All posts tagged: speciesism

#556 Lovely food, spacious relaxed place, vegan restaurant Veganees, Amsterdam (NL)

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restaurant review #556 – Vegan restaurant in Amsterdam! With an Asian inspired menu. Figurine seen in souvenir shop in Amsterdam= Speciesist representation of animals in popular culture.Even if no animals are physically harmed with this mini statue, it consolidates a framing as animals existing to entertain us. Elephants are not meant to do tricks. See my presentation ‘Representations of other animals‘ at the International Animal Rights Conference. (see video below)

Celebrating 15 years of being vegan!

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I don’t have a clear vegan anniversary date, but July 2009 was when my husband and I made the ‘click’ to go vegan. This happened at the first Minding Animals Conference in Australia, an international gathering with leading activists and academics in the field of critical animal studies (I also gave two presentations btw). The atmosphere was amazing and inspiring! 🤗Veganism was considered normal, a ‘given’, which was a real eye opener, and a big contrast to the more dominant ‘vegetarian/veggie’ focus in those days (especially in Belgium). Despite having been vegetarian for more than 10 years before and being aware of animal rights issues, we realised we were still contributing to animal oppression in many ways. We wanted to change that.

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 …

Geertrui Cazaux – Interview for Animal Culture Magazine

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Honoured to be featured in the July edition of Animal Culture Magazine! I talked about my background, my activism, why I started the platform Crip HumAnimal, … The full interview is available HERE (with permission from Animal Culture Magazine, thanks!) You can subscribe to Animal Culture Magazine here: https://www.patreon.com/AnimalCultureMagazine

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 A post shared by Geertrui (@trudi_bruges)        

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 …