A Healthy Natural Environment Must Be a Human Right | Take Action Tuesday @EarthFoodLife

Healthy planet, healthy us: To ensure our future and that of the planet, we need to entirely transform humanity’s relationship with nature. (Photo credit: Cristian Ungureanu/Flickr)

BirdLife International: It’s no secret: our natural world is in terrible shape. Our unsustainable system is causing climate chaos and putting over one million species at risk of extinction. As COVID-19 reminds us, the destruction of nature harms people directly. Lest we forget, we are part of nature, and we need a healthy planet to survive together. A post-COVID recovery must be a green recovery with the human right to a healthy natural environment at its core. How can something as fundamental as life on Earth be treated with such neglect? We need to completely change the way we treat our home. We, as do all other living beings, deserve the right to a healthy natural world. It may seem overwhelming, but it’s true: to emerge from these crises, to ensure our future and that of the planet, we need to entirely transform humanity’s relationship with nature.
>>>Urge the United Nations to include the right to a healthy natural environment at the UN Human Rights Council, in the UN General Assembly and as an urgent topic at the UN Summit on Biodiversity in September 2020—and ultimately in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Avaaz: Adani Group, an Indian multinational conglomerate, is planning to launch the new Godda coal plant, which will displace thousands of Indigenous Adivasi people and drain 36 billion liters of water from the Ganges river every year in order to produce dirty energy for Bangladesh. If Adani’s proposal succeeds, coal will be mined on Aboriginal land in Australia, impact the Great Barrier Reef, cause harm to the Gangetic dolphins and olive ridley turtles in India, and take away Indigenous lands and livelihoods, all just to provide expensive, polluting power.
>>>Urge Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to reject Adani’s dangerous coal plant.

In Defense of Animals: To the horror of compassionate people everywhere, the Trump administration has overturned previously banned hunting practices allowing the merciless massacre of unsuspecting bears and wolves in Alaska to begin. Hunters are now able to enter the dens of hibernating mother bears and bear cubs as well as mother wolves and wolf pups to violently kill them in cold blood. The Trump administration’s new rule overturns previously enacted hunting bans which were put into place by the Obama administration in 2015 to prohibit highly controversial and undeniably cruel hunting practices in Alaska’s national parks. The rule took effect on July 9 and will leave the “management” of Alaska’s wild animals to the state rather than the federal government. Under this new rule, unimaginably brutal practices are allowed to destroy animal families living on more than 20 million acres of national preserves in Alaska, including baiting brown and black bears with human food, hunting hibernating mother bears and cubs in their dens using artificial light, killing wolves and coyotes in their dens during the denning season when mothers wean their young, using dogs to hunt black bears, and hunting and shooting of swimming caribou from boats.
>>>Urge former Vice President Joe Biden to publicly pledge to overturn this heartless rule in order to protect sleeping mothers bears and their cubs and denning mother wolves and their pups.

Letter to editor…

Dirty work: Stevedores unload a coal ship at the Karnaphuli River in Chittagong, Bangladesh. (Photo credit: Adam Cohn/Flickr)

Replying to “Japanese Banks Violate Own Climate Policies in Push for Coal in Bangladesh”):

“Thank you for sharing so much, please do keep up the important work.” —Steve De Quintal (Toronto, Ontario)

Cause for concern…

Uphill climb: Farmers evaluate sorghum varieties in Hombolo, Tanzania, in 2014. (Photo credit: J.van de Gevel/Bioversity International/Flickr)

“Though researchers have known for decades that climate change will roil farming and food systems, there exists no clear global strategy for building resilience and managing risks in the world’s food supply, nor a coherent way to tackle the challenge of feeding a growing global population, on a warming planet where food crises are projected to intensify,” reports Georgina Gustin for InsideClimate News.

Round of applause…

Sunnier days ahead? In 2009, then-President Barack Obama and then-Vice President Joe Biden visited solar panels at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science in Denver, Colorado. (Photo credit: Pete Souza/GPA Photo Archive/Flickr)

A unity task force composed of supporters of former Vice President and Senator Bernie Sanders has devised a broad environmental plan for Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee. The recommendations include eliminating carbon pollution from power plants by 2035, achieving net-zero emissions for all new buildings by 2030, upgrading up to 4 million buildings and 2 million households within five years to save more energy, and building sustainable, resilient energy grids in rural America and in tribal areas lacking energy infrastructure. 

Parting thought…

Pond life: Ducks at Walden Pond, in Concord, Massachusetts, a lake made famous by Henry David Thoreau’s book “Walden,” published in 1854, which criticized Western consumerism and celebrated man’s closeness to the natural world. (Photo credit: Andrews Dai/Flickr)

“We need the tonic of wildness… At the same time that we are earnest to explore and learn all things, we require that all things be mysterious and unexplorable, that land and sea be indefinitely wild, unsurveyed and unfathomed by us because unfathomable. We can never have enough of nature.” —Henry David Thoreau

Earth | Food | Life (EFL) explores the critical and often interconnected issues facing the climate/environment, food/agriculture and nature/animal rights, and champions action; specifically, how responsible citizens, voters and consumers can help put society on an ethical path of sustainability that respects the rights of all species who call this planet home. EFL emphasizes the idea that everything is connected, so every decision matters.

Click here to support the work of EFL and the Independent Media Institute.

Questions, comments, suggestions, submissions? Contact EFL editor Reynard Loki at [email protected]. Follow EFL on Twitter @EarthFoodLife.

