Letter From the Editor: Introducing &Art, a Project of Earth | Food | Life

The kids are alright: Fundred founding artist Mel Chin and participating children cut the blue ribbon to officially open the 2017 Fundred Reserve at the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design at George Washington University, Washington, D.C. Chin’s work is the subject of a new article by Rachel Raphaela Gugelberger, a new editorial fellow at the Independent Media Institute and the founding editor of &Art, a project of Earth | Food | Life. (Photo credit: Sarah Buckner, courtesy Fundred Project)

Dear Earth | Food | Life reader,

It is a distinct pleasure to introduce Rachel Raphaela Gugelberger, a newly minted fellow here at the Independent Media Institute (IMI), and the founding editor of &Art, a new project at Earth | Food | Life (EFL).

Over the last two decades, Rachel and I have discussed the many possibilities of art to engage with environmental issues, including climate change, food and agriculture, and animal rights. As a contemporary art curator and advocate of justice not just for humans but for all species, Rachel is uniquely qualified to create a dynamic and critical space for cross-disciplinary dialogues that extend IMI’s focus on producing media that has the power to shift attitudes and sensibilities.

Rachel has more than 20 years of experience in the arts, spanning nonprofit, education, and commercial sectors. Many of the exhibitions she has organized underscore how art can welcome local communities in conversations about art and culture—for example, through thoughtful, site-specific, and unusual uses of spaces like empty storefronts. Recent projects of the New York City-based &Art founder include “​Storying” at the Andrew Freedman Home in the Bronx; “Bound up Together: On the 100th Anniversary of the 19th Amendment” at Smack Mellon in Brooklyn; “(after)care” ​at Kings County Hospital Center in East Flatbush, Brooklyn; “Jameco Exchange” in Jamaica, Queens; and “​Hold These Truths​” and “​Bring in the Reality”​ at the Nathan Cummings Foundation in Manhattan.

Rachel has designed &Art with a specific remit: Investigate the work of activist artists, cultural workers, and arts and social justice organizations who fight for the environment, food justice, and intersectional animal rights. One of EFL’s primary contentions about our world is that everything is connected—including systems of oppression that impact not only BIPOC communities, fenceline communities, and food system workers, but also wildlife and nonhuman animals trapped in our food system. &Art will navigate these complex issues by examining not only how contemporary artists address them, but also how art can advance practical approaches toward manifesting meaningful, positive change.

It is an honor to launch &Art with Rachel’s take on the work of conceptual artist and social activist Mel Chin, a recent recipient of the MacArthur Fellowship (aka the “Genius Grant”). Chin’s work is complex, critical, eclectic, and challenging. But his work also has a social impact that is absent in much of conceptual art. It is in this way that Chin’s creative practice exemplifies a central ambition of &Art: to uncover the capacity of art to transcend an aesthetic experience and to inspire the kinds of personal and social transformations that can ultimately shape civic and political discourse.

I’m excited to expand EFL with &Art. Please join me in welcoming Rachel and her inaugural &Art piece, “How Artist Mel Chin’s ‘Constant Revolution’ Is Tackling Humanity’s Environmental Challenges.”

Sincerely,

Reynard Loki


Reynard Loki is a writing fellow at the Independent Media Institute, where he serves as the editor and chief correspondent for Earth | Food | Life. He previously served as the environment, food and animal rights editor at AlterNet and as a reporter for Justmeans/3BL Media covering sustainability and corporate social responsibility. His work has been published by Yes! Magazine, Salon, Truthout, Asia Times, BillMoyers.com, Counterpunch, EcoWatch and Truthdig, among others, and in Spanish, Italian and German translation by Pressenza. He was named one of FilterBuy’s Top 50 Health & Environmental Journalists to Follow in 2016.


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.

