vegansaurus!
11/16/2012
Paul Shapiro’s Animal News You Can Use! »
It’s Paul Shapiro’s weekly dose of all things animals! Yes!
It’s almost Thanksgiving…Wondering how most turkeys are treated? Check out the newly-released Mercy For Animals investigation documenting appalling abuse of turkeys raised for Butterball.
(You may also want to take a look at this week’s NY Times’ major feature on vegetarian Thanksgvings.)
On that note, Los Angeles became the biggest city in the country to official start promoting Meatless Mondays. (Even the Today Show covered it!)
Finally, if you’ve got some time and want a fascinating read, here’s Washington Monthly’s new feature, “Obama’s Game of Chicken.” As they bill the story: “The untold story of how the administration tried to stand up to big agricultural companies on behalf of independent farmers, and lost.”
Video of the week: Not quite the lion and lamb laying down, but at least the dog and the fawn…
∞ posted at 13:17 by laurahooperb 
11/09/2012
It’s Paul Shapiro’s Animal News You Can Use! »
It’s Paul Shapiro’s weekly dose of all things animals! Yes!
Pork Magazine editorialized this week about what a “tough year” HSUS created in the US with its “laser focus on pork production.” Pork’s editor concludes: “Now, HSUS won’t go away; in fact it has gained strength. It has the formula down and will replicate its strategies within the pork sector as well as across the agriculture sector.”
Related: Metz Culinary Management is the latest major pork buyer to demand that its pork suppliers end their use of gestation crates…
On the other side of the world, Forbes has a sobering yet hopeful look at the challenges the animal movement faces in China and how Humane Society International is working to move the ball forward there. This interview is really worth the read.
Finally, check out this interesting new article on how the rise in demand for vegetarian food is largely coming from meat-eaters who are reducing the number of animals they’re eating.
Six years ago this week, Arizona voters made their state the first in the US to ban veal crates, and second to ban gestation crates. And four years ago this week, Californians banned both of those practices, as well as cramped cages for laying hens. Congratulations and happy anniversary to the thousands of awesome animal advocates who labored so tirelessly on those campaigns!
Video of the week: Ever feel like someone else is freeloading off your hard work? This cat may feel the same!
∞ posted at 10:30 by laurahooperb
11/02/2012
Paul Shapiro’s Animal News You Can Use! »
Paul Shapiro is back for his weekly dose of all the animal news that’s fit to print! Take it away, Paul!
Seriously, not a joke: Here’s a pork industry column this week on why they’re opposing HSUS’s effort to make it a felony in North Dakota to set dogs, cats, and horses on fire. (It’s currently a felony in 48 other states.)
You already know that the factory farming industry vigorously attacks HSUS daily. But today there’s an important new exposé by Bloomberg on one of the industry’s top PR hit men, who often leads the attack against HSUS. Check it out.
I doubt he’s pleased with the piece, and I also doubt that he’s pleased with the fact that Carnival Cruises is the latest major pork buyer to announce it will eliminate gestation crate pork from its supply chain.
Finally. I also doubt he was too pleased to read the recent LA Times story on how demand for meat is declining globally. Or the big AP story yesterday on how meat-free Thanksgivings are gaining in popularity…
Video of the week: I’m usually against animal fighting, but this may be okay…
∞ posted at 13:36 by youtalkfunny 
10/26/2012
Paul Shapiro’s Animal News You Can Use! »
Paul Shapiro is back for his weekly dose of all the animal news that’s fit to print! Take it away, Paul!
You already know that US meat consumption is declining significantly, but did you know about the positive global trends on this front? See what this meat industry site has to say about it. That’s of course not to suggest that all is well by any means, since some countries, like China, continue to eat more and more meat. But is does offer some optimism.
Speaking of optimism, Target is the latest major pork buyer to announce that it will eliminate its purchase of pork from gestation crate systems.
Some cool new animated videos about factory farming came out this week, including one for adults and one for kids. This one is particularly poignant.
I’m sure the overlap between readers of this weekly post and Wu-Tang fans is vast, so I may as well keep you in the loop on the critical news: You can go to bed tonight resting in the knowledge that GZA (who was a CA Prop 2 backer in 2008!) has now convinced Redman and Method Man to go vegetarian…
∞ posted at 16:17 by laurahooperb
10/19/2012
Paul Shapiro’s Animal News You Can Use! »
It’s time for Paul Shapiro’s Animal News You Can Use! With the ever charming, brilliant, and hard-working Mr. Paul Shapiro! Take it away, Paul…
A nice article this week points out that in the US, sales of meat-free meals are increasing as sales of meat continue declining.
In less nice news, a report this week paints a harrowing picture: The headline says it all: “China Now Eats Twice As Much Meat As The U.S.” While American and European meat consumption is falling, Chinese meat consumption is skyrocketing—quadrupling in the last 30 years. Yet in a sign of just how much meat Americans eat, even with this huge growth in Chinese consumption, on a per person basis, they still eat only half the meat we do in the U.S.
Want to know what’s it’s like to live in a gestation crate? Check out the new potent resource, the Virtual Gestation Crate. Fortunately, the Cheesecake Factory is the latest company to announce it will phase out gestation crates from its pork supply chain.
Video of the week: Pig mauls dog. [Ed.: OMG!!!!]