Japanese Banks Violate Own Climate Policies in Push for Coal in Bangladesh | Take Action Tuesday @EarthFoodLife

Extreme living: Residents of Islampur, Jamalpur, Bangladesh, during a flood in 2019. New coal power stations in Bangladesh will fuel more extreme weather conditions. (Photo credit: Mohammad Rakibul Hasan/U.N. Women Asia Pacific/Flickr)

Market Forces: In the wake of the fiercest storm Bangladesh has experienced this century, Japanese financial institutions and coal developers are trying to push three new coal power stations, fueling extreme weather and climate change. Locals on remote Matarbari Island on the southeastern coast of Bangladesh are still dealing with the devastation of super cyclone Amphan, which has displaced over two million people. But these communities are also contending with a massive build-out of coal power which threatens their lives and livelihoods, and will worsen the extreme weather conditions caused by climate change. The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Nippon Export and Investment Insurance (NEXI), Sumitomo Corporation (Sumitomo), and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) are pursuing proposed new coal power stations totaling 3,100 MW of capacity. These projects have displaced local communities, destroyed livelihoods and violated workers’ rights. They would worsen air pollution, killing thousands of people over the lifetime of the projects, and would increase climate impacts on the already vulnerable Bangladesh, releasing over 506 million metric tons of CO2 throughout the plants’ operational lifetimes—five times more than the entire country’s carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels and industry for 2018—and violate the climate policies of JICA, NEXI, SMBC and Sumitomo.
>>>Urge JICA, NEXI, SMBC and Sumitomo to withdraw from these dirty and dangerous coal projects.

Change: Pulau Kukup (Johor) National Park in Malaysia was established in 1997 to protect the world’s second largest mangrove island, a biodiverse habitat that supports a number of rare and threatened species, including migratory waterbirds that use the park as a stopover site during their the perilous journey along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway, one of the world’s great bird migration routes. In 2018, however, the Johor government revoked its legal status, thereby paving the way for large-scale development, which will cause the loss of biodiversity and critical ecosystem services and release the carbon from the mangrove forests.
>>>Urge the Johor government to save Pulau Kukup National Park.

GREY2K USA: Commercial dog racing is cruel and inhumane and should be outlawed. In a welcome move last week, Gulf Greyhound Park in La Marque, Texas, the biggest greyhound track in the state,  announced its immediate closure. Citing poor revenues—and in response to growing outrage over the terrible number of racing injuries—management has decided to surrender its gambling license. But there are still two licensed tracks remaining. Racing greyhounds are kept in small stacked cages for long hours each day. They have little ability to interact with each other and are afforded just brief “turn-outs” in closed pens to relieve themselves. When taken out to race, they suffer broken legs, fractured spines, seizures and paralysis. Some dogs are even electrocuted. Texas must do better.
>>>Urge Governor Greg Abbott to support legislation to prohibit dog racing in Texas.

Cause for concern…

Gone tomorrow? Once widespread in Costa Rica and Panama, the variable harlequin frog (Atelopus varius) is now critically endangered after being exposed to a fungus from Asia that has decimated its populations. (Photo credit: 
Brian Gratwicke/Flickr)

Analysis of thousands of vertebrate species reveals that extinction rates are likely much faster than previously thought. Researchers are calling for immediate global action, such as a ban on the wildlife trade, to slow what is known as the “sixth mass extinction.” “What we do to deal with the current extinction crisis in the next two decades will define the fate of millions of species,” said study lead author Gerardo Ceballos, a senior researcher at the National Autonomous University of Mexico’s Institute of Ecology. “We are facing our final opportunity to ensure that the many services nature provides us do not get irretrievably sabotaged.”

Round of applause…

Coal no more: A train transports coal in Devon, England. In 2015, Britain’s last deep-pit coal mine was shuttered. Now, the dirty fuel is set to disappear from the nation’s electric system.. (Photo credit: Roger Marks/Flickr)

Parting thought…

(Photo credit: Duncan C/Flickr)

“Consumption of affluent households worldwide is by far the strongest determinant—and the strongest accelerator—of increased global environmental and social impacts.” —Lorenz Keysser

Earth | Food | Life (EFL) explores the critical and often interconnected issues facing the climate/environment, food/agriculture and nature/animal rights, and champions action; specifically, how responsible citizens, voters and consumers can help put society on an ethical path of sustainability that respects the rights of all species who call this planet home. EFL emphasizes the idea that everything is connected, so every decision matters.

Click here to support the work of EFL and the Independent Media Institute.

Questions, comments, suggestions, submissions? Contact EFL editor Reynard Loki at [email protected]. Follow EFL on Twitter @EarthFoodLife.

This Farm Roasted Its Pigs Alive | Take Action Tuesday @EarthFoodLife

No rights, no hope: Factory farming operates on the foundation of cruelty to sentient beings who feel emotion and pain. (Photo credit: Jo-Anne McArthur/WeAnimals)

Care2: Since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, the meat production industry has faced major difficulties. From massive outbreaks of the virus amongst employees at meat processing plants, to roadblocks in food distribution chains causing massive product waste, proof that the industry is built too feebly to withstand a crisis has been abundant. Many meat farmers have responded to the crisis by “depopulating” their animals. This is a rather sterile term for mass, gruesome murder, the details of which were unclear—until now. A May 2020 investigation into a large pork producer in Iowa and its depopulation methods revealed that pigs—animals that are known to have the emotional and cognitive intelligence of dogs—are being roasted and suffocated alive. Workers at Iowa Select Farm, where this mass slaughtered took place, essentially closed all ventilation points and then pumped in heat and steam. There is video footage of the poor animals crying and screaming while they slowly died. Those who didn’t die from torture were forced to lay among their family members until workers came by with bolt guns to finish the job. The piglets were reportedly ripped from their mothers and killed in barns filled with gases. For too long, the United States meat industry has operated on the foundation of cruelty and the hope that the public would turn a blind eye.
>>>Urge the U.S. Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) to investigate this merciless massacre, and hold whoever is responsible accountable for egregious animal cruelty.

Center for Biological Diversity: The Togo wolf pack in Washington is on the verge of annihilation. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has recently issued a new kill order for members of this wolf family. Since 2012 the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife has killed 31 wolves, wiping out the Wedge pack, Profanity Peak pack, Sherman pack and Old Profanity Territory pack. The Togo pack could be next. The vast majority of these killings have occurred on public lands and on behalf of the same for-profit livestock operation, which refuses to adequately watch over its cattle. Science shows that nonlethal measures work best to deter wolf-livestock conflicts. But the department has ignored this. It just keeps killing wolves, sometimes destroying whole packs. Wolves and packs can flourish, if the state just gets out of the wolf-killing business.
>>>Urge Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife director Kelly Susewind to stop the slaughter of Washington’s gray wolves.