Trump’s Border Wall Would Be an Environmental Nightmare

National shame: “Three weeks into the partial shutdown, trash is overflowing and human waste is blighting park roads and visitor areas,” reports the San Francisco Chronicle’s Kurt Repansket on the state of U.S. National Parks. “Illegal campers and off-roaders have trashed delicate ecosystems. Vandals axed some of Joshua Tree National Park’s namesake spiky evergreens.” (Photo credit: daveynin/Flickr)

 

 

League of Conservation Voters: President Trump shut down the government to demand funding for a monstrous border wall that would unfairly target and disrupt border communities, endanger immigrant families, waste taxpayer money and cause environmental damage.
>>>Tell your senators to end this shutdown without funding Trump’s racist and environmentally damaging border wall.

Sea Hugger: 4.5 trillion cigarette butts are littered worldwide each year. Cigarette butts are 98 percent plastic, take up to 10 years to degrade and are the most common form of human-made litter in the world. They are also the worst ocean contaminate.
>>>Urge Phillip Morris International, the world’s largest tobacco company, to create a biodegradable cigarette filter.

Organic Consumers Association: Glyphosate, the main ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide, is the most-used agricultural chemical ever. Mounting scientific evidence of its human health impacts indicates that it may also be the most devastating. In 2015, the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer reclassified the chemical as a probable human carcinogen.
>>>Tell the EPA to ban glyphosate.

Cathy Liss, Animal Welfare Institute: A recent review of USDA enforcement records has revealed more than 50 incidents in which birds were knowingly neglected or abandoned during transport or at the slaughterhouse. In all of the instances, large numbers of birds suffered; often, hundreds or thousands of them died. In one case, more than 34,000 birds froze to death in unprotected trucks en route to slaughter.
>>>Tell the Secretary of Agriculture to take action to prevent incidents of avoidable suffering to birds destined for slaughter.

Care2: In a quietly-dropped executive order, President Trump just authorized a radical increase in logging on federally owned land in the West. He says it will decrease fire risks. But scientists disagree. This proposal will benefit members of the Trump administration who receive support from the timber industry.
>>>Tell President Trump to leave the trees alone.

Parting thought…

“One of the first conditions of happiness is that the link between man and nature shall not be broken.” —Leo Tolstoy


Earth | Food | Life (EFL) explores the critical and often interconnected issues facing the climate/environment, food/agriculture and animal/nature 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.

Take Action Tuesday: Speak Up for Kittens, Chickens, the Climate and an Eco-Friendly Christmas

Unconscionable: Even though 75 percent of Americans want to end taxpayer-funded experiments on cats, the USDA continues to conduct deadly and wasteful experiments on kittens.

 

 

White Coat Waste: U.S. taxpayers are funding a USDA laboratory in Beltsville, Maryland, that breeds up to 100 kittens a year for wasteful experiments, feeding the two-month-old kittens parasite-infected raw meat, collecting their feces for three weeks, and then killing and incinerating them—even though they’re healthy and adoptable. The USDA is being sued for hiding details about the experiments from taxpayers and Congress.
>>>Urge your Representative to co-sponsor the KITTEN Act (HR 5780) to de-fund these horrific experiments (via phone or online webform).

Compassion in World Farming: The chicken on the McDonald’s menu comes from factory farms, where the birds are bred to grow so big, so fast, they can’t even support their own weight. Their unnaturally large chests can cause the birds to suffer from chronic pain, leg deformities, and heart attacks. Despite the fact that other big names like Subway, Burger King and Sonic have already committed to treat chickens better, McDonald’s is lagging behind.
>>>Urge McDonald’s to commit to better animal welfare standards for chickens in their supply chain.

Prairie Protection Colorado: In October, the Denver Board of Water Commissioners began killing prairie dogs on a small plot of land off Quebec Avenue that they own in Denver, Colorado, for what they claimed were “neighbor complaints.” This colony is not harming anyone and is located in one of the only prairie communities left in this area. No developments are planned to occur here and Denver Water is killing only to get rid of what they see as a “pest.”
>>>Tell the Denver Board of Water Commissioners to stop killing prairie dogs.

