Sigh:
PETA is demanding to know: Why won’t Al Gore’s climate change music festival go vegan?
On stage at Davos this year, Gore and Pharrell Williams announced the return of the Live Earth music festival — a concert series meant to raise awareness of climate change. And now the animal rights group is demanding each of the concerts exclusively serve vegan products, arguing that Gore’s own group touts the benefits of giving up meat to reduce greenhouse gas production.
In a series of emails obtained by BuzzFeed News, representatives from PETA repeatedly ask Live Earth’s organizers if they plan to serve vegan only food, meaning the menu would be absent from all animal products like meat and dairy. The organizers do not directly answer PETA’s questions in the emails, but say that they were working with their partner organizations on sustainability at the events and that they were invested in promoting the vegan lifestyle.
Lisa Lange, senior vice president of PETA, accused Live Earth of “hypocrisy and sheer laziness” if they serve non-vegan food at their events.
It’s a basic fact that if you think man is impacting the climate, you have to also accept the fact that climate change and production and consumption of meat are inexorably tied. The amount of fossil fuels used to currently raise a steer is mind-bending, and modern agri-business is fuel intensive. That’s just undeniable.
But the simple fact of the matter is that only 3.2% of the population is vegan, and I’m almost willing to bet that 99.99% of them are aware of and alarmed about climate change. The goal here is to attract people who might be skeptical, as well as raising overall awareness to the issue. You aren’t going to do that when ten people show up in a field to listen to Pharrell sing while munching on vegan snacks. And you are going to end any concern about climate change among a significant portion of the country if you demand they go all or nothing with a vegan diet. Like 97% of the population.
You might as well also call them hypocrites because the amplifiers are going to use electricity and people are going to use gas to get to the concerts. Or, you could call PETA hypocrites because a lot of those dried organic fruits consume a lot of fuel being shipped from all over the world. And feminists can yell at PETA for their use of nudity.
And we can all sit around, pure in our beliefs, noting that Al Gore is fat while the ocean swallows Florida, Boston, DC, and NYC. Fucking idiots.
(via)
Corner Stone
Cole, I’m confused. WTF are you arguing, exactly?
Tree With Water
“You don’t make friends with salad…cha-cha-cha..”.
MattR
The wiser thing would be to try and convince Live Earth to include education about the benefits of veganism as part of the the event.
My Truth Hurts
PETA murders animals. They are not a legitimate animal welfare organization. They are twisted murderers.
Elizabelle
C-Span 1 airs last night’s White House Correspondents Dinner (#hackprom, per Villago Delenda Est) at 6:30 p Eastern.
elm
Just recently, PETA was praising Sheriff Joe for serving his inmates a (presumably barely-edible) vegan diet.
Keith G
“This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things”
No
More like a
tempestlight breeze in a tea pot (locally sourced organic green tea made from leaves that voluntarily fell off of free range tea plants).Edited
different-church-lady
The trouble with being a liberal is that too many liberals think nobody can be a liberal until we’re all being liberal in exactly the same way.
greennotGreen
I can get on board with being a vegetarian, but vegan – no. Life without cheese is half a life.
Tissue Thin Pseudonym
Off-topic, but it’s been a good day and I’ve only been out of bed for an hour and a half. The Kickstarter is over $7,000 now, and I’m pleased that one of the pledges is from a former Gopher player. (Actually, it’s from her mother, but she wants it in her daughter’s name.) For several reasons, I’m nervous about how this thing would be received by those within the program and that’s a good start.
WereBear
@My Truth Hurts: True.
Completely hypocritical and in it for the money and, ironically, the cruelty.
Baud
@different-church-lady:
I’d agree with this but then I wouldn’t be a liberal anymore.
KG
@different-church-lady: No true Scotsman…
Tommy
@greennotGreen: My live-in girlfriend back in the late 90s was a vegetarian. Not vegan cause a huge difference. I tried to live that way and could not. More than a year.
I eat meat maybe once every 3 days. Don’t count eggs maybe more. I might have ten kinds of rices and beans in my kitchen …..
Vegans need to get I am with them. But I like my pork all bought local. Bought a large stand alone fridge just to put it in. It hurts my head.
