As I catch up today on animal news this week I am focusing on the New York Times, not just because of its world wide reputation and distribution, but because there is so much animal news in it this week.
I will start with the fun stuff because tomorrow morning, Friday August 8, is our last chance to submit a question to the New York Times Cityroom blog, where this week author Rynn Berry, who wrote "The Vegan Guide to New York City," gives us "Answers About the Vegan Lifestyle in New York."
Check it out at
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/08/06/answers-about-the-vegan-lifestyle-in-new-york/
or at this tiny URL: http://tinyurl.com/5b9fge
Then submit a question. A lot of reader interest will encourage similar topics in the future.
Earlier in the week, on Tuesday August 5th, the New York Times ran an editorial (different from a column or an op-ed as it is the official opinion of the paper's editorial board) headed, "A Second Chance for Gorillas." (p A18)
It tells us that gorillas have been "the victims of deforestation and incessant warfare in Central Africa" and that they "have been hunted for meat" as their numbers dwindled. Then we read:
"But a rigorous new census of western lowland gorillas conducted by scientists from the Wildlife Conservation Society has found as many as 125,000 of them living in two northern regions of the Congo Republic -- more than double the number thought to exist elsewhere throughout their range."
The piece tells us, "This extraordinary discovery should be a powerful incentive to create new protected areas to help western lowland gorillas," but that "Without careful management of the forest resources that surround protected areas -- and strict enforcement -- a national park is nothing more than a line on a map."
It ends with the warning that "too often finding a new species simply means having a chance to watch it die away."
You'll find the full piece on line at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/05/opinion/05tue3.html
While it offers some good news for gorillas in terms of actual information, the best news might be that this issue is considered to be news that is worthy of a New York Times editorial. Finally the plight of other species is being taken seriously by the media. Please send a letter to the editor commending the paper for its attention to this issue, and making whatever point you are moved to make about our treatment of other species.
The New York Times takes letters at letters@nytimes. com
Not quite as promising was the Wednesday, August 6 op-ed, by Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld, headed "Dark Meat."
Herzfeld writes that kosher meat became a symbol of "ridicule, embarrassment and hypocrisy" after immigration officials raided Agriprocessors Inc., the largest kosher meatpacking plant in the country, and found "abusive practices at Agriprocessors against workers, including minors. Children as young as 13 were said to be wielding knives on the killing floor; some teenagers were working 17-hour shifts, six days a week."
He writes that "there is precedent for declaring something nonkosher on the basis of how employees are treated" and that an affidavit "alleges that an employee was physically abused by a rabbi on the floor of the plant."
And he writes, "What's more, two workers who oversaw the poultry and beef division were recently arrested for helping illegal immigrants falsify documents."
Herzfeld ends with:
" We need to express shame and embarrassment about the reports coming out of Iowa, and we need to actively work to change these matters. Then we should ask ourselves if our behavior and our values need improvement. Only if we truly think about these issues will we truly be keeping kosher."
You'll find the whole piece on line at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/06/opinion/06herzfeld.html
Animal advocates who have been involved in our movement for a few years (or who have read Thanking the Monkey, where I discuss this issue in detail) are familiar with the horrifying undercover video slaughter images that came out of Agriprocessors -- images of tracheas being ripped out of fully conscious animals, and animals trying to stand up while taking minutes to die. Author Jonathon Safran Foer (Everything is Illuminated) narrates that video on the PETA website at http://www.goveg.com/jsfkosher.asp
As kosher laws were written at least partly to protect against egregious cruelty to animals, it is a shame that an op-ed would leave the animals out of the picture when questioning, on grounds of cruelty, this plant's standing in the kosher community. We have an opportunity, however, with letters to the editor, to shine some harsh light on the animal suffering.
Again, the New York Times takes letters at letters@nytimes.com
Always include your full name, address, and daytime phone number when sending a letter to the editor. Remember that shorter letters are more likely to be published. And please be sure not to use any comments or phrases from me or from any other alerts in your letters. Editors are looking for original responses from their readers.
Yours and the animals',
Karen Dawn
(DawnWatch is an animal advocacy media watch that looks at animal issues in the media and facilitates one-click responses to the relevant media outlets. You can learn more about it, and sign up for alerts at http://www.DawnWatch.com. You may forward or reprint DawnWatch alerts if you do so unedited -- leave DawnWatch in the title and include this parenthesized tag line. If somebody forwards DawnWatch alerts to you, which you enjoy, please help the list grow by signing up. It is free.)
Please go to www.ThankingtheMonkey.com to read reviews of Karen Dawn's new book, "Thanking the Monkey: Rethinking the Way we Treat Animals” and watch the fun celebrity studded promo video.
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Date: Thu Aug 7 19:57:58 2008
