super kingdom

While it's still unclear whether or not plants can actually feel us sinking our teeth in, one thing is for certain: You can be damn well sure they're hearing it.

This is a real article with a real title that a real person wrote, everyone. Here are a couple of the things about this that really make me feel like projectile vomiting:

1. Plants apparently have selves. "They can actually hear themselves." Actually? Really? Nope, not really. This is the ~*actual*~ science:

"Our work is the first example of how plants respond to an ecologically relevant vibration. We found that feeding vibrations signal changes in the plant cells' metabolism, creating more defensive chemicals that can repel attacks from caterpillars."

Last I checked, ears are necessary for hearing, and plants don't have ears. No, they are not hearing themselves. They are responding to stimuli. 

But I digress. We were discussing the plant self, the sentience that plants possess which allows them to perceive what is happening to them and consciously respond to it as a self-aware being. Oh wait, nope, that's not happening.

But fine, you want to believe that plants are sentient beings who actually hear themselves being eaten? Great, that brings me to my next, more important point:

2. Nice Try, Nonvegans: Your intake of plants is even greater than vegans, because all those animals you love to eat ate a shit-ton of plants before they made it to your plate. Also, animals can hear and smell and see and feel themselves being tortured and brutally slaughtered, ~*actually*~.

I know the major point of this headline is to generate controversy and traffic, and on that point, great job. But it is also perpetuating so much harmful misinformation in the name of science. Something that could be interesting and exciting to learn about plants turns into someone's inferiority complex concerning ethics. Here's how she concludes her piece (of garbage):

"Either way, we do know one thing for sure: The world just got a little less smug for the vegan set."

I'm glad that the author admits that the only real conclusion she came away with as someone who obviously struggles to understand science was a reminder that she has a problem with people who are trying to cause less harm and her own sense of righteousness believing that we vegans just got knocked down a peg, because PLANTS! Unfortunately, veganism is not about being smug and feeling better than everyone, as much as nonvegans would like to believe so they can continue to ignore the real issues at hand. 

I used to eat cheese at every meal, and that's not an exaggeration. I wanted cheese with everything. I never really craved sweets, but I constantly craved cheese. I loved it. Macaroni and cheese, cheese pizza, sharp cheddar cheese blocks, feta cheese in salads, and on and on... 

I stopped eating meat after reading about the industry and seeing the reality of the violence in some very intense photos in a magazine. It was simple once I made the connection. But the dairy industry remained elusive, and my passion for the taste of cheese remained a powerful force in my life for far too many years afterward. I laughed at the thought of ever giving up my favorite food. "I could never give up cheese!" escaped my lips often and proudly.

So I've been there, friends. I've been that person, fully and enthusiastically. Dairy isn't violent like meat, I thought. It's good for the cows to be milked, right? My opinions on the subject were vague and informed only by the propaganda I grew up ingesting, and my feelings toward cheese were completely visceral, connected only to the product itself and not to any real knowledge of its meaning.

Even my decision to attempt to be vegan came before I truly informed myself about dairy. I just had a moment of clarity in which I realized the hypocrisy of refusing some but not all animal products for ethical reasons. Because the reasons were still broad, I failed many times in that first year. I continued to crave cheese, because it was still just a product in my mind, and one that I missed. I gave into my cravings a few times. I would say things like, "Oh, if I could have my own cows one day, I would definitely make my own cheese. I'm not saying I'll never eat it again." 

So I've also been there. We all know stories of people who claim to be vegan and then "break" for their favorite food. I realized later that I wasn't really vegan then. I was trying, but I hadn't made the connection. It was still a superficial act- one that was about me giving up my favorite treats, rather than a truly compassionate act that involved recognizing the unnecessary suffering and exploitation of dairy.

To be vegan is to change your mind about animal products. Cheese is no longer a tempting tasty treat to me. It is a completely unnecessary symbol of suffering and exploitation. To determine what is necessary is not always easy. You can argue that the people who originally began consuming cow's milk were doing it out of necessity. You can argue that some people may live in areas where cheese is one of their only options for sustenance. But for most of us, cheese is superfluous. And ultimately, all dairy products are inessential for human health and survival in the modern world.