Roger Moore
PETA is a gang of media whores first and whatever else a distant second. They will occasionally do something positive in the process- I actually rather like their annual rundown of the best vegan ballpark food- but it’s still mostly about trying to steal attention from somebody else.
debbie
@Roger Moore:
Westboro Baptist Church?
WaynersT
Peta also kills a lot of dogs and kitties –
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/02/05/pets-shelter-euthanization-rate_n_6612490.html
balconesfault
Reminded of a joke I recently heard – a vegan, an atheist, and a crossfitter walk into a bar … and in 2 minutes everyone knows.
scav
@different-church-lady: All the obsession about the ideal behavior and/or the average. Does seem to lead to nothing but the Mean. Party of Variance anyone? “Even my Deviations aren’t Standard.” Give me a Satisficer, any old day. (well, at least a Satisficer with goals, patience and, why not, cheese.)
Scott S.
PETA = Bill Donohue = Westboro Baptist. They’re trolls who don’t represent anyone other than themselves. Let them scream; they’ll be ignored.
NotMax
Proof positive that going fully vegan increases crankiness.
John Cole +0
@Corner Stone: I’m arguing that PETA has lost the plot.
Tommy
@NotMax: LOL. Looking to go maybe there and not my force.
scav
@NotMax: Nah, Cranky be Cranky. There are happy drunks and mean drunks. This lot just does it with Crucifers instead of Crucifixes.
Scott Supak (@ssupak)
Grass fed beef is better for you, the animal, and the planet. Many grocery stores now carry grass-fed hamburger, and even a steak now and then.
Corner Stone
@John Cole +0: Alright, but I get a huge whiff of the same kinds of (viewpoint) criticism you had for Occupy coming off your post.
PETA is apparently the debil, which I was previously unaware of.
shell
“Sigh” is pretty much my reaction to most of PETA’s stunts this past decade. Remember their rejoinder to the ‘Got Milk?’ campaign by having ‘Got Beer?’ ads on college campus’.
Good intentions but they constantly shoot themselves in the foot.
shell
@WaynersT: The fuck…??!
Thor Heyerdahl
Arrogant Worms – Carrot Juice is Murder
A little Canadian satire for you all eh!
kc
When is PETA going to stop slaughtering companion animals?
Fuck PETA.
the Conster
I know several vegans really well, and all but one has suffered deleterious effects, and have started eating meat and have never felt better. Humans need to eat animal protein because vegetables aren’t what they used to be. The soil in most parts of the country where our fruits and vegetables come from has been depleted, and have a small fraction of the minerals that existed two decades ago. It’s very hard to get what we need from plants only, no matter how careful you are. It’s a full time commitment to understand amino acid chains and how to combine plant proteins to be healthy. Eggs and fresh saturated fats found in animal products that provide cholesterol are critical to nervous system health. Veganism is a rich person’s issue. Stop buying factory farmed meat, and seek out local farmers.
OzarkHillbilly
Give me bacon or give me death.
Marc
One of these concerts is in France. Which is not exactly known for a large vegan population, and which is also a country where people care about the food that they eat. Forcing vegan food on them would not end well. But PETA et al. are really just fanatics trying to impose their beliefs on others, not people who actually care about climate change. So they’d likely regard it as a win.
Oh, and in the US : 3.2% vegetarian, 0.5% vegan. In France: 1.5% vegetarian. No vegan stats, but likely also about half of the US.
Germy Shoemangler
@kc: From the Brookings Newspaper:
For many years I had read things like “PETA kills animals”. I did not buy into it so I did my own research and observations. It seemed quite contrived and corporate what those people were saying about PETA. Several times people accused PETA of killing animals and in the same sentence they accused them of caring more about animals than humans. So I was wondering, if those hater people cared about animals then would they not be happy that PETA cares that much about animals? And if the haters didn’t care about animals, then why would they care about their death? This appeared like a manufactured patch work of not so well fitting arguments against PETA.
