How Cows are Treated in India
Animal Housing, Consumerism, Livestock, Society — by Craig Mackintosh March 8, 2010
We’re having a stimulating discussion about our relationship with animals in Lindsay’s recent ‘Meet Red‘ post. One side thought amidst the discussion prompted me to take the opportunity to share what may well be a little known fact about the treatment of India’s supposedly sacred cows.
Many people think that in India cows are almost universally worshipped, and treated better than your pampered collie or russian blue. But, the reality is that although killing cows is illegal in all but two states in the country, these laws are poorly enforced, and local officials are often bribed to turn a blind eye to both the cruelty and slaughter of these animals. And where they aren’t killed in states where it’s illegal, they’re forced to walk vast distances until they reach the states where killing is legal, or they’re crammed like sardines into trucks and train carriages in stifling hot conditions and taken there. Because of the distances involved, the herders often have to resort to extreme acts of cruelty to ‘encourage’ the animals to continue their trek – like breaking their tails and rubbing hot spices into their eyes, and worse. An example of ‘worse’ is making them drink water laced with copper sulphate. It destroys their kidneys so they can’t urinate, so while in agony upon arrival they are also heavier and fetch a better price.
This article gives you a bit of a start on the topic, and the video below is well worth a watch. Warning – extreme animal cruelty footage:
For me, scale is always the source of our problems – be they environmental, ethical or otherwise.
Comments (3)The Domestication Spectrum: How Our Relationships With Plants and Animals Define Our Existence
Biodiversity, Bird Life, Consumerism, Economics, Fish, Food Forests, Food Plants - Annual, Food Plants - Perennial, General, Livestock, People Systems, Plant Systems, Society, Village Development — by Kyle Chamberlain March 4, 2010
by Kyle Chamberlain, The Human Habitat Project
Our bonds with other species are as vital, to survival, as our bonds with other people. If we don’t choose our company carefully, disaster is likely to ensue.
As a species, we should be shopping for the best relationships. There’s a lot a stake, and we don’t want to be abused or neglected. When searching for a good fit, we should keep in mind the following characteristics of good relationships.
Comments (2)Life at Zaytuna – Meet Red
Animal Processing, Demonstration Sites, Education Centres, Livestock, Society, Waste Systems & Recycling — by Lindsay Dailey February 24, 2010
Editor’s Preamble: People are increasingly disgusted with the cruelty, disease and pollution associated with factory farms. Events like the recent Swine Flu pandemic, which appears to have originated with the world’s largest hog producer, Smithfield Foods, are helping us to see the error of our corporate ways. Large scale of any activity almost always compromises ecological and ethical principles, and the factory farming of sentient beings is a tragic example of this. The post below, from a recent Wwoofer to Zaytuna Farm (PRI’s home base), decribes a far healthier and more compassionate approach for those who choose to eat meat, and one where there is no waste – as all ‘by products’ are utilised by other elements of the system. It should also be noted that PRI is sensitive to individual food choices of students on courses run at PRI’s Zaytuna Farm, and thus are catered for accordingly.
Thanks to Lindsay Dailey for the submission!
This is Red:
9:30pm
Chicago’s Chicken Ordinance
Animal Housing, Bird Life, Comedy Break, Livestock — by Craig Mackintosh January 30, 2010
This is a rather amusing look at Chicago’s ‘Chicken Ordinance’.
The moral of the story is if it’s not on paper, it doesn’t exist.
Comments (4)The Buffalo Commons
Biodiversity, General, Livestock, Rehabilitation, Soil Conservation — by Rhamis Kent January 3, 2010
Here’s an idea that should be embraced and championed by all earth repair advocates: The Buffalo Commons.
The Buffalo Commons is a conceptual proposal to create a vast nature preserve by returning 139,000 square miles (360,000 km2) of the drier portion of the Great Plains to native prairie, and by reintroducing the buffalo, or American Bison, that once grazed the short grass prairie.
Comments (8)Joel Salatin and the Expression of Chickenness
Animal Forage, Consumerism, Health & Disease, Livestock — by Rhamis Kent November 18, 2009
Joel Salatin runs one of the best examples of a fully functional & productive sustainable farming operation found anywhere in the United States at Polyface Farms. It may not fit the precise permaculture mold, but it does demonstrate what’s possible without the use of expensive and destructive chemical inputs & CAFOs (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations).
He recently participated in the TEDxMidAtlantic (similar to TED Talks) series of lectures to discuss the significance of adopting more holistic, comprehensive methods in producing food and tending to the land. Very inspiring and thought provoking.
What are you doing to allow a chicken to fully express its essence of ‘chickenness’? Or a cow its essence of ‘cowness’? Joel has a few things to say about that.
Comments (2)Are You Paying to Burn the Rainforest?
Biodiversity, Consumerism, Deforestation, Economics, Livestock — by George Monbiot October 14, 2009
If you’re buying Brazilian beef, the answer is yes
by George Monbiot: journalist, author, academic and environmental and political activist, United Kingdom
For the past five years I have been at war with Farmers for Action. These are the neanderthals who have held up the traffic and blockaded the refineries in the hope of persuading the government to reduce the price of fuel. It doesn’t matter how often you explain that cheap fuel, which allows the supermarkets to buy from wherever the price of meat or grain is lowest, has destroyed British farming. They will stand in front of the cameras and make us watch as they cut their own throats.