A human's milk is meant for her baby, and most adults would gag at the thought of drinking it themselves. The same holds true for cat's milk, dog's milk, and pig's milk. Yet every day, humans consume cow's milk or goat's milk in their various forms, and most people couldn't give you a good reason why, though they can mimic the propaganda from the dairy industry that milk is the best source of calcium. But a cow's milk is perfectly designed to help a calf grow, just as human milk is perfectly designed to help an infant grow. Humans are much better off getting calcium from dark, leafy greens, nuts, oranges, or fortified alternative vegan milk. I used to think that it would be better for me to eat something with cheese in it rather than waste it, but learning about the detrimental affects of dairy on the human body helped me to realize that I was harming myself by consuming it. And this also leads us to the ethics of dairy: the milk was already wasted the minute it was not allowed to be consumed by the sentient being for whom it was intended. 

Cows and goats lactate for the same reasons humans do. When milk is taken from a cow or a goat, it is also taken from her baby. If we are consuming that milk, the baby is not. To steal from a mother and her baby so we can enjoy the taste of dairy is grossly unjust. Human mothers are not the only mammals to form deep, close bonds with their babies. Cows cry and bellow for the calves that are dragged away from them after birth so that we may keep the milk for ourselves. Then those babies are either killed or raised to become dairy cows like their mother. Maternal instinct is real for these animals, and the devastation felt by them is evident in their behavior when they are denied the right to their babies. 

At the same time that I learned about the violent, exploitative reality of dairy, I learned about the deeply nurturing, loving reality of the family bond within other species. Nothing can excuse the way this bond is destroyed when humans feel entitled to take what they want from other animals. A mother's milk is for her baby, and humans have no right to step in and take it for ourselves when we have other options. And before you think that maybe it's okay to steal milk when the babies get to stay with their mothers, think deeper and understand that you live in a capitalist society, and if any demand exists for a product, people will exploit it. When you support the theft of a mother's milk, you perpetuate the idea that such theft is okay and necessary. Why would you take something so precious, so very obviously not yours to take, unless you absolutely had to? People who can afford to consume local, organic, so-called "humane" animal products only help to perpetuate the idea that such products are necessary and only encourage those who must buy the cheaper option that they are doing what is necessary. But humans do not need another species' milk to survive or even to be healthy.

Let us realize that we don't love cheese. Love has nothing to do with our selfish desire. And let us recognize the distinction between desire and necessity, especially where innocent lives are at stake. Exploitation of the vulnerable is not love. Love is a mother nurturing her child. Love is families spending their lives together in peace. When we think of love, let us not mistake it for possession and palate pleasure. Let us embrace love that is compassionate, generous, and respectful. 

I never thought the day would come that I would stop eating cheese. But every day is a chance to change and to grow, and I am living proof that even the most die-hard dairy fans can be vegan. Now that I've made the connection, I am so happy to no longer be playing a part in the demand for something so damaging, and I don't miss it at all.

Someone posted an ad to craigslist recently after discovering an abandoned cat in a suitcase in the lobby of their Brooklyn apartment building. Management opted to put the cat outside in below freezing temperatures, awaiting the ASPCA, who said the cat would likely be euthanized within 72 hours. Although the story has a happy ending as someone eventually adopted the cat into their home, many people shared the story on social media and expressed their outrage that someone could do such a terrible thing to a helpless animal.

The comments on an article about the cat on Jezebel were particularly interesting.

There are many more lamenting this poor cat's fate and admonishing the person who abandoned her, more still of similar experiences of finding cats and rescuing them, and others declaring they could never do such a thing to the beloved nonhuman members of their families.

Unfortunately, I am sure that at least 99% of the people commenting on that article and all my friends who shared it on Facebook are not vegan. This is a perfect example of cognitive dissonance, speciesism, and carnism, the term coined by Melanie Joy to describe the psychology of loving some animals while harming others.  

Being so upset by fictional animal deaths in movies would lead me to believe that the cruel, violent, and unnecessary real deaths of animals at human hands would be even more upsetting. If someone can so passionately declare that it is "unconscionable" to leave a baby animal in the trash, I would hope that that same person would express the same outrage upon learning that dairy calves and male chicks are consistently "thrown away" in the industries, considered to be unwanted by-products. They are denied any chance at a peaceful, happy life and are ground alive, suffocated, shot, slaughtered, or literally tossed out with the garbage.

I would hope that everyone expressing compassion for the solitary kitty can recognize the hypocrisy in not extending that compassion to other animals simply because they have not been socially conditioned to care. All of the animals we objectify and exploit are just as deserving of our compassion as the animals we take into our homes and call our pets. They are all sentient beings with the ability to experience pain and pleasure and express emotion. They form bonds with each other and can form bonds with humans. And they are not some uniform group- each animal is an individual with a personality that is crushed by the machine of commodification.

