November
2001
Vegetarian
Advocate: Support Pro-Vegetarian Organizations Now
By Jack Rosenberger |
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Like many persons, I’m struggling to make sense
of the post-September 11 world. Obviously, a new era is upon us. For
me, the most intriguing questions concern how Americans, as individuals
and as a nation, will respond. Once the frenzied buying of American
flags—in addition to innumerable adhesive stickers, T-shirts, and
other disposable objects adorned with Old Glory—has subsided,
what will Americans do?
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author of 17 books, David Halberstam
(whose latest book is War in a Time of Peace, Scribner 2001) views
the
present situation as a time for personal reflection. “It’s
not just a nation going to war,” says Halberstam. “It’s
a chance to look in the mirror and say, ‘Are you the person you
thought you wanted to be?’"
I wonder: Are Americans capable of becoming less materialistic and more
spiritual? Less fat and more fit? More alive? Our greatest gifts to
the world have been our defense and support of personal liberty, democracy,
and human rights. Will America re-embrace these noble and uplifting
values, or continue its present path as a global pusher of the Big Mac
and SUV lifestyle?
Like millions of Americans, one of my immediate responses to the September
11 tragedy was to donate money to help the families of the victims.
My contribution went to a relief fund for the families of the firefighters
who died during the collapse of the World Trade Center towers.
One regrettable side effect of the September 11 attack is that with
so many persons and corporations donating their time and money to relief
funds for the victims, other worthwhile charities across the nation
are suffering badly. In mid-October, The New York Times highlighted
this crisis in an article titled “Outside New York, Charities
Feel the Pinch.”
“While relief funds created for victims of the terror attacks have
been deluged with money, small charities throughout the nation are suffering,”
wrote Tamar Lewin. “Fund-raising events and direct mail campaigns
are bringing in less than expected, and some major givers are reneging
on their pledges, sending contributions instead to relief funds for
New York’s victims.”
“Small nonprofit agencies that help the needy—food banks,
battered women’s shelters, programs for the homeless and people
with AIDS—have been hit especially hard.” You can add environmental,
animal protection, and vegetarian organizations to that list. All have
suffered financially, not only because donations are being deflected
to the relief funds for the victims of September 11, but because of
our troubled economy. Facing a national recession and an uncertain
financial
future, people are tighter with their money. Give what you can.
HSUS Awards Abusers of Farmed Animals
Zoe, my vegetarian daughter, recently celebrated her sixth birthday.
Before we sent out invitations to her birthday party, my wife and I
asked Zoe if it would be okay with her if everyone who attended, instead
of giving her a present, gave her money, which we would donate to animal
protection groups. We’d tentatively earmarked the money for United
Poultry Concerns; the Elmsford Animal Shelter (a no-kill shelter in
nearby Elmsford, New York); and the Humane Society of the United States
(HSUS). Now, however, we won’t be donating any of Zoe’s birthday
money to HSUS.
In September, HSUS’s Midwest Regional Office bestowed its “Farm
Animals Awareness Award” to James Frantzen, 13, who lives with
his parents and two older sisters on a farm in New Hampton, Iowa. James
received the award in recognition, says HSUS, of “his online account
of life on an organic, family farm” on www.organicvalley.com.
“‘James’ Journal’ provides young people with insight
into the animals, plants, and daily routine of a family farm—something
with which most have little experience,” states a HSUS press release.
“Comprised of facts, descriptions, and observations of the cows,
hogs, chickens, and cats that populate the farm and the crops grown
there, ‘James’ Journal’ conveys the young man’s
respect for nonhuman life and the environment.”
I wonder if anyone at HSUS read James’ Journal very closely. James
states in the fourth sentence of his journal that his “interests”
include “hunting, fishing, politics, and building.” Read James’
entry for the week of September 2, 2001 and you’ll learn that James
and his father (who won a Farm Animals Awareness Award from HSUS last
year) “hunt deer, crows, quail, Canadian Geese, fox, badgers,
pheasant, rabbit, raccoon, and squirrels on our farm.”
For those of you who, like me, are curious about how animal abusers
rationalize their morally inept behavior, click on James’ entry
for October 1, 2001, the day that he received his Farm Animals Awareness
Award. “I believe,” wrote James, “that God created land
and animals for a purpose. It is our job to be good shepherds of his
creation.” Good shepherds or good slaughterers? I’m confused.
Even more confusing is a visit to the HSUS website,
www.hsus.org, which proclaims HSUS’s mission in life as “Promoting
the protection of all animals.” The protection of all animals,
of course, except the ones its staff and membership like to eat.
While exploring the HSUS website, I conducted a topic search using
the word “vegetarian.” My search turned up just eight items,
all of which concern merely animal-related college classes that include
vegetarianism amongst their subject matter. Apparently, HSUS does not
believe that promoting vegetarianism is a worthwhile means of protecting
nonhuman animals.
When asked by one animal advocate to explain how someone like James
could be the recipient of an award celebrating the humane treatment
of animals, Wende Zimmerman, Program Associate for HSUS’ Farm Animals
& Sustainable Agriculture program responded via e-mail: “The
Humane Society of the U.S. is not now nor have we ever been a vegetarian
organization, just as we are not a carte blanche anti-medical experimentation
organization and we are not an anti-zoo organization. We advocate for
the humane treatment of animals, period. Through that advocacy we work
with legislators and industries to improve the conditions that animals
(be they companion, farm, wildlife or research) are raised/kept in.”
Contact: Patricia Forkan, Executive Vice President, HSUS, 2100 L St.
NW, Washington, DC 20037; (202) 452-1100; or www.hsus.org.
Next Month’s Column: How to dine with carnivores without throwing
up.
