Creating a Movement

Below is a blog I posted yesterday at the Vegans of Color blog - with their permission I have re-posted it below. To understand the first half of my blog - do check out Vegans of Color at http://vegansofcolor.wordpress.com/.

Not even sure where to start except to thank Johanna for creating such an important forum.

Like Breeze, I am glad that VegNews took the opportunity to allow their readers to see the vegan movement from a different perspective (June 2010, “We the People” by Michael Parrish). I have been involved in the animal rights movement for over 20 years, and that involvement has been about justice – fighting for it and wanting to fight oppression in whatever form it takes. This extends to both humans and animals. In the past, using my forum to speak about injustices against people caused me grief from some in the animal rights movement, which is why I started the Food Empowerment Project: so I could talk about both. (Just for the ease of reading, I will use “human” to refer to human animals and “animals” when referring to non-human animals.)

One part of the VegNews article that intrigued me was the idea that it was surprising that vegans of color exist – as if we are hard to find. As a woman of color who has run two non-profits, I know that the grassroots is full of people of color.

Right now, a huge issue that's on my mind, as it is for many people of color, is the law that recently passed in Arizona. I am sure many of you can understand that there are no words of disgust, sadness and outrage that can be expressed with mere words on a computer. I studied the civil rights movement and have devoured countless books about racism and the painful struggle for justice, and yet I am still in a bit of shock.

I have been speaking for a few years now at animal rights conferences about how racism is alive and well in this country, and the law in Arizona and the treatment of our President make this crystal clear.

But where does the animal rights movement fit into this? Animal rights organizations typically make decisions that focus solely on the animals, as most would expect, but occasionally those decisions have repercussions that offend those who are our natural allies. For example, a few years ago a very important initiative, sponsored by organizations that work for animals, was passed by voters in Arizona to ensure that pregnant pigs and male calves raised for veal had the ability to turn around and stretch their limbs.

I bring up this initiative because one of the key supporters – who was recruited by the organizations that sponsored the initiative, and who did television commercials for it – was Sheriff Joe Arpaio. When I learned this, I expressed my concern and disgust and commented, at that time, that if there had been one person of color in that room there was no way that person would have been okay with Sheriff Arpaio. In case you haven't heard of the notorious Sheriff Joe, he is credited with laying the groundwork for the current law.

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/ondeadline/post/2010/05/arizona-sheriff-joe-arpaio-to-announce-today-if-he-will-run-for-governor/1

These organizations stated over and over again how popular Arpaio was and how he helped the campaign, and they continued to defend their use of him (with some mocking of those who were opposed to this) even after the campaign had been won.

But my question then and now is the same: at what cost? Malcolm X is known for the phrase by any means necessary, but I do not believe he meant that we should sell our values, our principles, our sense of decency, or that we should seek to make progress at the expense of other victims of abusive systems.

This type of thinking only hurts us and the animals in the end. If we are a movement that speaks out about the injustice that takes place against animals but ignore injustices against humans, that just plays in to the hands of our opposition and fosters the lies they tell about us. It also weakens us, as we no longer show ourselves to be a compassionate movement. And again, I am not saying that the animal movement should take on other causes as we have billions of animals to speak out for; however, we need to be consistent in our sense of justice.

Isn’t it possible that the initiative would have still passed without Sheriff Joe? We won’t know, but we do know that aligning ourselves with someone like him should never happen again.

I was allowed to be a part of the endorsement process when the initiative came to California and ended up opening more doors of communication between animal, labor and environmental justice groups.

That is why I love the slogan of this forum: “Because we can’t afford to be single-issued.” And honestly, that sums it up for me. I can’t be afford to be, we can’t be afford to be. And while animal groups must focus on animal issues (to abide by their mission statements) I truly hope that they can reach out to us and respect us enough to listen to our concerns and take us seriously.

Trust me, I think animal groups need to work primarily on animal issues, as that is their role and the animals need them—and for them to work on other issues that tie in may not always result in a sincere effort. But it is vital for them to work with groups and individuals who don’t look at these as single-issues in order to avoid alienating people.