Rainforest Rescue: A proposed land reclamation project and sand mining in Malaysia threaten a nesting ground of vulnerable Olive Ridley turtles and a marine biodiversity hotspot. Gertak Sanggul is a vital landing site in the Malaysian state of Penang for the Olive Ridley turtle, which migrates thousands of kilometers around the Indian Ocean between its feeding and nesting sites. It is the smallest and most rarely sighted marine turtle in Malaysian waters and listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. This marine biodiversity hotspot would be destroyed by the Penang South Reclamation (PSR) project to create three artificial islands for the development of condominiums. The lack of public consultation and availability of detailed information is shocking in view of the project’s scale: 1,821 hectares (4,500 acres or 7 square miles). The project is expected to generate 3.2 million tons of carbon emissions annually.
>>>Urge Malaysian Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to reject land reclamation and save the Olive Ridley turtles.

Cause for concern…

Science take a beating: The American Federation of Government Employees held a rally on April 25, 2018, outside of EPA headquarters, to protest the degradation of the agency under the Trump administration. (Photo credit: AFGE/Flickr)

Round of applause…

Suck it, store it: Capturing and storing carbon is critical to achieving the goals of the Paris climate agreement. (Photo credit: U.S. Department of Energy)

“It won’t be enough to simply slash carbon emissions to zero,” writes Earth | Food | Life reporter Daniel Ross, in Truthout. “We’ll also need to suck up to 1 trillion metric tons of carbon from the biosphere over the 21st century.” Now, Australian researchers have set a record for carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS) using new technology that looks like a sponge filled with tiny magnets.

Parting thought…

Deep thoughts: Iridigorgia deep sea coral in the Gulf of Mexico. (Photo credit: Aquapix and Expedition to the Deep Slope 2007, NOAA Photo Library/Flickr)

“Science and poetry are, in fact, inseparable. By providing a vision of life, of Earth, of the universe in all its splendor, science does not challenge human values; it can inspire human values. It does not negate faith; it celebrates faith.” —Jacques-Yves Cousteau

Earth | Food | Life (EFL) explores the critical and often interconnected issues facing the climate/environment, food/agriculture and nature/animal rights, and champions action; specifically, how responsible citizens, voters and consumers can help put society on an ethical path of sustainability that respects the rights of all species who call this planet home. EFL emphasizes the idea that everything is connected, so every decision matters.

Click here to support the work of EFL and the Independent Media Institute.

Questions, comments, suggestions, submissions? Contact EFL editor Reynard Loki at [email protected]. Follow EFL on Twitter @EarthFoodLife.

The Climate Equity Act Takes Aim at Environmental Racism | Take Action Tuesday @EarthFoodLife

Dirty air: It’s no accident that communities of color are commonly located near areas of high pollution. (Photo credit: Ian Barbour/Flickr)

Change: Environmental racism is a reality in the United States: Decades of systemic racism, in the form of unfair housing policies and government-sanctioned segregation means that “frontline communities”—poor communities, Indigenous peoples and communities of color—are commonly located in the nation’s most polluted environments and locations that are vulnerable to risks associated with the climate crisis. U.S. Senator Kamala D. Harris (D-CA) and U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14) have drafted legislation to address environmental racism: the Climate Equity Act, which holds the government accountable to frontline communities when it considers a policy, regulation or investment with a climate or environmental nexus. “Climate change is an existential threat—it’s critical we act now to achieve a cleaner, safer, and healthier future. But it is not enough to simply cut emissions and end our reliance on fossil fuels. We must ensure that communities already contending with unsafe drinking water, toxic air, and lack of economic opportunity are not left behind,” said Sen. Harris.
>>>Urge Congress to end environmental racism and pass the Climate Equity Act.

Animal Recovery Mission: The coronavirus outbreak has created a crippling domino effect on farmed animals: Big Ag and Big Dairy have deemed them commercially worthless. With the food supply chain out of sync with consumer demands, unprecedented numbers of farm animals are being subjected to agonizing deaths and mass extermination. And because of a mounting surplus, their ‘products’ are literally being poured down the drain. Innocent animals of the animal agriculture industry are living an unspeakable nightmare, and their fates are being altered far beyond their existing torment, torture and exploitation. Thousands of pigs have been inhumanely steamed to death. Millions more are being euthanized and dumped in landfills. Two million chickens were “depopulated” at just one company. Now mother dairy cows and their calves are next on the chopping block.
>>>Urge Dairy Farmers of America to spare cows from mass extermination.

Care2: The COVID-19 pandemic struck just as the bullfighting season would have begun in Spain, a country hit particularly hard by the crisis. Animal rights activists see this as a glimmer of hope for the innocent animals who are tortured and killed every year just for human entertainment. But while Spain’s cruel bullfights are not being held due to the lockdown, ranchers have been slaughtering bulls who would have otherwise been making them a profit during the bullfighting season. One breeder allegedly slaughtered 400 bulls who could have instead gone to sanctuaries or farms throughout the European Union. There are at least 7,000 bulls who were destined for 2020’s bullfighting season who need to be rescued before they meet the same fate.
>>>Urge Spanish President Pedro Sánchez to pass a ban to end bullfighting, and send the thousands of bulls to accredited sanctuaries.

Cause for concern…

Dirty fuel crossing: The Appalachian Trail is longest hiking-only footpath in the world, ranging from Maine to Georgia. (Photo credit: Jimmy Emerson/Flickr)

In a blow to environmentalists, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on July 15 that the federal government can go forward with a proposed $7.5 billion natural gas pipeline to cross under the historic Appalachian Trail in rural Virginia.

“Nothing in today’s ruling changes the fact that the fracked gas Atlantic Coast Pipeline is a dirty, dangerous threat to our health, climate and communities, and nothing about the ruling changes our intention to fight it,” said Kelly Martin, who heads the Beyond Dirty Fuels Campaign at the Sierra Club, one of the groups who sued to stop the pipelines.

Round of applause…

Safe now: Rescued hens explore the outdoors and their new home at Farm Sanctuary in New York. (Photo credit: Jo-Anne McArthur/We Animals)

When Leah Garces, a vegan and CEO at the animal rights organization Mercy for Animals, sat down with Craig Watts, a factory farmer she had spent years campaigning against, she did not expect to find much common ground. But they became unexpected allies in the fight to improve the lives of animals.

