Today I video blog my thoughts on the “politics of sight” as I give a mini-review of The Chain by Robin Lamont and confess that I am unable to watch (or read about) graphic abuse of animals. Video here:
VIDEO NOTES:
- I love Our Hen House.
- Every Twelve Seconds: Industrialized Slaughter and the Politics of Sight by Timothy Pachirat.
- Timothy Pachirat on Our Hen House.
- Why I’m Vegan.
- Be sure to check out The Kinship Series at Animal Rights Suspense.
I would love to hear from you. Do you watch undercover videos? Do your share them? What are your thoughts on the politics of sight?
13 thoughts on “VIDEO The Chain: A little book review and a lot of commentary”
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Thanks for helping us get the word out about The Chain! Your comments about the book and the politics of sight all very valuable. As an animal advocate and vegan I have looked at many videos & photos. They are all painful, and even now, some I cannot watch. We each have our own thresholds to “bearing witness” but for me, the important thing is to do what we can to ensure that animals don’t live in conditions that require undercover investigations to reveal the truth. Thanks for all you do in that regard!
I admire you, @robinlamont:disqus, for taking your personal passion and so beautifully weaving into an accessible art form! Kudos!
I absolutely cannot read or watch scenes about animal abuse. But for those who can – and who need to in order to become aware – I am glad such books and videos are available. Thoughtful review, JL.
Exactly, @LJCaro:disqus! I love that so much is out there – different messages for different audiences!
I have watched undercover videos, in moderation, and some documentaries which contain some graphic footage. It’s not something I watch frequently or regularly (the graphic stuff, I mean), for the reason that it is so incredibly painful to see. I also have a very visual mind and I form mental images very quickly and clearly when I’m reading. So, the same goes for reading anything graphic. I have to spread it out. And, if I know I’m already feeling down or weak, in some way, those will be times when I know I’m not reading or watching anything graphic right now. That said though, I do still read and watch graphic pieces at times, when I’m feeling ready and strong, because I feel I need to for the educational piece of it. To know what is going on in the regular day-to-day practices and procedures of all types of industries involved with animals, and to know the inherent gratuitous violence that naturally grows out of those daily practices. I’ve learned so much from so many painful articles, videos, and books. Things I never knew before and that lifted the veil for me. Just like my dear friend, JL, I’m already on the team. So, I don’t feel the need to always tune in to the rough stuff, but honestly it’s already right there in my awareness…..once I became aware, I’m always aware. I don’t dwell in depression, but I’m never unaware of this now. I’m sure this is the same for everyone who becomes awakened to the truth. I’m vegan for the animals. I’ve always been in this for the animals and always will be. This is my life. My chosen life. And, I do feel compelled to bear witness occasionally, also to stay aware of new investigations and cases, to be able to be educated and to speak intelligently about it to others who don’t know and haven’t looked. Also, I just feel the animals need people to see, for them, to effect change. I don’t over do this on myself, and I spend a lot of time looking at the wonderful people and wonderful progress being made for animals. I love to visit sanctuaries and be with the rescued survivor animals, who are ambassadors for all of the other animals living their whole lives in the most awful situations imaginable. Even though I don’t live each day exposing myself to the graphic parts, I am really thankful that the writing and filming and sharing is there. People need to know and for a lot of people it is the thing that will get them thinking and changing. I think most people still don’t know and those of us who do now know need to spread the word as much as possible. I try, I really try to do everything that I can do. I remember my own past, before I knew, and had my awakening, and I think that helps others to “hear” me. The graphic material played a part in my own awakening and coming to veganism. I will buy this book and follow this series. I know parts of it will be hard for me to read, so I’ll spread it out, and when I know I don’t want to read it right at that moment, then I’ll save it for another day. I always have two or three books going at any given time for this reason, usually a non-fiction vegan/AR type book, also a daily companion like Colleen Patrick-Goudreau’s Vegan’s Daily Companion, and also a fun non-thinking escapism fictional read. In the case of reading a serious, thinking, fictional book like The Chain I would read it in place of a non-fiction AR book, so I’d still have my escapism fictional read and I’d still have my daily companion. This way I can read something like The Chain when I’m up to it and can get a lot out of it, but if I’m nodding off to sleep at night I can have the other non-fictional book to put me to sleep, and when I’m waking up I can have my daily companion. See! A book for all times and all feeling! Thank you, JL, for introducing this new book to me. I’m definitely getting it. And, thank you, for showing me I’m not alone in my feelings. And, thank you to the author, Robin Lamont for going there. It is nice to be living in a time when there are more and more vegan/ar things for us. It’s a nice problem to have when I say to myself, I have so many blogs to read, so many books to read, so many magazines to read, so many films to watch, and so many trips to take!! Good “problems” indeed! Love love!
