Big news from the Washington Post this week: Companies are getting closer to commercializing technology that would prevent vast numbers of male chicks from being hatched simply to be shredded alive. It’d be so huge.
But the really big news is that we’re now less than two weeks from Election Day, when Massachusetts residents will vote on Question 3 to prevent farm animal cruelty! NBC encapsulated the issue this week with a two-minute segment about the historic ballot measure. And if you want to know who’s funneling hundreds of thousands of dollars to the opposition campaign, this great Boston Globe column today exposes the opposition to Question 3 for what it is.
And finally, Chicago Woman has a great feature celebrating Vegetarian Awareness Month from HSUS’s own Leolin Bowen—check it out!
Paul Shapiro Vice President of Policy The Humane Society of the United States Follow at twitter.com/pshapiro
P.S. Video of the week: If the first word you associate with rats isn’t “cute!” watch this.
P.P.S. Need another reason to love Dr. Bronner’s soap? You got it.
You may recognize Zink’s name from our recent write-up, well now you can win your own vegan fair-trade bag from them! THAT’S RIGHT! We’re giving away this striped jute tote to one lucky vegansaur.
If you don’t recall, Zink is a really cool company; not only are their bags animal-friendly, they are human-friendly as well:
At Zink, we believe that quality of life is a human right. That’s why we have partnered with an NGO (non-government organization) in South Asia to ensure that every bag in our jute collection is made responsibly. Dedicated to a just and poverty-free world, our partner promotes local leadership and entrepreneurship among women artisans to establish a sustainable economy and nourish a self-reliant and gender-balanced society.
So we are clearly Zink fans, what about you?? I mean, you at least could use a free new bag, right?! OK SO HERE’S HOW TO ENTER: tell me what vegan goodies you will transport in your new Zink bag! Comment on this post with your answer and I’ll pick a winner next Tuesday evening.
Austin-based bag brand Zink sent me a free bag to try–isn’t it adorbs? I took it to the farmers market and all the Carroll Gardens market-goers were SO jeals. They’re always jeals tbh. Sigh, it’s hard being a vegan fashion plate.
This bag comes from the handmade, sustainable, fair-trade jute collection but everything on the Zink site is vegan. Besides being hella cute and useful, Zink’s jute bags are made in partnership with a really cool organization that teaches women in South Asia how to weave jute and also helps them to run their own micro business.
More info on the collection:
At ZINK, we believe that quality of life is a human right. That’s why we have partnered with an NGO (non-government organization) in South Asia to ensure that every bag in our Jute Collection is made responsibly. Dedicated to a just and poverty-free world, our partner promotes local leadership and entrepreneurship among women artisans to establish a sustainable economy and nourish a self-reliant and gender-balanced society.
Zink’s partner organization offers their artisans:
-Micro loans -Human rights promotion -Safe and healthy working environments -Working facility has sufficient light, air, safety equipment, masks for use when needed, security, and a day care center. -Leadership training -Women leadership forums -Gender and business training -Product development and skill training -Mother and child healthcare assistance -Strengthening of personal skills -Shelter in order to support any of the women who had to leave a violent situation -Free psychological and legal support if needed -Free literacy lessons
And for the jute farmers:
-Fair prices for crops -Transparent and clear pricing -Small business and management training -Education on technical knowledge and harvesting of jute -High quality seeds -4,000 farmers and families benefit from this partnership -Business improvement and expansion course for existing small and micro entrepreneurs.
Gotta love all that! It’s so nice when we can find animal-friendly products that are also so human-friendly.
Zink also sells these cute 100{ae720e0b436026f867bfa0c31185c2252a138f27e85f5f152ec5acc1c10a8cc9} cotton “plant cashmere” scarves. I think I need this one:
HSUS’s Future of Food conference (this evening and tomorrow, Saturday) is sold out, but you can watch via livestream at our Facebook page. Peter Singer starts at 7pm ET this evening, and there are great speakers tomorrow you can stream, too.
Breaking news today: New federal investigation uncovers the depths of the egg industry’s covert war against Hampton Creek: Must-read LA Times exposé!
Make sure to check out the New York Times’ big new feature on undercover investigations at factory farms and slaughter plants—worth the read!
Finally, the Huffington Post has a potent story this week about the historic nature of the MA Question 3 campaign. And bonus new video: YES on 3 or bust!
Paul Shapiro Vice President, Farm Animal Protection The Humane Society of the United States Follow at twitter.com/pshapiro
Did you see the debate this week where one person clearly dominated her opponent? Obviously I’m talking about MA Yes on 3 campaign director Stephanie Harris defeating the opposition in a local TV debate.
The stakes are getting higher in the Bay State, where the factory farming lobby just launched its official campaign against the historic ballot measure for farm animals. 38 days to go!
In other news, investors managing $1.25 trillion in assets this week launched a campaign to get the biggest food sellers to use less meat. Check out Fortune’s coverage.
Finally, what do veggie burgers have to do with the end of Western civilization? A lot, apparently, as this LA Times op-ed notes.
Paul Shapiro Vice President, Farm Animal Protection The Humane Society of the United States Follow at twitter.com/pshapiro
