Wednesday Blog: Week Eight

As the quarter comes to an end I decided to create a blog post with many mediums of things pertaining to animal rights. Below I have included newspaper articles, magazines, and songs.  

US civil rights group hails historic progress in the fight to secure fundamental rights for nonhuman animals

New York’s Court of Appeals admits for the first time there is no legal basis for denying personhood rights to chimpanzees – although it continues to deny them

• Nick Turner @NickMTurner
• Wednesday 16 May 2018 23:00 
• 
  

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The Independent

USDA Ordered to Publish Complete 

Animal Welfare Reports

In 2017, the agency began posting redacted records, but Congress is now demanding full transparency.

Mar 23, 2018

ASHLEY YEAGER

2

FLICKR, UNDERSTANDING RESEARCH"Be Their Voice" by singer Vanessa Dawson    

Tuesday Blog: Week Eight

Through out all the books I have read this semester, Animal Liberation by Peter Singer fascinated me the most. This book covered an entire spectrum of problems relating to animal rights, and also provided the readers with the most productive rational as to why they should make a change in their lives. After finishing this book, I learned more about what I can do as an individual to make a difference in the fight for animal rights. This book and listening to a speech by Peter Singer himself in person has inspired me to change the way I live and that is why I chose a quote said by Singer for my last quote blog this semester. Although this quote was not said in the book, it is still very powerful and I believe it encompasses the overall themes of the animal rights movement. 

Source: arzone.ning.com

"Animals, or at least those who are conscious and capable of suffering or enjoying their lives, are not things for us to use in whatever way we find convenient." ~ Peter Singer

Source: animalethics.org

This quote perfectly encompasses everything that the animal rights movement stands for. I brigs up many things that I covered this quarter in my analytical blogs and ultimately connects back to my essential questions which I created at the beginning of the quarter. In this quote, Singer is basically explaining why it is wrong to use animal for our benefit at the cost of their suffering. One of the main arguments brought up in all of the books I read was the idea of cognition. The concept of animal cognition is relevant to this quote because it brings up the idea that all living things which are capable of cognition should not be subjected to any type of pain or suffering, especially none that humans impose on them. This suffering consists of many things including the injustices I read about in the other books. Some of them include, animal testing such as Deafferentation and the Draize eye test,but also things as the treatment of animals in slaughter houses and inhumane breeding. All of theses animals are capable of cognition, and even the book which was opposed to animal rights admitted that most animals are capable of feeling and thinking. The book which opposed giving animals rights said that animals should never come before humans, ad that is true. But as singer implies i this quote and many others, animals are not more important that people, but they must be treated with equal respect. In conclusion, this quote encompasses my largest take away from this quarter which is to treat all beings with respect and to try not to benefit from others losses.

The video below explains this idea very well ad would be worth while to check out.

Friday Blog: Week Seven

This week I finished Animal Liberation by Peter Singer pages 120- 368. Next week I plan on reading selective chapter from the book that was originally last in the plan. This week while reading I came across a few words I was unfamiliar with. 

Vocab

Assimilable (Page 181)-
Capable of being assimilated.

Complacency (Page 185)-

A feeling of quiet pleasure or security, often while unaware of some potential danger, defect, or the like; self-satisfaction or smug satisfaction with an existing situation, condition, etc.

Despotism (Page 187)-

The rule of a despot; the exercise of absolute authority.

Juxtaposition (Page 189)-

An act or instance of placing close together or side by side, especially for comparison or contrast.

Ameliorate (Page 197)-
To make or become better, more bearable, or more satisfactory; improve.

Absolve (Page 202)-
To free from guilt or blame or their consequences.

Confer (Page 228)-

To consult together; compare opinions; carry on a discussion or deliberation.

Egalitarian (Page 238)-

Asserting, resulting from, or characterized by belief in the equality of all people, especially in political,economic, or social life.

Speciesism (Page 244)-

Discrimination in favor of one species, usually the human species, over another, especially in the exploitation or mistreatment of animals by humans.

Fallacious (Page 245)-

Containing a fallacy; logically unsound.

Source: goodnature.nathab.com

All definitions are taken from dictonary.com 

Thursday Blog: Week Seven

As I continue to read Animal Liberation by Peter Singer I have started to become far more interested in the author. Last Wednesday I attended a speech of his and now after reading more of the book, I see that he is very morally inclined person. All of the reasons he gives in his book and his speech were backed up by logic and a ethical argument. 

