February
2005
Deliberate
Acts of Kindness
Book Review by Mark Hawthorne
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Making Kind Choices: Everyday Ways to
Enhance Your Life Through Earth- and Animal-Friendly Living by Ingrid Newkirk
(New York: St. Martin’s
Griffin, January 2005). $13.95 paperback. 496 pages.
Angela Warton’s friends told her she was crazy: She would never
make a profit by buying socially responsible stocks. But Warton, shocked
to discover her portfolio included a chain of department stores that
supports the fur industry, was adamant that her money not be used to
help finance businesses that do not have a positive social impact.
Not only is she now investing exclusively in green and animal-friendly
companies, but she’s fared better in the stock market than many
of those who had tried to dissuade her.
Ethical investing is just one of the many topics Ingrid Newkirk addresses in
Making Kind Choices: Everyday Ways to Enhance Your Life Through
Earth- and Animal-Friendly
Living. The president and co-founder of the largest animal rights organization
in the world, Newkirk has created an accessible handbook for conscientious living
that eloquently explores ways for us to integrate compassion into our daily routines.
And, as the author reminds us, there is no end of opportunities. Fumes from a
Teflon-coated pan can kill birds. Animal products are being used in everything
from furniture to dinnerware. Coffee is the second-most traded commodity in the
world (after oil), yet most of the world’s coffee growers live in poverty.
It’s enough to give a caring consumer a headache—but which aspirins
are not tested on animals? Newkirk uses her 25 years of experience with People
for the Ethical Treatment of Animals to ease the pain and offers straightforward
advice on such issues as raising compassionate children, dealing kindly with
uninvited insects and small animals in the home, selecting humane charities,
and sponsoring rescued farmed animals.
Cruelty Free Made Easy
Making Kind Choices is organized into ten sections covering just about every
aspect of human life: Home and Garden, Fashion and Beauty, Food and Entertaining,
Recreation and Vacations, Animals in the Home, Children and Family, Business
and Education, Health, Volunteering and Getting Active, and Celebrations. Newkirk
then uses brief but informative chapters to explore the topics, with each of
the 78 chapters supported by specific tips, instructions, and helpful contact
information and websites. Many of the chapters also offer vegan recipes—nothing
too ambitious here, just easy-to-make appetizers, entrees, and desserts. There
are even recipes for making your own vegan dog and cat food! At first glance,
the book seems to focus more on animal issues than the environment, but then
so much of animal abuse—from the leather industry to factory farming—ultimately
hurts the planet, too.
Newkirk describes Making Kind Choices as “the Martha Stewart Living guide
for eco- and animal-friendly folks.” She writes, “The goal of this
book is to help people who, like me, want to make the most out of not only the
special occasions, but the everyday parts of their lives, even their chores.
It is meant to provide positive change opportunities that will enhance our lives
in ways generations before us were denied. It shows a way to live life to its
fullest and most meaningful by becoming a more caring person in many ways, big
and small.”
Some of the chapters have anecdotes illustrating how simple cultivating compassion
can be, like the story of the vegan who found herself cooking at the World Series
of Barbecues in Kansas City and impressed the judges with her faux brisket. She
didn’t win, but her delicious and easily prepared vegan entry garnered
plenty of media attention and made people realize how good a meat-free meal (BBQ
no less!) can be. Newkirk includes much simpler suggestions that demonstrate
the importance of direct involvement in a world where many think that just giving
to a favorite charity is the best way to make a difference. Rescuing an injured
animal from the road, donating a favorite book to a library, or submitting a
letter to the editor of your local newspaper can be much more rewarding than
mere checkbook activism.
Something For Everyone
Many advocates will be navigating some familiar territory here, but there are
also plenty of resources and advice to help even dedicated practitioners make
informed choices. Did you know, for example, that red applesauce gets its color
from crushed beetles, or that even cruelty-free suntan lotion can damage coral
reefs, or that the first person to speak up on a moral issue is the most likely
to influence others? I didn’t. And I discovered a good deal more in what
is an excellent guide not only for those with a passion for conservation and
activism, but also for anyone concerned about the health of their bodies or the
Earth. It is often not the data that is useful, but the author’s suggestions
for applying the information to our everyday lives. One of my favorites is the “interim
terrarium” for mice. I’ve always used a humane trap to catch mice
one at a time and then set them free in a safe place. Newkirk reminds us that
being separated from loved ones is upsetting, and she suggests creating a secure
area, such as a cardboard box complete with food and water, placing the caught
mice in the box, and then releasing the entire clan together outside.
Wisely avoiding the shocking imagery that could turn off many readers, Newkirk
nonetheless manages to deliver a potent indictment of humanity’s exploitation
of animals and the planet, as well as a user-friendly guide on fostering kindness.
Indeed, her conversational writing style is like having tea with an old friend,
and most of what she has to share is, not surprisingly, from personal experience.
This autobiographical tone makes this book not only more intimate, but somehow
less threatening, as when she tells us why she gave up eating lobster; she transforms
what could otherwise be another polemic against meat-eating into a deeply affecting
milestone on her road to activism.
Being committed to positive changes in society requires changes within ourselves,
challenging us to embrace new ideas and being prepared to discard unhealthy attitudes.
It’s what helps our moral compasses find true north. But finding our way
also requires a dependable map. Newkirk’s book, laid out with practical
guidelines and humor, charts a compassionate course that is both insightful and
user-friendly. Perhaps the best thing about Making Kind Choices is that whether
you consider yourself a vegetarian, environmentalist, animal advocate, or simply
a caring person, you’ll discover something inspiring within its pages.
And we could all use a bit of that.
Mark Hawthorne is a contributing writer at Satya.
His essay on India will be
published this month in The Best Travelers’ Tales 2005.
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