Deep Roots: Animal Rights Blog

Ok, so on the tattered piece of paper that I first wrote this recipe almost two years ago, I actually titled these the Best Damn Cookies. But I didn’t really want to make such claims since some folks just don’t like oatmeal cookies. But if you like oatmeal cookies and lots of sugar, you should try these out. I promise my next recipe won’t be a dessert. I’ve just been on a baking kick now that its getting cold.

Ingredients:

• 1 banana
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup + 1 t. oil
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
• 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 1/4 cups oats
• 3 tbsp. water

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Mix oil, sugars, and water.
3. Add banana and vanilla
4. In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; then add to above
5. Stir in oats.
6. Roll into 1-inch balls and place on an oiled baking sheet. Bake for 13 minutes. If you want a slightly hardier cookie, let the dough cool in the refrigerator for at least an hour before baking.

Enjoy!

Ignoring the global moratorium on killing whales for commercial use, Japan has decided to provoke yet another fight over marine life. Heading to the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, Japan has announced plans to kill 1,000 whales, including endangered fin whales and humpbacks, in the name of “scientific research.” Sea Shepherd Conservation Society and Greenpeace have both departed to intervene.

“The Japanese government’s “scientific” whaling program is a sham and a source of diplomatic tension between Japan and countries that support whale conservation, like the United States. Whaling has no place in Antarctica – it’s a place of peace and science, and this is not science,” said Karli Thomas, expedition leader aboard Greenpeace’s Esperanza.

Greenpeace is collaborating with a team of scientists on the “Great Whale Trail” project to prove that you don’t need to kill whales to study them. The project uses data from satellite tagging of whales, harmless skin biopsies and fluke identification.

“Japan’s whalers are deceiving the Japanese public by painting the word “research” on their ships,” said Junichi Sato, Greenpeace Japan Whales Project leader. “Real scientists don’t need to kill whales to study them. This is commercial whaling poorly dressed up as science.”

The Japanese fleet will consist of four whaling ships, including the 8,000-ton Nisshin Maru (pictured to the right being approached by Sea Shepherd’s Robert Hunter). While Greenpeace has announced that they will track the Japanese fleet through the duration of its hunt, the Sea Shepherd says it will stick to its traditional role of enforcing international law and preventing the hunt from taking place using direct action.

“I did not establish the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society as a protest organization,” said Captain Watson, founder of Sea Shepherd. “I have not gone to sea over all these years to simply bear witness to the atrocities that whalers continue to inflict upon the most gentle and intelligent beings in the seas. We are sea cops-operating legally under the guidelines of the United Nation’s World Charter for Nature, which allow for the enforcement of international conservation law by non-governmental organizations in international jurisdictions.”

If you would like to help stop the whale hunt, you can do the following:

Donate to Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
Tell Japan to stop the whale hunt
Donate to Greenpeace

Read more about this on from Greenpeace and Sea Shepherd.

A state that no longer has to euthanize healthy animals has been a goal of Deep Roots since the founding members first came together nearly four years ago. We have far greater plans than merely hoping for such a day. We have begun to work on a plan, a time-line for realizing that goal and we are now starting to talk to other organizations and shelters throughout the state to figure out how best to go about such an lofty goal. So this will undoubtedly be the first in many such posts.

First, let me thank Wayne Pacelle, CEO of the Humane Society of the United States, for stepping in to what has become a very heated debate in the animal rights movement. As Pacelle said, if you aren’t familiar with the debate, you are probably better off. But we can’t just ignore the debate and expect things to fix themselves. Both sides have valuable points and we need all actors to make this play a success.

Let me first say, that I’m writing this in the same vain as Pacelle’s post. I’m asking that we set aside semantics for a moment and focus on the goals. With that said, I agree with Pacelle’s claim that “no kill as a philosophy is noble; no kill as an objective or aspiration is essential. Really, nothing else can be our goal.” So how to we get to that goal?

