how affiliation and funding sources may seriously bias the procedure and interpretation of results.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCkSEDOVOjc48GpWq8S_CrwueNGDsoBEOXx2QuUOXsneVsgj8d9LQrPb9wXp-VbVwflXn6WrY-j6RxrwzhnPfyk77RDfGf7yhG4cNWDOCILu7tU6ufkiEWJrmYwMK4Ri_96oNp5VNanNU/s1600/Animal+Rights+Science.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCkSEDOVOjc48GpWq8S_CrwueNGDsoBEOXx2QuUOXsneVsgj8d9LQrPb9wXp-VbVwflXn6WrY-j6RxrwzhnPfyk77RDfGf7yhG4cNWDOCILu7tU6ufkiEWJrmYwMK4Ri_96oNp5VNanNU/s1600/Animal+Rights+Science.jpg" height="200" width="400" /></a></div>
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The Animal Charity Evaluators sprouted up over a year ago to offer assistance to those who want to help animals (ie. potential donors) by identifying, through "science" and "research," which non-profits are most effective. The group explicitly rejects veganism in their mission statement, so we should be immediately suspicious that donating money is considered more effective than eschewing the consumption of other animals. Also concerning is that several of the organizations that are voted most effective are also those that collaborate with ACE. Furthermore, these organizations are deemed "effective" in the sense that they "effectively" raise money and "effectively" spend the small percentage of money not funneled back into fundraising on reform (not veganism).<br />
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The Humane Research Council contacted me after publishing my essay, claiming that my critique was ill-conceived and their work is impervious to bias, but I implore that the connections couldn't be clearer (and<i> no </i>research is ever bias-free, but the academic community does see funding and non-profit affiliation as introduction of considerable bias). Just today, I received <a href="http://www.icontact-archive.com/AJ_21ttHYGxEVqQkVKD-KPlWfEYjHGv-?w=4" target="_blank">a newsletter update from VegFund</a>, one of the non-profits that funded the HRC study. The main story featured was that of Vegan Outreach's founder Matt Ball pressing hard for end-of-the-year donations in his "A Radical Pragmatist's Guide to Animal Liberation." Hardly radical at all, the essay repeats the same non-profit rhetoric we have come to expect: veganism is too "puritanical," "egotistical," and "superior" (even "downright stupid"), but we are winning (?), give us more money. On liberation, Ball writes:<br />
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Of course part of me wants everyone to hold all my views. But this will never happen. And if I insist “veganism” must encompass all my views, I make it significantly harder, if not impossible, for others to even consider the animals’ plight. </blockquote>
The Vegan Outreach (and perhaps Vegfund by association) "guide to animal liberation" rejects veganism and advocates instead for making oppression "less cruel." In other words, they advocate for reform, although there is considerable evidence that reform further institutionalizes oppression by maintaining animals as objects of resources and by <a href="http://academicabolitionistvegan.blogspot.ie/2014/12/post-speciesism-and-commodification-of.html" target="_blank">making industry more profitable and resistant</a>.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgdDAOhOB5VMKyAL_rW9ar_X1YldYDb1fqADVERW_xGphhREMJYuL9BgppprjypkVkEag-YCQtW_gapUwbBrmmkfwDyTHO1YIBAOZYz3SORoTExtfUDcIWUrGsVjADG_TBv21F12vs0TE/s1600/Vegan+Outreach+AntiVegan.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgdDAOhOB5VMKyAL_rW9ar_X1YldYDb1fqADVERW_xGphhREMJYuL9BgppprjypkVkEag-YCQtW_gapUwbBrmmkfwDyTHO1YIBAOZYz3SORoTExtfUDcIWUrGsVjADG_TBv21F12vs0TE/s1600/Vegan+Outreach+AntiVegan.png" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The movement's "pragmatic" approach does not lead people to anti-speciesism, it feeds false post-speciesist ideology</td></tr>
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In effect, what we have is the creation or promotion of seemingly unbiased funding or evaluation groups to produce "evidence" that non-profits work. This "evidence" is extremely important to grant applications for demonstrating that the non-profit is using funding effectively and is worthy of receiving more. Leaders of non-profits like Vegan Outreach work closely with middle-man funding non-profits like ACE, HRC, and VegFund to create an image of efficacy and normalize their approach as "pragmatic" (with radical positions framed as "stupid"). This strategy is actually quite similar to that of American "meat" and "dairy" industries. They expend considerable effort painting veganism as dangerous or "stupid" (even <i>bad</i> for the animals), while creating "impartial" boards to make "impartial" statements and policy recommendations on their products and funneling millions of dollars into biased research that supports and legitimizes the "science" of their position. In both cases, for non-profits <i>and</i> for speciesist industry, the goal is the same: maximize financial returns. Indeed, a link prominently displayed beside Ball's essay in the Vegfund newsletter reads: "One Quick Click for Animal Liberation." It leads to their donation page.<br />
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At the end of the day, the true nature of non-profits is to grow and protect resources. Veganism interferes with profits. Almost all funding comes from conservative elites who use foundations as a tax evasion technique. Instead of using the money they have amassed by exploiting vulnerable groups to help those vulnerable groups through the redistribution process of taxation, they hide it in foundations where they have full control over disbursement. Groups that demand radical structural change and could impede on the exploitative privileges of the elite will not be funded. This is why Ball, VegFund, ACE, HRC and others advocate for more "practical" efforts; these positions do not scare off funders. Constructing research that supports this compromised approach and featuring essays by prominent non-profit leaders in "impartial" evaluation groups keeps the movement satiated. Anti-vegan reformism becomes "common sense." Unfortunately, the Nonhuman Animal rights movement begins mirror its industry-led, state supported countermovement as a result.Corey Wrennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04099780959084371968noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5119571085250348561.post-50822886936185100702014-12-13T18:59:00.000-05:002014-12-13T19:36:36.838-05:00Intersectionality is a Foundational Principle in Abolitionism<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I have written many times on the importance of intersectionality in abolitionist advocacy as both a matter of ethics and efficacy. For succinctness, I will not repeat the arguments in this essay, but readers can access these articles by utilizing the search function in this blog. As racial violence and discrimination against people of color continues to dominate headlines and advocacy spaces, many in the vegan community are made uncomfortable by these discussions and have been publishing some unsavory and insensitive comments and essays. I believe the following status update by a self-identified abolitionist group on Facebook sums up this reaction well. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrQbjP8Oy3LessSwcb8aMpGRv7PwnDRsWT5WtrSTWlpSCTijMJ8jQ9Fy_d9sU1ki1oTHyRb48at5rzl_gApE3biMK5ZKX0rxcg5j5LCVZKIEBCZrPM3A515CPTrUACKywxrj3Bw2NZ3nA/s1600/unnamed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Of course I recognise that speciesism and other forms of social injustice are cut from the same moral cloth. However, no matter how oppressed or disadvantaged humans may be at least they HAVE a voice, something which cannot be said for sentient nonhumans, the most oppressed and disadvantaged group on the planet. I also recognise that, ideally, the vegan movement should be truly inclusive and that necessarily involves considering both animal and human rights in our advocacy BUT the movement itself should not be given greater importance than the needs of our nonhuman friends as that would be placing the emphasis on US rather than THEM. This page is unequivocally concerned with animal rights and if that involves treading on the toes of some whose priorities lie elsewhere then so be it." border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrQbjP8Oy3LessSwcb8aMpGRv7PwnDRsWT5WtrSTWlpSCTijMJ8jQ9Fy_d9sU1ki1oTHyRb48at5rzl_gApE3biMK5ZKX0rxcg5j5LCVZKIEBCZrPM3A515CPTrUACKywxrj3Bw2NZ3nA/s1600/unnamed.jpg" title="" /></a></div>
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Because white privilege has created a social environment where the white experience is misconstrued as the universal experience, because whites see themselves as individuals and not part of a racial group ("Not all whites!"; "But<i> I'm </i>not racist!), and because whites enjoy the privilege of being spared uncomfortable exposure to the consequences of racial inequality, whites generally lack the tools to constructively handle race issues. Robin DiAngelo refers to this phenomenon as "<a href="https://www.academia.edu/7784054/White_Fragility" target="_blank">white fragility</a>": </div>
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<i>White Fragility is a state in which even a minimum amount of racial stress be-comes intolerable, triggering a range of defensive moves. These moves include the outward display of emotions such as anger, fear, and guilt, and behaviors such as argumentation, silence, and leaving the stress-inducing situation. These behaviors, in turn, function to reinstate white racial equilibrium. </i></blockquote>
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Writing for <i>Salon</i>, Cera Byer makes <a href="http://www.salon.com/2014/12/09/to_my_white_male_facebook_friends/" target="_blank">a very powerful assessment</a>: </div>
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<i>Being able to turn a blind eye </i>[sic] <i>to things that don’t happen to you is the essence of privilege. It’s also an abuse of power. </i></blockquote>
