IVA summer e-newsletter
Information and events for Ithaca Voices for Animals
IVA-info at ithacavoices.org
Fri Oct 7 08:55:16 CDT 2005
IVA: Ithaca Voices for Animals
Summer 2005 Newsletter
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In this edition:
1. Welcome
2. What's New
3. Recent Events
4. Upcoming Events
5. Vegan Recipes
6. Recommended Reading
7. About IVA
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1. WELCOME
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This edition of the Ithaca Voices for Animals summer newsletter is going
out to some old friends and to some new animal advocates who attended our
lecture by Harold Brown. Thanks for sharing your e-mail address with us; we
hope that you'll enjoy reading about our organization and our recent and
upcoming activities. Once again, we include recipes for egg- and dairy-free
treats that are a staple at our information tables and events.
Thank you for getting involved with Ithaca's new animal advocacy group.
There's a lot we can do right here in our town to create a more humane and
hopeful situation for animals. We hope that you'll continue to stay in
touch with us and contact us if you desire additional information or have
other ideas about helping animals.
Please feel free to forward this e-newsletter to others you know who care
about animals and might be interested in getting involved on their behalf
in Ithaca and surrounding communities.
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2. WHAT'S NEW
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>>> Activists uncover disturbing cruelty to chickens on Wegman's upstate
NY egg farms.
Members of the Rochester-area Compassionate Consumers obtained undercover
footage from inside Wegman's factory-style egg farms. Wegman's eggs are
labeled with an "animal care certified" label, but the images obtained by
Compassionate Consumers show that Wegman's chickens live in the
overcrowded, unhealthy conditions that are typical of egg-layer facilities.
The activists rescued several injured and ill birds, some of which later
died. Information about the video and updates about the unfolding story are
available at the Compassionate Consumer's Wegman's Cruelty website
(www.wegmanscruelty.com).
This is an important issue because Wegman's has a large store and local
presence in Ithaca. IVA has been actively trying to get and keep this story
in the media. The Ithaca Times has covered the story in an August 17th
article titled "Animal Cruelty?"
(http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=15050895&BRD=1395&PAG=461&dept_id=216620&rfi=8),
and IVA arranged to have the Wegman's Cruelty DVD showing on the public
access channel, channel 13, in Ithaca. An editorial in the August 24th
Ithaca Times shows that there is interest in this campaign
(http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=15087787&BRD=1395&PAG=461&dept_id=216618&rfi=6).
To date, the Ithaca Journal has not covered the story despite IVA's requests.
Wegman's has defended the accusations of cruelty with a press release
arguing that its facilities have been inspected and have passed all of the
requirements for the animal care certified label. These standards, however,
are set by the egg industry itself and do not reflect the true needs of the
birds in Wegman's care. Wegman's also pressed charges against the activists
who obtained the undercover footage, and they now face felony burglary charges.
Despite Wegman's reassurances that it cares about chickens, the pictures
tell a story of cruelty and suffering. IVA encourages people to boycott
Wegman's eggs and to tell their friends and others who care about animals
to do the same. Please watch the video from Wegman's egg farms.
Compassionate Consumers is offering free downloads of their video, and it's
available at the Compassionate Consumers website (www.wegmanscruelty.com).
You may also obtain the DVD by contating IVA (info at ithacavoices.org).
One additional step you can take to help chickens is to write letters to
the editor of the Ithaca Journal to show that readers care about the
treatment of farmed animals by local merchants and to convince them that
they, too, should be covering this important event and the upcoming trial.
IVA has also been participating in weekly Friday protests at Wegman's in
cooperation with the Ithaca College animal rights organization Boundless
Ethics. The protests are from 5-7 pm. Feel free to join us!
IVA will provide additional details about this unfolding story as they
become available. For more immediate updates, see the Compassionate
Consumer's website (www.wegmanscruelty.com).
>>> IVA's new website is still evolving: www.ithacavoices.org. If you'd
like to contribute restaurant reviews or other content, please contact us
(info at ithacavoices.org). And be sure to check back frequently for updates.
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3. RECENT EVENTS
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>>> 6/25: WHAT'S HAPPENING TO OUR FOOD? A discussion led by Farm
Sanctuary's Harold Brown, former farmer and current advocate for
agricultural reform. An audience of more than 50 people turned out at the
Tompkins County Public Library to listen to Harold discuss current farming
practices, corporate agribusiness, the future of the US food supply, and
the way industrial agriculture impacts human health, local economies, the
environment, and farmed animals.
Harold's talk was informative, and a lively discussion followed. Harold
revealed that serious health risks and pollution from factory farming are
present right here in Tompkins County. The water bodies that we so cherish
in this area are particularly threatened. Elsewhere in the United States,
unfair labor practices are increasingly being used to staff factory farm
facilities, and worse, many of the corporations that profit from factory
farming are looking to increase their profits even more by moving their
facilities overseas--for example to China and (with the recent passage of
the CAFTA legislation) to Central America. In these locations, laws to
protect animals, laborers, and the environment are less strict or nonexistent.
