Author Archives: There's an Elephant in the Room

A plea to shoppers

Posted on June 19, 2018

Today there are millions of individuals in the death trucks, packed in crates, queuing in slaughterhouses. For each one who waits, quaking, a pulse throbs warm and strong under soft skin while a heart pounds with anxiety. They listen to … Continue reading →

Posted in Advocacy, consumer demand | Tagged breast milk, commodification, consumer demand, dairy, eggs, harm, milk, resources, sentience, shoppers, slaughterhouse, veganism, victims, violence | 1 Comment

Being absolutely clear

Posted on June 11, 2018

When we advocate on their behalf, it is vital to focus on the injustice of ALL the uses that we make of members of other species. We need to ensure that it’s clear that even in the ‘best’ of situations, … Continue reading →

Posted in Advocacy | Tagged compromise, consumer demand, harm, justice, legislation, regulations, Single Issue Campaigns, vegan, veganism, victims | 3 Comments

Chickens and eggs – what about the males?

Posted on June 1, 2018

I find my thoughts returning frequently to chickens; these wonderful, gentle, friendly little birds whose species bears the brunt (in terms of sheer numbers) of our own species’ arrogant delusions of entitlement and staggering ignorance about necessity. I’ve written many … Continue reading →

Posted in eggs, What is the problem with using eggs | Tagged advocacy, chickens, commodification, consumer demand, culling, dairy, egg-laying hens, eggs, ethics, harm, health, humane, justice, macerating, moral choices, resources, respect, rights, sentience, slaughter, Statistics, truth, vegan, veganism, victims, violence, welfare, well-being | 5 Comments

Thought for a spring day

Posted on May 17, 2018

Returning home from an errand to Edinburgh at 6 am, I am haunted by images of so many chicken death trucks. Even now when I close my eyes, I see them still. Like a viscous wave, I feel the cloying … Continue reading →

Posted in Advocacy, Awakening to veganism | Tagged chickens, commodification, consumer demand, resources, sentience, slaughter, vegan, veganism, victims, violence | 3 Comments

Hens and puppy mills – an analogy

Posted on May 8, 2018

Not a day goes by that I fail to see someone contradicting a post that explains – often at some length – that there is no such thing as a humane egg. As soon as there’s a post about eggs, … Continue reading →

Posted in 'Happy' exploitation, eggs | Tagged abolition, advocacy, backyard, chickens, commodification, commodities, consumer demand, dogs, egg-laying hens, eggs, ethics, harm, health, hens, humane, motherhood, puppy farms, puppy mills, reproduction, resources, rights, selective breeding, speciesism, truth, vegan, veganism, victims | 11 Comments

Just another crank

Posted on May 2, 2018

The ONLY way to stop harming animals is to be vegan. It’s the least we can do. In the past, every time I saw that in a post, you know what used to happen? I used to think, ‘Well that’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Addressing resistance to change, Awakening to veganism | Tagged commodification, consumer demand, dairy, eggs, extremism, harm, health, humane, milk, sentience, truth, vegan, veganism, victims | Leave a comment

Making up labels to hide behind

Posted on April 26, 2018

Here’s someone with a lovely face. His name was Rannoch. In this photo he was watching the track to the house, waiting to catch sight of me. He would wait there all day, if that’s what it took. Some might … Continue reading →

Posted in Advocacy, Companion animals, Speciesism | Tagged bred for eating, bred for fur, commodification, consumer demand, dairy, eggs, harm, milk, moral choices, respect, rights, slaughter, vegan, veganism, victims, violence, welfare | 2 Comments

We’re so vain – thoughts on intelligence

Posted on April 17, 2018

Another comment that often appears amongst the arsenal of tired old excuses that humans cling to in their attempts to justify the use of members of other species, centres around presumptions of superior intelligence when compared with every other species … Continue reading →

Posted in Addressing resistance to change, FAQ, Speciesism | Tagged advocacy, awakening, commodification, consumer demand, dairy, death, Earth day, eggs, harm, human superiority, intelligence, moral choices, resources, rights, sentience, speciesism, truth, vegan, veganism, victims, violence | 4 Comments

The way it’s always been and if we stop they’ll become extinct

Posted on April 9, 2018

‘ Humans have been using other animals since the beginning of time.’ ‘It’s always been this way.’ ‘If we stop farming them they’ll become extinct.’ The idea that ‘nothing can change from the way it’s always been done’, is commonly … Continue reading →

Posted in Addressing resistance to change, FAQ | Tagged backyard, battery, chickens, consumer demand, Cruelty, domestication, eggs, environment, extinct, extinction, factory, free range, genetic modification, harm, hens, humane, justice, sanctuary, selective breeding, slaughter, Torture, vegan, veganism, victims, violence | 5 Comments

Translations of common expressions: ‘Grass-fed lamb, half price!’

Posted on April 5, 2018

This was a promotion by a supermarket, heard recently in a TV ad break. With a great deal encapsulated in very few words, it’s a cynical bit of mind-bending although there was a time I wouldn’t have realised; that’s the art … Continue reading →

Posted in 'Happy' exploitation, Awakening to veganism, consumer demand, Harm reduction, welfare | Tagged breast feeding, chickens, commodification, consumer demand, dairy, decency, eggs, grass-fed, harm, humane, milk, resources, rights, sentience, slaughter, victims, violence | 1 Comment