Research after research brought me to Richard Berman. A market psychologist working for the corporations, Richard Berman writes smear campaign articles and creates all types of propaganda using different modalities like text, film and images, in order to turn the public against an organization or person, or make people buy certain products. One can visit his website Center for Consumer Freedom and order anything from an infinite buffet of slander tactics, peer pressuring video clips and commercials for any agenda.
https://nicolareddwooddforest.wordpress.com/2014/07/06/richard-berman-and-the-slander-campaign-against-peta/
the Conster
@Marc:
My vegan friends went to southern France for their 25th wedding anniversary. Nowhere they stayed understood what their diet was about – pas de beurre?? They ended up eating salads, lentils, bread, wine, roasted vegetables and fruit. Why go to fucking France, then?
Germy Shoemangler
I love eating grass-fed beef. I also enjoy eggs and fish. I’m not a member of PETA, but I’m skeptical of stories about PETA killing animals if those stories can be traced back to Richard Berman.
Tree With Water
@the Conster: “Don’t kid yourself, Tommy. If it could, that cow would eat you and everyone that you love” (message sponsored by the National Tripe Council USA).
Germy Shoemangler
Richard Berman’s many activities:
http://bermanexposed.org
PETA Kills Animals is a project of the Center for Consumer Freedom that smears People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals and promotes negative information about the group’s practices.
vickie feminist
And John Cole nails it again!!!!
The Sailor
Felonius Monk
Is that akin to farting into the wind?
WereBear
PETA’s Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad History of Killing Animals
Ask any animal rescuer about PETA, then step back quickly, because they will spit on the ground.
Need money for a spay/neuter program, medical care, keep the lights on? PETA won’t give a penny. Where does their money go?
It’s not to the animals.
leeleeFL
@MattR: Bingo! Encorage, educate, enlighten! Vegans don’t need to be so judgemental! I have been vegan for 2plus years and I keep telling people it’s a lifestyle, not religion.
Suzanne
@the Conster: You know that there are other things to enjoy in France than food, right?
I agree that PETA sucks for many reasons and that it’s probably bad strategy to make the concerts have a vegan menu since it will probably alienate a lot of people, but whenever veganism becomes a topic, it’s really obnoxious how meat-eaters start chiming in with comments like “how could I possibly be expected to live without bacon?!?!” or “I know a really unhealthy vegan!”. Most people who go vegan do so not for their own personal benefit, but because they believe that ethically, it’s the right thing to do. And even if you are a carnivore, a day without eating animal products isn’t going to be bad for you even a little.
I am a former vegetarian who just ate her first steak in twenty years last week, and I can assure you that meat-eaters are equally arrogant and snobbish. I have ordered a salad at many a steakhouse in order to not make waves when with a group, and it’s not a problem. But I remember the day that I had the temerity to ask some coworkers if they wanted to join me for lunch at a vegan restaurant, and you’d have thought I asked them to donate a kidney, and I got mocked. Or when I’d prepared a lovely, balanced vegetarian meal, and my guest asked for the “real food”. Or the many times when I politely declined a meat dish at some sort of potluck or group situation, and then got an interrogation as to why I didn’t eat it. When I’d reply, “It looks lovely, but I’m vegetarian,” I’d get told how I was unhealthy (often by people who were at least fifty pounds overweight), and that they couldn’t possibly be expected to give up something that they love so much (no one asked you to, and I don’t give a fuck what you eat)
Carnivores are equally obnoxious about their food choices as vegans. Meat-eating is the the default in this culture, so vegans are treated as weird. PETA sucks, yes, but I really promise you that going a day on a vegan diet is not that bad.
germy shoemangler
@Suzanne: Well said.
Tissue Thin Pseudonym
@WereBear: There is a reason why PETA euthanizes animals rather than getting them adopted. I think it’s both stupid and evil, but it’s there. PETA is opposed to pet ownership, likening it to slavery. So finding adopters for the pets surrendered to them would be participating in slavery from their perspective, and thus they end up euthanizing them.
It’s a moral calculus that is alien to me. It’s a case where the place your ethics have ended up is so absurd that it necessitates a reevaluation of the premises you used to get there. But that’s their position.
kc
@Germy Shoemangler:
That doesn’t rebut the fact that PETA 1) opposes no-kill shelters and 2) euthanizes tens of thousands of dogs and cats every year.