350.org: The world’s leading climate scientists have warned there are only 12 years left to keep global warming to a maximum of 1.5C, and just two years to stop fossil fuel expansion for good. Even half a degree more will significantly worsen the risks of drought, floods, extreme heat and poverty that hundreds of millions of people are already feeling.
>>>Tell world leaders to protect the climate by banning fossil fuel development.

PETA Australia: Last week, the Australian government released draft advice for a new heat-stress test for measuring animal-welfare standards on board ships that take live sheep to the Middle East, where animals endure abuse and methods of slaughter that would be illegal in Australia. The draft advice recommends that these ships be allowed to reach no higher than a wet-bulb temperature of 28°C. Since air temperatures reach over 45°C in the Middle East during the summer, such rules could prevent the industry from shipping live sheep for much of the year—and may make it no longer financially viable ever to send animals on these terrible voyages of despair.
>>>Urge Prime Minister Scott Morrison and federal Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources David Littleproud to adopt rules prohibiting ships exporting live animals from traveling during the hottest months of the year.

Marisa Pettit, RESET: Want your Christmas to be green, not white, this year? And celebrate the festive season with glow in your heart and a squeaky clean conscience? From ethical gifts to sustainable decoration and fair trade food, we show you how.
>>>Get 6 tips for an eco-friendly Christmas.

Parting thought…

“The question is not, Can they reason? nor, Can they talk? but, Can they suffer?” —Jeremy Bentham


Earth | Food | Life (EFL) explores the critical and often interconnected issues facing the climate/environment, food/agriculture and animal/nature 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.

Take Action Tuesday: Speak Up for Animals, Sustainable Food and Small-Scale Farmers

Robin
Egypt is definitely not for the birds: Robins are among the many species of birds that will be captured and killed along Egypt’s Mediterranean coast during their winter migration.

 

 

Reinhard Behrend, Rainforest Rescue: The 14th UN Biodiversity Conference will take place in Egypt in late November. Ironically, while the delegations gather in a luxury resort in Sharm El Sheikh, millions of migratory birds from Europe, on their journey to their winter quarters in Africa, will face a gauntlet of nets, snares, glue traps and loudspeakers playing bird calls that stretches 700 km along Egypt’s Mediterranean coast. Some of the captured birds are sold alive, but most are plucked and frozen. Songbirds such as robins and nightingales, as well as turtledoves, quail and wild ducks end up on the plates of “gourmets” in dubious restaurants. Some birds of prey such as falcons are sold alive to wealthy “bird lovers” in the Gulf States for their private aviaries.
>>>Tell the Egyptian government to put an end to this heinous crime against nature.

John Gilroy, The Pew Charitable Trusts: Bears Ears National Monument was designated in 2016 to safeguard one of the most significant cultural areas in the United States and to honor tribal nations that have ancestral and contemporary connections to the region. On Dec. 4, 2017, President Donald Trump signed a proclamation significantly reducing the size of the monument and breaking it up into two units. Now the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has drafted land use plans for the new smaller monument, despite active litigation regarding the action to reduce the monument.
>>>Urge BLM to protect Bears Ears’ important cultural, scientific and historic resources.

Real Meals Campaign: Instead of siding with Big Food corporations like Tyson, food service companies like Aramark, Sodexo and Compass Group should support small-scale producers, disenfranchised farmers and fishers and sustainable suppliers to help create a more just and sustainable food system.
>>>Urge Aramark, Sodexo and Compass Group to purchase at least 25 percent of the food they sell on US college campuses from sources that are local, community-based, fair, ecologically sound and humane.

PETA: An eyewitness investigation of Hemopet, a canine blood bank in California, found approximately 200 greyhounds bred for and discarded by the racing industry, kept in tiny crates and barren kennels for about 23 hours out of every day so their blood could be repeatedly taken and sold. Some of these inhumane blood banks even masquerade as dog rescues.
>>>Tell the National Greyhound Association to bar its members’ dogs from being held captive in blood banks.