But through gritted teeth I must admit that they have got something right. In January the caveman-in-chief, David Handley, warned that foot and mouth disease had not been eliminated from Brazil, and that imports of meat from that country risked bringing it back to Britain(1). The buyers brushed his warning aside. In the first half of this year, beef imports from Brazil to the UK rose by 70%, to 34,000 tonnes(2). Last week an outbreak was confirmed in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul.
You would, of course, expect British producers to throw as much mud as they can at cheap imports. You would expect them to question their competitors’ hygiene standards and social and environmental impacts, and Mr Handley has done all of these things. But, to my intense annoyance, he is on every count correct.
Comments (0)Hooray for the Water Buffalo!
Livestock, Working Animals — by Craig Mackintosh July 30, 2009
They are called water buffalo for good reason
Photos Copyright © Craig Mackintosh
Did you know that more than five percent of the world’s milk supply comes from water buffalo? Yes, that’s it, just like the one enjoying a leisurely soak above.
There are approximately 160 million water buffalo in the world, and about 95% of these are found in Asia (and about half of those are in India). Between 20-30% of farm power in asia is provided by these self-replicating, fertiliser-producing tractors. (Animal Diversity Web). Most of our readers will be oblivious to how dependent a large percentage of the world’s population are on these enormous, domesticated bovines.
In Vietnam I had opportunity to see these mild mannered friends of humanity at work and at play, and so thought I’d (finally) share a few pictures in a bid to give them a little credit for their labour on our behalf.
Comments (4)All Pigs in Egypt to be Culled
Animal Housing, Health & Disease, Livestock — by Craig Mackintosh May 1, 2009
Continuing on from yesterday, where we revealed some pretty concrete links between H1N1 (Swine Flu) and corporate factory farms, and where we bemoaned the fact that the small-scale backyard farmers are likely to suffer because of the actions of this large U.S. industry, now we see that all the pig farmers in Egypt are going to lose their entire stock (around 300,000 – 400,000 animals in total). Apparently there is talk of ‘compensation’ (we’ll see…), but pig farmers would have to relocate their fresh new stock (when they’re allowed to restock is unknown) to locations away from birds and humans – arguably an impossible task for most. This will likely leave a great many families without a means of income.
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Pandemic Ahoy?
Animal Housing, Consumerism, Health & Disease, Livestock — by Craig Mackintosh April 29, 2009
Factory farming is back in the spotlight….
 The 1975-77 TV Series ‘Survivors’ |
I’m showing my age here, but I was today reminded of an old British TV series called ‘Survivors‘ that was very popular in the late 1970s (nothing to do with modern reality shows!). It was a bit like Mad Max, but set in Britain, and after a pandemic rather than a nuclear war. The pandemic was, incidentally, a man-made affair. A lab experiment went horribly wrong when a test-tube crashed to the floor releasing a deadly virus. The scientist subsequently spread the contagion around the globe as he flew from convention to convention. Very few individuals survived.
Comments (2)Porkine Putridity in Profusion
Animal Housing, Consumerism, Health & Disease, Livestock, Soil Erosion & Contamination, Water Contaminaton — by Craig Mackintosh
If you wonder what it’s like in and around the world’s largest pig production empire, please read this. And if you don’t wonder what it’s like in and around the world’s largest pig production empire, please read it anyway. It’s very well written, and extremely enlightening.
Permaculture Pooch
Bird Life, Breeds, Livestock, Working Animals — by Alanna Moore November 3, 2008
Alanna Moore is the author of ‘Backyard Poultry – Naturally‘ – where you can read more about Vikki and poultry care, including a permaculture approach to keeping them.
You don’t often hear about the positives of dog ownership, in a permaculture sense. My Jack Russell terrier Vikki is a permaculture farm dog, who works for her keep – a real ‘WOOFer’. Not only does she provide a 24 hour fox warning system, but she also uses special skills with the rare poultry I keep.
Vikki can catch a chook on the run. One mention of "catch the birdie" and she flies off in hot pursuit, to finally land on top of the target bird and hold it firmly (but unharmed) underneath her until I arrive on the scene. Other Jack Russel owners can’t believe it’s true. One guy lost 57 chickens to his dog in three minutes! Vikki’s dad happens to be a chook killer too.
Comments (3)Vuon – Ao – Chuong – The Traditional Vietnamese Farm
Aquaculture, Eco-Villages, Fish, Food Forests, Land, Livestock, Plant Systems, Village Development, Waste Systems & Recycling — by Nguyen Van Man October 4, 2008
by Nguyen Van Man
VAC is an acronym formed from the three Vietnamese words Vuon, garden or orchard, Ao, fish pond, and Chuong, pigsty or poultry shed. It refers to a form of domestic agriculture in which food gardening, fish rearing and animal husbandry are wholly integrated, and stems from farming methods developed in the Red River delta of Vietnam.
The VAC system is a highly intensive method of small scale farming that makes optimal use of land, water and solar energy, achieving high economic efficiency for low capital investment. Plants are used for food, fibre, and fuel, and always products are passed into the production cycle. Developed from age old production agricultural practices, VAC farming now takes place in many regions of Vietnam, with models varying according to the terrain and the climate.
Comments (5)Inventory of Traditional Knowledge
Building, Energy Systems, Land, Livestock, People Systems, Swales, Terraces, Village Development — by Craig Mackintosh September 21, 2008
It’s raining outside and you’ve an afternoon to kill? Why not check out this amazing collection of articles, pictures and historical facts – full of information on the ingenious methods people have developed over millennia to live prosperously and sustainably. It’s titled the ‘Inventory of Traditional Knowledge’.
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