@1e54415d8e8f33ea428fac092b7a2b40:disqus, great insights! I really appreciate you sharing your perspective and you’ve give me much to consider! Let me know what you think of The Chain after you read it!
I really love your post and share many of your feelings. I’ve been asked (by non-vegans) “why do you continue to put yourself through the pain of reading about graphic things?” and for me it’s for many of the reasons you talked about. While I can’t always read or watch such things (and I’m honestly still learning my limits on this) I feel like I can be a better advocate for animals and change when I know what’s happening.
Holy moly! Didn’t realize how long that was ’til I posted it. My apologies!
@disqus_CjtRXeTegT:disqus, you raise some really great points! And I have to agree that some of the ‘non-graphic’ but deeply emotional videos, like the pig transport, just kill me! Which is exactly why getting as much out there as we can is so important – we all will be moved differently. Thanks for your incredibly thoughtful addition to the discussion!
Thought you might like this…………….I’m kind of a techie goofus, so please scroll down to the article on ‘World Vegan Month.’
November is World Vegan Month – go on, try it for 30 days
Environmental impacts: Animal agriculture contributes to greenhouse gases and uses up more resources
BY PATRICIA TALLMAN, VANCOUVER SUN NOVEMBER 2, 2013
Here are 30 reasons, one for each day of this month, why moving toward a plant-based diet will improve the sustainability of our planet and survival of all its inhabitants.
Day 1 – Animal agriculture is a top contributor of global greenhouse gas emissions, leading to climate change. The UN Environment Program estimates animal agriculture could contribute as much as 25 per cent of global greenhouse gases.
Day 2 – Animal foods contribute substantially more greenhouse gases than plant foods. The top two emitters are lamb at 39, and beef at 27 kilograms of CO2 equivalents per kg, followed by cheese, pork, farmed salmon, and turkey, ranging from 13.5 to 11 kg CO2e. Most plant foods – including beans, grains, and vegetables – fall below three kg CO2e.
Day 3 – Animal agriculture uses 50 to 70 per cent of global freshwater resources.
Day 4 – Water scientists at the Stockholm International Water Institute warned that if the western diet prevails, there won’t be enough water to produce food for everyone by 2050. They suggest a diet with less than five per cent of calories coming from animals.
Day 5 – Canada’s average annual meat consumption per capita, (roughly 24 per cent of calories) is about 100 kg, twice the worldwide average of 47 kg.
Day 6 – It takes up to 100 times more water to produce animal protein than plant protein.
Day 7 – Water footprints for animal products are significantly higher than those for plant foods. Bovine animals top the list at 112 litres per gram of protein to chickens at 34 litres/g, versus an average of only 20 litres/g for cereals and legumes.
Day 8 – It takes 300 gallons of water to supply one day of plant-based food per person, 1,200 gallons for a lacto-ovo vegetarian, and a whopping 4,000 gallons for an omnivore.
Day 9 – Producing one pound of beef requires 2,500 gallons of water, 12 pounds of grain, generates 40 pounds of waste, and emits a greenhouse gas equivalent of driving an SUV for 40 miles.
Day 10 – An average meatbased diet requires seven times more land than a plant-based one. Animal agriculture uses 70 per cent of global agricultural land.
Day 11 – The global cattle population (1.3 billion) consumes an amount of food (in calories) that can feed 8.7 billion people. Current world population is seven billion.
