China bans eating civets

November 1, 2004 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, November 2004:

BEIJING–The Chinese federal health ministry on November 2
banned the slaughter and cooking of civets for human consumption, to
promote “civilized eating habits,” the state-run Beijing Daily
reported.
“The announcement came a week after the government said 70%
of civets tested in the southern province of Guangdong were carrying
the Sudden Acute Respiratory Syndrome virus,” observed Associated
Press.
The October 23 disclosure hinted that civets were not the
source of SARS, as no civets from northern and eastern China were
infected. The Guangdong civets are believed to have been
captive-raised for slaughter, while the civets from northern and
eastern China, where “wild” animals are rarely eaten, were
apparently trapped.
The Chinese ban on eating civets came just under three months
after U.S. Health & Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson announced
a health embargo on the import of either live or dead civets plus
civet parts, such as civet pelts.

25% of the meat sold in Nairobi is illegal bushmeat, Youth for Conservation finds

November 1, 2004 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, November 2004:

NAIROBI–“Youth for Conservation,
commissioned by the Born Free Foundation,
surveyed 202 Nairobi butcher shops, and
shockingly established that 25% of the meat sold
was bushmeat,” YfC founder Josphat Nyongo
e-mailed to ANIMAL PEOPLE on November 1, 2004.
“This is an alarming revelation [for
human health as well as the status of wildlife] in the light of the known health hazards,”
Nyongo explained. “It means that people are
buying uninspected bushmeat unknowingly.”
The YfC bushmeat survey findings were
first disclosed a week earlier by Born Free
Foundation spokesperson Winnie Kiiru, but were
not attributed to YfC in coverage by John Kamau
of the East African Standard. Kamau reported
that, “Up to 51% of the meat sold in Nairobi is
bushmeat or from unknown speciesŠOnly 42% of the
202 samples randomly purchased from different
butcheries was found to be domestic meat.”

New concept draft of Korean animal protection law eliminates potential exemptions for “meat” dogs & cats

October 2, 2004 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 2004:

SEOUL–More than a year of acrimony over
animal definitions in a 2003 draft update of the
1991 South Korean animal protection law appeared
to be resolved on October 5, 2004 when the
Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry presented a
new draft of recommendations for legislation
called Comprehensive Measures for Animal
Protection.
Comprehensive Measures appears to
eliminate loopholes in the 2003 draft update that
might have exempted dogs and cats raised for meat
from coverage.

Dog meat trafficking

October 2, 2004 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, October 2004:

Thai police on October 1, 2004 seized 1,070 dogs from three
trucks and arrested four men who were allegedly about to cross into
Laos from Sakon Nakon province, en route to dog meat markets in
Vietnam. The dogs were impounded under quarantine. The men would be
fined if found guilty of illegal trading, said police colonel
Sunthorn Kongkraphan, but would not be jailed.

Philippine police on August 10, 2004 seized 80 trussed-up
street dogs from a truck taking them from Cavite province, south of
Manila, to a slaughterhouse in Baguio City, the reputed dog meat
capital of the Philippines. The truck was intercepted following an
11-mile hot pursuit after trying to evade a police checkpoint. The
driver was charged with violating the national animal welfare act.

BOOKS: Vegetarianism: A History

July 1, 2004 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, July/August 2004:

Vegetarianism: A History by Colin Spencer
Four Walls Eight Windows (39 W. 14th St,, New York, NY 10011),
2004. 384 pp., paperback. $16.00.

Until recent times, the history of vegetarianism was also
the history of religion and politics. The first two thirds of Colin
Spencer’s book describes the evolution of humanism and political and
religious influence on meat-eating.
Until the 18th century, vegetarianism in Europe was usually
equated with radicalism and heresy. During the Albigensian Crusade
against the vegetarian Cathari, who from about 1150 until circa 1250
challenged the primacy of Catholicism in southern France, alleged
heretics were required to prove their innocence by eating meat.
Spencer relates how “heretics” were brought before the
Emperor: “Among other wicked Manichean doctrines, they condemned
all eating of animals and with the agreement of everybody present,
he ordered them to be hanged.”
Circa 500 years B.C. the Greek philosopher and mathematician
Pythagoras was viewed with suspicion, though treated with greater
tolerance, when he openly abjured flesh. Pythagoras cited his belief
in the health benefits of vegetarianism, and his hope that
vegetarian societies would be less inclined to wage war. The basis
of his vegetarianism, however, appears to have been a belief in the
transmigration of souls (reincarnation).