Our social conditioning is incredibly strong, and it is often very difficult for people to confront the fact that they are blindly disregarding the suffering of billions of animals at the same time that they are giving so much love and care to others. Most people who consider themselves "animal lovers" buy and consume animal parts that are the result of torture and slaughter. They don't see themselves as being complicit in that violence despite the uncomfortable, undeniable reality. As soon as people can see past their own defense mechanisms and egos to admit that their compassion has so far been selective, then they can begin to change.

No one wants to see an animal in pain as a result of human callousness, cruelty, or greed. The animals we use are hidden from us for this exact reason. Confronting the cruelty of animal exploitation is bad for business, and producers want consumers to see the end product and not the precious animal who was cut up into bits to become the food on your plate or the shoes on your feet. For most people, participating in that violence has been the default, a non-choice, the status quo. But it is far too important of a decision, one that reaches even beyond animal rights to the environment and human rights, to simply default to the norm without any ethical consideration. We must open our eyes, act responsibly, and make a conscious choice. 

The people who left comments on the Jezebel article and shared the cat's story are obviously capable of connecting deeply with the suffering and joy felt by a nonhuman animal. I believe that they can make that connection with other animals. And once that connection is made, the only logical and morally consistent choice is to stop contributing to the commodification and oppression of nonhuman animals and adopt a vegan lifestyle.

Kidding aside, the insidious problem with making the declaration that a vegan diet is nutritionally deficient is that you must ignore the fact that human beings are the ones making choices about what to eat as vegans, and human beings make a LOT of mistakes. These articles also ignore the problems of modern food production on the whole, the fact that so much of our food is lacking in nutritional value, that our soil has been and is being depleted of essential vitamins and minerals, and that many people do not have access to whole, organic food, let alone health care. More to the point, there is no one Vegan Diet. Veganism is not a diet at all. It is a moral value that is reflected in a person's consumer choices to the best of their ability, and diet is only a part of that. I repeat: we can not continue to mistake an ethical framework for a simple diet. There are plenty of unhealthy vegan foods, and many humans struggle to make healthy choices whether they are vegan or not. Many of the healthiest people you'll find are vegans, so clearly the choice to be vegan is not the problem.

Earlier this year, I came across an amazing essay called Facing Failing Health as a Vegan, written by scientist, author, and urban farmer Seyward Rebhal, in which she details her journey of struggling to remain vegan while attempting to diagnose and overcome her illnesses. The kicker is that her cholesterol (that stuff produced naturally by a healthy liver) was abnormally low and she was protein deficient. These are two things that any vegan would laugh at rather than consider to be potential problems, so it's even more interesting that they turned out to be issues for her. I strongly recommend reading her story for all the details, but the point is that she was never simply on a plant-based diet, and she took her ethics very seriously and committed herself to searching out every possibility to regain her health as a vegan, which she managed to do very successfully.

Ultimately, that is the best we can do as committed vegans -- search out every possible option we can to take care of ourselves while adhering to our core values of nonviolence and non-exploitation. Rebhal makes a point to say she does not fault those people who do not have access to the information and care needed to help them overcome illness without reverting back to eating animal products. Animal products are so over-abundant in our world that you can find them everywhere and in everything. It's a sad truth that it is harder to find incredibly nutrient-rich plant foods like spirulina and coconut oil than it is to find products made from grieving mothers and corpses. Our creativity and innovative spirit as a species are not being put into finding new ways to grow plants in different environments but rather into finding ways to reduce stress in animals as they make their way to the kill floor.

Authors of a new study on the source of bird flu infections in humans.

Welcome to madness: $19.5 million in government funding to help dairy and beef industries adapt to the climate change they're causing.

"We have seen the impact that variable climate patterns have had on production agriculture for the past several years. These projects will deliver the best tools available to accurately measure and respond to the effects of climate on beef and dairy production," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.

I appreciate that applying legitimate science to agriculture might slow down the global catastrophe that is meat and dairy, but this is like putting a band-aid on a severed limb.

The team will also develop an agricultural education curriculum with an urban foods focus at Vincent High School in Milwaukee in an effort to educate future leaders and consumers about the contributions of the dairy industry to economic and environmental sustainability.