Ecofeminism and animal rights are two topics that have been
intertwined far before they were even formed as ideas. Ecofeminism is an idea
that links the wrongdoings done to women to nature by saying that these
wrongdoings in many ways parallel each other. Animal rights are based on the
belief that all animals and living things deserve the same equality that humans
do as living things. Both of these ideas have been formed and have come to the
forefront of people’s attentions during the time of the modern, technology driven
world. Take for example, a large-scale
dairy farm, there; cows are raped through artificial insemination constantly until
they can no longer produce milk. Here we see an obvious example of animals
being denied rights as well as a female part of nature being taken advantage
of. The connection does not stop there,
when people first settled land in America, they took the earth and its
resources as things under their control, they strapped oxen to their plows and
put their plows through the hills and trees, they granted themselves dominion
over all that lied in front of them and created a trend that still exists
today. In all places of the developed world today this can be seen, humans
consider themselves above animals and above the land and often it isn’t even
something considered, rather general knowledge that anything in the world is at
human disposal.
It can be seen through many sources how humans will abuse
the world around them, looking at everything, as a resource to serve the
ever-growing needs of our ever-growing species.
From a New York Times article entitled U.S. Research Lab Lets Livestock Suffer in
Quest for Profit, reporter Michael Moss writes, “At a remote research center
on the Nebraska plains, scientists are using surgery and breeding techniques to
re-engineer the farm animal to fit the needs of the 21st-century meat industry.
The potential benefits are huge: animals that produce more offspring, yield
more meat and cost less to raise.” Here an extremely anthropic view is given,
that we as humans have the right to do whatever we want to animals, and should
if it benefits us. The article goes on
to explain some troubling results, that animals being born from these
experiments, are coming in bigger numbers however, they are all born with
various physical abnormalities such as small bones, organ defects, and nutrient
deficiencies. Such shocking facts, only resulting due to the fact that we as
humans want things to be more convenient for us fall into the topics of animal
rights and ecofeminism, we are exploiting aspects of the world in a way that
puts them in an inferior position to us and from this we lose the integrity and
true spirit of that aspect of nature. This feeling is one that is detailed
throughout the article “As the decades have passed, the center has bucked
another powerful trend: a gathering public concern for the well-being of
animals that has penetrated even the meat industry, which is starting to
embrace the demand for humanely raised products.” It is being shown here that
people, some people at least are even recognizing this injustice to animals,
there is a feeling that this is unnatural and unfair. Yet still this article
tells of more unfair treatments to animals, like lambs who are being bred to
live without the need for humans to take care of them and protect them, but
already many lambs are suffering and being killed “30 to 40 percent of the
lambs were dead, and some of those still alive were in bad condition, separated
from the moms, and they would be dead the next morning.“ and for what, so that humans
will not have to spend time with these animals as if they are so horrible.
The
thought that animals are so horrible is something that can be seen even in
cases where you would think of the relationship between animals and humans to
be a loving one. The television show, Pitbulls
and Parolees displays this, showing the
disconnect between humans and dogs, namely pitbulls. In the show, there is a
group of people who run an animal shelter for pitbulls as they are often seen
as a species that is dangerous and unwanted. In the show, they display that
these animals have many positive qualities and just because they have been
devalued and diminished by a world that more and more wants the commoditized fluffy
and friendly dogs, does not mean that they aren’t just as worthy of peoples
respect, admiration and more so of being a part of someone’s family. The show
points out that in a way these dogs have been denied equal rights to other
animals, they have been deemed as violent and aggressive, but really they can
be just as loving and affectionate as any other dog. In looking at this one
species of animals as lesser to others, and then going on living our lives, as
humans we create a severe inequality in the world. In acting as we are we are not only taking
away the rights of one species but we are changing the rights of all species,
we are placing our bias onto what connotes the right to have rights, as if not
all living things should have equal rights; we cannot act as if it is just to
impose these restrictions on the world. We are an extremely powerful species,
we can dictate anything that goes on in the world, but something we may want to
think about is how this can change the way of the world. Pitbulls and Parolees show the countless pitbulls who have to live
in shelters because they are unwanted. The show also shows the countless
pitbulls found wild because people released them. We are changing the way the
world functions exponentially, and it is probably time we change the channel to
Pitbulls and Parolees, recognize
this, and then change the way we live our lives.
It
is clear that although there are cases where people are striving to help
animals, more influential people still are often making strong pushes to keep
animals and nature in a place where they are ours to commoditize them and use
them as we need them. An article written by Maddie Oatman for Grist titled Will
the USDA Weaken Dietary Guidelines to Please the Meat Industry? talks about the fact that although today the world is focused on
making our lifestyles more sustainable and environmentally friendly, there is
still a focus on exploiting nature. The article says that since meat industries
have received more strict guidelines as to how they can operate, that the meat industry
has responded by spending millions of dollars to lobby against these
restrictions. This just goes to show the nature of the modern world today,
where spending millions of dollars to fight restrictions is more important that
maybe just accepting these restrictions and not treating animals like they are
merely slaves. All that was said in regards to the guidelines being expressed
is that “a
dietary pattern that is higher in plant-based foods … and lower in animal-based
foods is more health promoting and is associated with a lesser environmental
impact” this is not new stuff, how many people have heard the expression “eat
your vegetables before” and yet now the meat industry is kicking up a fuss,
refusing to “eat their vegetables” (do what is right) because now everyone is
being told this and it threatens their way of life, which is, well, threatening
the lives of others, (the animals that make up the meat industry). To them
animals are their property, a part of the world is theirs to kill and sell,
there is no morality, just a more harsh reality being created by their
senseless actions.