∞ posted at 13:18 by laurahooperb
10/12/2012
It’s Paul Shapiro’s Animal News You Can Use! »
Paul Shapiro is back with all the animal news you need. Let’s go:
Ever wonder what the meat industry’s tired of? Well, Pork Magazine’s editor wrote this week, “I am getting tired of the constant barrage of announcements driven by the Humane Society of the United States against the U.S. pork sector, and I know you are too.”
One thing you may not be tired of is good news like this: industry publication Feedstuffs has a story this week about a formerly pro-gestation crate animal scientist who now concludes that a transition away from the crates will indeed work, and that producers seem to be getting dragged “kicking and screaming into another inevitable change.”
Other good news: HSUS is proud to be named this year as VegNews magazine’s “Nonprofit of the Year!”
A new undercover investigation by Mercy For Animals documented egregious cruelty at a large dairy producer.
Finally, an interesting story about how more and more black men are getting into veganism. One guy in particular is a pretty good example, I’d say!
Video of the week: Rescued ducks hit water for the first time! [Ed.: UGH THIS IS TOO AWESOME]
∞ posted at 13:19 by laurahooperb
10/05/2012
It’s Paul Shapiro’s Animal News You Can Use! »
It’s Animal News You Can Use from Paul Shapiro! Yay, Paul! Yay, animals!
Pork magazine started a column this week off by lamenting, “Sadly, the list of companies announcing they will force their pork suppliers to move away from sow gestation stalls continues to grow longer.” Since last week’s email, both Brinker and Bruegger’s Bagels added themselves to that list. How sad, indeed…
Huffington Post has a great profile this week on HSUS’s litigation efforts, with animal law professor David Wolfson noting of HSUS’s attorneys, “They are generally extremely disciplined, focused and professional. I would also characterize them as extremely pragmatic and realistic.”
On the other end of the spectrum, BEEF magazine has a couple good stories about HSUS this week. One warns factory farmers, “HSUS has made it clear – oppose us and you will pay a price.” Another notes, “HSUS has the motive, the money and the momentum. What are we going to do to defend ourselves?”
P.S. Video of the week: Walter the wild crow adopts a human family. Seriously must-watch.
∞ posted at 14:01 by youtalkfunny
10/03/2012
It’s Paul Shapiro’s Animal News You Can Use! »
It’s Animal News You Can Use from Paul Shapiro! Yay, Paul! Yay, animals!
The latest beef in the battle between the pork industry’s leadership and HSUS is a newly filed lawsuit. HSUS charges that the National Pork Board struck an unlawful “ham scam” backroom deal with the National Pork Producers Council to purchase the “Pork: The Other White Meat” slogan. The purchase is bankrolling a third of the NPPC’s annual budget, which includes waging anti-animal lobbying efforts.
Both ConAgra and Dunkin Donuts announced in the past week that they’re eliminating gestation crates from their supply chains. Despite ConAgra being based in Nebraska, true to form, the head of the Nebraska Farm Bureau derided the company’s move and assured the public that “The use of gestation crates is really a better way to care for hogs.” The dude may as well be defending the NFL replacement refs…
In non-NFL news, my esteemed coworker at HSUS, Dr. Michael Greger, has a piece that was on the CNN home page about the public health dangers of factory farming.
Finally, the New York Times had a good feature last week on how mainstream vegan eating is in Southern California. Check it out!
Video of the week: Dog meets trampoline:
∞ posted at 11:26 by youtalkfunny
09/21/2012
It’s Paul Shapiro’s Animal News You Can Use! »
It’s Animal News You Can Use from Paul Shapiro! Yay, Paul! Yay, Animals!
We started last week’s email with a good court ruling about California’s Prop 2, and now this week, a federal judge told foie gras producers what time it is in ruling that California’s ban on force-feeding ducks for foie gras will remain intact. In response to the ruling, the LA Times had a nice smack-down of the chefs fighting for force-feeding.
Speaking of smack-downs, the Wall Street Journal had a pro/con debate in the paper this week entitled, “Would We Be Healthier With a Vegan Diet?“ T. Colin Campbell represented the “yes” side.
In case you’ve not yet read your latest issue of Meat & Poultry…there’s a good article about the success of HSUS’s gestation crate campaign. The conclusion: “This is no longer a debate about the viability of gestation crates in hog production, but rather a discussion about how producers will respond to meet expectations.” (And check out this op-ed on the topic in Pennsylvania’s second largest paper.)
Have a nice weekend. If you live near me, I hope to see you at the DC VegFest tomorrow!
P.S. Video of the week: Pig saves goat!.
(Bonus video: HSUS works with Project Empower in teaching kids about Meatless Monday.)
∞ posted at 11:31 by youtalkfunny
09/14/2012
It’s Paul Shapiro’s Animal News You Can Use! »
It’s Animal News You Can Use from Paul Shapiro! Yay, Paul! Yay, Animals!
Huge news this week: Big agribusiness lost another round in its continued assault on Prop 2, the ballot measure we waged four years ago in California to ban various factory farming practices. A federal judge in Los Angeles ruled in HSUS’s favor and threw out a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the law.
Also big news is that meat consumption is in significant decline in the US. Here’s a new piece from me looking at the trend and the reasons behind it. And here’s a nice segment from the ABC San Francisco TV affiliate about HSUS helping a local school district implement Meatless Monday.
Speaking of big, my friend Big Bruce Friedrich has a good new essay about how the pork industry’s leadership is both anti-science and anti-animal.
P.S. Video of the week: Man apologizes to cat by building him an amazing gift.
∞ posted at 13:54 by youtalkfunny