Corporate takeover of farming has also left many small farmers in the
United States struggling or bankrupt, weakening the economy, destroying
small towns, and reducing the number of local food sources. A time of
crisis for animals, humans, and the environment has definitely arrived with
the evolution of industrialized farming.
For more information or if you have additional questions, please see Harold
Brown's website (www.askfarmerbrown.com) and the website for Farm Sanctuary
(www.farmsanctuary.org).
>>> October 2 was World Farm Animals Day (http://www.wfad.org/).
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4. UPCOMING EVENTS
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>>> Saturday, 10/8: Don't Just Talk the Talk: Walk for Farm Animals. Farm
Sanctuary in Watkins Glen and Ithaca Voices for Animals will be
coordinating a Walk for Farm Animals in Ithaca.
The Walk for Farm Animals and will be held on Saturday, October 8,
2005. Pre-registration is encouraged, but there will also be a chance to
register on the day of the Walk at 1pm in DeWitt Park in downtown Ithaca.
Walkers will meet at this location and the walk will begin at 1:45 pm. A
$10 registration fee entitles each participant to a Walk for Farm Animals
T-shirt designed by "Bizarro" comic creator Dan Piraro.
If you are interested in participating in this Walk for Farm Animals,
please contact IVA member Meghan Beeby at 607-583-2225 ext. 251 or
<mailto:ithaca at walkforfarmanimals.org>ithaca at walkforfarmanimals.org. For
information on how to register and collect pledges, please visit the Walk
for Farm Animals website (www.walkforfarmanimals.org).
The Walk for Farm Animals, held annually across the country, helps fund
Farm Sanctuary's rescue and protection campaigns and honors World Farm
Animals Day.
>>> To be announced: IVA will be organizing and sponsoring a screening of
the Wegman's Cruelty DVD. Details soon.
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5. RECIPES
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>>> Best Vegan Brownies
Ingredients:
2 cups unbleached flour (you can use whole wheat pastry flour for all or part)
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup water
1 cup vegetable oil
Ener-G egg replacer equivalent of 3 eggs (4.5 tsp Ener-G beaten into 6 Tbsp
water)
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl. Mix
together remaining ingredients and add to dry ingredients. Mix until
smooth. Pour into a 9 x 13 pan and bake 20-30 minutes or until an inserted
knife comes out clean. Let cool for 10 minutes before cutting.
>>> Vegan Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) plus 2 tablespoon (¼ stick) Earth Balance or other vegan
margarine
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
EnerG Egg Replacer equivalent to 1 egg (1 1/2 tsp egg replacer + 2 Tbsp water)
2 extra tablespoons water
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
9 ounces (3 bars) dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Mix or sift together flour, baking soda,
and salt and set aside.
2) Cream the margarine and sugars until smooth, about 4 minutes. Add the
egg replacer and extra water and mix well.
3) Add the flour mixture and beat thoroughly.
4) Stir in the vanilla. Fold in the nuts, then the chocolate.
5) Drop in 2-tablespoon clumps onto an ungreased cookie sheet, leaving
several inches between for expansion.
6) Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the bottoms are lightly browned.
Makes 2 dozen
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6. RECOMMENDED READING
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A gook that IVA recommends for those who want to learn more about corporate
agriculture, animal advocacy, and veganism. Review by JB Mulcahy.
Peter Lovenheim. Portrait of a Burger as a Young Calf: the True Story of
One Man, Two Cows and the Feeding of a Nation. New York: Harmony Books,
2002. ISBN: 0609605917
As animal advocates, we would do well to work on two things: learning more
about farming and understanding farmers themselves. Portrait of a Burger as
a Young Calf provides insight into both in it's depiction of family dairy
farming in central New York. Peter Lovenheim wanted to learn more about
where his food came from, so he purchased two calves at a local dairy and
set out to document their lives "from conception to consumption." The story
he tells exposes the sad realties of dairy farming but, paradoxically to
some, shows great respect for the people involved. This book is an excellent
resource, especially for Ithacans who want to learn more about the industry
that surrounds them. It also serves as a reminder that bad things are
sometimes done by otherwise good people. This is a lesson animal advocates
will have to take to heart if we are to be effective.
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7. ABOUT IVA
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IVA is a new animal advocacy group organized to raise awareness about the
suffering and exploitation of animals locally, nationally, and throughout
the world. IVA supports the belief that animals are not ours to use for
food, fiber, experimentation, or entertainment. IVA puts that philosophy
into action by advocating a vegan diet and educating the public about ways
to reduce animal suffering and exploitation.
IVA's focus is on animals, but there is no doubt that our concerns
intersect with other social justice issues of the day. Pollution, labor
abuses, human rights issues, and other environmental concerns are often
closely tied to animal agriculture, biomedical research, corporate welfare,
and health issues that impact animals as well as humans. IVA seeks to
connect with other activists who are working in these areas to make the
circle of compassion as wide as possible and translate compassion for
animals into awareness about and action against all suffering.
Join our mailing list and learn more at www.ithacavoices.org. Contact IVA
at info at ithacavoices.org or 607-277-0159.
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