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The following interaction was pulled from the comments section of the above status message:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiYqfQfi77DFv5bNCTimWFdOmsNivX0N0m1gFoM_EL9_CQbzzEKbFuvU36T5NHVaIYA4-_4nl-49P456RPrOYo6LXP82ME8X79SWSI9D7IioQzcRmEHoJ7UW-i_KXcRZQUkbXamclOEQs/s1600/PAG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Saying "ideally, the vegan movement should be truly inclusive" is, frankly, a slap in the face to those of us whose voices are *not* included in mainstream AR rhetoric. I don't have the privilege to ignore racism, heterosexism, or cissexism, because I am neither white, heterosexual, nor cisgender. Implying that my struggles are not as important or urgent as those of non-human animals because I have a "voice" is ignoring that the voices of oppressed humans have been silenced for centuries. Total animal liberation means freeing all oppressed, regardless of species. It might seem convenient to push aside the struggles of people of color, women, LGBTQ, and others for those who aren't members of those groups. But that's not the way to build a successful movement." border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiYqfQfi77DFv5bNCTimWFdOmsNivX0N0m1gFoM_EL9_CQbzzEKbFuvU36T5NHVaIYA4-_4nl-49P456RPrOYo6LXP82ME8X79SWSI9D7IioQzcRmEHoJ7UW-i_KXcRZQUkbXamclOEQs/s1600/PAG.jpg" title="" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6mxNcFrZJLCXyH1kIAOoy_tjhdy5PkaqeMHjpLBeb1F6-byzvGuNoTAsJr7RwFdIchVP6-GZq4NuQktFZBDffpEnCUzkUax31g8PomtqvSaQ_PNhPVIl1u-C_1HWHRvYWAhF-jooOgfE/s1600/GOV.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Pax, it would be nice if you actually bothered to read what the OP is saying before responding by soapboxing. Never mind, your comment has actually proved the point I'm making. While you're busy putting human interests first under the guise of attempting to 'build a successful movement', those of us who actually care about the plight of nonhumans will get on with the job of giving them priority." border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6mxNcFrZJLCXyH1kIAOoy_tjhdy5PkaqeMHjpLBeb1F6-byzvGuNoTAsJr7RwFdIchVP6-GZq4NuQktFZBDffpEnCUzkUax31g8PomtqvSaQ_PNhPVIl1u-C_1HWHRvYWAhF-jooOgfE/s1600/GOV.jpg" title="" /></a></div>
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Ignoring or downplaying the crisis in human suffering from the white perspective is problematic, but it is also an act of violence to<i> shame</i> those who are struggling to be free from violence, suffering, and death. Insinuating that people of color and women are acting selfishly also draws on prescribed race and gender roles that pressure people of color and women to put the interests of their oppressors first. In a white supremacist, neo-colonial environment, the problems facing people of color are trivialized and they are made to serve others. In a patriarchal environment, women, too, are socialized to serve others, ignore their own interests, and remain contentedly powerless and last in line. When privileged vegan advocates draw on these race and gender roles, they pull on powerful social scripts to instill silence and obedience. These are scripts that have been in place for centuries, and persons with privilege are well socialized in their effective operation.</div>
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Anti-human/anti-intersectionality ideologies have plagued the movement in general, but their encroachment into so-called abolitionist spaces is especially disheartening. Fortunately, many are working to protect the principles of vegan abolitionism (1. veganism, 2. non-violence, 3. intersectionality) and aren't buying it. Michele Spino Martindill, for instance, shared the following commentary. It is in response to the anti-intersectionality controversy in general, but it specifically relates to the recent remarks made by Grumpy Old Vegan.</div>
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<i>[...] the time has come to speak out against his continued defensive posturing and his complete inability to understand why intersectionality matters in the animal rights (AR) movement. GOV claims that he understands that oppressions against women and other "disadvantaged" groups are "cut from the same moral cloth" as oppressions against other animals, BUT--and there's always a BUT with GOV and his followers--he adds that oppressed humans can speak for themselves, so they don't need the support of vegans in the way that other animals need our help. I take issue with that kind of reasoning. How can children being sold into slavery speak for themselves? Are nursing home residents able to speak for themselves and assert their rights? Are rape victims given a voice when members of the AR movement compare their experiences to that of dairy cows? Were the voices of Trayvon Martin and Mike Brown heard by the oppressors? It is apparent that a divide is emerging between those who define anti-speciesism as only animals other than humans needing the help of humans, and those who see anti-speciesism as the need to oppose all oppression simultaneously because all oppression stems from the same source and if marginalized groups unite they have the power to end oppression.</i> </blockquote>
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<i>If anyone dares to mention intersectionality within the AR movement, it is treated like the ultimate dirty word, like a strike against the AR membership. We get comments along the lines of, "You're a speciesist because you care more about the exploitation of humans than other animals. We're not supposed to value humans over other animals." How is it valuing humans over other animals or species to define anti-speciesism as the need to end social hierarchies that elevate the wealthy elite at the expense of those who are defenseless? Are some AR members unable to extend their compassion to more than what they term nonhuman animals? That is an incredibly narrow view of compassion and veganism. It also shows a desire to be picky about who deserves the efforts of AR members to end violence. Clearly, human animals are not deserving in their book. Their claim that anti-speciesism will ultimately end all oppression is an empty claim if they refuse to fight and speak out against all oppression now, today and forever.</i> </blockquote>
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<i>The comments of GOV's followers are equally troubling in that they now indicate a trend to divide AR members between left and right political wings. One follower specifically praised GOV by complaining that some members of the abolitionist society were demanding that followers adhere to the "Holy Grail of Liberal Dogma" and went on to add that such "sanctimonious" beliefs are simply "trendy." These followers dismiss the efforts of feminists, the Civil Rights Movement and other efforts as if there is no need for them or they are nothing more than petty issues that will be cleared up once people accept veganism. If only it could be that simple! It's not. Veganism and anti-speciesism look elitist to those who have real and immediate needs, e.g. paying the electric bill, finding coats for everyone in the family or trying to get affordable health care. AR members have a tough choice ahead. They can resist intersectionality and working for social justice across the board, or they can accept that what benefits one will benefit all, that compassion is truly limitless and can be extended to every living being.</i></blockquote>
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Let us now briefly explore those selfish folks worrying about themselves with their mixed up priorities. <b>Trigger warning:</b> Some of the following are disturbing images that depict systemic discrimination against vulnerable humans.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNohqC49YyAViVuXTO3g2EW14rJVzTRABEZOhnAEZLngwSiIo9dCwCeu2st4LobwO66lo55Plknxi2oLYbzIDj4j2H444jdt7knCrspFtAt0tyF0zva1WD4AWapZj_KJqsU6G7yHdVq1U/s1600/Tamir+Rice+Vegan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNohqC49YyAViVuXTO3g2EW14rJVzTRABEZOhnAEZLngwSiIo9dCwCeu2st4LobwO66lo55Plknxi2oLYbzIDj4j2H444jdt7knCrspFtAt0tyF0zva1WD4AWapZj_KJqsU6G7yHdVq1U/s1600/Tamir+Rice+Vegan.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Racial profiling, violence against people of color, police violence</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEW3qtYShpxFDHSvkuqedDRq2pu27ZOMcuDVyA8Or8h604HqaLCjsCO9J65CWcLwPaRasSARhyehxuGwun5S2Y3VMYKDbkEwd383evatcbNnxHrmDwcEHjPrR1O5mC6t-GybkowWMViyo/s1600/Take+Back+the+Night+Vegan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEW3qtYShpxFDHSvkuqedDRq2pu27ZOMcuDVyA8Or8h604HqaLCjsCO9J65CWcLwPaRasSARhyehxuGwun5S2Y3VMYKDbkEwd383evatcbNnxHrmDwcEHjPrR1O5mC6t-GybkowWMViyo/s1600/Take+Back+the+Night+Vegan.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rape and rape culture</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Homophobia and heterosexism</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpMmH3CSUOlXoAz8opbgY_GbcL6ZKMCIrob9u__HqWkrwZPc2rE5O5P9QhIzI0WrumgZtkA5UPTEV1Hm8CA2LBuDS-BztKAGIlneJoh0HJ6Miiov2ZdphTCyEfcGaq-ISn6269gbmd24g/s1600/Prostitution+Vegan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpMmH3CSUOlXoAz8opbgY_GbcL6ZKMCIrob9u__HqWkrwZPc2rE5O5P9QhIzI0WrumgZtkA5UPTEV1Hm8CA2LBuDS-BztKAGIlneJoh0HJ6Miiov2ZdphTCyEfcGaq-ISn6269gbmd24g/s1600/Prostitution+Vegan.jpg" height="205" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Prostitution/Sex slavery</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHoNA2yjs5mZct8EWCS9eZ_C48XroPNLup8cHz7CpGwVfKaQ8pXzcOyhUHytCHAqKgCS36SgsTtN1qjMlYfwP8I0ke7Bwv4iLxDFBpyPdl7pGU52qLpnKExl46E0op0xEzGWRyUd5PeLA/s1600/homeless-011.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHoNA2yjs5mZct8EWCS9eZ_C48XroPNLup8cHz7CpGwVfKaQ8pXzcOyhUHytCHAqKgCS36SgsTtN1qjMlYfwP8I0ke7Bwv4iLxDFBpyPdl7pGU52qLpnKExl46E0op0xEzGWRyUd5PeLA/s1600/homeless-011.jpg" height="192" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Homelessness and hunger</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pornography and sexual objectification</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikMPitVlL7s5DYhyphenhyphenSviYIlwj8xbnR1LqRMlnZT1B4s-BXl87nFTlG3iHWJx_7cWItGlUToMY7kgsKcF5962KUV_kXhLKYenIh_UFswk7wHn8xOTXmIB-7q37Jm_a6h-XIDWnSz5xcpFIk/s1600/guiyang-chinese-migrant-workers-children-scavenging-garbage-landfill-02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikMPitVlL7s5DYhyphenhyphenSviYIlwj8xbnR1LqRMlnZT1B4s-BXl87nFTlG3iHWJx_7cWItGlUToMY7kgsKcF5962KUV_kXhLKYenIh_UFswk7wHn8xOTXmIB-7q37Jm_a6h-XIDWnSz5xcpFIk/s1600/guiyang-chinese-migrant-workers-children-scavenging-garbage-landfill-02.