As many people have heard me say before, Martin Luther King, Jr. became most dangerous to the system when he started to embrace other movements (anti-war and the plight of janitors) and went beyond the civil rights movement. We, too, will be more of a force the sooner we embrace those the system works to divide and conquer. We can’t allow them to do this to us—we can’t afford it and neither can the animals.

From the perspective of some environmental justice groups in Arizona, animal groups gave the impression that they cared more about animals than humans, and in some ways I know there are those who feel that way; however, our movement will never grow if we continue to turn our backs on people who suffer injustices, as they also deserve to be treated with respect, dignity and compassion.

Appreciating Activists from Around the Globe

Last Monday, I had the opportunity to attend what is known as the Goldman Environmental Prize. My full-time job is with a non-profit organization called the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition and we were given a couple of free tickets. This was the third time I have attended this event.

Each time I have been impressed with how this organization chooses award recipients – instead of giving awards to celebrities or politicians, the awards are given to activists – real activists. In addition to receiving an award, the activists are also given money to help them continue their efforts.

Every year the awards are given to six individuals. The recipients are also broken down by areas around the world: Africa, Asia, Europe, Island and Island Nations, North America and Central & South America.

In years past I have been touched by the stories and the campaigns and efforts of people around the globe. In particular, this year, many of the recipients were individuals who carried out their work on behalf of animals. I am only going to describe those whose activism relates to the work of the Food Empowerment Project, but I do hope that you will take the time to read about the others.

The recipient for North America was from Michigan (Lynn Henning). By doing her own investigations of water quality near industrialized animal factories, she was able to get thousands of citations filed against them. In her speech she did mention the treatment of the animals. As someone who has stopped industrialized animal factories (one 6,000 cow dairy and a 1,500 heifer farm), I can tell you that it is not an easy feat. The fact that she was able to work on this issue and be successful in a state like Michigan is very impressive. And even better, she is still doing it!

The recipient for the Island and Island Nations was from my beloved Cuba. (Humberto Ríos Labrada). His work is ironically something that I have been writing and talking about for years: “A scientist and biodiversity researcher, Humberto Ríos Labrada promoted sustainable agriculture by working with farmers to increase crop diversity and develop low-input agricultural systems that greatly reduce the need for pesticide and fertilizer, encouraging Cuba’s shift from agricultural chemical dependence.” Not only does his work promote not using agricultural chemicals, his work is why Cuba is known around the world for their organic farming. Organic farming is not only better for the planet and the people who eat the food, but is better for the workers too. And of course, having small organic farms can allow them to be more self-reliant. This concept is a focal point of the Food Empowerment Project—our desire to encourage people to become empowered by being self-sufficient and grow their own food within their own community.

The recipient for South and Central America was from Costa Rica (Randall Arauz). I believe many of you might be more familiar with him and his work which has drawn international attention to the horrific practice of shark finning. He has been leading the charge in Costa Rica on this incredibly important issue. What was even better, was being in a room with hundreds of people who many, for the first time, watched the incredibly cruel process of shark finning. As sharks are one of my favorite animals, it was incredible to finally hear people have sympathy for these amazing creatures.

I thank them all for their wonderful work on behalf of the animals and the planet. And I am so thankful that there are awards given to many of the unsung heroes who often get overlooked.

Innocence lost or taken away?

The Easter holiday hits me harder than any other time—how is it that we go from loving the Easter bunny, adoring the cute chicks and ducks around springtime and then come to the point when these animals are seen as food, or in the case of rabbits, food and fur?

You see chicks, ducks and rabbits in a variety of forms: stuffed animals, greeting cards, candy, etc. And how is it that people, who choose to eat and exploit these animals (obviously, chickens and eggs more than the others), remain completely oblivious?

Maybe I shouldn’t be frustrated by it and maybe we should use it as an opportunity to talk to people about why we choose not to eat or exploit animals.