Day 12 – There are one billion hungry people worldwide; about six million children die each year of undernutrition. Meanwhile, 1.5 billion people are overweight or obese.
Day 13 – Eighty per cent of rainforest destruction is due to cattle ranching and growing monocrops for animal feed.
Day 14 – Run-off from factory farms pollute waterways and contribute to oceanic dead zones – over 400 worldwide.
Day 15 – Routine antibiotic use in animal agriculture has been scientifically linked to the rise in superbugs such as MRSA in hospital infections, rendering treatment of human infectious diseases increasingly difficult.
Day 16 – Seventy billion farm animals are killed each year for human consumption. The horrific treatment farm animals endure from birth to slaughter is unprecedented and carried out legally to maximize profits.
Day 17 – Egg-layers are debeaked without painkillers and spend their entire one to two years of life in a space the size of a sheet of paper. All male chicks are killed by suffocating them in plastic bags or ground up live by high-speed grinders. See an expose of the Canadian egg industry on W5.
Day 18 – Broiler chickens are killed around six weeks old when their natural life span is over 10 years. Shackled upside-down at the slaughterhouse, those babies who avoid the automated knives and miss their throats slit will be dumped alive in the scalding hot water.
Day 19 – Piglets are castrated, teeth clipped, tail docked and ear-notched without anesthetics. The smallest in a litter are killed by pounding them against concrete, an industry practice documented by W5.
Day 20 – Beef cattle endure third degree burns when branded with a hot iron. They are also dehorned, castrated, and ear-notched without painkillers. They are killed at 1.5 years old although their natural life span is over 20.
Day 21 – Veal is the flesh of a male dairy calf, separated from his mother, confined in a crate or chained to a plastic igloo for four months before slaughter, so his mother’s milk can be harvested for human consumption. Lameness is a major welfare issue for dairy cows.
Day 22 – Production of GE crops, the majority as feed crops, have resulted in superweeds and necessitated a rise in herbicide use.
Day 23 – The majority of health care costs are for chronic diseases such as cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. They account for two-thirds of yearly deaths in Canada.
Day 24 – A study from Loma Linda University found that vegans had a 78 per cent and 75 per cent lower risk respectively, for diabetes and hypertension than meat-eaters.
Day 25 – Vegans have lower rates of cancer than vegetarians, who in turn have lower rates than meat-eaters.
Day 26 – The American Dietetic Association says that a vegan diet is appropriate for all stages of life, healthful, and nutritionally adequate.
Day 27 – Human physiology and anatomy resemble much more closely to herbivores than omnivores.
Day 28 – Consuming meat and dairy is not a personal moral choice when that action requires a third party to die and pollutes the environment, a public resource.
Day 29 – In societies with food and meat alternatives available, it becomes difficult to justify killing innocent animals for their flesh, milk and eggs for palate preference.
Day 30 – Veganz is the world’s largest vegan supermarket. Since opening their first store in Berlin in 2011, demand has grown so much they now have four stores and are set to expand across Europe.
We can make the world a better place – for every being. Veganism is green, healthy, compassionate, and yes, even profitable.
Patricia Tallman is an environmental policy consultant and founder of the Langley Herbivores, a community group that promotes a plant-based diet.
© Copyright (c) The Vancouver Sun
@5cad9e867fd0d0e2d58d32c771aaaa95:disqus, this is great! Thanks for sharing it! (I edited it to make it a little easier to read) 🙂
Your comments on the reaction to violence is interesting. The other night we went to hear Marc Bekoff speak at the Tattered Cover. When Kate asked him how we can help people connect the animals they eat (cows, pigs) to the animals they love (dogs, cats), he said that the most effective way is to present “nice” pictures of the animals they eat instead of atrocity shots. That is, post a picture of a cow peacefully grazing with her calf in a pasture, rather than a picture of veal calf in a crate or a bloody carcass.
Oh, thanks for sharing Marc’s thoughts, @keithakers:disqus (I’m reading his book right now!). I really do think both types of pictures are appropriate because we want to impact everyone. Some people are able to look at a cow in a pasture and think Mmm, dinner. But the image of the brutality of how it became dinner may be the thing that influences that person to rethink it.