In the book he backs up all of his arguments with a comparison to human and people rights. An example of this is the quote blog from week seven. He expressed he idea that how can we give everyone equal rights if you exclude animals from this group. This shows how he supports his position by not only logic but also ethics. this creates a more compelling argument and makes the reader more likely to agree with him.

Source: animalcharityevaluators.org

Similarly to the way he supports his arguments in the book he also supports his argument in his speech the same way. To open he discussed effective altruism which is a philosophy and social movement that uses evidence and reasoning to determine the most effective ways to benefit others. Effective altruism encourages individuals to consider all causes and actions and to act in the way that brings about the greatest positive impact, based upon their values" (wikipedia.org). He then connected this to the way we treat animals by using this philosophy and it was a very convincing argument. He mentioned things like if everyone in the United States stopped eating meat for just one day,it would be the equivalent of taking your car off the road for five weeks or reducing everyone’s daily showers by 3 minutes. 

To learn more about the impact of reducing meat intake check out this website.

Source: progressivepodcastaustralia.com

To listen to a speech similar to the one I attended check out this podcast

Wednesday Blog: Week Seven

Right now in Animal Liberation by Peter Singer, he is talking about vegetarian recipes. This interested me so I was looking on YouTube for cooking tutorials for vegetarian or vegan food when I came across this video.These recipes are great options for diet without meat or even just for a meal with out meat for a normal diet. I will be trying one of these recipes and will hopefully review them after I try them 

Tuesday Blog: Week Seven

This week I have continued reading Animal Liberation by Peter Singer. This book which was originally published in 1975 covers many issues related to the treatment of animals. Some of the main focuses of this book are animals being used for testing, animals bred for food, and reasons to be vegetarian. Peter Singer advocates for the fair and ethical treatment of animals by exposing the dark truth behind the industries that implement the most pain and suffering on animals. By enlightening the readers of Animal Liberation Singer is able to convince them of the idea that change is needed. Right now in the book, I am at the part where he discusses the treatment of animals being bred for food. In order to prove change is needed, he explains the dark reality behind animals raised for meat. One thing in particular which is rather convincing is when he talks about the production of veal, meat from a baby cow usually male. He mentions how the quality of veal is determined by its color and texture. In a regular calf, they have excess room outside to graze on grass and build muscle by various activities. Eating grass and exercising, are what causes the unwanted dark color and toughness of the meat. To prevent this they keep the cows in a small enclosure which is about 2 feet by 4 feet which is not large enough for them to move. They are also fed a substance which will not cause darkening of the meat and also helps them gain weight much faster than a normal cow, 300 plus pounds (lbs) compared to the usual 90 pounds (lbs).

Source: rantingsfromavirtualsoapbox.wordpress.com

Quote: "Certain basic facts are clear enough to justify action. Whilst accepting the need for many restrictions, we must draw the line at conditions which completely suppress all or nearly all the natural, instinctive urges and behavior patterns" (Singer 142).

There is nothing to justify when animals can´t even complete activities that are instinctual to them. Singer points out that there are some cases where animals need to be restricted and he understands the necessity of it, but he does not support it when it is done so inhumanely. This quote perfectly fits the calves' situation, being raised for veal being extremely restricted so they can not do anything they normally would do. In addition to the baby cows being treated poorly, the mother cows are artificially inseminated, once they give birth they are forced into the dairy industry. This cycle is completely unnatural and it goes against all instinctive urges like giving parental care.

Source: pinterest.com

This example of the production of veal reminds me of puppy mills. Puppy mills are places that breed surpluses of dogs in inhumane circumstances. Puppy mills usually forced the mother’s to have litter after litter of puppy and usually starting at a young age. This is very similar to the way cows are obtained for veal and often the dogs are stored in cramped living quarters much like the cows are. This relates to my life because my dog before she was rescued was suspected to be in a puppy mill. By the time she was barely two years old, she had at least two liters of puppies if not more. To put that in perspective, dogs begin having puppies when they are about 7 months old and the average gestation period for dogs is 70 days. When you add that all together that is almost a year and a half. This cruelty resembles so of the treatment endured by animals like cows, pigs, and chickens. Puppy mills deny the dogs of their natural patterns and force them to act unnaturally.

