VINE Sanctuary Blog

Reclaiming Anger So We Can Speak Truth to Power

bravebird — Tue, 15 May 2012 15:38:36 +0000

The other day, a woman asked me if I thought she was a bad person because she ate meat. Beyond feeling admiration for her for asking the question at all – most people don’t have the guts – I found myself thinking about what, exactly, constitutes a good person in the context of humanity . . . → Read More: Reclaiming Anger So We Can Speak Truth to Power

Write to the Burlington Free Press and Tell Them There is NO SUCH THING as “Humane Veal”

bravebird — Fri, 11 May 2012 12:32:31 +0000

The sickness of humanity is nowhere more evident than in its justifications for such practices as veal production. It is one thing to stretch one’s mind to create a justification for stealing babies from their mothers and eating them shortly thereafter — it is another thing to actually believe it.

Last night, an article . . . → Read More: Write to the Burlington Free Press and Tell Them There is NO SUCH THING as “Humane Veal”

Support the Cow Ribbon Campaign This Mother’s Day: Stop Using Cow’s Milk!

bravebird — Wed, 09 May 2012 01:24:17 +0000

Humans are good at living in our symbolic realities, even when they directly contradict the real world. This is extremely well symbolized by the fact that we idealize the concept of motherhood, even while we treat our own mothers like shit. I’m not talking about abusive mothers; I’m not talking about mothers who never . . . → Read More: Support the Cow Ribbon Campaign This Mother’s Day: Stop Using Cow’s Milk!

Ted Nugent, You Probably Think This Blog Is About You

bravebird — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 00:42:56 +0000

But it’s not. At least, not entirely. Mostly it’s about us — the world we’ve created — a world that encourages people like Ted Nugent to be born and shaped into — well — Ted Nugent.

In case you haven’t heard, Ted’s latest idiocy is to make veiled threats against the life of President . . . → Read More: Ted Nugent, You Probably Think This Blog Is About You

Our Profound Alienation Runs Deeper Than We Realize

bravebird — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 23:15:23 +0000

Animal sanctuaries that accept chickens often will avoid rescuing certain kinds of hens, especially cockfighting breeder hens. Why? First of all, they tend to go feral about 10 minutes after you introduce them to their new coop, which of course they disdain in favor of the tallest trees. Because of this, there’s often literally . . . → Read More: Our Profound Alienation Runs Deeper Than We Realize

From the AR News: Michigan’s Bizarre Plan to Mass Murder Pigs on Family Farms

bravebird — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 18:39:24 +0000

Check this out:

http://www.naturalnews.com/035372_Michigan_pigs_farm_freedom.html#ixzz1qN0B0sy2

While of course I’m thrilled at the prospect of carnivorous local farms being destroyed — and in fact, that is the only happy silver lining of THIS story — I am having trouble thinking too deeply about this situation, which is why I’m posting it here. Any time I can’t . . . → Read More: From the AR News: Michigan’s Bizarre Plan to Mass Murder Pigs on Family Farms

Vegan For Any Reason? Some Thoughts

bravebird — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 01:19:17 +0000

Lately I’ve been ruminating, as I tend to do sometimes. It’s like having a running almost-unconscious dialogue in the back of my mind that comes and goes in intensity. My latest rumination has been about the whole “Vegan For Any Reason” movement gaining a strong foothold in the animal rights community. The basic argument . . . → Read More: Vegan For Any Reason? Some Thoughts

Dissociation Today

bravebird — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 19:02:08 +0000

Friend of the sanctuary and author of the brilliant Elephants on the Edge Gay Bradshaw has published an insightful critique of Amber Hansen’s art project, The Story of Chickens: A Revolution on her Psychology Today blog. Here’s the link:

15 Minutes of Shame | Psychology Today

As Bradshaw reports:

Over a several week . . . → Read More: Dissociation Today

My Sister: A Story About Veganism

bravebird — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 21:36:01 +0000

Don’t worry, I’m not going to get all family album on you. Anyone who’s read more than one of these blogs knows I’m not like that. However, I will just note that despite the caustic tone I generally bestow upon most human beings, I do have some humans in my life for whom I . . . → Read More: My Sister: A Story About Veganism

We Will Miss You, Snowball

bravebird — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 18:12:42 +0000

On Monday, January 16th, we had a vet put Snowball, an almost-19-year-old cow, to sleep. “Put to sleep” is a nice euphemism for “put to death,” because death tends to be hard for most humans to think about, and it’s easier to imagine someone going to sleep than someone going . . . → Read More: We Will Miss You, Snowball