On SWITCH, by Chip & Dan Heath, and Going Vegan
Over the last couple of years, I’ve been thinking a lot about why people go vegan and why they don’t. I stopped blogging largely because I couldn’t possibly make it a priority, but also because
Posts from the ‘Ethics’ Category
Dec 31
On SITUATIONS MATTER and Activism
SITUATIONS MATTER: Understanding How Context Transforms Your World (Riverhead 2011) by Sam Sommers, like the recent other nonfiction books I’ve read (and who am I kidding? The last novel I read was THE LIFE OF PI, and before that . . .
Where Does Our Vegan Baby Get Her Protein?
I’m constantly asked about the details of Baby Sky’s life. Where does she get her protein? How are her bones going to grow without cow’s milk? You mean she’s never eaten bacon? Are you a communist? At Baby Sky’s 15…
Hal Herzog’s “Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat”
Hal Herzog’s “Some We Love, Some We Hate, Some We Eat” (Harper 2011), though fascinating, is ultimately depressing for vegans and animal rights activists. Over at Animal Rights and AntiOppression, we’ve been discussing tactics and sharing our thoughts and experiences…
Jan 11
“The Animals We Use,” Revised
As anyone who writes and edits knows, it’s far easier to produce a longer powerful, thorough piece than a shorter one. I intentionally deleted the entire section on the environment, I’m not dealing with the health benefits of not using…
The Animals We Use
After failing miserably at a long pamphlet in 2007, I decided to shorten it by 50% and focus on a different audience: people who use animals. I think part of the . . .
Nov 25
On Individuals and Thanksgiving
Yesterday, I was on my way to the Foster and Adoptive Parents Association, which has a “store” and allows those parents to “shop” for clothing, toys and baby gear at no cost to them. Basically, they give stuff away, unlike…
On Jeff Corwin’s 100 HEARTBEATS
When I was asked if I wanted to read Jeff Corwin’s 100 HEARTBEATS (Rodale 2009) I was ambivalent. I know he’s a “conservationist,” therefore I know he will advocate for “managing” the “resources” that are sentient nonhumans. And managing means…
Nov 18
To My Friends at Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving 2010 will be Baby Sky’s first, and our opportunity to introduce her to the notion that our family doesn’t eat animals (not to mention that other historical story we’ll be correcting). There will be no greyhound corpse on our…
On HIGH IN THE CLOUDS
HIGH IN THE CLOUDS, by Paul McCartney, Geoff Dunbar and Philip Ardagh is supposed to be for Grades 2-4, but its themes, vocabulary and syntax are more advanced. From Barnes and Noble: “Wirral the Squirrel is homeless. The evil Gretsch…
Oct 13
On Veganism and Adoption
I’ve been under the radar for a bit, anxiously awaiting the adoption finalization of Baby Sky. But now that she’s officially ours, I feel like I can write about a topic that means a lot to me without the fear…
Aug 25
On the Keeping of Endangered Fishes
An Animal Person reader wrote me with the following question: There are many species of cichlids in Lake Victoria that are on the verge of extinction, and most are hardy and small enough to be kept in an aquarium. There…
On Betraying Your Family
Yesterday, in the comments of An Affront to the Idea of Family, Brian wrote: I understand your concern for those cows that were beat by that man and the unfortunate death of all the cows that died in the snow…
Aug 12
More Clarity About Family Farms
In “Move to Limit ‘Factory Farms’ Gains Momentum” in today’s New York Times, we learn that farmers in Ohio have agreed to phase out gestation crates within 15 years and veal crates by 2017. I won’t get into whether I…