“The work I want to do is reaching across the aisle and sitting down with those in control, because I’m not in control of a single chicken,” said Garces. “These companies are. The farmers are. So if I really want to make progress, if I want to make it as fast and efficiently as possible, the best way to do that would be to convince those in control of the lives of these animals to be on board with the change.”

Parting thought…

Caught in the crossfire: Spot-winged grosbeak in Mongar District, Bhutan. Insurgents at the border between Bhutan and India are poaching wildlife and smuggling illegal timber to fund their operations, using forests as pathways to their bases. (Photo credit: David Cook/Flickr)

“In a few decades, the relationship between the environment, resources and conflict may seem almost as obvious as the connection we see today between human rights, democracy and peace.” —Wangari Maathai

Earth | Food | Life (EFL) explores the critical and often interconnected issues facing the climate/environment, food/agriculture and nature/animal rights, and champions action; specifically, how responsible citizens, voters and consumers can help put society on an ethical path of sustainability that respects the rights of all species who call this planet home. EFL emphasizes the idea that everything is connected, so every decision matters.

Click here to support the work of EFL and the Independent Media Institute.

Questions, comments, suggestions, submissions? Contact EFL editor Reynard Loki at [email protected]. Follow EFL on Twitter @EarthFoodLife.

Research Labs Are Killing Countless Animals Due to COVID-19 Staff Shortages​​​​​​​ | Take Action Tuesday @EarthFoodLife

No rights: Due to coronavirus-related staff shortages at labs across the United States, mice and rats are being killed in large numbers through cruel methods like carbon dioxide suffocation and neck-breaking. (Photo credit: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory)

Citizens for Alternatives to Animal Research: Research laboratories across the country have been killing off large populations of animals because of staff shortages and closures relating to COVID-19.  At the same time, the National Institutes of Health’s Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare (OLAW) is allowing laboratories to continue to breed animals despite these mass killings. As reported by the media, many facilities have already killed large percentages of their animal populations amounting to tens of thousands of animals, mostly mice and rats who are killed through cruel methods like carbon dioxide suffocation and neck-breaking. OLAW has ignored requests by animal advocacy organizations and the public to temporarily halt breeding despite the mass killings taking place. This waste of taxpayer dollars and complete disregard for sentient animals is appalling and must be stopped.
>>>Urge Congress to compel the National Institutes of Health to ban the breeding of animals used in research during the pandemic.

Center for a Humane Economy: The night-time slaughter of Australia’s iconic kangaroos adds up to the largest land-based commercial slaughter of wildlife on the planet. And it’s focused on a native species freely ranging in their habitats, living in social groups, raising their young. It’s wrong to kill animals for their skins when we have alternative fabrics and fibers for shoes. The majority of soccer players from youth to pros already wear cleats made from synthetic and plant-based materials since they offer superior performance on the pitch. The kangaroo skin models, because they are so inhumane, are moral relics. When commercial hunters shoot female kangaroos, the Australian Code of Practice instructs shooters to check the pouch for joeys—then to bludgeon them to death. This is the fate of hundreds of thousands of dependent young each year. The 2019-2020 Australian fires killed more than a billion animals, including an unknowable number of kangaroos. Imagine those lucky kangaroos rescued, cared for and now being released back into the wild, only to be shot in the head due to the demand created by your soccer shoes. As one of the two largest purchasers of kangaroo skin in the world, Nike drives the killing. If Nike stopped the buying, the shooters would stop the killing. Nike says it is committed to sustainability, but if it is, how can it participate in the biggest massacre of wildlife in their native habitats in the world? Nike will change its way if consumers revolt over this wildlife-killing policy. Together we will convince Nike that forgoing kangaroo skin is the only sporting decision.
>>>Urge Nike to save kangaroos from being made into soccer shoes and phase out the use of kangaroo skins in their supply chain.

Change: A pregnant elephant was killed in the Indian state of Kerala, after she was fed a pineapple stuffed with explosives by locals. The gentle soul had come out from the nearby forest to the village in search of food. When she ate the pineapple, the firecrackers burst inside her mouth, causing her unbearable pain and agony. She roamed around hungry, unable to eat anything. But even in distress, the gentle giant did not hurt a single villager or damage any homes. To alleviate her pain, she went and stood in a river with her mouth and trunk submerged. Forest officials who were called in couldn’t rescue her and she died standing in a river. This is one of many cruelties that was only brought to light because of a good forest officer who spread the word on social media.
>>>Urge Kerala officials to arrest and prosecute the perpetrators of this heinous crime to the fullest extent of the law.

Cause for concern…

Fair warning: “Our disrespect for wild animals and our disrespect for farmed animals has created this situation where disease can spill over to infect human beings,” said renowned primatologist and conservationist Jane Goodall, in a recent webinar. (Photo credit: Milken Institute/Flickr)

Round of applause…

What the ancients saw: 
View of the Milky Way from the Katahdin Loop Road Overlook at the “Stars Over Katahdin” event in 2019. (Photo credit: John Meader/National Park Service)

The Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument in Maine has been certified as an International Dark Sky Sanctuary, protecting it from any form of light pollution. Not only does light pollution prevent seeing stars from the ground, but it also negatively impacts wildlife, from nocturnal animals and insects to plants.

“Designation as a Dark Sky Sanctuary recognizes this incredible resource that does not in many places today in this country, much less anywhere else in New England,” said Katahdin Woods and Waters Superintendent Tim Hudson. “Experiencing the night skies here will take you back in time to the night skies first experienced by the Wabanaki 11,000 years ago and the many people who have followed in their footsteps since, including John James Audubon, Henry David Thoreau, Theodore Roosevelt, and others.”

Parting thought…

Friends for life: Piia Anttonen, director of Tuulispää Animal Sanctuary in Finland, with a rescued hen in 2015 (Photo credit: Jo-Anne McArthur/We Animals)

“Stones grow; plants grow and live; animals grow, live and feel.” —Carl Linnaeus

Earth | Food | Life (EFL) explores the critical and often interconnected issues facing the climate/environment, food/agriculture and nature/animal rights, and champions action; specifically, how responsible citizens, voters and consumers can help put society on an ethical path of sustainability that respects the rights of all species who call this planet home. EFL emphasizes the idea that everything is connected, so every decision matters.

