Abstract and Keywords
Our worldview is made of animals. Our views of animals determine how we see nature—the living world, as well as our part in it. Pre-agricultural peoples were intrigued by ani­mals, their behaviors, and powers. In these totemic societies, animals were seen as First Beings, ancestors, and there was … READ MORE

From 1993 (PDF) A little-known auction circuit that stretches from Ohio to Texas is selling thousands of exotic animals, from monkeys and leopards to genetic novelties like “ligers” and “zorses.” It’s a $100-million-a-year business—and growing.

A few dollars per pound is a bargain, but who else pays the price? Americans eat a phenomenal amount of chicken, more than any other meat. Those of us over 50 can still remember when chicken was a treat for special occasions because it was more expensive than beef. Today, … READ MORE

In our mind’s eye the farm is a peaceful, pleasant place where calves nuzzle their mothers in a shady field, pigs loaf in the mudhole, and chickens scratch and scramble about the barnyard. We comfort ourselves with these bucolic images—images that are implanted by calendars, coloring books, and the countrified … READ MORE

Poor old animal agribusiness. It is getting hit from all directions. According to Feedstuffs, the authoritative weekly newspaper for agribusiness, “The 1990s will be a difficult decade for animal agriculture with consumption trends, cost/price squeezes, food safety, the environment, and animal welfare all influencing production systems.”
Citing the United Kingdom as … READ MORE

A friend heard an advertisement on the local radio about the Butterball Turkey Company needing workers in artificial insemination, called “AI” for short. So I went to the personnel office across the street from the turkey killing plant in this small midwestern town. Latinos, Asians, and poor whites filled the … READ MORE

Americans, at least, have a tremendous appetite for meat, dairy products and eggs. They have little appetite, however, for information on the lives of the animals who produce what they eat. Perhaps they sense something. Do they sense that beyond the mountain of steaks, hamburgers, sausages, cold cuts, ice cream, … READ MORE

“Hey, Diddle Diddle, The cat and the fiddle
And a cow jumped over the moon;
The little boy laughed to see such sport
and the dish ran away with the spoon”

At first, I didn’t think of other animals as things to be used like machines. To me, they seemed to be … READ MORE

There is a cooling relief in finding the source of years of anger. My anger, I am learning, goes back to those childhood years when I was being indoctrinated about animals—how they were put here to serve us, how they feel nothing. I was lied to back then, and something … READ MORE

Animal Rights 2003 Conference Keynote Speech I want to talk to you about two themes: Domestication (the negative) and Kinship (the positive) and then close with some talk about an enlarged vision of our movement and its mission.
What Karen Davis (founder, United Poultry Concerns) has told you about, what has … READ MORE