All posts tagged: speciesism

About the pornography of Meat, Carol J. Adams

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This new edition of The Pornography of Meat by Carol J. Adams just arrived. Very richely illustrated with examples of how women are seen as ‘meat’ and how ‘meat’ or animals raised to be eaten are portrayed as ‘feminine’, sexual, wanting to be consumed. See also the earlier work of Carol J. Adams: The sexual politics of meat. This updated edition of The Pronography of Meat includes a photo from me: a truck from a hatchery company (that ‘incubates’ the eggs and the chicks are sent of to egg-laying companies). The truck shows a cartoon like drawing of three anthropomorphised and female sexualised chickens, with next to them the slogan ‘Girl Power’. Yeah, being forcefully kept indoors, having to lay 300+ eggs a year and being sent of to slaughter when ‘production’ drops is really empowering these female animals. I really cringed when I saw this truck on the highway, and was determined to get a good photo! Luckily, the truck took the same exit as me, so I was able to stand still next …

Interview with The Vegan Rainbow Project

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The Vegan Rainbow Project is a project from Daniela and India, and wants to draw attention to and explore interconnections of oppression and enhance visibility for vegan living minorities, whilst at the same time joining forces to work towards liberation for all beings. I did an interview a couple of weeks ago, In December 2018. You can find it here. Why we need to talk about ableism, ageism and speciesism. Interview with Geertrui Cazaux.

New Platform: Crip HumAnimal: about ableism and speciesism

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I have created a new space Crip HumAnimal, to specifically address the interconnections between ableism and speciesism. A place to highlight stories of disabled vegans, a place to address the ableism in the vegan and animal rights movement. Some of the topics that I want to address on Crip HumAnimal are mentionned here. Where you can also find an explanation on why I choose the name Crip HumAnimal. Any help with spreading the word is really appreciated. Also, if you have any recommendations, input, suggestions, I’d love to hear! website: https://criphumanimal.org/ facebookpage: https://www.facebook.com/criphumanimal/

VIDEO Ableism, ageism and speciesism, presentation IARC 2018, Geertrui Cazaux

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I attended the 8th International Animal Rights Conference in Luxembourg at the beginning of September. A very inspirational weekend, being together with activists from many different countries and attending many presentations on a broad variety of topics (program here). I gave a presentation about ableism, ageism and speciesism. The presentation is now up on Youtube on VeganKanal. The slides from the presentation are inlcuded. I added English subtitles to the video. Interested in hearing your feedback! The video does not include the introduction. In which I gave (among other things) an overview of the presentation: Intro: definitions and examples 1) intersections and interconnections between ableism, ageism and speciesism 2) how to reach disabled, older people 3) points to take into account to be an inclusive movement   View this post on Instagram Arrived at the International Animal Rights Conference! #luxemburg #iarc #iarc2018 #animalrights #speciesism #veganism #luxembourg @internationalarconference A post shared by trudi_brugesvegan (@trudi_brugesvegan) on Sep 6, 2018 at 11:06am PDT        

Anarchism & animal rights. Book: Making a Killing (Bob Torres)

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Enjoyed reading this book! I had previously read Vegan Freak from Bob and Jenna Torres, which was a very easy read, and more tongue in cheek. This book is totally different, more academic, about the connections between the oppression of humans and other animals, and on how anarchist and anti-capitalist theory can/should inform the animal rights movement. I would have loved to read more from Bob Torres, but after the termination of their very popular podcast and blog ‘Vegan Freak’ in 2009, he has not published any more on issues of animal rights and seems to have disappeared from public life. Some quotes with food for thought: p.122 “Structured as any other form of oppression, speciesism is more than a mere form of discrimination or prejudice, instead […] it has structural causes that are rooted in mutually constitutive economic, ideological, and sociocultural practices. While an anti-speciesist necessarily does not consume animals, that is not enough action to overcome the deeply rooted processes that produce vast inequality. Instead, what is needed is a movement that radically …

Yield

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Pinnacle of speciesism: when an animal is reduced to her function or yield   Animals are not ‘egg’, ‘bacon’, ‘wool’ or ‘milk’, but each and every one sentient feeling beings, who can suffer pain, each with their own individuality. Spotted in a shop in Valkenburg (the Netherlands)

Recommended literature: Animal Rights, Human Rights (David Nibert)

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I recently read ‘Animal Rights. Human Rights. Entanglements of Oppression and Liberation‘ by David Nibert (2002) and found it truly inspiring. The thesis of the book is that human oppression of other animals is primarily motivated by economic interests, and is profoundly and permanently intertwined with oppression of other humans. The economic forces fueling oppression have intensified with the development of capitalism. The oppression of humans and other animals developed in tandem, each fueling the other. Nibert uses a three fold theory of oppression. This theory explains how oppressions takes place through mutually reinforcing social and economic mechanisms. There are three interactive forces: Economic exploitation, competition. The exploitation of other animals (and humans) is driven by economic forces. The motivation for the development and institutionalization of oppressive practices is primarly material, not attitudinal. Prejudice is the product of these arangements. Not the cause. The importance of power. A powerful elite (pivileged humans) uses political force over the oppressed, and they wield the power of the state. Ideological control. Oppression requires rationalisation and legitimation. Ideologies like …

Our visit to Veggieworld 2017, Brussels

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Veggieworld is an international vegan fair, that has been organised since 2011, in 8 different European countries. In October 2017, it was organised in Brussels for the first time. Veggieworld was located in Tour and Taxis. Nicely renovated old industrial buildings on the north side of Brussels. Parking just next door (a bit expensive, 7 euro, whether one was there for half an hour of half a day didn’t matter), good facilities (accessible toilets). Bright place, with high ceilings. It was unclear to us at first – going by the name – whether this was a vegan or vegetarian fair (it is vegan). We feel “Veganworld” would be a much more appropriate, clearer and better name. Veggie usually refers to vegetarianism, not veganism, so that is confusing. And using the word veggie instead of vegan makes ‘vegan’ less known and even sound more extreme (see our post: just say the word: vegan!). Admission was 8euro pp (10 euro on the day itself), which we felt was a reasonable price. Of course a free festival like …

Staring at humans: Les Zoos Humains, exhibition in Liège

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The exhibition  Zoo Humains. L’invention du sauvage  (Human Zoos. The invention of the savage) ran from September 2016 til the end of February 2017. We visited a week before it closed. It was in La Cité Miroir in Liège, a nicely renovated building, that used to house a swimming pool. Before our visit to the exhibition, we had lunch at Como en Casa, a nice vegetarian restaurant, and we also visited the GoVeg Vegan shop. The website of the exhibition Zoos Humains, gave this introduction (my translation from French): “One isn’t born racist, one becomes racist  For more than five centuries, the industry of human exhibitions fascinated more than 1 billion 400 million visitors and put on display between 30.000 en 35.000 figurantes in spectacle shows, all around the world. These spectacles, being the first visual contact between cultures, have drawn a divide and a hierarchy between the so called “civilised” and the “savages” in the minds of westerners. At Zoos Humains, visitors learn how racist prejudices became installed during the times of the great …