Click here to support the work of EFL and the Independent Media Institute.

Questions, comments, suggestions, submissions? Contact EFL editor Reynard Loki at [email protected]. Follow EFL on Twitter @EarthFoodLife.

If You’re Not Mad, You’re Not Paying Attention: Black Lives Matter | Take Action Tuesday @EarthFoodLife

Anger in the streets: George Floyd protest demonstration in New York City on June 6, 2020. (Photo credit: Reynard Loki)

The murder of George Floyd by the police in Minneapolis—and the murders of Tony McDade, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Eric Garner, Tamir Rice and so many others—once again reveals the pervasive and enduring racism that continues to cripple American society. In addition to fueling police brutality, systemic racism is deeply connected to a host of human and ecological crises that are converging across the planet, from the coronavirus pandemic—a result of humanity’s disrespect of nature and wildlife that has disproportionately impacted ethnic minorities and Indigenous communities—to the environmental racism that puts the health of these communities at greater risk from living near poisonous oil and gas wells, mining and deforestation. Today’s anguish must transform into sustained action that results in meaningful, lasting change that ultimately eradicates systemic racism and injustice from our law enforcement and legal system—and all sectors of society. Here are three actions you can take right now to make your voice heard.

Black Lives Matter: George Floyd’s violent death was a breaking point—an all too familiar reminder that, for Black people, law enforcement doesn’t protect or save our lives. They often threaten and take them. People in Minneapolis and cities across our country are angry and are demanding an end to systemic racism, all while we grapple with a pandemic that is disproportionately affecting, infecting, and killing Black and Brown people. We must take this moment in history to finally put an end to the systemic racism that allows this culture of corruption to go unchecked and Black lives to be taken.
>>>Join the call for a national defunding of police, including an investment in our communities and the resources to ensure Black people not only survive, but thrive.

Color of Change: The ability to vote for people and policies that respect Black lives has always been a matter of life and death. But this year, certain accommodations for voters are urgently needed to protect Black health and rights from the COVID-19 outbreak and increases in violent rhetoric and behavior targeting Black people. After years of underfunding our elections infrastructure and administration, many states and communities don’t have the common sense measures long needed to make voting less burdensome for Black voters and increase access to the ballot. Fortunately, there are resources needed to protect Black health and votes this year. The $3.6 billion in the current version of the HEROES Act plus the $400 million from the CARES Act is the minimum states need in order to safeguard elections this year. It’s crucial that we maintain or increase this amount in order to have free, fair, and safe elections in 2020.
>>>Urge your senators to protect public health and the democratic process by voting to fully fund or increase the $3.6 billion dollars included in the HEROES Act to safeguard our elections this year.

The Action Network: While Los Angeles aims to be a national and world leader on environmental issues, there are very few cities in the world with so many active oil wells dangerously close to where people live, work, learn and play. In neighborhoods like Wilmington and South Los Angeles—low-income communities of color already overburdened by pollution from freeways and other dirty industries—children and families experience disproportionately high rates of asthma and suffer from severe nosebleeds, headaches, reproductive harm, and headaches associated with a long list of toxic chemicals used in oil extraction. Oil drilling is simply incompatible with healthy neighborhoods and a sustainable future for Los Angeles.
>>>Urge the Los Angeles City Council and Mayor Eric Garcetti to enact a 2,500-foot human health and safety buffer ordinance that would phase out oil and gas production to homes and schools within five years.

Resources for protesters…

No justice, no peace: George Floyd protest demonstration in New York City on May 30, 2020. (Photo credit: Reynard Loki)

Parting thought…

“Fellow animal liberators, I come to you right now—as an exhausted Black man—asking for help working against systemic racism that threatens Black lives. … I only ask that my fellow animal rights activists make their voices heard and show solidarity with Black people now, for this is the moment to do so. Everyone has a moral responsibility to stand against hate and unequivocal violence, no matter who the victims may be.” —Zachary Toliver

Earth | Food | Life (EFL) explores the critical and often interconnected issues facing the climate/environment, food/agriculture and nature/animal rights, and champions action; specifically, how responsible citizens, voters and consumers can help put society on an ethical path of sustainability that respects the rights of all species who call this planet home. EFL emphasizes the idea that everything is connected, so every decision matters.

Click here to support the work of EFL and the Independent Media Institute.

Questions, comments, suggestions, submissions? Contact EFL editor Reynard Loki at [email protected]. Follow EFL on Twitter @EarthFoodLife.

Finding Common Cause in the Fights Against Racism and Speciesism

United we stand: An activist holds a sign connecting racism, sexism and speciesism at the George Floyd Protest March in New York City on May 30, 2020. (Photo credit: Rachel Gugelberger)

Everyone has a moral responsibility to stand against hate and unequivocal violence—no matter who the victims may be.

By Zachary Toliver

Fellow animal liberators, I come to you right now—as an exhausted Black man—asking for help working against systemic racism that threatens Black lives. I know personally how motivated you all are, as I am, in pushing for real change. We need to show that energy right now.

Those of us who are active in the animal rights movement have a reason for being powerful allies. If we truly believe in empathy and compassion for all living beings, we can show it today.

Those involved in the animal rights movement know all too well how frustrating it is for people to scoff at our message, even when we’re armed with evidence of blatant injustice.

Think how infuriating it is when videos of mother cows crying out for their stolen calves fall on deaf ears. Think of the frustration we feel when individuals try to justify the abuse when workers punch and mutilate sheep for wool. Or when vile commenters laugh when farmers slit the throats of conscious animals on farms. I feel it, too.

Recognize our aggravation as Black people when the powers that be try to avoid or twist the narrative around the killing of Black people by racists. Just as we know it’s indefensible to use and abuse animals, the killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery—and the near countless other Black lives taken because of violent bigotry are completely unjustifiable.

This is especially true when these atrocities are recorded for all the world to see. Both the animal rights movement and the Black Lives Matter movement include activists who know that horrible violence takes place off camera daily. But when people view the footage for themselves, they can no longer declare ignorance, only apathy. That’s why we must stand—and march—together.

