Tuesday, November 24, 2009

THANKSGIVING MESSAGE

I hope everyone enjoys a Thanksgiving with relatives and friends that encourages everyone to be more responsive to recognizing the good we have in our lives through family ties and caring friends. Unlike Christmas, Thanksgiving is devoid of gift-giving. I feel though that many get confused and do not realize that food isn’t the message for the heart. We need US…we all need the gift of each other.

I truly hope many will begin a new tradition to make this holiday a compassionate one for ALL by, of course, re-considering their diets to be more earth-friendly.

Here is an excerpt I’d like to share from “A Walk in the Woods” – Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail-by Bill Bryson:

“We didn’t see anything terribly exotic, or even remotely exotic, but it was nice just to see squirrels and deer, to feel that the forest was lived in. Late in the afternoon, I rounded a bend to find a wild turkey and her chicks crossing the trail ahead of me. The mother was regal and unflappable; her chicks were much too busy falling over and getting up again even to notice me. This was the way the woods were supposed to be. I couldn’t have been more delighted.”

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

We adopted a Turkey!!

"Dear Carl and Karen,

On behalf of all of us, especially the turkeys, we would like to express Farm Sanctuary’s deep appreciation for your generous donation to our Adopt A Turkey Project. With your help, we can ensure the lifelong care of the rescued turkeys living at our sanctuaries, educate the public about their plight on factory farms, and encourage everyone to enjoy a cruelty-free holiday!

Your adoption materials will be mailed within 2-3 weeks, however we make every effort to send certificates in time for the holidays. If you need to submit additional gift recipient information, please contact us at 607-583-2225 ext 221 or info@farmsanctuary.org and be sure to mention your transaction number.

Whether you are starting a new tradition or continuing this life-saving choice from past years, we cannot thank you enough for making this holiday a compassionate one for ALL.

Yours for the animals,

Farm Sanctuary"

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

The Thanksgiving Day Hype


Or
“What’s all this fuss about turkey?”
By CPVegan

This is mainly directed to fellow Americans.
Question: Is this going to be yet another Thanksgiving celebration-which I might add, unlike Christmas, is devoid of gift-giving and really focuses on family-bonding-where there is an hysterical need for a turkey to be consumed or the celebration isn’t genuine?

By now, you all know my wishes for the vegan lifestyle to influence more souls to elevate their spirituality enough to show more compassion and re-consider their diets to exclude all flesh and dairy. So here’s my next question to the American carnivores:
Why turkey? Why not horses? Why not dogs? Why not cats?
I think it is because these “pets”, these “companion animals” which many of us have formed special bonds with, are held sacred by us in so many special ways that we would never betray them just to appease our lust for the taste of flesh .
But hold on…many people do!
There are actual farms where pets are raised and slaughtered for the flesh trade.
Just Google “eating horses” or “eating cats” for example and don’t be shocked if you get over 32,000,000 results.
Horse-eating countries: Japan, Canada, Slovenia, france, Belgium, Italy
Cat-eating countries: Philippines, China, Peru
Dog-eating countries: So. Korea, So. China, Southeast Asia, Vietnam

So, advertising and marketing has brought society to the turkey-table with clever
slogans to convince us of the absolute necessity of choosing this one species to “celebrate” life with. This is the American tradition. After all, Norman Rockwell's illustration Freedom from Want appeared on the pages of The Saturday Evening Post on March 6, 1943 so it must be the way it’s supposed to be. (This painting is also known as Thanksgiving Dinner. This was the third installment of Rockwell's famous Four Freedoms series.)


I’m certainly not proposing you now switch to horse, cat or dog meat. But I just wanted to see if anyone is awake out there to the slight chance that the “turkey lust” did not really originate in your head. It’s a holiday, as I mentioned above, that should encourage us to be more responsive to recognizing the good we have in our lives through family ties and caring friends. Food isn’t the message for the heart.
The shelters don’t need the turkeys; the troops don’t need the turkeys.
They need US. We all need each other.
Do not do to others what you would not want them to do to you.

Friday, November 13, 2009

When you make positive changes in your life, others can't help but change around you.

Animals, as fellow earthlings, are not ours to experiment on, torture, eat, wear, enslave, exploit, abuse, and kill billions of annually at will, just because humans desire to do so.I feel you can never underestimate the influence you can make on a person's life...my wife and I already have 4 converts to vegetarianism notched into our plastic belts! They may also follow that truer path to veganism in time.
Tell me, why in the world must eating a plant be soooo much in need of defense over eating some chicken's knuckle, or pigs tongue?All we ask is a life based on good conduct and reason. Yes, reason. C'mon...reasonable living already. Healthy living.
I want more people to think about going vegan. It's not that hard. Really. I mean, ice skating is harder you know.Join me. Join the many.You are NOT incapable of reason!

Thursday, November 12, 2009

He Coined the Term-"Reverence for Life"

I thought it would be interesting to introduce you to a fine human
being who once journeyed with us through the trials of life-
About Albert Schweitzer

Here is an excerpt from one of his books titled
From Civilization and Ethics

"You are happy, they say; therefore you are called upon to give much. Whatever more than others you have received in health, natural gifts, working capacity, success, a beautiful childhood, harmonious family circumstances, you must not accept as being a matter of course. You must pay a price for them. You must show more than average devotion of life to life.

Open your eyes and look for a human being, or some work devoted to human welfare, which needs from someone a little time or friendliness, a little sympathy, or sociability or labour. There may be a solitary or embittered man, an invalid or an inefficient person to whom you can be something. Perhaps it is an old person or a child. Who can enumerate the many ways in which that costly piece of working capital, a human being, can be employed. Search, then, for some investment for your humanity, and do not be frightened away if you have to wait , or to be taken on trial. And be prepared for disappointments. But in any case,do not be without some secondary work in which you give yourself as a man to men. It is marked out for you, if you only truly will have it."

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Welcome Jessicah!!

Please visit her educational post each day. The link is in the blog list in the right hand column.
Look for Diabolic Paradox.
Here's what she has to say about herself: "I am Jessicah, i'm interested in the art of creativeness"