Obviously, we need to look at the causes of the high euthanasia rates (3-4 million cats and dogs a year). While I have little doubt that some shelters are unnecessarily euthanizing some animals, I find it hard to believe that they are unnecessarily euthanizing 3-4 million a year. So why are so many animals ending up in shelters? For one, domestic cats and dogs are not a part of the natural ecosystem and therefore don’t have the usual checks and balances of animals that do (natural predators, selective birthing rates, etc). This means that domestic cats and dogs are able to reproduce in great numbers without ecology stepping in to correct the imbalance. This is why spay and neuter programs must be implemented that are affordable and thorough in their reach. Trap-Neuter-Release programs for feral cats will help to regulate feral cat populations without having to take them in to shelters where, due to their undomesticated and unadoptable status, they will almost certainly be euthanized.

Another source of the problem are breeders. Puppy mills and backyard breeders in this state are largely unregulated bodies that are able to force dogs and cats into pregnancies that create an unsustainable population. Thus leading many cats and dogs to be euthanized. That 3-4 million figure doesn’t include the number of companion animals that are killed each year by breeders and others because they are deemed unprofitable. The solution to this is two-pronged.

One, increase the percentage of companion animals adopted from rescue organizations rather than from breeders. Even a small percentage change can save millions of lives. Two, we need to stop the breeding industry. This won’t be done over night, but it can be done by first regulating their practices and decreasing their sales and profitability.

I believe we must except the fact making shelters no-kill (or limited admission) without focusing on the source of discarded animals won’t solve the problem of killing domestic animals. What it will do is to skew our numbers by encouraging more people to take killing domestic animals into their own hands. Without higher adoption rates or increased funding for shelters, we are also looking at a problem of animal hoarding.

We also must be honest with one another in the movement and outside. Transparency is the only way we will be able to gain the trust of each other and our communities. We have to be honest about the rates of euthanasia, the turn-away rates, and our finances. In order for transparency to work, however, it should not be used as another wedge to split us apart. It should be used as an honest tool of discussion, growth, and strategy. We must be willing to set aside some differences in order to focus on working together to meet our shared goals. Working against each other and outright dismissing one another only slows down our progress. We also have to be careful not to be too judgemental. Constructive criticisms should be welcomed, but judgement should be left outside.

The most important thing to remember is that this won’t happen overnight and it won’t happen just because we want it to. We need to work together to create comprehensive plans that fully engage our communities in the process. Most shelters in this state and the country don’t have the resources that are necessary to simply end all euthanasia. They need the help of volunteers and coalitions of other groups. This means we must break down the defensive barriers that we have begun to build around ourselves.

This is merely a small portion of my thoughts on this topic. As I said, I will continue to write about the subject. You should also expect to see some official Deep Roots information on the topic as our coalition begins to solidify its strategy. I encourage all voices in this discussion.

This video from current_, entitled Good Night Tex, is a heartbreaking look at the euthanization of shelter animals through the eyes of the one doing the euthanization. The video does an excellent job at showing just how important it is to stop breeding and start spaying and neutering your companion animals (and start adopting shelter animals). Watching the empathy that this woman feels for the dogs she euthanizes, I can’t possibly look her in the eye and say that she is my enemy in the struggle to stop the killing of 3-4 million shelter animals each year. Instead, we must focus on why it is that so many animals end up in shelters in the first place.

hat tip to The PETA Files

I just found out that November is Vegan MOFO (Vegan Month of Food), which is great because I wanted to share some recipes anyway. Today, I want to share a dessert that a non-vegan friend of mine made and five years later remains my favorite vegan cake recipe. It is a Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting that is easy to make and absolutely delicious.

The Cake
Dry ingredients:
2 cups dry sweetener
1 3/4 cups flour
3/4 cup cocoa
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
egg replacer (2 eggs worth, i use cornstarch and water)

Wet ingredients:
1 cup soy/rice/almond/whatev milk
1/2 cup canola oil
2 tsp vanilla

Last minute ingredient:
1 cup boiling water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all the dry ingredients. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well. Add boiling water to mixed ingredients. Pour mix into a greased 9×13-inch pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes.

The Icing
Ingredients:
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup soy margarine
2/3 cup powdered sugar
2-3 tbsp soy/rice/almond/whatev milk

Combine all ingredients until smooth. Chill for half an hour and spread on cooled cake.