My blog
More than 40 million turkeys are killed each year at Thanksgiving, more than 20 million are slaughtered at Christmas, and another 19 million die for Easter dinners.(8) Before ending up as holiday centerpieces, these gentle birds spend five to six months on factory farms where thousands of them are packed into dark sheds with no more than 3.5 square feet of space per bird.(9) To keep the overcrowded birds from scratching and pecking each other to death, workers cut off portions of the birds’ toes and upper beaks with hot blades and de-snood the males (the snood is the flap of skin that runs from the beak to the chest).(10) No pain relievers are used during any of these procedures.
Genetic manipulation and antibiotics enable farmers to produce heavily muscled birds who can weigh 35 pounds in as little as five months, and “their internal organs are noticeably crammed together in the little bit of space remaining for the body cavity,” according to The Washington Post.(11) An industry magazine said, “[T]urkey breeders have created birds with huge, unnatural, outsized breasts, since white breast meat is where the money is.”(12) Another turkey breeder complained that birds “are bred to grow fast just to live to 16 weeks [and then] they die,” usually from organ failure, and some suffer from broken legs because their bones are not able to support their weight.(13) A 12-year study of turkey farmers in Iowa (one of the nation’s top turkey-producing states) revealed that leg problems and aneurysms were among the top three health problems in turkey flocks.(14) Factory-farmed turkeys are so large that they cannot even perform normal reproductive behaviors, so all turkeys raised for food are the products of artificial insemination.(15)
Millions of turkeys don’t even make it past the first few weeks before succumbing to “starve-out,” a stress-induced condition that causes young birds to simply stop eating.(16) Catching and transportation are particularly stressful processes for birds, and yet they are repeatedly moved during their short lives—from hatchery to the brooding area to the growing area and finally to the slaughterhouse.(17)
At the slaughterhouse, turkeys are hung upside-down by their weak and crippled legs before their heads are dragged through an electrified “stunning tank,” which immobilizes them but does not kill them. Many birds dodge the tank and, therefore, are fully conscious when their throats are slit. If the knife fails to properly slit the birds’ throats, they are scalded alive in the tank of hot water used for feather removal.
Turkey flesh is completely devoid of fiber and carbohydrates and is loaded with even more fat and cholesterol than many cuts of beef. A turkey’s leg contains about 63 milligrams of cholesterol, and 42 percent of its calories are derived from fat.(18)
USDA inspection reports reveal that an average of one in every eight Thanksgiving turkeys is infected with salmonella, a foodborne illness that sickens more than a million people a year and kills 500.(19)
C'mon, be nice people and get a tofurkey instead. I mean, it's just nicer.
8)“Minnesota Leads Nation in Turkey Production,” Paynesville Press, 21 Nov. 2001.
9)John C. Voris et al., Turkey Care Practices, University of California, Davis, 1998.
10)Jodie Karrow and Dr. Ian Duncan, “Starve-Out in Turkey Poults,” University of Guelph, Dec. 1999.
11)Rick Weiss, “Techno Turkeys: The Modern Holiday Bird Is a Marvel of Yankee Ingenuity,” The Washington Post, 12 Nov. 1997.
12)Steve Bjerklie, “Perspective by Editor of Meat Processing North American Edition,” MeatNews.com, 2 Dec. 2003.
13)Jan Falstad, “Plucked by the Big Boys: No Fresh Turkeys From Ballentine Turkey Farm This Season,” Billings Gazette, 2 Nov. 2003.
14)William J. Owings, “Turkey Health Problems. A Summary of Twelve Years of Iowa Grower Surveys,” Iowa State University Extension, Sep. 1995.
15)Weiss.
16)University of Guelph, “Farm Animal Welfare Research,” 1998-2000.
17)Voris et al.
18)USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, “Turkey, Young Tom, Leg, Meat and Skin, Cooked, Roasted,” Jul. 2003.
19)Todd Zwillich, “Consumer Group: 13% of U.S. Turkeys Carry Salmonella,” Reuters Health, 19 Nov. 2001.
I feel like fucking shit.
Guys are definitely not the only players. Girls are out for one night stands also. They're just more crafty about it. No, not all girls, but it's the same as guys...the world is not divided into guys and girls, but into casual jump arounds and sensitives.