There are plenty of other sources for these facts. Including PETA’s own admissions.
jnfr
I like the “meatless Mondays” theme, where it’s more education about the effects of our massive meat production, but not some vow of purity. I think nibbling away around the edges while being as empathetic to people as we can be is the best way to actually create forward motion.
And I want to second that PETA itself is a deeply flawed organization. I don’t consider them trustworthy.
the Conster
@Suzanne:
Yes, southern France is beautiful, but when they got back, most of what they recounted was how difficult it was to communicate with every proprietor what their dietary restrictions were, since neither of them spoke French. It would be like going to Italy with an allergy to olive oil.
greennotGreen
My “companion animals” are my children who just happen to have hair or feathers. Anybody from PETA get near them, we’re gonna have a problem. Hell, humans co-evolved with dogs. We belong together.
But on the carnivore side, may I say a word in favor of bison, the original North American grass-fed meat? Since I’m currently going through chemo, I have to address persistent anemia, and bison is much higher than beef in heme iron. Plus, if we in North America had saved the buffalo and ditched the beef cattle, we’d have a much healthier environment.
Greg
Every vegan I have ever known was sick all the time. Also, I accepted an invitation from a vegan one time to go to an upscale New York vegan restaurant. Utterly inedible and disgusting. Not to mention expensive. I am fine with vegetarian, however. I eat vegetarian a lot. And PETA are self-righteous obnoxious poseurs of the worst kind. They don’t believe in ethical treatment of animals at all. They believe in being the center of attention.
the Conster
@Greg:
I would add that local farmers who husband animals for meat care more for them than PETA ever would. I know three or four farmers who devote their lives to their animals, and kill them humanely and with respect. They know each one from birth. Killing them is not easy for any of them and is the worst part of their livelihood, but they eat their own animals, and put themselves out there as the purveyor, and hold themselves accountable. If you’re going to eat an animal, that’s the best you can do.
magurakurin
@the Conster: As sad as Italy without olive oil, that sounds about right. Dietary debates can be ugly, and while, yes there are other things to enjoy in France besides eating, my impressions of France and the French during my visits there is that eating and food is a huge, huge part of their lives and culture. And meat is a big part of that….and CHEESE is a fucking giant, enormous, pride-filled part of that. Going to France and not eating a steak would be sad, but, yeah I get it, it’s a bloody chunk of a cute cow’s muscle. But not eating any cheese….puhleaze.
It reminds me of a story I heard about Yosemite. I ranger was asked by a women what she should see if she only had 2 hours to visit Yosemite Valley, and his replied was, “If I only had two hours to see Yosemite, I would go over there, sit down by the river, and cry.” Not eating any cheese at all in France would be like that.
Ovo-lacto vegetarians tend to be normal folks in my experience (I ate such a diet for about a decade) but vegans tend to be whacked in the head. I mean, bee keeping is bee slavery? That’s fucking stupid. Just a generalization, I know but….
the Conster
@magurakurin:
My friends who went to France – he was mostly a raw foodist. He lives in Sonoma County, in a millionaire enclave. The big deal there was how many times a food was “cooked” before eaten, with the notion that any vegetable heated over 104 degrees degraded its essence. He and his raw food friends had gourmet meals supposedly, and the week before I went to visit a few years ago that had just happened. His refrigerator was full of soy and grain substitutes for cheese, butter, cream and proteins. He found out about a year ago that he was wasting away, and now he’s eating beef. LOL.
Suzanne
@Greg: I know some vegans who are quite healthy and some meat-eaters who are sick all the time. And I’ve been to some good vegan restaurants (my carnivore husband even agrees).
@magurakurin: Why would you pass judgment on how other people enjoy their time? Look, if you think going to France as a vegan would suck, then, for you, it probably would. But other people may be interested in the museums, or the opera, or the architecture, or the sports, or the nightclubs, or whatever. I’m an art lover, and I can’t imagine going to New York without going to the Met, the MoMA, or the Whitney. But I am also NOT A DICK, and I realize that plenty of people can have a great time there without doing that, and I don’t have to sneer at them.