Center for Biological Diversity: Horrible news out of Washington state: Wildlife officials have just issued death warrants for two more wolf packs. Last week, the state authorized the killing of wolves from the Smackout pack and approved taking out the mother and remaining pup from the Togo pack. In September a helicopter sniper gunned down the sole adult male wolf of the Togo pack, pictured above. He was the father of two pups and left behind his mate to fend for them on her own. Now Washington is gunning for her. And since 2012 the state has killed 21 state-endangered wolves—17 of which were killed for the same rancher. Killing wolves is not just cruel and inhumane. It also leads to more conflicts, breaks up wolf families and reduces social tolerance for wolves.
>>>Urge Governor Jay Inslee to bring an immediate halt to the senseless wolf killing.

Environmental Working Group: Bees are dying at alarming rates worldwide—and because bees are responsible for roughly one in every three bites of food we eat, we’re all in trouble. A decade of research has made it clear that neonicotinoid pesticides are highly toxic to bees and are at least partially responsible for the pollinators dying in record numbers. Earlier this year, the EPA finally confirmed this troubling fact. The agency even concluded the benefits of one of the most common uses of neonic treatments, as a coating on soy and corn seed, are questionable for farmers.
>>>Tell the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to require farmers to use these pesticides only when they can prove they need them.

Lacey Kohlmoos, Change.org: There are so many cruelty-free ways to enjoy the world, but Fodor’s, the world’s largest publisher of English language travel and tourism information, has shamelessly decided to promote attractions that exploit and hurt elephants. Elephants don’t do tricks because they “enjoy showing off their skills,” as Fodor’s claims. They do them because they will be hurt if they don’t. The only way to teach wild elephants to paint, play instruments, roll logs and carry people on their back is by torturing them into submission using bullhooks and other cruel methods. This is well-documented, and yet Fodor’s doesn’t mention a thing about this abuse on their website or in their books.
>>>Tell Fodor’s to follow the lead of Lonely Planet by making a commitment to stop promoting elephant rides and shows on their website and in their books.

PETA: Marmosets, which comprise 22 species of New World monkeys, live high up in the canopies of rainforests in social groups composed of up to three generations of family members. They’re highly vocal, communicating with each other in complex, high-pitched calls that convey information about a wide range of emotions and situations. The National Institutes of Health (NIH)—the largest funder of animal experimentation worldwide—announced that it’s planning to launch “funding opportunities to support centralized infrastructure” for research on these intelligent and curious animals.
>>>Tell NIH to scrap plans to expand the use of marmosets in laboratory experiments and redirect funds to modern, non-animal research methods.

African Wildlife Foundation: Wildlife criminals are driving Africa’s wildlife to extinction. But the RAWR Act can help put an end to the multi-billion dollar wildlife trafficking industry. The act authorizes the US State Department to use rewards for any information leading to the capture and conviction of wildlife criminals. The bill has passed in the House of Representatives and is now before the Senate.
>>>Urge your senator to vote yes on the RAWR act.

Gina Florio, Hello Giggles: Eating tasty, nutritious food doesn’t necessarily mean we’re also eating sustainably. It’s just as important to ask about the sustainability of our eating habits as it is to wonder whether we’re maintaining a balanced diet. Our planet is suffering from the inflated animal agriculture industry, and we’re becoming more dependent on foreign soil for produce than ever before. We need to all take a time-out and ask ourselves how we can do our part to cook and eat in a way that will slow down the deterioration of the planet, rather than speed it up.
>>>Check out these 8 easy ways to eat more sustainably.

Parting thought…

“Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything.” — George Bernard Shaw


Earth | Food | Life (EFL) explores the critical and often interconnected issues facing the climate/environment, food/agriculture and animal/nature 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.