We know the unfair justice system well. The deck is stacked against anyone working to end oppression. Both movements also realize that even recorded evidence often isn’t enough to secure a conviction in the U.S. The demonstrations taking place right now are bigger than the four officers who murdered George Floyd on camera. Racists, whether or not they wear a badge, often go unpunished for killing Black Americans.

How many times have we seen obvious cruelty go unpunished in the animal rights movement? Let’s remember that hurt—that grief over the failure of the judicial system—and use it to relate to the events of the Black Lives Matter movement.

There are Black police officers, and there are good police officers of all colors. But people are now marching globally against acts of barbarism that are systemic in many police departments.

The marchers today are demanding the same thing that animal rights activists are demanding: accountability. The Black Lives Matter movement calls for “an end to the systemic racism that allows this culture of corruption to go unchecked and our lives to be taken.”

No justice, no peace: George Floyd Protest March in New York City on May 30, 2020. (Photo credit: Reynard Loki)

This call for an end to unjust oppression is a message that should resonate with every single person pushing for animal rights. Animal rights activists know what it’s like to be arrested and detained simply for demonstrating against injustice. All the while, vile perpetrators get off scot-free.

Both of our movements want sweeping, reformative legislation that would help lead to convictions. We all want more transparency in investigations. We want prosecutors and attorneys general who will go to bat for us when we expose cruelty.

Animal rights activists want justice always, so they can understand the importance of defunding militarized police forces that kill Black people. PETA is on the front lines pushing for the defunding of federal and state institutions that funnel money into cruel experiments on animals and that use and often kill animals for entertainment. We know these institutions speak one language fluently, and that’s the language of money.

At the end of the day, we all want to see more funds channeled into positive projects: hospitals, schools, and social programs that help build our communities.

Please, resist detracting from the thrust of these demonstrations with an “all lives matter” perspective. The idea comes from a compassionate heart—and the idea is true—but this phrase has been weaponized to delegitimize the Black Lives Matter movement.

As an animal rights supporter, you know how frustrating it is when someone says, “How can you care about animals when children are going hungry?” It is not either/or. But when you’re demonstrating against acts like scalding pigs to death in boiling water inside slaughterhouses or running dogs to death in the Iditarod, you’re talking about very specific lives. That focus needs to be maintained.

Right now, Black activists like me are asking people of all colors to listen to our demands and our needs.

Please hear us. Just as we wants the world to pay attention to the plight of animals suffering in laboratories, on farms, and in roadside zoos and to educate themselves on the plight of animals under human supremacy, the Black Lives Matter movement wants people to learn as much as they can about systemic racism.

This isn’t the time for “whataboutism.” This is a time to stand with our brothers and sisters against the same cruel system that wouldn’t think twice about throwing you facedown in the dirt at your own protest.

Fellow animal liberators, we know the power of protesting and demonstrating. Use it now.

As a Black vegan, I don’t tiptoe between two identities—I embrace the solidarity of these two worlds. Many others do, too, as African Americans are the fastest-growing population of vegans in the country. Living vegan is as much a lifesaver for animals as it is a political statement against an unjust status quo.

I only ask that my fellow animal rights activists make their voices heard and show solidarity with Black people now, for this is the moment to do so. Everyone has a moral responsibility to stand against hate and unequivocal violence, no matter who the victims may be. Your voice could very well save my life.

This article was originally published by PETA. Reprinted with permission.

Earth | Food | Life (EFL) explores the critical and often interconnected issues facing the climate/environment, food/agriculture and nature/animal rights, and champions action; specifically, how responsible citizens, voters and consumers can help put society on an ethical path of sustainability that respects the rights of all species who call this planet home. EFL emphasizes the idea that everything is connected, so every decision matters.

Click here to support the work of EFL and the Independent Media Institute.

Questions, comments, suggestions, submissions? Contact EFL editor Reynard Loki at [email protected]. Follow EFL on Twitter @EarthFoodLife.

U.S. Health Department Recommends Cruel and Ineffective Animal Studies to Fight COVID-19 | Take Action Tuesday @EarthFoodLife

Cruel and unnecessary: Monkeys have been subjected to COVID-19 research, though they fail to develop symptoms when infected with COVID-19. (Photo: Citizens for Alternatives to Animal Research)

Citizens for Alternatives to Animal Research: The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) has released a Strategic Plan detailing its research priorities for fighting COVID-19.  Unfortunately, the plan recommends ineffective and cruel animal studies while omitting non-animal methods that can provide more efficient, human-relevant data. Additionally, it prioritizes infecting animals with coronavirus even though abundant evidence has shown that animals do not express COVID-19 infections in the same way humans do, if at all. NIAID’s plan ignores cutting-edge non-animal models like organoids and organ-chips that, unlike cruel animal experiments, have been shown to accurately mimic the human response. There are far more effective methods for studying COVID-19 that do not involve harming and killing animals.
>>>Urge NIAID to prioritize superior, human-relevant methods to study COVID-19.

Humane Decisions: Capturing and confining dolphins and orcas in concrete pools is killing them—physically and psychologically. Both captive orcas and dolphins die prematurely from living in restrictive captivity. They experience deep psychological trauma and neurosis from boredom, stress and anxiety. Every day they are denied the company of their families and are prevented from expressing their natural instincts and behaviors. They are also denied the ability to swim up to 100 miles a day as they normally would. In captivity, they live diminished lives where (before the lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic) they must perform tricks, entertain people against their will, or withstand being touched and handled by people nonstop for hours. These dolphins have no choice but to inhabit small and shallow concrete swimming pools, and cannot escape. Because of the constant stress and inability to escape, dolphins have bitten children due to their stress and fear. These businesses endanger both dolphins and the public, and are often in violation of federal laws and animal welfare laws.
>>>Take these steps to help bring an end to marine mammal captivity.

Animal Legal Defense Fund: The life of tigers exploited for profit is no life at all for these majestic creatures. Cubs are taken from their distressed mothers moments after they’re born, and are worked to exhaustion and often physically abused so they can be passed around for tourist photo opportunities. Meanwhile, adult tigers live out their days in cages—most of which are completely inadequate for their needs. Many captive tigers will never see the sky, feel the grass, or enjoy any behaviors that come naturally to them. Because cubs can only be “handled” for a few months, drugging tigers to be compliant and docile is commonplace. When they get too old and their existence is no longer profitable, they are often irresponsibly sold into the pet trade or killed. The Big Cat Public Safety Act (H.R. 1380) seeks to prohibit the private ownership of big cats, direct public contact, and dangerous public interactions with big cats such as cub petting.
>>>Join Joaquin Phoenix, Glenn Close, Anjelica Huston, Christopher Walken, Alan Cumming, Olivia Wilde and dozens of Hollywood stars in urging Congress to pass the Big Cat Public Safety Act.