Seriously, I think the dickishness level of many vegans and many carnivores is approximately equal (and on display). I personally don’t give a fuck what other people eat, AT ALL. I really wish other people would adopt the same attitude.
agorabum
Peta: “but what about myyyyy issue? Mememememememememememe…”
But if serving only vegan food at this festival solves climate change forever, then sure, I guess they should do it.
different-church-lady
Omnivores. OMNIvores.
Nom de Plume
@the Conster:
Thank you for saying this. I have personally witnessed a farmer crying over cows drowned in a flood. And many other acts of compassion. You can always tell who is actually serious about animal welfare. There are people who talk the talk, and there are those who actually live it.
PETA can lick my fucking taint.
the Conster
@Nom de Plume:
There’s a goat farmer in Maine who loves each goat so much, that the goat quarter we bought from him for our daughter who loves goat meat because she’s married to a Caribbean man, was a really sad occasion. He had a lot of females born this spring, and he’s so happy that he’s going to be a goat milk/cheese supplier instead of a goat meat supplier. He loves his goats, and every one he has to kill really, seriously troubles him. You can’t tell me that PETA has anything to say to him.
magurakurin
@Suzanne: except the people in question, according the story told here, really didn’t seem to enjoy their time in France because they spent all their time obsessing over food. And that’s sad, because the food in France is fucking wonderful, it really truly is, even if you skip the meat. But if you skip the dairy, forget it. People are free to do what they want, but that doesn’t make their experience any less sad.
And yes, meat eaters can be dicks, too. Huge ones. I got all the same questions when I wasn’t eating meat. But the fanatical righteous anger of some vegans is largely missing in meat eaters. Dicks of another color smell just as rancid, I know, but…somehow militant vegans spin me out more…and I more or less agree with a lot of their points. Factory farms are terrible, people eat way too much meat, animals should be treated better….but after talking to a vegan I want to go flog chickens at a KFC farm….I know, it’s probably just me….what can I say?
Ruckus
@Suzanne:
I likey. What I eat is my business. What you eat is yours.
When my vegetarian sister was going through breast cancer treatments she ate red meat at least a couple times a week because she couldn’t get enough iron any other way.
Greg
@Suzanne: But I’ll bet you don’t know any carnivores that lecture vegans about their food choices and call them “inhuman”, “cruel”, “evil” and tell them that they are destroying the planet. And yes, I know carnivores who are sick all the time too. But not 100% of them. 100% of the vegans I have ever known are having severe health problems that can be directly attributed to their diet. As told to them by their own doctors.
Suzanne
@magurakurin: Vegans are pissed because most of them honestly think that their choice is an ethical one, not merely a dietary one, and they see it very similarly to how most of the readers here probably see civil rights/social justice issues. The dickish meat-eaters (won’t call ’em all “omnivores”, because some of them would sooner die than eat a veggie) just tend to behave much like the gun nuts—if you don’t love that bacon cheeseburger, you’re a weak weirdo, possibly of questionable sexuality, “one of those liberal hippies”, and you probably hate ‘Murika. I agree that anybody who makes an issue of what anyone else eats is an asshole, but I’m probably more irritated on balance by the dedicated carnivores, since many vegans are at least willing to sacrifice something they enjoy on behalf of their ethics, and lots of the meat-eating crew just seems dedicated to their hedonism. I realize that there are many meat-eaters who do so in an ethical fashion, but those people also tend to not be dicks about it, which is greatly appreciated.
Suzanne
@Greg: I’ve never heard a carnivore tell a vegan that they are inhuman or cruel, true. I’ve just heard them call vegans “pussy” and “gay”.
Fair Economist
@the Conster:
It’s not the amino acids, it’s the trace minerals, and B-12. All animals have pretty much the same metabolic pathways and need the same trace elements. Plants have very different biochemistry, and very different needs. Iron, zinc, and selenium take work and careful planning to get enough of from a vegan diet. B-12 is a particularly problematic nutrient because the body stores it and you can go years with a deficiency without really obvious trouble, and then get irreversible nerve damage.
Amino acids in plants are unaffected by soil if they’re fertilized. Plants make their own amino acids, and fertilizers provide the one thing they need, fixed nitrogen. Now trace metals, yes, that can be substantially altered by soil.
Omnes Omnibus
@Suzanne:
I go the other way on annoyance. I have more sympathy for hedonists than those who self-flagellate.