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Environmental injustice, child poverty, food insecurity</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7UtND-IKA4WO8IZq0d9Aba7dTwiu0xDFf7GopfcG8wKVHx3CVJwmIl8KVW-dHQhwVatSSce_UjoDncpv6_0lIE-TRkZqO5lCvGmKvcNQjce_9IJOypEq0p9lRZjxEwfw1Hd3Lqly8zG8/s1600/balloonBangladesh.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7UtND-IKA4WO8IZq0d9Aba7dTwiu0xDFf7GopfcG8wKVHx3CVJwmIl8KVW-dHQhwVatSSce_UjoDncpv6_0lIE-TRkZqO5lCvGmKvcNQjce_9IJOypEq0p9lRZjxEwfw1Hd3Lqly8zG8/s1600/balloonBangladesh.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Child labor and exploitation of the Third World</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Transgender homelessness, unemployment, and murder</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlrg0zzUXoBtSzGXVRsPKcyk_7vPdw_S5zkoTU9LgogbL9SZX1fjR_FYh6T7758ASDRmQPRmFH16LKrZ2YtWb2khHqm14IHyd2AwDMKoTk1qpGD7JXY0cdWk8V9KJ778yMYY8rjLGb6jo/s1600/Acid+Burn+Victim.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlrg0zzUXoBtSzGXVRsPKcyk_7vPdw_S5zkoTU9LgogbL9SZX1fjR_FYh6T7758ASDRmQPRmFH16LKrZ2YtWb2khHqm14IHyd2AwDMKoTk1qpGD7JXY0cdWk8V9KJ778yMYY8rjLGb6jo/s1600/Acid+Burn+Victim.jpg" height="229" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Violence against women</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPEvkNY6PHeYZPW4SumAuZUMdFXHIpUXCY0m1hD1Be1drGqCvK-9Em-E1n6iJVRFgecFIrQ7gPLjIz5Cakk2IHNTZpzwv2fGnETgSmNhdR1QIYinSzqfG_6wOtm-I0vvpENLT4hzZrRBs/s1600/Ebola+Vegan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPEvkNY6PHeYZPW4SumAuZUMdFXHIpUXCY0m1hD1Be1drGqCvK-9Em-E1n6iJVRFgecFIrQ7gPLjIz5Cakk2IHNTZpzwv2fGnETgSmNhdR1QIYinSzqfG_6wOtm-I0vvpENLT4hzZrRBs/s1600/Ebola+Vegan.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ebola, TB, AIDS, and other diseases related to systemic oppression</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6FZroM_zdEYPcL9Oh1iJ4W4FuN49UxlwLByDqM87muJZJIUGJvGWHThyphenhyphenQ5se6p58Zz1veawmGrKSx_ArISu_wZROzIHwRT4Bu7sXmEntksT6nmFlLBWBoLWLiMk8F8pyyLXepstpeS10/s1600/Illegal+Vegan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6FZroM_zdEYPcL9Oh1iJ4W4FuN49UxlwLByDqM87muJZJIUGJvGWHThyphenhyphenQ5se6p58Zz1veawmGrKSx_ArISu_wZROzIHwRT4Bu7sXmEntksT6nmFlLBWBoLWLiMk8F8pyyLXepstpeS10/s1600/Illegal+Vegan.jpg" height="193" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Labor exploitation, colonial violence, "illegal" status</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOZezWpqyeqAKZp6oZSHln3haZPp7Q9UMi3gxfpmZoe-GfxN_TRyy77W-gQpxXaj10Iqz3cCslR9jqkJHCJ-1H6NTpiTYe6xamIds-WggkdaPAlEEnw8FGNgz0oWuxoMbum55jUC-7l78/s1600/Katrina+Vegan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOZezWpqyeqAKZp6oZSHln3haZPp7Q9UMi3gxfpmZoe-GfxN_TRyy77W-gQpxXaj10Iqz3cCslR9jqkJHCJ-1H6NTpiTYe6xamIds-WggkdaPAlEEnw8FGNgz0oWuxoMbum55jUC-7l78/s1600/Katrina+Vegan.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">State apathy and inaction</td></tr>
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Please, let us not tread on their toes. Please, let us give equal importance to violated, beaten, raped, starving, freezing, enslaved, sickened, suffering, dying, and murdered humans. Please, let us work for <i>everyone's</i> liberation. This is not a zero sum game. The same ideologies and systems of inequality oppress humans and nonhumans alike. Abolitionism as it was first conceived was built and mobilized to free oppressed humans who <i>continue to be </i>oppressed. For vegan advocates to completely appropriate the language and ideas of this movement and then forsake suffering humans, abandon them in their time of need, aggravate their hurting, benefit from their hurting, and then accuse victims and survivors of selfishness is deplorable. Without a doubt, this approach will only further alienate anti-speciesist efforts, tarnishing it as yet another a space of violence, oppression, and white male Western privilege.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Acknowledgements</b><br />Thank you to Pax Ahimsa for the two sources on white privilege that were discussed in this essay.</span></div>
<br />Corey Wrennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04099780959084371968noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5119571085250348561.post-89782625972743957772014-12-03T16:46:00.000-05:002015-03-15T13:45:23.610-04:00Cork Vegans, Misogyny in Ireland<div>
<b><i>TRIGGER WARNING: Contains rape meme and dismissive comments about violence against women.</i></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVxYj_7lrXkHnnKqfLjBaLgLyXzzyvulfOov020r0W7RHvzE7yUYaXKz3bAwgkc0aae1RMGo5KbVLn677lEwDK3j3-z-HQqAqbuoe5IaIKsoCc0VBhcJqEIQypvMX-AIUMaCVwn_y8HaI/s1600/562374_331014353624309_2029330815_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVxYj_7lrXkHnnKqfLjBaLgLyXzzyvulfOov020r0W7RHvzE7yUYaXKz3bAwgkc0aae1RMGo5KbVLn677lEwDK3j3-z-HQqAqbuoe5IaIKsoCc0VBhcJqEIQypvMX-AIUMaCVwn_y8HaI/s1600/562374_331014353624309_2029330815_n.jpg" height="301" width="400" /></a></div>
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I have been in Cork, Ireland for the winter, and, since my arrival, I have been absorbing the state of speciesism outside the U.S. and have been checking out the vegan scene as well. Unfortunately, I can't say I'm all that impressed in either regard. The vegan food is awesome, but <a href="http://academicabolitionistvegan.blogspot.ie/2014/12/post-speciesism-and-commodification-of.html" target="_blank">post-speciesist ideology is probably more intense here in an economically-struggling, romanticized Ireland</a>, and the vegan movement appears to be extremely misogynistic. Specifically, violence against women is taken for granted as acceptable and standard advocacy. <a href="http://veganfeministnetwork.com/faux-intersectionality/" target="_blank">Vegan Information Project in Dublin utilized this tactic not long ago</a>, and, subsequently, on my birthday trip to Dublin, we did not feel comfortable making a detour to check out their stall. Here in Cork, the situation is much more dire. Sexist tactics are not only rampant, but the local vegans cling to them unapologetically. My partner and I are both vegan and we have intentionally stayed clear of our local group, Cork Vegans, because of their outright hostility to women and their unapologetic stance on violence against women.<br />
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On World Vegan Day, <a href="http://veganfeministnetwork.com/torturing-women-as-long-as-its-not-animal-tested/" target="_blank">Cork Vegans announced they would use the holiday to promote LUSH</a> by leafleting outside the Cork store, encouraging people to buy their products (sort of like Avon representatives, they would receive a portion of the proceeds). But, <a href="http://feminspire.com/lush-cosmetics-kind-to-animals-not-to-women/" target="_blank">LUSH is a<b> non-vegan company </b>that routinely (and <i>intentionally</i>) uses images of violence against women to shame or scare them</a> into buying their expensive soaps and bath bombs. When I raised some concerns with the group's decision to squander a day of peace and non-violence on a non-vegan company that causes violence to both women and other animals, the group administrator responded that it was "women's choice" to participate in sexist demonstrations and that LUSH is worth supporting because they are "kind and generous" (to <i>whom</i> exactly?) and "their products are not animal tested." On World Vegan Day, the last thing I want to do is promote a non-vegan company that hurts women, so we stayed in and I began compiling my <a href="http://academicabolitionistvegan.blogspot.ie/2014/11/applying-social-psychology-to-vegan_1.html" target="_blank">social psychology series on vegan outreach</a>. Unfortunately, these essays are probably not of much help to vegan groups that focus their energy on capitalist consumption.<br />
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This morning, Cork Vegans posted a crude Vegan Sidekick rape meme that uses violence against women as a metaphor for violence against other animals. Vegan Sidekick is notorious for exploiting the imagery and language of violence against women to discuss Nonhuman Animal rights, completely disregarding the fact that we live in a rape culture and violence against women is a real and lived experience for half the human population. Perhaps this is intentional. Activists and organizations realize that women are considered subhuman--there is no concern in upsetting or triggering them, because women's feelings and experiences simply don't matter under the patriarchy. When the movement endangers women and dismisses women's concerns, but then uses women's experiences to promote their cause, this is known as tokenizing. For more information on the problematic nature of trans-species analogies that tokenize and exploit, what Kim Socha calls "fast food activism," please read my earlier essays, "<a href="http://academicabolitionistvegan.blogspot.ie/2014/01/rape-as-anti-speciesism-tactic-and.html" target="_blank">Rape as an Anti-Speciesism Tactic and the Vegan Male Discourse</a>" and "<a href="http://veganfeministnetwork.com/the-misogyny-of-animal-rape-imagery/" target="_blank">The Misogyny of Animal Rape Imagery</a>."</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoBOdQiZpMtt9ZugeZ3VIB9uID-5yqtRJcr2dl6OB6RHIqfvXu45wLy8QRH6Ng40J82eb4k-imRelU6N2oK1c-j5XgKY0rsac_b3HyylRJCKV5aFBIbW3AjAc91o6nmN5Q6wykknY4fDg/s1600/Cork+Vegan+Sexism.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoBOdQiZpMtt9ZugeZ3VIB9uID-5yqtRJcr2dl6OB6RHIqfvXu45wLy8QRH6Ng40J82eb4k-imRelU6N2oK1c-j5XgKY0rsac_b3HyylRJCKV5aFBIbW3AjAc91o6nmN5Q6wykknY4fDg/s1600/Cork+Vegan+Sexism.png" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmy39gqbvWTHXIy1humaZ2DRFdJCvRA06F_w7ui6samsGecoxBXKGbsaY4pWQ599zeoQnZNnzRIfe80rkBZbA9Ks7bQYHCDHcWBpGL5Z6t-ynGRORQJ3FlGSa-OIl9qPq00J54uddsgvs/s1600/Cork+Vegans+Misogyny.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmy39gqbvWTHXIy1humaZ2DRFdJCvRA06F_w7ui6samsGecoxBXKGbsaY4pWQ599zeoQnZNnzRIfe80rkBZbA9Ks7bQYHCDHcWBpGL5Z6t-ynGRORQJ3FlGSa-OIl9qPq00J54uddsgvs/s1600/Cork+Vegans+Misogyny.png" height="357" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cork Vegans: "I'm not going to apologise for sharing this. If you don't like the posts on this page just 'unlike' the page or remove it from your newsfeed."</td></tr>
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Cork Vegans' response?</div>
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<i>I'm not going to apologise for sharing this. If you don't like the posts on this page just 'unlike' the page or remove it from your newsfeed.</i></blockquote>