For more information check out this website

Friday Blog: Week Six

This week I finished reading last weeks book, Rattling the Cage by Steven M. Wise pages 223 to 384. in addition to that, I began reading Animal Liberation by Peter Singer, pages 1- 120. This week especially while reading Animal Liberation I was only unfamiliar with a few words becuase I have already read so much on this topic.

Vocab

Vindication (Page xii)-

to uphold or justify by argument or evidence.

Insurmountable (Page xiii)-   incapable of being surmounted, passed over, or overcome; insuperable:

Apparatus (Page 32)-

a group or combination of instruments, machinery, tools, materials, etc., having a particular function or intended for a specific use:

Electroconvulsive (Page 43)-

Of or relating to a convulsive response to an electrical stimulus.

Aversive (Page 47)- 

of or relating to aversion.

Barbiturate (Page 67)-

any of a group of barbituric acid derivatives, used in medicine as sedatives and hypnotics.

Utterance (Page 75)-

an act of uttering; vocal expression.

Ignoramuses (Page 76)-

an extremely ignorant person.

Neuroma (page 102)-

a tumor formed of nerve tissue.

Tenaciously (Page 117)-

holding fast; characterized by keeping a firm hold

network23.org

All definitions are taken from Dictonary.com

Thursday Blog: Week Six

As I continue to read Animal Liberation by Peter Singer I have been able to answer the majority of my essential questions. This is most likely due to the fact that the book was originally published in 1975 and is said to be the book which started the animal rights movement. This book since its original publication has been revised to include new issues arising and also to include any improvements in the treatment of animals.

 

Some of the book covers on this book throughout the years

The first essential question which I was able to answer was my question, what are animal rights. From even only the first few chapters Peter Singer makes his opinion on animal rights known. Much like the last book I read Singer also compares animal rights to human rights which makes the concept much easier to understand. At one point he says, "we would be on shaky ground if we were to demand equality for blacks, women, and other groups of oppressed humans while denying equal consideration to non-humans" (Singer 3). Adding the comparison between animals and oppressed groups gives me a lot of insight as to what animal rights actually are and what rights they deserve. Finding out about the oppression of animals led me to discover the organization below that works towards ending animal oppression.

                                                                                                 SURGE was Founded in 2016, Surge is a grassroots animal rights organization determined to create a world where compassion towards all non-human animals is the norm. Our aim is to spread awareness through large-scale campaigns, filmmaking and investigative work. Surge is committed to positive community building, teamwork and the abolition of animal use. Our vision is a world in which all animals are free from oppression and violence. (surgeactivism.com)

This book has begun to answer my question, are there any alternatives to animal testing. In the second chapter, they describe a “synthetic material called Eytex as a replacement for the Draize test” (Singer 59). The Draize eye test is a test where usually cosmetics are placed in the eye of animals such as rabbits and rodents. This is merely one example of an alternative way to test products that do not include animals.

angelfire.com

Eyetex
Eyetex uses a vegetable protein to mimic reactions of the cornea to a substance. This is an effective eye irritancy test that can replace the Draize eye irritancy test.
Testskin
Human skin grown in a sterile plastic bag is used to test for potentially harmful reactions.
Ames Test
A test culture is made of Salmonella bacteria and activating enzymes, along with the chemical to be tested. This method is extremely efficient at identifying carcinogens. In testing, it detected 90% of carcinogens and 88% of non-carcinogens. These numbers are impressively high compared to animal testing.

Singer, Peter. Animal Liberation. The Bodley Head, 2015.

Wednesday Blog: Week Six

In my search for connections to my topic in places other than in the books I am reading I came across the movie Blackfish. I haven’t watched this movie yet but I plan on watching it tonight. This movie is about Tilikum, a captive killer whale that has taken the lives of several people, underscores problems within the sea-park industry, man's relationship to nature, and how little has been learned about these highly intelligent mammals (wikipedia.org).  Here is the trailer to the movie.

Monday Blog: Week Six

This weekend I finished reading the book Rattling the Cage by Steven M. Wise but I still decided to write my blog on it because I have not read enough of my other book to analyze a quote. In the beginning of the book Wise constantly made connections between human rights and animal rights. The human right issues brought up in the book were abortion and slavery. In terms of abortion the book specifically talked about how if you are pro choice that you are taking away the rights of the unborn fetus. Wise later goes on to say that talking away rights from a unborn child is much like taking away the rights of animals. This is because neither of them can speak up for them sleeves. In respects to slavery Wise talks about involuntary servitude imposed on people before the civil war. He connect slavery to the way we use animals today and how we take advantage of them. The end of this book basically summarized the ideas previously introduced.