In
many places this corporate takeover of nature is not going over well, from The
Ecologist Magazine, an article tells about how some people are not accepting the
way nature and its many forms are being treated. In Occupy
Agriculture! Polish Farmers Sit in for Land and Freedom Julian Rose talks about how
Polish farmers are protesting large agricultural businesses buying up their
land to plant genetically modified crops. These farmers value the land and want
to live with it, without it they cannot survive and in exchange they tend to it
with nutrients: “a focus of protest against the sell-off of their land to agribusiness,
the arrival of GMO crops, and the imposition of a failed 'Western' model of
farming that's creating huge corporate profits while debasing food.” Here we
see another case of the typical modern cultural norms acting like a leech to
nature, sucking out all that it offers with no regard for its own health. And
it obviously is a terrible thing, the article says “In February, 6,000 farmers marched through”
meaning six thousand farmers who need to be on their land to live and produce
food to make some money walked away from this to move towards showing that it
is unacceptable to take land and suck everything out of it as if it is a bottle
of water existing to fulfill ones needs. But like that bottle, the result poses
and obvious threat to the environment, where does that plastic go and what
happens after genetically modified seeds and chemicals have been used on the
land? The answer to this is what the farmers are fighting, and it is a fight
that all people should get it in on, for it is simply not right to use the land
as if it only exists to be used.
It’s
detrimental to look at land and animals as things to be used, with that
mindset, the actions we take cause both to endure great harm. In a PETA video, it
shows how animals are abused constantly to help produce all of the products the
human market demands today. They are branded constantly, have their horns
clipped, are castrated, artificially inseminated, and left to lye next to their
own feces until it is time to abuse them more. What this video is encouraging
is to think about this and to realize that our actions and needs as humans,
cause animals to be brutalized for their entire lifetime. The video encourages
people to think about vegetarian and vegan lifestyles, where you do not need as
much animals products or any at all. This is a great solution as it is hard to
produce all of you own food, if you go vegetarian or vegan you can help these
animals by causing production orders to go down so that at least less will
suffer. In living this way you may inspire others to do so and if a movement
like this was powerful enough, it could stop this terrible treatment all
together.
Looking more
towards solutions and ways to help support the land and animals around you,
things to think about are where your food comes from, and what are the details
behind its travel. In a Think Progress article by Cole Mellino titled, Local
Versus Non-Local Food: Is The Kind of Food You Eat More Important Than Where it
Comes From? it is recommended that you think about where your food comes from, and
how that impacts the world, all the carbon emissions it may take to produce it
and ship it are important things to be considered. “The average distance
traveled by nonlocal broccoli delivered to Virginia Tech during the month of
October 2009 was 2786.0 miles. The total amount of carbon dioxide emitted as a
result of this transport was 105,830.0 pounds. This averaged to approximately
11,758.9 pounds carbon dioxide per shipment and 15.3 pounds carbon dioxide per
pound of broccoli delivered.” Here we get great insight into our impact on the
world. But this is only from one food, imagine of impact of all of the foods
you may have in your house. So what is the solution? The article suggests that
eating locally grown food and also vegan and vegetarian food can reduce impacts
tremendously. By buying locally grown food, you are reducing carbon emissions,
and by eating non animal products you cut down on the amount of production that
is necessary “Replacing red meat and dairy with vegetables one day a week would
be like driving 1,160 miles less” which reduces environmental impacts across
the boars! Less carbon, less animal cruelty, less destroying land! “so yes,
eating less meat and dairy will greatly reduce the impact your diet has on the
planet. However, the combination of choosing the right foods with a local
approach will have the biggest impact.” It could be an extremely powerful thing
to both lose the animal products and lose the carbon emissions.
Looking at all of
the information presented, it is clear that animal rights and ecofeminism are
two rightfully prevalent topics today. This is clear, but what is key to see is
that what must be done is to see an issue all the way through. Do not just
complain about aspects of nature being treated poorly, do something about it,
Buy locally grown foods. Give up animal products. Spread the knowledge that
things are not as they should be. A general point of all of the sources used in
this piece is no just that something is wrong but that something needs to be
done. Stricter guidelines need to be imposed, guidelines that will counter the
meat industry’s menacing quest for dollars. Local farmers will take care of our
land and should be given the freedom to do so. Animals should be without cages,
without abuse and without the assumption that they exist to serve human
needs. Making personal choices to
support all of these things is a monumentally important factor as well, going
vegan, buying from these local farmers; living a life style that promotes
equality for any and all is what must be done.
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