cruelty

Cheap sweets

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I am going to tell you two things in this blog post.

  1. You can buy the big tubs of Goody Good Stuff Christmas gummy sweets for just £1 at Whole Foods Market in Fulham. I am not sure if other branches around the UK are offering this deal. Perhaps someone will comment if they have seen it elsewhere. You will probably never see these vegan sweets at this price anywhere else.

goody good stuff2. An activist organisation called Direct Action Everywhere held protests at Whole Foods Market stores all over the USA a few days ago to raise awareness of animal suffering they allege is taking place on farms supplying the retail giant.

I am a bit confused about the campaign message presented by Direct Action Everywhere. Yes, Whole Foods Market is directly responsible for the death of countless animals but I don’t know what the activists are asking people to do. This action seemed to be about the mislabelling of eggs as humane when Direct Action Everywhere have presented footage they say shows horrendous conditions for birds in farms supplying the chain.

Are they asking Whole Foods to keep better watch of their suppliers or are they asking consumers not to eat animals? I love seeing compassionate people rise up in unison but I wish the message here was clearer and more well-defined.

You can watch a Direct Action Everywhere video about the egg production facilities here. Maybe you will get a clearer idea of the direction of the campaign than I could. The video contains horrifying footage of animal suffering but it is very muddled in its message.

I hope Direct Action Everywhere can tighten up their campaigns and of course I hope activists can convince Whole Foods Market to take animal products out of their stores.

Photo via here
Photo via here

That’s your Whole Foods Market news for today.

No sir, I don’t like it

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Growing up in Australia, I was socialised into believing acts of animal exploitation were normal and a reason to celebrate. Some of my earliest memories are of animals being tortured for sport or food.

I was only a few years old as I stood in my aunty’s suburban kitchen and watched as live crabs were lowered into boiling water. My childhood memories are filled with fishing trips with my father who would press live worms onto the barbs of hooks as a tool to snare fish. Many of these fish were considered too small to warrant taking home, so were returned to the ocean with severe cuts and gashes in their mouths. Bigger sea creatures were left to experience excruciating deaths in the open air before being taken to a kitchen to serve as a meal.

My uncle kept racing dogs. Another uncle used a pump to suck living prawn-like animals from their sand homes. I have relatives who worked themselves into a near-religious frenzy when betting on animal sports. I was taken to a circus by my mother and aunty, where I was encouraged to ride a donkey. The poor creature trembled under my 9 year old weight, as my lanky legs dragged on the ground. Tears come to my eyes as I type these recollections. I feel shame and sorrow.

As a young person with world views still in development, I had no compassionate voices shaping my outlook. I was being conditioned to see animals as an unquestionable source of food, entertainment, clothing and sport.

A particularly perverse example took place in a classroom.

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