Source: britannica.com

Quote: 
"The entitlement of [animals] to fundamental legal rights will mark a huge step toward stopping our unfettered abuse of them , just as human rights marked a milepost in stopping our abuse of each other"(Wise 237)

This quote basically compares the life of animals today to the lives of people before laws were passed to protect them and their rights. This quote also shows how Wise supports the idea that animals and people endure the same type of suffering, whether it be involuntary servitude or reproductive autonomy. By implying that the suffering endured by people and endure by animals is the same is one way Wise can appeal to a larger audience. This idea can appeal to those people interested in supporting other causes and therefore create a larger support for Wise’s position.

Source: livehonestly.com

As a high school student I fee like learning about current events and past events about human rights is very important. By implying that that animals and and humans both suffer from abuses of their rights has me very interested and I plan to learn more about the comparison between the two.I am not sure where I stand on believing that animals are equivalent to human slaves. Besides that, I agree that making a document that specifically states what Animals rights are and what protections they deserve that they would be treated far better. Personally, Wise's connection to human rights makes his position and ideas easier to comprehend because I have something to compare it against.

Source :quotemaster.org

Friday Blog: Week Five

This week I have continued reading Rattling the Cage by Steven M. Wise pages 95 - 223. Since I am a week ahead in my reading I might be switching my final book to a longer one called Animal Liberation by Peter Singer, the author who I saw on Thursday night. This book is one of the most famous books in the animal rights movement and I feel like it would be beneficial to read it. Anyways, this week in my reading I came across a few words that I was unfamiliar with and found their definitions. 

Source: www.petacatalog.com

Vocab

Exuberantly (Page 165)- Effusively and almost uninhibitedly enthusiastic; lavishly abundant.

Impoverished (Page 167)- Reduced to poverty.

Enculturation (Page 168)- The process whereby individuals learn their group's culture, through experience, observation, and instruction.

Aberrant (Page 174)- Departing from the right, normal, or usual course.

Hominids (Page 181)- Any member of the group consisting of all modern and extinct humans and great apes (including gorillas, chimpanzees, and orangutans) and all their immediate ancestors.

Gyrencephalic (Page 182)-  Denoting brains, such as that of humans, in which the cerebral cortex has convolutions, in contrast to the lissencephalic (smooth) brains of small mammals (rodents).

Metarepresentation (Page 196)- A higher-order representation with a lower-order representation embedded within.

Subordinate (Page 208)- Placed in or belonging to a lower order or rank.

Parsimonious (Page 214)- Characterized by or showing parsimony; frugal or stingy.

Quibble (Page 221)- An instance of the use of ambiguous, prevaricating, or irrelevant language or arguments to evade a point at issue.

Lexigram (Page 223)- A figure or symbol that represents a word.

Thursday Blog: Week Five

This week I have continued to read Rattling The Cage by Steven M. Wise. As I read more of the book it continues to legally support the animal rights movement. As I previously mentioned the book makes many legal comparisons between controversial topics that affect our lives today. Along with the engaging topics, the format of the book is very interesting as it will tell the reader to read ahead if they already agree with his opinion. 

Watch this video for more information on Steven M Wise and What his goals are for the Nonhuman Rights Project

Image result for nonhuman rights projectThis interesting format is seen on page 144 where Wise says, "If you agree, you may postpone all dental work and go directly to Chapter 9"(Wise 144). Because this book is a legal but also persuasive book this phrase used by the author is very clever. He implies that the pages ahead will be dull and painful much like dental work because he has to prove something that he thinks should be common knowledge. I feel like taking into consideration overall strengthens his persuasive ability and his ability to appeal to many different groups of people. 

Source: persuasionatwork.com

This book's main purpose is not only to persuade through his word choice but he also persuades readers by providing so much evidence to support his claims. throughout each chapter, he provides many cases to support claims such as animals being cognitive. After giving a brief explanation he will give many specific examples of cases both past and present that prove his claim to be correct. This "claim, evidence, reasoning", a method which is common in scientific reports is exactly what makes Rattling The Cage such a successful persuasive book. 

Source: ecdn.com