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Let me be clear, when women are told, "If you don't like it, keep it to yourself/don't look/go elsewhere/unlike," the message is clear: your victimization does not matter. When activists say, "I'm not going to apologise" for hurting vulnerable people (<i>rape victims</i> in this case), what they are also saying is: we intend to protect our oppressive structures and don't care who it hurts. Telling survivors to "unlike" violent material in their <i>own community</i> is dismissive. It is also complacent and oppressive. </div>
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It's also a form of victim-blaming. It is though it is women's fault for being exposed to the movement's misogyny. It's women's fault for participating in the movement. It's women's fault for existing. What an unwelcoming position to take. Society already maintains intensely powerful systems of victim-blaming that successfully silence most rape victims. Silencing survivors in our movement as well is nothing short of repulsive. Why would anyone want to join a movement that behaves in such a way to vulnerable people? </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLPp6fOcUbAl-QrS8sHJsKA8GykvEMyVhX8GdfZ9jYEsVJOhyU3DauDC_E5Xj5wXUsMZSI-9XbYfsVbRX9WVRrwVvVPGnKfif2a5FF9CnMqMydkczIR7iDRkR7xQwmSQSJPQm2hg5LwVA/s1600/The+Thinking+Vegan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLPp6fOcUbAl-QrS8sHJsKA8GykvEMyVhX8GdfZ9jYEsVJOhyU3DauDC_E5Xj5wXUsMZSI-9XbYfsVbRX9WVRrwVvVPGnKfif2a5FF9CnMqMydkczIR7iDRkR7xQwmSQSJPQm2hg5LwVA/s1600/The+Thinking+Vegan.jpg" height="400" width="292" /></a></div>
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Promoting and abetting violence against women "for the animals" is grossly unethical, dangerous, and it absolutely does not work. If misogyny as a tactic doesn't work, then why engage it? I believe it is because this is behavior that works in tangent with patriarchy. People hate and hurt women because that is what they've been socialized to do; this goes for men <i>and</i> women. Even activists in the service of peace will prey on the vulnerable, because it is a script that we are<i> all</i> taught from infancy. </div>
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Cork Vegan's actions have been <i>extremely</i> triggering for me. As a result, I want nothing to do with the group. I would never feel comfortable being around them, much less supporting them. My experiences with Cork Vegans and other sexist groups in the movement have got me thinking: if<i> I</i> can barely put up with it, how could (and <i>why</i> would) anyone else put up with it? Because my career involves studying and researching in the Nonhuman Animal rights movement, I cannot disengage, but I can only imagine how many thousands of people the movement turns away with its callous, violent behavior. </div>
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The dismissal of human suffering is a political problem for our movement. It aggravates oppression, and paradoxically so since we claim our goal is to <i>end</i> oppression. It doesn't make sense, and it doesn't work. When groups like Cork Vegan engage this violence and then respond to criticism with "don't look" or "go somewhere else," that is exactly what most people will do.<br />
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<b>Update 12/4/2014: </b> Cork Vegans responded several times to inform me that my colleagues and I are "a bunch of IDIOTS," "CRACKPOTS, and "off our heads." This response indicates that they are unable or unwilling to reflect on the misogyny they facilitate, are intent on aggravating misogyny with more hostility and victim-blaming, and that they are also extremely disableist. I would advise women and other vulnerable groups be wary of this organization and others like it, they can be quite volatile. </div>
Corey Wrennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04099780959084371968noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5119571085250348561.post-39954827444855011402014-12-01T14:00:00.000-05:002015-03-15T13:45:45.945-04:00Post-Speciesism and the Commodification of Animal Rights: Aldi's "Love Ireland" Campaign<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I'm living in Cork, Ireland for the semester and have been exploring new stores, new vegan food, and new ways of advertising food products. Something I quickly noticed was the "Produced in Ireland" labeling scheme. The "Love Ireland" campaign seeks to challenge globalized food production, an environmentally taxing process that outsources agricultural work, threatens the state in creating a dependency on outsiders, and strains the local economy with job loss and import costs. Localizing food is an important form of resistance to this process. Local produce may cost more, though, in a globalized world. To counter this, advertising campaigns seek to reframe local food as patriotic, moral and familial, and ethical. </div>
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At Aldi, I came across a full color booklet provided to customers that pulls on Irish nationalism and nostalgia for the past to push Irish-made food. Certain themes repeat to frame "Love Ireland" products as an ethical choice and a political action: green pastures, families, and happy animals. Unfortunately, in a speciesist world where Nonhuman Animals and their products are still considered "food," Nonhuman Animal rights has become a commodity. </div>
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Starting with the cover, we see a dairy cow identified as "Daisy the dairy cow," though it is clear that her real "name" is 0722. <a href="http://academicabolitionistvegan.blogspot.ie/2014/09/un-naming-enslaved-names-identity.html" target="_blank">Naming her on the brochure implies that she is individualized and treated as a person with interests</a>, though she was pulled from her mother at a young age, repeatedly raped, had her own babies taken from her, and will end up as hamburger before she reaches adulthood. Indeed, she was probably dead before her picture hit Aldi stores.</div>
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Meet the Loughnanes, who produce Irish "pork" in a fashion that has been "handed down through four generations of Loughnane family butchers," with all of their "ingredients" sourced in Ireland. Rhetoric of family, tradition, and heritage implies that buying pig flesh under the "Love Ireland" label is an ethical action. This framework obscures systemic violence, but also increases it. Brendan O'Reilly's "100% Irish" "free range eggs" come from birds who are "free to roam" and are "happier hens because of it." <b>Aldi's program has helped him to "reach a much bigger market."</b><br />
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Callan Bacon Ltd., a family using "traditional" curing methods on their "humble premises," have been butchers for four generations as well. Aldi's program has <b>increased their staff to almost 200</b> in the past five years.<br />
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The Town of Monaghan's "small indigenous fresh dairy produce manufacturer" <b>"depends on the support of retailers" to get their products to consumers, and Aldi's support has helped them to establish their presence in the marketplace.</b><br />
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The Grady family dairy employs 140 people in their cow exploitation farms: <b>"Aldi's support has contributed to our ability to maintain our long tradition [,,,]"</b><br />
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Killower Farm claims: "Happier cows. Tastier yogurt." People pay for "tastier yogurt," but they are also paying for the fantasy of "happy cows": "Their cows enjoy a lifestyle that involves clean air, lots of fresh grass and a gentle routine. [...] The cows enjoy their routine and will even appear at the gate to be milked if the Farm Manager, Sean, is running late!" One is left to wonder if they line up to be raped and slaughtered as well. Sadly, this false claimsmaking works: "<b>As a result of working with Aldi we have been able to employ extra people</b> on our farm in Enniscorthy."</div>
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At this "free range" family chicken farm, producers report:<b> "Demand from Aldi for our products has helped secure our family farm income and also provides employment to several local poultry industry services in Limerick." </b><br />
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Irish Country Meats, a "lamb supplier," ensures readers that Aldi's lambs are, "predominantly reared outdoors, grazing freely on Irish pastures. These are the ideal conditions for raising lamb and result in fresh meat that is not only lean and nutritious, but totally natural too." <br />
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ABP "beef suppliers" have also reported remarkable growth since working with Aldi. They now work with a network of over 35,000 farmers, <b>spending over 450 million euros each year in the "acquisition of cattle" and staff employment</b>.<br />
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Welfare "reform" and local food initiatives are not moving us towards abolition; they are facilitating a false ideology of post-speciesism and make the industry more viable. It paints an inherently violent industry as a patriotic, family-centered, traditional, and ethical industry. </div>
Corey Wrennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04099780959084371968noreply@blogger.comCork, Ireland51.8968917 -8.486315699999977451.818503199999995 -8.6476771999999773 51.9752802 -8.3249541999999774tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5119571085250348561.post-33213724697826600482014-11-30T09:56:00.000-05:002014-11-30T09:56:35.485-05:00Racism and Mixed Messages: What's Wrong with Australia's Animal Rights Movement?<br />
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<i><b>Trigger Warning: Features messages of racial violence</b></i></div>
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<i>Violence to animals is considered cruel until it is carried out by white people in white establishments, then it is considered humane.</i></blockquote>