Shakti
Genuinely curious, but are there ANY legitimate food traditions that are vegan or raw foodist?
I cannot think of any off the top of my head. Even strict Jains will eat dairy and cook their food (they avoid root vegetables, eggs, mushrooms). People who have no use for dairy or can’t eat it will eat other types of meat and seafood.
Vegans and raw foodists spend an inordinate amount of time making food and buying highly processed “substitutes”.
I’m an ovo-lacto vegetarian. I’m fairly low on the normal side on b-12 and iron. If I had to give up milk I’d cry.
Shakti
@Greg:
I just threw together a meal which would have been vegan had I bothered to use olive oil on the bread instead of butter. I made lemon rice. And I made a dish of green beans, onions, carrots, chickpeas. I wasn’t thinking or trying and my brother, who never hesitates to tell me if food is bad, devoured it.
Roger Moore
@Shakti:
I think there are some very strict Buddhists who are vegan. I’ve certainly gone to vegan Buddhist restaurants, some of which are really excellent. I don’t think there are any food traditions that are strictly raw, though. People have been eating cooked food for long enough to evolve digestive systems- starting with our teeth- designed to deal with cooked food.
Suzanne
@Omnes Omnibus: Eh, I guess that’s a style thing. I am really not a fan of people who will do whatever the hell they want with no regard for who them might be hurting, including themselves. That’s why I’m not a Republican. ;)
Self-righteousness is fucking annoying, though.
Omnes Omnibus
@Suzanne:
Anecdata: I have not yet met a self-described vegan who was not self-righteous. If someone comes to my home for a meal, I do my very best to meet that person’s dietary needs. However, I don’t keep kosher, etc., on the off-chance that people of certain persuasions might stop by.
Suzanne
@Omnes Omnibus: I have a dear friend who is not a dick about her veganism. If you ask, she is happy to talk about it, but she doesn’t insult anyone or bring it up unless it specifically needs to come up. I have definitely met some of the self-righteous types.
But I meet far, far more of the meat-asshole types (and I tend to hang around people who are more inclined to veggie-dom). Maybe it’s a regional thing.
The no-gluten people are shooting up the ranks of the Dietarily Obnoxious, as well.
Omnes Omnibus
@Suzanne: Please note that I labeled my comment as “Anecdata.”
Suzanne
@Omnes Omnibus: Yeah, I know. I was just sharing my own anecdata, too.
When I first met Mr. Suzanne, the topic of food came up, and I told him I was a vegetarian. He suddenly looked really concerned, and he asked if it bothered me if he ate meat. I said, “I don’t give a fuck what you eat.” He smiled and it’s never been a problem since. I learned how to broil steaks for him, too. For me, vegetarianism was merely a lifestyle preference, not a moral issue, so we’ve never had a problem accommodating each other. He does recognize that it is probably better to reduce meat consumption from the level of the typical American diet, and voluntarily does the meatless Monday thing. And I go to his family’s grassfed-organic cattle farm and feed the cows. It really is a non-issue for us.
Though we did go to a barbecue restaurant while we were in AR visiting his family, and I ordered green beans, and was aghast when they came out covered in bacon. He laffed at me. LOL.
NotMax
@Omnes Omnibus
Someone comes to eat under my roof, they eat what I put out or they don’t eat.
Exception affecting the menu is if I am informed in advance of actual allergies.
When I cook for our Saturday night group of up to 16 people, there are 2 there who have negative reactions to some seafood, so I don’t usually prepare seafood or else also serve a steak to them if I do. But there’s one person who just “doesn’t like” onions in her food. Tough. Cooking without onions is like cooking without heat. And I’m not the only one who cooks for the group who refuses to eschew using onions.
She almost always ends up bringing her own “dinner” of a bag from McDonald’s.
My Truth Hurts
@Tissue Thin Pseudonym: It doesn’t matter what their reasons are. Having a reason for something does not make it ok. You said yourself it is stupid and evil and it is. On top of that they know it’s unpopular so they lie and obfuscate. PETA is a twisted and evil organization.
Citizen Alan
I have a Pavlovian response to PETA — literally every time I see the word, I develop an intense craving for steak.