I haven't had a mopey post in a long time...whatever
My Battle With Soy
So the past week has been a little frustrating. This issue needs to get out into the public eye, so I will recapitulate here.
It started when I learned in my Globalization Politics class that the new most prominent threat to the Brazilian rainforest is soy farming. I did some research, and indeed it is true--deforestation has increased 40 percent, the main reasons cattle farming, and newly soy farming. Here you can find a particularly good article that sums it all about up. http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=11756
(this may seem to undermine vegetarianism, although it is a huge disapointment this is not the case. The U.S. is still the worlds largest soy producer--the problem is companies that decide to pursue unethical bussiness practices and buy the soy abroad. Also the majority of the soy is being used to feed farm animals, so by purchasing the meat you are still supporting the destruction and supporting it moreso because more soy is consumed per person when someone eats it indirectly through a cow than when someone eats it directly through soymilk-see paragraph from corpwatch.com--"In the wake of the Mad Cow disease scare, soy producers have benefited from increased demand in affluent countries for meat from cows that are fed soy meal, rather than animal-based feed. This is only the latest in a series of factors that have allowed a company named the André Maggi Group to spearhead, along with the Brazilian government, the expansion of soy in Mato Grosso and adjacent states over the last two decades, with disturbing consequences". )
When I heard this I began to research the major soy producers of the U.S. The websites didn't give much information, so I went to the campus dining services, which regularly serve soy products, and demanded to know where the soy beans came from that were used in their products. They told me they'd get back to me, which they didn't, so I returned. This time they sent me to the campus dietician, who was more helpfull. She called Whitewave--the supplier of the soy products on campus and the producer of Silk soymilk and Horizon Organic Milks--and got an answering machine. They actually did get back to her, saying that although they have traditionally bought organic U.S. grown soybeans, but due to a "lack" of crop they are currently importing from Brazil. I immediately contacted them about this. through e-mail. (despite their faulty bussiness practices, I will say that they responded quickly and personally, unlike many other large corporations) the first email they sent me was this--
"Dear Ian,
Thank you for taking the time to contact us. Until recently all soybeans used in White Wave products were grown on organic farms within the United States. Currently the majority of our soybeans that we purchase remain US grown, however due to a recent organic soybean shortage we have begun purchasing organic soybeans from Brazil.
The Brazilian soybeans purchased by White Wave are grown in an area of the country south of the rainforests. No rainforests are damaged in the growth or production of our soybeans.
In addition, the company that White Wave contracts with to purchase Brazilian soybeans is constantly monitoring to make certain no slave labor is used on their farms. Three inspection methods are used to check for slave labor including a visit to each farm from a national certification agency, random visits to each farm by local labor authorities and an extensive inspection and interview process of the farm by the buyer certifying that the farm does not use slave labor.
The Brazilian soybeans continue to meet White Wave's high quality standards. Just like our American-grown crop, the Brazilian beans are grown with traditional plant breeding and farming practices. To insure that the soybean stocks are pure, the plants are grown in a region isolated from non-organic and genetically modified soybean production. White Wave carefully and continuously monitors our soybean growers directly to ensure that the soybeans have not been genetically altered and are of the very best quality.
Highly reputable independent laboratories specializing in genetic identification regularly test White Wave products. Silk® Soymilk has always tested negative for the presence of genetically modified material. We will continue to test Silk and White Wave products to maintain our high quality standards and our product integrity.
We hope this information is helpful.
Best regards from the folks at White Wave."
I noticed they didn't tell me who their supplier was, so I emailed them back requesting that information. They sent me the response below:
"Dear Ian,
Thank you for taking the time to reply. We have many different suppliers in Brazil and cannot give out their specific names due to contract reasons. The states in Brazil that our non-domestic soybeans come from are Mato Grosso and Parana. Please keep in mind that the majority of our soybeans are US grown.
Best Regards,
The Folks at WhiteWave"
The region Mato Grosso is the region suffuring from deforestation. As nice as they may be, I wrote them back with a link to the article about deforestation, and asserting that I will continue to boycott their products until they discontinue importing.
NOW I HAVE A REQUEST TO MAKE OF ALL OF YOU
this will only take five minutes. Go to www.whitewave.com , click on contact us, and send them an email complaining of this practice. Here is the original one I wrote, feel free to copy it or change it in any way you want. You may want to add that Mato Grosso is the region suffering the deforestation.