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Firstly, the ideas expressed here are based on what I have observed in the animal rights movement while living in Australia. There are more distinguished speakers who can express these subjects and problems more effectively than I can who I will list at the end of this piece.</div>
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Secondly, it isn’t my intention to offend anyone here. I have friends that both support and take part in the organisations I talk about here. I admire their actions; I know their hearts are in the right place. I support them fully, even if I don’t support everything their groups do, or the messages they promote.</div>
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When I first got involved in animal rights activism, I sent off for some materials from various animal rights groups. Animals Australia is the main one here. I received their pack, which contained a bunch of leaflets and stickers on individual uses of animals- fur, leather, meat, the environment. I thought, <em>Why can’t we tackle it all under one umbrella? Surely it’s a waste of time to spend our efforts tackling individual issues?</em> I dug some more and found some grassroots groups across the world that gave an unequivocal message.</div>
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There are tonnes of opinion pieces and analyses of the regressive and unethical tactics of large animal welfare organisations. Less popular is the issue of racism within the movement. If <em>PeTa</em> exploit women on the basis that sex sells, then what sells best in Australia is xenophobia. In the country with bumper stickers that say ‘fuck off, we’re full’ and headlines demonising refugees despite being a land of plenty, it is of little surprise that racism is inherent in many of Australia’s most prominent animal campaigns.</div>
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Australia is not unique in this attitude to other cultures. In my home country, the UK, we demonise the Spanish and the French for bullfighting and consuming frogs and snails respectively while conveniently ignoring our own abuse of other sentient animals.</div>
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Even though I had decided to spend my time as an activist promoting abolitionism, I was still undecided on issues such as Stop Live Export, wondering if the ban succeeded that it might trigger talks of veganism and total animal liberation. On the fence, I joined other activists at the 2013 Human Chain. Everyone had to wear a placard stating <em>‘I am a......... Still Opposed to Live Export’</em>. Hundreds of people turned up to support the ban. Many placards stated they were meat eaters, farmers. Should that surprise anyone? Of course not. The issue is what <em>other</em> countries do with “our” animals, not that they are being killed for pleasure or profit. Standing on the bridge I felt the similar confusion and frustration, why can’t we put this energy towards trying to achieve <em>full </em>animal liberation?</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Comments on Animals Australia's Facebook page regarding their investigations of Australian animals exported to Indonesia</td></tr>
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<em>“There is no such thing as a single-issue struggle because we do not live single-issue lives.”</em>― Audre Lorde</blockquote>
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The 2014 Human Chain rolls round again tomorrow. But this time I won’t be joining. Being an activist, I see a constant stream of single issue causes and cases of animal abuse in my newsfeed. These days, I am more selective about what I put my name to, preferring to take an intersectional approach to justice. I understand why many people feel compelled to sign every petition. You want to do everything you can, anything, to help get these poor souls out of these horrendous conditions. Just the other day, one particular campaign jumped out at me that I couldn’t shake off. It was about the dog meat trade in Indonesia. The image was of four dogs tied in bags on the back of a motorbike, their heads poking out with their mouths bound. One of the pups stared at the camera, his eyes full of extreme terror. He looked just like my dog, Nero. Immediately my knee-jerk reaction was to sign it, do anything to make it stop. But even if we do convince Indonesia or China or another country to stop eating dogs, without an anti-speciesist message, they will simply replace the dogs with pigs, or chickens.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chinese people are often the target of racist attacks when it comes to animal rights</td></tr>
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I think many people are forgetting, or perhaps they don’t know, who is driving the demand for meat in Indonesia. I’ve been to Indonesia four times. On my most recent trip I spent a month in Bali and Lombok, and ventured out past the tourist areas, spending time in an orphanage, and a dog rescue centre. What shouldn’t have been surprising is that past the areas populated by Western tourists, there are very little animal products. In Ubud, for example, I was paying $1 for tempeh dishes from local warungs. Yes, dog meat is eaten, but to say that is worse than eating cows, pigs or chickens is speciesist.</div>
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I don’t hear many complaining when countries such as Indonesia continually expand their McDonalds and KFC restaurants, demanding more animals to be killed. Pointing the finger at Halal methods of slaughter is missing the point. We should know better than to keep entrenching the false idea that “humane slaughter” was brought in for anything other than efficiency. Animals are property. Property only has rights insofar as it is useful to the property (slave) owner. The idea that laws will give animals any sort of protection that would not benefit the owner is ludicrous and something we should be constantly smashing, not perpetuating.</div>
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Am I the only one who thinks this is extremely sad? A country crippled with poverty under the crushing weight of global capitalism imports animals to appeal to western tastes, and is then accused of cruelty by those same people it is feeding? But we have a long history of pointing the finger at Asia and villainising them as cruel and heartless when it comes to animals. Even when they eat a tiny fraction of the animals that we do, kill far less animals than we do, have more vegans and vegetarians, and more animal rights activists. We use far more animals in far more ways for the most frivolous purposes yet have the *gall* to say we are fair and humane. This whole phenomenon reeks of white privilege and Western superiority.</div>
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But let’s say that the live exports from Australia to Indonesia do stop. What then? Wouldn’t that be a landmark victory? Let’s take a look. If Indonesia doesn’t get its animals from Australia, it will get them from China or Brazil. Or begin breeding its own. None of these are exactly causes for celebration. Let’s also not forget that there are Halal and Kosher slaughterhouses in Australia (but nobody complains about Kosher methods of slaughter, because it’s much more popular to hate Muslims rather than Jews these days). In slaughterhouses that do stun, we also know that at least 10% of the time it does not work and animals are killed fully conscious. To also pretend that animals are not subjected to absolute torture in Australian slaughterhouses is racist. And if they are not put onto boats, they will still be put onto trucks around Australia in extreme weather conditions. Again, nothing to pop corks about. It’s simply replacing one atrocity with another. The same number of animals will be exploited and killed. The only thing that will change is the way the supply is delivered.</div>
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And on top of that, nonvegans who supported the ban will go home more confident than ever that they are humane animal users. And so it continues. And the message that we can be ethical consumers of animals goes deeper into our consciousness. The regulationists get to call their efforts a success. Animals Australia gets heralded a champion of animal rights despite the fact that they publicly denounce that they are a vegan organisation and don’t oppose the rearing and killing of animals. They expand their reach and their membership base, solidifying their stance as the ‘voice for animals’, all the while continuing to confuse the public about what Animal Rights really means.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTq5qTCpDfNl9ZCCzFyB3zgXMxMcIR7dIY8W9lnKy63cwdlMI-4kYIeicdo77VlG0atIUoameVaIQunEw-n0QbWAXCUBJC1oNZT_y2s37xFyhfKodoTYUp1kMe7neGsnDzvFeCNio_RUw/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTq5qTCpDfNl9ZCCzFyB3zgXMxMcIR7dIY8W9lnKy63cwdlMI-4kYIeicdo77VlG0atIUoameVaIQunEw-n0QbWAXCUBJC1oNZT_y2s37xFyhfKodoTYUp1kMe7neGsnDzvFeCNio_RUw/s1600/2.jpg" height="233" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Animals Australia do not feel it's appropriate to tell people what to do in regards to consuming animals. I wonder if organisations aimed at helping abused children do not feel it is appropriate to tell adults to not abuse children</td></tr>
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When Animals Australia says there is evidence of “abuse” in Indonesian slaughterhouses, how does that not reinforce the idea that everything else- the enslavement, the mutilations, the killings- is <em>not</em> abuse? They congratulate supermarkets and McDonalds for planning to phase out caged eggs, thanking them for making “compassionate choices”, as if putting them in a bigger cage frees them from a life of misery. They are equally, if not more so, responsible for perpetuating the humane myth as the exploitation industries themselves. Bans will come and go while animals are property. Until we make serious attempts to dismantle speciesism, banned uses of animals in one part of the world will simply be taken up in another while demand remains the same.</div>
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<em>"We are vegans because it is an ecological crime to eat fish; we are vegans because we are marine conservationists and not because we are animal rights activists."</em>- Captain Paul Watson, Sea Shepherd</blockquote>