Letter to editor…

In cats’ crosshairs: The piping plover is a small, sparrow-sized shorebird that nests and feeds along coastal beaches in North America. It is globally threatened and endangered, in part due to predation by domestic cats. (Photo credit: Alberto_VO5/Flickr)

Replying to “Collisions With Buildings Kill Up to a Billion Birds a Year in the U.S. Alone—but There’s a Solution | Take Action Tuesday @EarthFoodLife”:

I am bird-friendly. I do not have a cat. —Paul Whittaker (Ontario, Canada)

(Editor: According to the American Bird Conservancy: “Outdoor domestic cats are a recognized threat to global biodiversity. Cats have contributed to the extinction of 63 species of birds, mammals, and reptiles in the wild and continue to adversely impact a wide variety of other species, including those at risk of extinction such as piping plover.” Cat guardians can make their felines safer for birds by keeping cats inside or on a leash.)

Cause for concern…

Factory farm fail: A new investigation by the nonprofit Environmental Working Group found that manure from Minnesota’s 23,000 animal feedlots threatens to overload nearby cropland with chemicals that can pollute lakes, streams and aquifers, including drinking water sources. (Photo credit: Kent Becker, U.S. Geological Survey)

Round of applause…

Friends for life: Piia Anttonen and a rescued cow at Tuulispaa Animal Sanctuary in Finland, 2015. (Photo credit: Jo-Anne McArthur/WeAnimals)

“Cows tell the difference between people, remember people who have been kind to them and nurse grudges,” writes Indian MP Maneka Sanjay Gandhi, a staunch animal rights activist and environmentalist. “They are easily offended and will ignore you forever until you try very hard to make friends again. But ultimately, they are forgiving. They make friends for life. They can be obstinate, gentle or aggressive. Above all they are wise. If you choose to see a cow the way you see your dog, she can be very good company. They love each other, have friends and enemies. They communicate with people—if you are willing to listen. They like music. They are problem solvers—which means a high degree of intelligence.”

Parting thought…

One fight: Activists make the connection between human rights and animal rights during an animal rights march in Athens, Greece, on October 14, 2019. (Photo credit: Elias Tsolis/Flickr)

“If you care about the working poor, about racial justice, and about climate change, you have to stop eating animals.” —Jonathan Safran Foer

Earth | Food | Life (EFL) explores the critical and often interconnected issues facing the climate/environment, food/agriculture and nature/animal rights, and champions action; specifically, how responsible citizens, voters and consumers can help put society on an ethical path of sustainability that respects the rights of all species who call this planet home. EFL emphasizes the idea that everything is connected, so every decision matters.

Click here to support the work of EFL and the Independent Media Institute.

Questions, comments, suggestions, submissions? Contact EFL editor Reynard Loki at [email protected]. Follow EFL on Twitter @EarthFoodLife.

Collisions With Buildings Kill Up to a Billion Birds a Year in the U.S. Alone—but There’s a Solution | Take Action Tuesday @EarthFoodLife

Song sung blue: Common Yellowthroat (immature male), Landfill Loop Trail, Contra Costa County, California (Becky Matsubara/Flickr).

American Bird Conservancy: Migratory birds are streaming northward at this moment, filling American neighborhoods and yards with song. If you are fortunate enough to spot the Common Yellowthroat (above), it means that once again, these birds have surmounted the myriad threats they face during their journey. Birds contribute nearly $80 billion to the U.S. economy, but collisions with glass windows, walls, and other structures kill up to a billion birds a year in the U.S. alone—making this one of the greatest human-caused threats to bird populations. But there are solutions, and even during these unprecedented times, there’s still much you can do for birds from home, like making your backyard bird-friendly—and telling your elected federal lawmakers you want them to help reduce bird collisions by co-sponsoring the Bird-Safe Buildings Act (H.R. 919), which would reduce these needless deaths by requiring public buildings to incorporate bird-friendly building design and materials, which would also help reduce of energy use and operating costs.
>>>Urge your U.S. senators and U.S. representative to co-sponsor the Bird-Safe Buildings Act.

Lady Freethinker: In a devastating step backward for animal rights and public health, China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs could reclassify mink, raccoon dogs, and foxes as “livestock” rather than wild animals, likely in an effort to skirt the country’s recently imposed wildlife trade ban and allow the fur industry to continue to operate uninhibited. Every year, over 50 million animals are needlessly tortured and killed at fur farms in China, where innocent creatures are crammed into dirty, overcrowded cages. They waste away in their own feces, malnourished and suffering, awaiting death from electrocution, toxic gases or bludgeoning. These conditions are similar to those that experts believe sparked the COVID-19 pandemic. Humans and potentially disease-ridden animals come within unnaturally close proximity to one another, giving deadly diseases the chance to spill over onto a human host. Two fur farms in the Netherlands were recently quarantined after several mink tested positive for COVID-19, serving as a sobering example of just how interconnected animal cruelty and human health are. China has recently taken steps in the right direction—including banning the dangerous wildlife trade—but these policies must be enforced.
>>>Urge China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs to keep mink, raccoon dogs and foxes classified as wildlife, not livestock.

Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine: In response to COVID-19, Wayne State University in Detroit announced on March 25 that it was sending most staff and faculty home and cutting back to a “minimal operational level.” In response to the Physician Committee’s request that Wayne State release any dogs in the study and end the experiments once and for all, university president M. Roy Wilson, MD, responded. Dr. Wilson wrote that five dogs are currently assigned to the experiments, and the university is finding homes for two dogs who aren’t yet “instrumented”—in other words, they haven’t yet had devices implanted in their hearts and around major blood vessels. But the other three dogs have had devices implanted and “are completing their studies,” which means they are being forced to run on treadmills while heart failure and/or hypertension are induced. Even when they are not running on treadmills, the dogs often have their hearts artificially “paced” at more than twice the upper normal rate. The heart failure and hypertension experiments have been conducted at Wayne State since 1991 and cost taxpayers $11.6 million. While legislation is pending in the Michigan legislature that would outlaw such experiments, now is the time for the university to end them once and for all.
>>>Urge Wayne State University president M. Roy Wilson to release any dogs currently in the studies and end the experiments.