Since Easter and chocolate seem to go hand in hand, and most of the chocolate being sold is directly or indirectly connected to slavery, this issue is one that should also be mentioned.

Perhaps we should delight that Easter is a day when we recognize that these baby animals and eggs should be what we adore and not consume.

Maybe we should consider this to be a positive opportunity?

Thanks to Natasha & Mark and all of those who advocate for our bunny friends.

A Celebration & A Loss

The LA Times just ran a story called, “Organic: What it means on different products.” I definitely think it is important to be informed on the difference between organic and conventional produce (if you want to know why Food Empowerment Project does not encourage people to consume animal products please go to: www.foodispower.org); however, what shocked me about this article was the fact that there was NO mention of the impacts that agricultural chemicals (or pesticides) have on the farm workers in the fields since we have been hearing more and more about how the drift of these chemicals is impacting nearby communities.

Now obviously I understand the focus of the article was not on these particular issues, but I believe a sentence or two on the benefits of avoiding conventional produce as a means of avoiding the negative impacts that these chemicals have on workers would have helped the public understand just how powerful their food choices are.

And I know that I write this on Cesar Chavez’s birthday – but to me, this article lacks what we need to hear more about, and that is the need to stop using agricultural chemicals due to the harm it causes the workers. Of course, ending the use of agricultural chemicals is not the only thing we can do to help farm workers, but it certainly would be a good start.

The Food Empowerment Project is lucky to have the support of Dolores Huerta, the co-founder of the United Farm Workers.

I know that many animal advocates talk about Cesar at this time a year as a means to promote veganism, but I hope that many people take the time to not only support the vegan diet and the issue of animal protection that Cesar Chavez advocated, but also, remember the plight of the farm workers.

I would also like to add that I was very sorry to hear about the death of Jamie Escalante (made famous in the movie Stand and Deliver). I love what Edward James Olmos had to say about him: “Jaime exposed one of the most dangerous myths of our time – that inner city students can't be expected to perform at the highest levels...Because of him, that destructive idea has been shattered forever."

Water blogged

Not sure how many of you have seen the newest video by the Story of Stuff regarding the abuses of the water bottling industry. It is about 8 minutes long and definitely worth the watch. As Food Empowerment Project wants everyone to be aware of their food choices, it is truly hard to overlook the water bottle industry’s impact on our environment and on the people around the globe.

Like with everything, it just takes some awareness on our part – reminding ourselves that plastic can take a thousand years to go away. That maybe you can reduce the amount of plastic that you purchase, and buy a reusable bottle – we all need to drink more water, so why not be prepared? Be sure not to buy a Nalgene bottle as they support the animal experimentation industry – why not be safe and just buy a water bottle from Food Fight, an all vegan grocery?

And in other water news, let’s hope that Coke (a company responsible for killing union workers in Columbia and abuses of water privatization in India) pays up as a government Committee in India has found them liable for up to $48 million in damages. According to the release:

“The Committee thus has compelling evidence to conclude that the HCBPL has caused serious depletion of the water resources of Plachimada, and has severely contaminated the water and soil,” said the report. HCBPL is the Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages Private Limited, a subsidiary of Atlanta based Coca-Cola Company.

Coke can never replace a resource like water and I fear that no fine will ever make this company more accountable but – we can just hope that more governments will take a stand.

Speaking of my friends at Food Fight, I was up in Portland last weekend giving a talk about Food Justice issues and had a great time. I was really excited to see how many people were interested in the connection of all of the issues we work on. It gives me hope that we can truly have an impact.

Thanks to the Let Live Foundation for inviting me and for its work in informing those in the area not only about a variety of issues but also how they can get involved. I ate loads of food in Portland and would be remiss if I didn’t give a shout out to Blossoming Lotus (they had this Chicana happy with their version of chorizo) and Los Gorditos.

Chad, Emiko, Kim, Craig & Dave thanks for fun and a full tummy and I am so glad you like the Vampire Diaries too - they are such a great band!

Oh, I also walked my first dog- thanks for that Carlton – hugs to you & Augo.