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Almost everyone I meet knows about Sea Shepherd. Most people, vegan or not, support them. They are seen as being at the forefront of animal rights, despite Watson’s comments that they are a conservation agency, and not an animal rights group. Many nonvegans I know have told me they want to get involved with them, and when I explain that the ships are vegan, the reactions usually go like this “Why can’t I eat steak while getting those f***ing Japs?” The hypocrisy is hardly surprising. Watson himself has said that he believes it’s much crueller to kill a whale than a cow. I don’t believe we should be ranking suffering in the first place, but given the choice, I would much rather live in my own habitat until one unexpected day, than to be born in servitude, never experiencing my natural life, watching my loved ones die knowing that I am next.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIBrKQyf484ZgeC2YAgxFMJyXMq-nnWJ1azcywbcEwsUzdqpn4V3F4b9TfTYv1B45UIzV4SfjpnXCCwDSbz_yrFH_VLxJDrSEeAitwc4g9WF4-g5DxE4-rgduGlCyiesGsVJQ2AmI8fuw/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIBrKQyf484ZgeC2YAgxFMJyXMq-nnWJ1azcywbcEwsUzdqpn4V3F4b9TfTYv1B45UIzV4SfjpnXCCwDSbz_yrFH_VLxJDrSEeAitwc4g9WF4-g5DxE4-rgduGlCyiesGsVJQ2AmI8fuw/s1600/3.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paul Watson on the Japanese</td></tr>
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There is no moral difference between species. Sentience is all that should matter when we talk about animal rights. If you are sentient (you the ability to feel, perceive, or experience subjectively), you should have a right to your own life. Not to be someone’s property. There are a few possible reasons why we try to protect certain marine animals and not “farm” animals: Going after people who kill dolphins and whales won’t affect our economy. We tend to fetishise dolphins and whales, we enjoy watching them on the discovery channel while we sticking our forks into pigs and cows. It’s convenient to protest things that our own neighbours aren’t complicit in. It’s easier to protest what another race and country are doing than trying to have a discussion with our friends and family about their behaviour.</div>
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Sea Shepherd asks for millions of dollars to support their sea adventures. They are not advancing the cause of animal rights. They are promoting speciesism, the very reason why we enslave, torture and kill animals in the first place. Speciesism should play no part in the solution.</div>
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All oppressions share the same roots. People of colour are often targets of campaigns and are often underrepresented in the animal rights movement. The most popular campaigns we see are against dog meat, dog fighting, cockfighting, bear baiting, bullfighting, whales and dolphin slaughter. Things Caucasians don’t usually engage in (and when they do, it is not met with as much vitriol as when people of colour are doing it).</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6nA84TYeKffGx6CleRuhJRLcHG6xtgZ4zMWTQZ3V-OSM2_Jbg0_1lsSi5Fl8lKO1XUQQkV6xnSrYRyOdggI0l86rs0zpmppleJB1t3L0qlTGd3UdhwgbNCdGBbc-6kSVG4BYUkXYOnCg/s1600/6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6nA84TYeKffGx6CleRuhJRLcHG6xtgZ4zMWTQZ3V-OSM2_Jbg0_1lsSi5Fl8lKO1XUQQkV6xnSrYRyOdggI0l86rs0zpmppleJB1t3L0qlTGd3UdhwgbNCdGBbc-6kSVG4BYUkXYOnCg/s1600/6.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From The Abolitionist Vegan Society</td></tr>
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There is nothing wrong with highlighting the uses and abuses of animals, as long as the message is one of liberation and is anti-speciesist. Otherwise the use will just shift to another species or type of use. Some say that taking part in campaigns for single use bans is worth it because it inspires some people to give up all animal use. With a clear, abolitionist message these same people can be equally inspired, but to reject <em>all</em> animal exploitation rather than certain types. All it is doing is adding to the confusion about animal ethics and perpetuating the existing speciesist paradigm. The root issue is speciesism. Let’s address that, not only the symptoms of it that are convenient for us.</div>
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<em>“My argument is not that we should condone what other cultures do; my argument is that creating single issue campaigns that sensationalize what people of color do is racist. It reflects white privilege and the ability to judge others as lesser and protect the in-group sense of superiority. It's offensive to marginalized groups and this is why our movement is overwhelmingly white and has historically had huge difficulties building links to other movements and attracting diverse populations.”</em> – Corey Wrenn, The Academic Abolitionist Vegan</blockquote>
<span style="color: #141823; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">We have to take an intersectional approach to fighting injustice. Social problems, such as speciesism, sexism and racism are intertwined and must be fought together. We cannot dismantle oppression using the same tools we used to create its existence. We must not fight for the rights of one group while holding back another. Revolution does not happen in stages, nor is there a hierarchy of suffering. We must be willing to acknowledge our privileges and prejudices, to ensure we are not alienating anyone or acting with selective compassion. Let’s hack away at the root of oppression, increase awareness of institutionalised social problems, build coalitions, and work together towards social justice for all sentient beings.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi413oBp_icR5iaU7030sTavLbu2ndGyno0ZiklbTCoUSC8Nf6j0bOWOlbzJlBZqqwqlecS0AOP3ZiL2wabniKUAAkc58kQtsWOw7XHYE-gXZwwho-pDpu2osBX2m4NDfR7R-vjNZT4FP0/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi413oBp_icR5iaU7030sTavLbu2ndGyno0ZiklbTCoUSC8Nf6j0bOWOlbzJlBZqqwqlecS0AOP3ZiL2wabniKUAAkc58kQtsWOw7XHYE-gXZwwho-pDpu2osBX2m4NDfR7R-vjNZT4FP0/s1600/5.jpg" height="189" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Four Principles of Ethical Campaigns. (From Direct Action Everywhere).</td></tr>
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For in-depth discussions on the issue of race and the animal rights movement:</h2>
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<a href="http://directactioneverywhere.com/theliberationist/2014/3/21/the-color-of-a-movement-the-curious-story-of-race-and-animal-rights-and-why-it-matters" target="_blank">The Color of a Movement</a></div>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ndJ314WTEU" target="_blank">Animal Liberation, Tokenizing 'Intersectionality', and Resistance Ecology</a></div>
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Important articles on race and the movement:</h2>
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<a href="http://directactioneverywhere.com/theliberationist/2014/11/3/is-there-a-place-in-animal-rights-for-a-kid-from-china-part-i-performing-whiteness" target="_blank">Is there a place in animal rights for a kid from China?</a></div>
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<a href="http://sistahvegan.com/" target="_blank">The Sistah Vegan Project</a></div>
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<a href="http://academicabolitionistvegan.blogspot.com.au/2013/06/on-moral-relativism-post-racism-and.html" target="_blank">On Moral Relativism, Post-Racism, and Animal Liberation</a></div>
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For more on intersectionality:</h2>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/vegan-hip-hop-movement/383440269257?fref=ts" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Vegan Hip Hop Movement</span></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/letsevolveprojects?fref=ts" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Let’s Evolve</span></a></div>
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<a href="https://www.facebook.com/vegansunitedagainst?fref=ts" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Vegans United Against All Oppression</span></a></div>
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For more on single issue campaigns and welfare reforms:</h2>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__oszGN5PjM" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The Abolitionist Vegan Society</span></a></div>
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<a href="http://uvearchives.wordpress.com/2008/10/27/picking-the-low-hanging-fruit-what-is-wrong-with-single-issue-campaigns/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Picking the Low-Hanging Fruit</span></a></div>
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<a href="http://gentleworld.org/making-a-killing-with-animal-welfare-reform/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Gentle World- Making a Killing with Animal Welfare Reform</span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #373737; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><i>Anna Adey is affiliated with a small, grassroots abolitionist and intersectional group called <a href="https://www.facebook.com/letsevolveprojects" target="_blank">Let's Evolve</a> in Perth, Australia</i><i>. </i></span></div>
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Corey Wrennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04099780959084371968noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5119571085250348561.post-33198238466503960902014-11-18T13:25:00.000-05:002014-11-18T13:25:04.265-05:00Domestication & Euthanasia: A No-Kill Nation of Violence<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha9XmcflgOFRMMOH-wz2IVkggCPxiKdM-JKu40Ao7QRvufBefDMQRAQWbMEXffaNAf2pF1jaK9IkK2kqIO2WAwV09FQeqELXb4xK5hwWh-NOB7gCCW_NUxapJA87zwYnkTKIRY_viknWQ/s1600/Domestication+Violence+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha9XmcflgOFRMMOH-wz2IVkggCPxiKdM-JKu40Ao7QRvufBefDMQRAQWbMEXffaNAf2pF1jaK9IkK2kqIO2WAwV09FQeqELXb4xK5hwWh-NOB7gCCW_NUxapJA87zwYnkTKIRY_viknWQ/s1600/Domestication+Violence+1.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Domestication creates a situation of dependence and represents systemic violence</td></tr>