To White Wave:
I have traditionally been vegetarian/vegan, and have always enjoyed
your products. I was overjoyed when I found a soy milk that tasted good
and had important vitamins added such as vitamin B12. I find it a tasty
companion for any meal.
I recently discovered that you are currently purchasing your soybeans
from Brazil. I thought you might want to know that the Brazilian
rainforest is being cut down in order to grow these soy beans. The fact
that you support this needless destruction seems inconsistent with your
policy statement "lead socially responsible and environmentally
sustainable business practices". The U.S. is still the number one
producer of soy beans, and it seems ridiculous to purchase beans from
Brazil that hurt the environment much more than unorganic soy from the
states.
I'll have you know that I will discontinue any further use of your
products untill you discontinue to support rainforest destruction. The
majority of your customers are environmentally aware
vegetarians/activists, who I am sure will also agree to take a stand on
this issue and not back down. This is a slap in the face against
alternative eating and environmentally friendly food choices, thought
to be led by vegetarianism. The fact that being vegetarian now destroys
the environment has potential to undermine the entire movement and make
your consumers seem hypocritical, not to mention very, very angry. I
urge you rethink your purchasing options. I will be waiting your
reply.
Ian
PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO SEND THIS TO THEM, IT WILL BE HEARD!!!
Even if you aren't vegetarian or could care less about sappy wimpy no good plant eaters, you can still effect the state of the rainforest by sending them an email. The more people who speak out the more they are are aware that we are aware, and the more likely chance for change. Please. thank you all, and never give up
The Importance of eating U.S. grown Soy
Besides supporting your local economy, it is important to choose us grown soy. Recently rainforest destruction has increased due to soy farming in the Brazilian rainforest. Although the largest cause of destruction is still cattle ranching, buying soy products from U.S. markets wil help circumvent this problem. The U.S. is still the worlds largest producer of soy, so it shouldn't be too difficult. Silk products are all safe, however I am still researching the popular Morning Star and Boca varieties. Most of the soy being grown in place of the rainforest is, ironically, being used to feed farm animals, but we should all inform ourselves of the companies we buy from. And a note..McDonalds hamburgers include both beef from unsustainable practices and soy from equally destructive practices. So everyone knows...be conscious of this new issue.
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF JOE RIGHT-WING REPUBLICAN
Just a fun weekend think piece for you back to school kids - Check out this light-hearted history lesson!
Joe gets up at 6 a.m. and fills his coffeepot with water to prepare his morning coffee. The water is clean and good because some tree-hugging liberal fought for minimum water-quality standards. With his first swallow of coffee, he takes his daily medication. His medications are safe to take because some stupid commie liberal fought to insure their safety and that they work as advertised. All but $10 of his medications are paid for by his employer's medical plan because some liberal union workers fought their employers for paid medical insurance - now Joe gets it too. He prepares his morning breakfast, bacon and eggs. Joe's bacon is safe to eat because some girly-man liberal fought for laws to regulate the meat packing industry. In the morning shower, Joe reaches for his shampoo. His bottle is properly labeled with each ingredient and its amount in the total contents because some crybaby liberal fought for his right to know what he was putting on his body and how much it contained. Joe dresses, walks outside and takes a deep breath. The air he breathes is clean because some environmentalist wacko liberal fought for laws to stop industries from polluting our air. He walks to the subway station for his government-subsidized ride to work. It saves him considerable money in parking and transportation fees because some fancy-pants liberal fought for affordable public transportation, which gives everyone the opportunity to be a contributor. Joe begins his work day. He has a good job with excellent pay, medical benefits, retirement, paid holidays and vacation because some lazy liberal union members fought and died for these working standards. Joe's employer pays these standards because Joe's employer doesn't want his employees to call the union. If Joe is hurt on the job or becomes unemployed, he'll get a worker compensation or unemployment check because some stupid liberal didn't think he should lose his home because of his temporary misfortune. Its noontime and Joe needs to make a bank deposit so he can pay some bills. Joe's deposit is federally insured by the FDIC because some godless liberal wanted to protect Joe's money from unscrupulous bankers who ruined the banking system before the Great Depression. Joe has to pay his Fannie Mae-underwritten mortgage and his below-market federal student loan because some elitist liberal decided that Joe and the government would be better off if he was educated and earned more money over his lifetime. Joe is home from work. He plans to visit his father this evening at his farm home in the country. He gets in his car for the drive. His car is among the safest in the world because some America-hating liberal fought for car safety standards. He arrives at his boyhood home. His was the third generation to live in the house financed by Farmers' Home Administration because bankers didn't want to make rural loans. The house didn't have electricity until some big-government liberal stuck his nose where it didn't belong and demanded rural electrification. He is happy to see his father, who is now retired. His father lives on Social Security and a union pension because some wine-drinking, cheese-eating liberal made sure he could take care of himself so Joe wouldn't have to. Joe gets back in his car for the ride home, and turns on a radio talk show. The radio host keeps saying that liberals are bad and conservatives are good. He doesn't mention that the beloved Republicans have fought against every protection and benefit Joe enjoys throughout his day. Joe agrees: "We don't need those big-government liberals ruining our lives! After all, I'm a self-made man who believes everyone should take care of themselves, just like I have."