Cause for concern…

Running out of room: Women carry bricks from a boat to a constructions site in China’s Yunnan province. Infrastructure development, deforestation and climate change have reduced wildlife habitat, turning Yunnan into a global hotspot for emerging infectious disease. (Photo credit: Buster&Bubby/Flickr)

Round of applause…

No exhaust: 
The last time daily carbon emissions levels were this low was in 2006, according to a new study by scientists at the University of East Anglia in the United Kingdom (Photo credit: hyper sapiens/Flickr)

Parting thought…

Friend, not food: Spending time with one of resident pigs at Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glen, New York. (Photo credit: Jo-Anne McArthur/We Animals)

“Mainstream religions continue to limit their potential and responsibility to serve the common good because they are human-centered. The spiritual core is corrupted and displaced by materialism and objectification, especially of animals; so many species are treated as objects and commodities and everything in the natural world as an exclusive human resource.” —Dr. Michael Fox

Congress Has a Chance Protect American Bears From Illegal Global Wildlife Trade | Take Action Tuesday @EarthFoodLife

Bearing up, for now: Although the American black bear is no longer on the Endangered Species List, the worldwide black market for bear parts and bear bile remains, putting Georgia on the front line of this illegal trade. (Photo credit: Jitze Couperus/Flickr)

Appalachia Georgia Friends of the Bears: In Georgia, there are three distinct populations of black bears: North (aka Appalachia), Central and South Georgia. The population estimates are 3,000, 30 and 800 respectively, according to the Georgia Department of Natural Resource’s Strategic Management Plan for Black Bears in Georgia (2019-2028). Although the American black bear is no longer on the Endangered Species List, the worldwide black market for bear parts and bear bile remains, putting Georgia on the front line of this illegal trade. But there is hope in the form of bi-partisan legislation: H. Res. 2264 – The Bear Protection Act of 2019, and the Senate companion bill. The bill calls for the conservation of global bear populations by prohibiting the importation, exportation and interstate trade of bear viscera and items, products or substances containing, or labeled or advertised as containing, bear viscera.
>>>Urge the Georgia U.S. Congressional delegation to support the Bear Protection Act.

Total Liberation International: Mattress company Casper brought Canada Goose CEO Dani Reiss to join their board of directors in 2019. Casper has been praised by PETA for advertising their mattress as “vegan,” using no animal-based materials. In their ads, Casper also uses photos of happy dogs enjoying the comfort of Casper dog beds. As a company that has used vegan messaging and makes products that benefit animals, Casper should make the ethical decision to cut ties with Dani Reiss, since Canada Goose profits from and supports the mass suffering and death inflicted on countless animals, including coyotes caught in traps, and ducks, geese and sheep held captive inside farms, torn away from their families and denied any comfort in their brutally shortened lives. “While Canada goose has committed to using only “reclaimed” fur for the trim on their $$1,000 parkas beginning in 2020, PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman said that the company “is attempting to ‘humane wash’ its image by switching from fur taken from coyotes whom trappers have recently caught in steel traps to fur that may already be on the market, which is also a product of the cruel actions of trappers.”
>>>Demand both Capser and Canada Goose be held accountable by immediately ending the use of all animals, including down and wool.

Earth Institute at Columbia University: Your carbon footprint is the amount of greenhouse gases—including carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, fluorinated gases and others—that you produce as you live your life. The Deep Decarbonization Pathways Project determined that in order to hold the global temperature rise to 2˚C or less, everyone on Earth will need to average an annual carbon footprint of 1.87 tons by 2050. Currently, the average U.S. per capita carbon footprint is 18.3 tons. By comparison, China’s per capita carbon emissions are 8.2 tons. We all have a ways to go to get to 1.87 tons. (Renee Cho)
>>>Use the EPA’s carbon footprint calculator to find out how much carbon and money you will save by changing some daily actions.

Cause for concern…

Dirty job: In 2017, President Trump announced the approval of two long-term applications to export additional natural gas from the Lake Charles LNG terminal in Louisiana. (Photo credit: White House).

“During the COVID-19 lockdown, U.S. federal agencies have eased fuel-efficiency standards for new cars; frozen rules for soot air pollution; proposed to drop review requirements for liquefied natural gas terminals; continued to lease public property to oil and gas companies; sought to speed up permitting for offshore fish farms; and advanced a proposal on mercury pollution from power plants that could make it easier for the government to conclude regulations are too costly to justify their benefits,” reports Emily Holden for The Guardian.

Plant power: Former chicken farmer Mike Weaver holds a marijuana leaf on his farm in West Virginia. “While animal farmers should continue to provide food for Americans and supporting their families, this can be done by adopting more humane practices like growing plants instead,” writesEarth | Food | Life contributor Lauri Torgerson-White, of Mercy For Animals, on NationOfChange. (Photo credit: Mercy For Animals)

Round of applause…

Parting thought…

Moral failing: Thirsty are frightened cows who are being transported are crammed into a rest station at the Bulgarian-Turkish border in 2018. (Photo credit: Jo-Anne McArthur/Eyes On Animals/We Animals)

“I hope that some of the ways we currently still treat animals, the way that we factory-farm them, for instance, will seem [in the not-too-distant future] completely unbelievable and unacceptable.” —Miranda Fricker

Earth | Food | Life (EFL) explores the critical and often interconnected issues facing the climate/environment, food/agriculture and nature/animal rights, and champions action; specifically, how responsible citizens, voters and consumers can help put society on an ethical path of sustainability that respects the rights of all species who call this planet home. EFL emphasizes the idea that everything is connected, so every decision matters.

Click here to support the work of EFL and the Independent Media Institute.

Questions, comments, suggestions, submissions? Contact EFL editor Reynard Loki at [email protected]. Follow EFL on Twitter @EarthFoodLife.