I think very much as you do with regards to this sentiment (this whole entry, actually), but I’ve actually had conversations with people who maintain that animals cannot feel emotion and that any cries or actions of avoidance on their part are purely instinctual. That’s barely a step forward from Rene Descartes’ outlook in the freaking 17th century. I don’t really know what to say to people like that– how do you refute something that’s so completely far removed from everything you know to be true? It’s like trying to argue with someone who insists the sky is purple. I don’t even know where to begin… and it’s obvious nothing I say will have any effect.

I tried to grow veggies in my garden last summer and, um, well, I got some nice cherry tomatoes, but everything else was sort of a bust. My granddad was an avid gardener but he died when I was very young and my parents certainly didn’t pass along any green thumbs. Sigh. Maybe next year…

Regarding the Mahatma Gandhi quote, those are wise words and have referred to them numerous times. Thanks for putting it out there.

Not long ago I interviewed for a position with an amazing company that was right up my alley. Until I learned that they did animal testing. On site. And I would need to go to that portion of the compound. Needless to say I do not work there and cannot help but imagine what goes on behind the walls when I drive by. I know, but most others don’t. It makes my heart feel like lead.

We are urban dwellers and meat eaters. But, we are also parents and conscious of what we put into ourselves and the kids. My parents have 5 chickens each with a name and we eat fresh eggs. We have a plot in our community garden which has strict pesticide/fertilizer rules and my 2 and 4 year old love to help and each fresh veggies. We also get cool peppers and new veggies form our Bangladeshi plot mates! We buy organic meat(grown in the province) from our butcher and cloth diapered the babies.

Sounds pretty self righteous right? Well, honestly its the easiest way I’ve ever lived or consumed, I don’t have to wonder what is in my food or think about if the animal I’m eating or if it was treated ethically, or if the chemicals in paper diapers are going to cause sterility in my kids.

Next, getting rid of he plastic toys that have taken over from family who did not comply with our request for no plastic!

As for animal testing I can’t look my dog in the eye and imagine something ever harming her.

Zitadawn ~ What a great post. I too have mostly rescues at home. I worked at a cat shelter for 3 1/2 years and could relate to your story of rescuing ferals and young kittens. My cat Curly came to me as a 2 week old with a hole in his stomach. He’s now a very happy and healthy 3 1/2 year old. It’s so great to know that there are people like you helping animals in your neighborhood. I can definetly relate to getting out of bed everday because I have pets. They really are my reason for getting through each day. Are you famiiliar with Best Friends? They are a great animal welfare organization in Utah. One of their mottos is: A better world through kindness to animals. Lets hope there is more of that mentality in 2008.

Cheers and Happy New Year to all.

Yes I am familiar with Best Friends. It is so encouraging that such organizations exist.

I think it is so easy to forget or ignore or deny that each individual animal is just that, an individual, a spirit, a feeling being. I have found in my job the most depressing of attitudes towards animals, in my experience a lot of people consider their pets nothing more than a breathing decoration or hobby or status symbol or in the case of animal testing, a profit.

I don’t expect people to value an animal more than another person, but I would hope one would value an animal as another soul. This earth is fueled by understanding, respect and the simple act of embracing life is all of its many beautiful and astounding forms. And that is one of the most important lessons I have learned from the animals that share my life.

In my opinion the Hart family is a Canadian treasure and they are a great source of inspiration for me.

Patrick Pitt, I’m Croatian.  But I’m not offended because I am crazy (craziness is actually quite beneficial when pursuing success in the wrestling business).

That being said I think you should know that purple monkeys are not very receptive towards inter-breeding with three headed kangaroos, but enough about my scientific experiments, I have to go strip the feathers of my emu so the mosquito-bee hybrids can do their damage. Oops, I’ve said too much.

Being that my main focus through work now is food security (defn. a state in which all members of a community have access to environmentally sustainable, culturally appropriate, food to live an active healthy life through normal distribution routes) this entry excited me greatly.

There are so many benefits to growing food in your own backyard/community garden plot including increased nutrition (studies are starting to come out showing this) which leads to better physical and mental performance, community building, regaining a long-long connection to food and participating in a more sustainable food-system (i.e. less transportation pollution).

As well, there are many great reasons why to buy Local produce that include the above, but it also includes supporting your local farmer (organic or not, it all helps if it is local) as the smaller farms (less than $250,000 gross/yr) are in crises because of the shrinking land in the Agricultural Land Reserve, land in the ALR underutilized, the aging average age of a farmer with few people come up in their place, lack of skilled labour, lack of available water, lack of affordable land…

As it is right now, on Vancouver Island there is only a three-day supply of fresh food in the event that something happens to our transportation routes (please don’t take this fact as a doomsday statement but something to being to think about). As well, the Island also, 45 - 50 years ago produces approx. 85% of the food consumed, now we IMPORT more than 90%. And if you look at the average meal you consume, it basically took an average of 2300 kms to go from ‘field’ to table.