courtesy of punkvoter.com
So I guy I knew at work killed himself a couple of days ago. And for all of you who were at the high school last year, I don't need to bother describing the emotions. But this guy I knew better than Seidel. I didn't know know him, but he'd say whats up when he came in and I'd say see ya when I clocked out. We may have exchanged a joke or two, but we never got to know each other, he was just a casual accuantaince. And then I heard the news, and it seems so...ot the present. It's effected me more since I knew him and can actually visualize his face, and I can see him easily in my mind. His picture in the paper looked so young...I can't help but wonder what his thirteen year old self would say if someone told him that he was going to commit suicide at age 24. All those moments and all those years, just wasted...but then again we're all going to die anyways and so in a sense all of these moments are being wasted. Did he think, before he did it, that that random new guy at work would be effected? We're all so connected. We all know so many people, and we don't even know it, and when it comes down to it, alot of people are affected. It also makes you think, everyones a poser, everyone's fake until they kill themself. Once that happens it's like oh...he wasn't trying to create an image for himself, he was a live human being. Everyone always complains about everyone, they say everyone's a poser or they're trying to fit in with their music croud or whatever, basically complaining that everyone else isn't a clone of themselves. Well guess what, no one else is you, so get over it. Everyone has to pull away for a while before discovering themselves, while discovering themselves...one girl said she thought it was her thought because that day he wanted to talk to her but she didn't have time. Other people said it wasn't her fault, but know what? Maybe it was her fault. Little things can hurt so much, and when you've had a bad day and don't have anyone to talk to, one little thing can push you off the brink. Moral? We should try to give everyone our honesty, our time, our kindness, before it's two late. You may have prevented a suicide a hundred times in your life and not even known it, just from being nice and listening. How many more do you think you will be able to stop? How many more will you cause?
+++++++You know, lots of people don't realize it, in fact I didn't even realize it for a while, but single children have an advantage over other people...and that is they have more of a sense of independence, in a people sense. What I mean to say, is that I think the person I may have missed the most while in Spain was my brother. He and I have gotten in lots of fights, but we've always had a real deep connection. It's so deep we're not even aware of it. I don't even realize it, but if he ever found himself in a bad situation I would defend him in a heartbeat. Some people say he can be a dick, but he's a real nice guy under all that, he's just afraid to let it show sometimes. I got home from the warped tour and found out he had already left for North Carolina. It upset me, things are alot more fun and happening when he's around. I think the fact that he wasn't there is part of the reason it was so tough for me in Spain. Things are easier when he's there. I know I shouldn't be dependent on him, and I'm not (I mean I lived alone in a foreign country for 8 frikkin months) but I just prefer having him there. It makes things psicologically easier. I really hope he can make it out in life...he has real problems with logistics and material problems(i.e. math), but when it comes to theoretical thinking, like in writing, he's a frikin genious. I hope he'll be able to do okay...after leaving high school I see thatnot everythings so easy, and lots of people do lose there way. It is actually important to work hard and study in high school...
I don't have anything else to say, I just wanted to share how I was feeling. Basically, my brother means alot to me. And for some reason I wanted to write about that. So there yuo go.