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I am a huge supporter of Nathan Winograd and his battle against PETA and the movement's drive to kill healthy companion animals. A few months ago, a reader mentioned to me that Winograd was against the extinction of domesticated species. Until now, I had seen only minimal evidence to support such a position. The following was posted on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/nathanwinograd" target="_blank">Nathan Winograd</a> on November 16th:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
PETA believes that sharing your home with dogs and cats violates the rights of those animals. They write, “This selfish desire to possess animals and receive love from them causes immeasurable suffering... They are restricted to human homes, where they must obey commands and can only eat, drink, and even urinate when humans allow them to.” They go on to say, “Let us allow the dog to disappear from our brick and concrete jungles—from our firesides, from the leather nooses and metal chains by which we enslave it.” </blockquote>
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One way PETA seeks to accomplish this is through mass killing. [...]</blockquote>
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That end—the deliberate extinction of those the movement has pledged to defend—is one to which no other rights-based movement in history has ever subscribed. You will find no children’s rights groups advocating mass killing of homeless, neglected, or abused children. You will find no human rights groups advocating mass killing of refugees. You will find no rights group in any movement advocating the mass killing of the victims. Except PETA. </blockquote>
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Of course, we can do better for companion animals as a society. Of course, there is much work to do to reduce their exploitation. But for the cats contentedly sleeping on our laps, suggesting they don’t belong and that they are better off dead because our love is “selfish” is just muddled thinking born of evil and arrogance. Long after we have ended the killing of animals for food, long after we’ve ended the commercial trade in sentient beings, long after we’ve rearranged society in countless other ways to better meet their needs, dogs and cats will continue to share our homes. And they will do so because in the end, living with dogs and cats is not only consistent with the rights of animals, but as we evolve as a species to better address their needs, can be the purest expression of it.</blockquote>
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/NOKILLNATION" target="_blank">No Kill Nation</a> shared the statement on November 16 with the following comment:<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">EXTINCTION OF COMPANION ANIMALS - THAT IS PeTA'S GOAL</span></blockquote>
I am all for the no-kill approach, but the fact remains that <b>domestication is a form of violence</b>. We have a responsibility to love and care for the animals we've brought into existence, but it would be a form of violence to continue to breed domesticated animals. Domestication creates genetic problems, anxieties and stress for other animals, vulnerability to violence, and most importantly: dependence. They exist as slaves for human enjoyment. They cannot consent to their condition. They have no agency in where or how they will live. They exist as resources . . .<i> even if</i> you really, <i>really</i> love your dog/cat/rabbit/etc. And I do. I love my dog and cat. I love them with all of my heart, but I also recognize they are products of structural violence. They are refugees. You don't solve the refugee problem by creating more refugees. That only <i>perpetuates</i> violence.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifhh_Bgl76HtsrdT72fLm9v8CN-XPJsVGEKR82-SovIXcSltBbzXf6qJ3coAtMm82f-J-9Exz1cHImxCr06cghUOT_pzCK3Hf2b7CgGWQRHOVIvkmVwLnFUmW-jhGQ_5O6tY7_B7xqJ3o/s1600/Domestication+Violence+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifhh_Bgl76HtsrdT72fLm9v8CN-XPJsVGEKR82-SovIXcSltBbzXf6qJ3coAtMm82f-J-9Exz1cHImxCr06cghUOT_pzCK3Hf2b7CgGWQRHOVIvkmVwLnFUmW-jhGQ_5O6tY7_B7xqJ3o/s1600/Domestication+Violence+2.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Even responsible "pet ownership" creates mental health problems for companion animals</td></tr>
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The problem seems to be that Winograd is conflating PETA's rights-based position that domestication must be ended (a position that is, despite what he claims, relatively well accepted in Nonhuman Animal <i>rights</i> activism) with their welfare-based position that favors the intentional mass killing of Nonhuman Animals currently in existence. This conflation is not accurate: only PETA and other large non-profits that have prioritized bureaucratic and financial growth seek lethal options over adoption efforts. True Nonhuman Animal rights positions seek an end to violence against other animals on BOTH fronts: euthanasia <i>and</i> domestication. <br />
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Killing healthy dogs and cats is a form of systemic violence. Perpetuating domestication is also a form of systemic violence. A meaningful rights position cannot accommodate either. Continued domestication is a foundational principle to the welfarist approach, that is, we can continue to use other animals as long as we do it "nicely." However, in an anthroparchy/human supremacy, it will always be <i>humans</i> maintaining the privilege of deciding what constitutes "nice." Nonhuman Animals will not have agency in deciding what is best for themselves, such as, who they want to live with, and under what conditions.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI9cjcyKQeHZw3tcJurmJEG70IwO1xoks2l0yeGe8yBknyRRYUDeeEnahzt-45m8j14TxsDUhDKS4WNAzRID0b78JQ1ZGLfOlVeafmu4sdDfvQFF7aHoMImAIBvvX1ieH139GWABzq6wU/s1600/10659069_10102917753899653_1236799865120979160_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI9cjcyKQeHZw3tcJurmJEG70IwO1xoks2l0yeGe8yBknyRRYUDeeEnahzt-45m8j14TxsDUhDKS4WNAzRID0b78JQ1ZGLfOlVeafmu4sdDfvQFF7aHoMImAIBvvX1ieH139GWABzq6wU/s1600/10659069_10102917753899653_1236799865120979160_o.jpg" height="228" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Free-living animals with histories of domestication are an important exception</td></tr>
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For those domesticated species that have adapted to free-living, allowing them to continue as a species should not be a moral concern. Many communities of horses and cats, for instance, have escaped domestication and have lived successfully without human intervention for generations. In these cases, Lee Hall's <i>On Their Own Terms</i> (2010) advocates a policy of non-interference. Will Kymlicka and Sue Donaldson in <i>Zoopolis</i> (2011), however, see free-living communities as distinct "nations" that may require support at times. Interfering with free-living communities could be seen as an act of cultural genocide and an assault on their basic right to exist. In any case, applications of Nonhuman Animal rights never include the killing of healthy animals, only the cessation of violent systems of dependence and objectification.<br />
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If you are interested in learning more about domestication and the violence it entails, I recommend David Nibert's 2013 publication: <a href="http://academicabolitionistvegan.blogspot.ie/2013/11/a-month-of-vegan-research-animal.html" target="_blank"><i>Animal Oppression and Human Violence: Domesecration, Capitalism, and Global Conflict</i></a>.Corey Wrennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04099780959084371968noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5119571085250348561.post-85419012071171311292014-09-22T13:48:00.003-04:002014-09-22T19:15:26.735-04:00Donations, Organizations, and "Noisy" Abolitionist VeganismA colleague shared a very interesting essay with me that was recently published by the new International Vegan Association (formally the local abolitionist group, Boston Vegan Association). The essay is titled, "<a href="http://www.internationalvegan.org/resources/position-papers/why-does-the-iva-discourage-donations/" target="_blank">Why Does the IVA Discourage Donations? (And Why Does it Exist At All?)</a>." I suggest readers pay attention to IVA developments because IVA stands as a very interesting and unique example of a radical abolitionist group that has gone non-profit and is in the infancy of professionalization. The essay itself is rather confusing (donations are bad, unless you donate to IVA; organizations are bad, except for IVA, etc.), but it offers some important evidence to the inner-workings of factionalism and the contention over movement boundaries and claimsmaking.<br />
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The primary reason I draw attention to this piece is because the IVA represents an interesting bridge between grassroots coalition and professionalization. Despite its concerns with professionalization, the IVA does accept donations and has become a non-profit. Strangely, in doing so, they have turned right around and declared that any other organization that has taken the same path must be disingenuous or incompetent in some way. They also claim to exist outside of the <a href="http://academicabolitionistvegan.blogspot.com/2014/03/how-non-profitization-euthanizes-animal.html" target="_blank">non-profit industrial complex</a> because they accept donations only from "private donors," who, presumably, do not attempt to sway the organization's interests by controlling the purse strings. <br />