Not that I want this entry to be a lecture, but i think it is important to let people know of some great initiatives out there that focus on a) providing nutritious food to people who normally are not in a position to obtain it b) provide people with an alternative choice to the supermarket foods and c) increase food security, which in all means, affects everything from local population health, poverty, community (econonmic) development, and the environment to name a few.

Look up local ‘gleaning projects’ I know Richmond, Vancouver, Victoria, Courtney/Comox, Cowichan, Portland, all fruit-tree gleaning projects that collects otherwise unused backyard fruit and redistributes it to service proviers (i.e. food banks, community kitchens). As well, you can buy from your local farmers markets, Community Supported Agricuture (CSA’s), and just pay attention to the stickers on your food in the grocery stores.. Why buy an apple from New Zealand when we can get it from BC?

An excellent resource for environmentally friendly products (that includes products not tested on animals) check out http://www.ecoholic.ca/ and the book is incredibly informative on how to understand what the lables mean (or don’t mean).

Maybe if we started to eat whole, real food people would not need to supplement their diets with pills/powders and other foods touted to increase your health. I think there is a reason why real food enabled us to survive for thousands of years…

(Personally, I’m a big fan of the Hart family)

I am trying to become one of the very few successful vegetarian, steroid free, drug and alcohol free, professional wrestlers. I’m actually finding quite easy.

I wish you all a very blessed and happy 2008.

Looking back, it’s only now that I really appreciate the benefits of his hard work and wish I’d made more of the stuff he passed along to me. At times he couldn’t give his produce away and ended up taking it down to the local food bank because we were sometimes “too busy” to come and pick it when it was ripe. Should’ve made it a priority but often didn’t because I didn’t fully grasp at the time how lucky we really were to have this stuff available to us. Took it for granted and often arrived too late…it had already ripened and just wouldn’t wait. “If I knew then what I know now…..”

Dad was always passionate about his gardening and he and the Japanese gardener next door swapped secrets and tips on how to yield the best “crops” over the back fence. Yuki grew the best asparagus (it’s quite a deal) and had a tree full of those delicious Nashi pears. …he taught Dad a lot. It was so sad when he passed away and the “new neighbours” just let his garden go to overgrown weeds that blew around the neighbourhood. Totally neglected what had been years of his toiling from sun up to sunset. The weeds eventually spread to Dad’s garden and, as he cursed and battled to pull them all, it only served to remind us of how much we really missed our dear friend Yuki.

Bottom line….simple = better. Why do we complicate things? Why do we buy produce that’s been treated to ship across the country (or from another) vs supporting local farms/gardens in our own communities that result in superior products? Richmond once boasted farms all up and down the main drags and they’ve all but disappeared as condos replace them. Land on the ALR is slowly shrinking as it’s removed for other uses….it’s something we can never get back. So sad.

As for testing on animals…if you’ve ever had a pet for a friend, look into their trusting, loyal eyes and tell me how it’s fair that we “use” them as test objects? In some instances (medical testing that could result in saved lives) it may be necessary to use rats/mice. But for food products? Cosmetics? Never. I can’t even imagine it.

If a food needs to be “tested”, what does that say about it? I have a rule of thumb when I do buy produce - if it’s shiny and perfect looking I tend to stay away from it. The imperfections say a lot…if an insect will eat it, it’s probably a better product. The shiny, waxy beautiful stuff is that way for a reason…it’s been treated to be more appealing. Have you seen the size of some of the fruits/veggies lately?….it’s not normal. And, for the most part, it’s tasteless too.

Animals are worth so much more than being tortured so that we get things right. If we did them right in the first place, it wouldn’t be necessary. Remember K.I.S.S.?

sorry

Zitadawn ~ What a great post. I too have mostly rescues at home. I worked at a cat shelter for 3 1/2 years and could relate to your story of rescuing ferals and young kittens. My cat Curly came to me as a 2 week old with a hole in his stomach. He’s now a very happy and healthy 3 1/2 year old. It’s so great to know that there are people like you helping animals in your neighborhood. I can definetly relate to getting out of bed everday because I have pets. They really are my reason for getting through each day. Are you famiiliar with Best Friends? They are a great animal welfare organization in Utah. One of their mottos is: A better world through kindness to animals. Lets hope there is more of that mentality in 2008.

Cheers and Happy New Year to all.