Egg & meat ad tactics reviewed

June 2, 2004 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 2004:

The Better Business Bureau’s National Advertising Review
Board on May 9, 2004 upheld a November 2003 ruling by a lower panel
that the United Egg Producers “animal care certified” labeling is
misleading, and should either be dropped or be significantly
altered. On May 10 the United Egg Producers board voted to revamp
their web site to provide further information to consumers about what
the label means. The complaint was brought by Compassion Over
Killing, which has filed similar complaints with the Federal Trade
Commission and the Food & Drug Administration.

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed on May 23 to review the
constitutionality of the 1985 federal law that requires beef ranchers
to pay into a collective marketing fund. In July 2003 the U.S. Court
of Appeals in St. Louis held that the law violates the First
Amendment right of free speech, by forcing cattlemen to deliver a
message that they may not choose to deliver. Soon afterward the U.S.
Court of Appeals in Cincinnati issued a similar ruling pertaining to
collective pork marketing, and the U.S. Court of Appeals in
Philadelphia issued a parallel opinion about the constitutionality of
collective milk marketing. The marketing plans are best known for
promoting the phrases “Beef: It’s What’s For Dinner,” “Pork: The
Other White Meat,” and “Got Milk?”

BOOKS: Hitler: Neither Vegetarian Nor Animal Lover & The Vegan Guide to New York City

June 2, 2004 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 2004:

Hitler: Neither Vegetarian Nor Animal Lover by Rynn Berry
Pythagorean Publishers (P.O. Box 8174, JAF Station, New York, NY
10116), 2004. 81 pages, paperback. $10.95.

The Vegan Guide to New York City, 9th edition
by Rynn Berry & Chris Abreu-Suzuki (with Barry Litsky)
Ethical Living (P.O. Box 8174, JAF Station, New York, NY 10116), 2004.
70 pages, paperback. $9.95.

Just from the titles of Rynn Berry’s two most recent books,
one may surmise that he is a vegan and animal lover who loves going
to dinner, especially with Cristina Abreu-Suzuki (who calls herself
Chris) and Barry Litsky, but would never have eaten with Adolph
Hitler even if they had been contemporaries in Vienna, back when
Hitler was still just a struggling artist who had yet to commit or
advocate mass murder.
Neither would Hitler have wanted to eat the multi-ethnic and
highly varied menu of plant food that Berry, Abreu-Suzuki, and
Litsky pursue at more than 100 restaurants of all kinds. Hitler
craved meat, especially pork and squab.
Berry, now designated historical advisor to the North
American Vegetarian Society, established his reputation as a
meticulous historian of vegetarianism and veganism with Famous
Vegetarians & Their Favorite Recipes (1989). He followed up with
Food For The Gods: Vegetarianism and the World’s Religions (1998).

How do you know who is a vegetarian?

June 2, 2004 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 2004:

A problem inherent in discussing whether Hitler or any
prominent person is or was vegetarian is that people often change
their eating habits–and what they say about their eating
habits–over the course of a lifetime.
In the cases of the Buddha, Isaiah, Pythagoras, Leonardo
da Vinci, Mohandas Gandhi, George Bernard Shaw, and Leo Tolstoy,
ethical vegetarianism was a conscious choice made early in life, and
the public record, though scanty for the earlier figures, affirms
that they were consistent with their professed beliefs.
In the case of consumer advocate Ralph Nader, the public
record has been wildly contradictory for 40 years. Often described
as vegetarian, Nader may never actually have practiced vegetarianism
for any length of time.
But the late labor organizer Cesar Chavez was a conscientious
vegetarian for the latter half of his life. This was rarely
reported, though it was on the record.
In the cases of contemporary entertainment celebrities, the
choice to become vegetarian may be much publicized, yet may be
sustained for no longer than a few days.

Diets

BOOKS: Above All, Be Kind

December 1, 2003 Dylan Forest Leave a comment

From ANIMAL PEOPLE, December 2003:

Above All, Be Kind:
Raising a Humane Child in Challenging Times
by Zoe Weil
New Society Publishers (P.O. Box 189, Gabriola Island,
B.C. V0R 1X0, Canada), 2003. 272 pages, paperback. $17.95.

On page 127 of Above All, Be Kind,
veteran humane educator Zoe Weil advises parents
to teach their children the CRITIC approach to
analytical thinking developed by Professor Wayne
Bartz. “CRITIC,” Weil explains, “stands for
Claim? Role of the claimant? Information
backing the claim? Test? Independent testing?
Cause proposed?”
Weil shows how CRITIC might be applied in
evaluating ads for a diet product.

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