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One of the major problems with relying on fundraising is that needing money means needing moderation (I have explored this theme with <a href="http://academicabolitionistvegan.blogspot.com/2014/09/ka-ching-thats-what-we-like-to-hear-why.html" target="_blank">The Vegan Society</a>, <a href="http://academicabolitionistvegan.blogspot.com/2013/12/where-do-your-donations-really-go.html" target="_blank">Vegan Outreach</a>, <a href="http://academicabolitionistvegan.blogspot.com/2013/07/the-non-profit-industrial-complex.html" target="_blank">Animal Charity Evaluators</a>, <a href="http://academicabolitionistvegan.blogspot.com/2013/08/funding-undercover-investigations.html" target="_blank">Mercy for Animals</a>, and others). Groups that advocate for radical structural change will be, as a general rule, denied grant money right and left. This is because foundations are almost always set up by wealthy elites who became rich from systems of exploitation, and seek to protect those systems by only funding conservative reforms or diversionary social services. Likewise, having to rely on public donations also means moderating the message. It is easier to attract a larger pool of donors with a weakened position. <i>Everyone</i> loves animals, for instance, but a lot of people will be turned off by veganism (especially when mainstream media is elite-controlled and radical positions are routinely derided). Therefore, most groups will focus on "ending cruelty" and avoid vegan rhetoric. It seems IVA avoids this problem by relying on "private donors." I can't be sure, of course, but I suspect that the same person(s) writing the books they are promulgating control the purse strings. Financial control, incidentally, is not the only way in which a social movement organization is manipulated. Professionalized groups also recognize that they must maintain a certain degree of social capital in order to survive and flourish. For large groups, this may mean advocating a moderate position that makes policy makers and industry leaders happy. For smaller organizations like IVA, it may mean strict adherence to a certain gatekeeper's work lest the group be ousted from the important abolitionist networks that sustain it. <br />
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Does the IVA do good work? Absolutely. I have always loved their booklet, and I think their message is clear and needed. Ironically, though, going the non-profit route may be leading IVA to fall for the same pitfalls as other professionalized organizations. As IVA points out in its own essay, <i>going non-profit means going into competition</i>. The social change space is crowded with many other organizations that are desperately attempting to stand out so that their approach is deemed the most appropriate and their organization will get the needed resources for survival and continued growth. This competition can create a lot of "noise," as IVA explains. Non-profitization creates competition, and competition means a divided movement. This is precisely why the state loves to hand out non-profit status--it disempowers and fragments a potentially dangerous social movement. On the other hand, some degree of conflict is necessary to stimulate movements towards improving their approach and developing new ideas and tactics. <a href="http://academicabolitionistvegan.blogspot.com/2014/09/for-animals-by-people-not-man-vegan.html" target="_blank">Factionalism can be healthy</a>.<br />
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Nonetheless, IVA has declared itself to be the only organization qualified to advocate on behalf of other animals. In doing so, it also declares that PETA, Vegan Outreach, and other multi-million dollar grant-based organizations have lost their way, so to speak, in pursuit of self-interest over anti-speciesism. Again, I don't disagree here, but I was shocked to see that a very small fledgling group, The Abolitionist Vegan Society (TAVS), is included in IVA's list of "noisy" major players. I was shocked because this small grassroots group basically operates in exactly the same way as IVA. The <i>only </i>"difference" is that IVA currently enjoys the favor of abolitionist spokesperson Gary Francione, whereas <a href="http://academicabolitionistvegan.blogspot.com/2014/09/for-animals-by-people-not-man-vegan.html" target="_blank">TAVS does no longer</a> (due to personal differences,<i> not</i> tactical or theoretical ones). To describe TAVS as "noise" is to describe IVA as "noise," because they sound exactly the same. The inclusion of TAVS on IVA's list despite the identical nature of the two groups demonstrates that competition really is the name of the game for a group that goes non-profit. There is simply no room for cooperation. Sadly, this seems to hold true even within the very small and very marginalized abolitionist faction, a faction that is grounded in the principles of community and grassroots advocacy. Otherwise, why spend so much effort undermining the credibility of fellow organizations like TAVS? <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_9ndMtQycn6Cuz5EIT087jFdiC07OJY6Sgh-nBkYMYZebSXK_c4U3-GsCUtHWUCeI-tKBp2-wR5m2R6QWegaXn2utDfENoA8u9fZvY6zGRMApb1TCW7oJXlARWstg1Uu9QF3fuQFg3aw/s1600/13618_750504058372441_3739497289227809040_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_9ndMtQycn6Cuz5EIT087jFdiC07OJY6Sgh-nBkYMYZebSXK_c4U3-GsCUtHWUCeI-tKBp2-wR5m2R6QWegaXn2utDfENoA8u9fZvY6zGRMApb1TCW7oJXlARWstg1Uu9QF3fuQFg3aw/s1600/13618_750504058372441_3739497289227809040_n.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Noisy" TAVS Activism</td></tr>
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Not any <i>one</i> organization, and certainly not any<i> one </i>person, has all of the answers. This type of approach is appropriate for religious endeavors, but it does not work with social movements. Thousands of researchers and seasoned activists have been studying the science of collective behavior and social movement success for decades, and two things are crystal clear: 1. Social change work is extremely complex; and, 2. <i>There is no one correct answer</i>. Despite IVA aspirations, it is not likely that their one small organization that adheres to beliefs of just one person can enter the field and single-handedly change the game. Alienating potential allies in the abolitionist faction will, in likelihood, hurt rather than help them. A group that declares itself self-evidently superior and entitled to leadership is a group that abides by patriarchal norms of hierarchy and control. The competitive nature of social movement activism is in itself reflective of patriarchal co-optation in the social movement space, but when a group declares itself the only one with the answers and the only one worth listening to (based on "because we said so" logic), this group is shoring up male dominance. Readers should be wary of taking the claims of any group of privilege as self-evident. Readers should also be cautious when these patriarchal claims are used against anti-oppression groups like TAVS (<i>especially</i> in the case of TAVS, as it is run by a woman of color).<br />
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The notion that a social movement can be 100% coherent, 100% in agreement, and 100% unified is mere fantasy. The notion that one small organization and its one leader can rule the entire movement is <i>male</i> fantasy. This is not how social movements work, and if it was how they worked, it would be an extremely unhealthy misfortune. Social movements rely on diversity to breathe and grow. Not too long ago, Kim Stallwood (former employee of PETA and seasoned advocate) was pushing for an international Nonhuman Animal rights coalition to combine our disjointed efforts into one unifying force, something similar to feminism's NOW or the civil rights movement's NAACP. There are benefits to this cooperation of course, but there will also be a sharp increase in moderation and a sharp increase in opportunity costs for radical voices. Abolitionists will find even fewer resources available as the big players monopolize. In reality, this would only be a goal achievable by the powerful reform-focused groups like PETA, Farm Sanctuary, and others. Radical abolitionists could never expect to hold sway over these major players. Even if it were possible, I would hesitate to recommend this strategy, as it becomes a major impediment to movement diversity and growth. <br />
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IVA's justification for denouncing all other groups is that<i> any </i>organizational structure at all will necessarily detract from advocacy (except for IVA, which is deemed impervious). True, when a group reaches a certain point on the path to professionalization, priorities change and the constituency suffers. But this is not to say that some form of organization is unnecessary. Especially for a faction that is so marginalized in both society and the larger movement, some form of community and cooperation is really necessary to motivate participation and to <i>sustain</i> it. Social movement participation is costly and risky. We like to think we become activists solely out of moral obligation, but the truth is that there must be some balance to the negative aspects of participation in order to keep people going. Community is one such balance. A sense that there is an <i>us</i>, the comfort of <i>mutual support</i>, and an activist <i>identity</i> keep people going. Grassroots groups like TAVS, Vegan Information Project, and, yes, even IVA create this important motivator. Social change work is hard, and most people don't want to get involved. Organizing helps to counter that reality.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6QjuVwAQMmW3WBWPlDxq-KRVTu0i7NYHLnJxqOWtxlcDH8SNX4j-c_EVpSZGnPWajmifPyd6ndR3P84slTPHOCZuwIy2iVsUibluQZOuo62mX2gtHbczyDkcK6JV1h51owGFSVcLh7wY/s1600/10628230_527448547387657_6142817713703862043_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6QjuVwAQMmW3WBWPlDxq-KRVTu0i7NYHLnJxqOWtxlcDH8SNX4j-c_EVpSZGnPWajmifPyd6ndR3P84slTPHOCZuwIy2iVsUibluQZOuo62mX2gtHbczyDkcK6JV1h51owGFSVcLh7wY/s1600/10628230_527448547387657_6142817713703862043_n.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Noisy" Vegan Information Project activism</td></tr>
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For those interested in reading more about social movement theory in relation to the Nonhuman Animal rights movement, I invite you to read my work available on my <a href="https://colostate.academia.edu/CoreyWrenn" target="_blank">Academia.edu page</a>. In particular, my 2012 publication, "Applying Social Movement Theory to Nonhuman Rights Mobilization and the Importance of Faction Hierarchies," may be of interest. IVA makes it very clear that activists should read and become knowledgeable before trying to teach others. I would suggest that IVA also heed that advice. There is a wealth of social movement research that could inform IVA opinion pieces that some readers may currently mistake for evidence-based, factual literature. Corey Wrennhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04099780959084371968noreply@blogger.com