Tonight is Christmas Eve, and tomorrow Christians everywhere will be celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, perhaps the most profound event in human history.
I think it is worth noting that we should remember all of God's creation on Christmas, and all year long. The love that Christ brought to the world should continue each and every day toward not only our fellow human beings, but to all the glorious life around us.
Mary and Joseph travelled to Bethlehem and sought shelter, and found no room at the inn. Most Christians, as well as most people of other religions are familiar with this Christmas story.
I feel that animals are included in this wonderful saga for a reason. Mary rode a donkey on the trip to Bethlehem. Since the birth of Christ was very near, this little donkey needed to be very gentle and steady in order to not injure Mary. Legend has it that because of the donkey's great service to Mary and Joseph, God marked him with a cross. If you look at a donkey today, you will see the stripe down his (or her) back and the stripe that also goes across the withers, forming a cross-like marking.
God could have had the birth of His Son occur anywhere, but instead of in a palace or other place designating great wealth, Christ was born in a manger. The Gospels tell us that there were various animals stabled there - cows, donkeys and sheep. Poor shepherds witnessed the bright star that led them to the manger, as did the three kings, who travelled a great distance by Camel to pay homage to the Christ Child and give him gifts. Therefore, people of all social classes were included in the miraculous birth.
These animals seemed to sense the enormity of the event, as they were quiet and did not disturb the sleeping baby Jesus. I feel that this demonstrates the underlying spirituality of all creatures - they have an innate knowledge of their Creator, and have a mystery about them that is hard for some human beings to understand.
I hope and pray that 2014 brings more victories for animals, from farm animals to pets, to wildlife and ocean life. Cruelty still runs rampant all over the globe, and good people must continually work together to bring about change so that all of creation can at last be free to live free from abuse and exploitation by those who do not recognize their intrinsic worth.
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
Thursday, December 12, 2013
DiGiorno Pizza Cheese Supplier Cow Abuse
Yesterday, I viewed an undercover video published by Mercy for Animals which showed flagrant and upsetting abuse of dairy cows at a Wisconsin dairy that supplies cheese to DeGiorno for use in their frozen pizzas.
Hopefully, DiGiorno will remove this dairy from their supply chain. Videos such as this one highlight the rampant abuse present in some dairies. These gentle, helpless creatures were kicked, stabbed, cursed, hit about the face and body and the downed animals were lifted on a "cow lift" by various parts of their bodies. One cow was pitifully "mooing" as she was being lifted.
Also, these poor Holsteins were slipping on the manure-covered surface they were non. This, of course, leads to foot and leg problems. Once a cow cannot stand and move on her own, her life is over. Cows raised in clean, humane conditions can have a life span of 25 years, but from what I have read, the average lifespan of today's dairy cow on a factory farm is four to five years before she is physically spent from producing a cow each year and producing an unnaturally large amount of milk.
Milk production per cow has dramatically increased in the last thirty years. The most recent figures I can find show many dairy cows produce an average of about 20,000 lbs. of milk per year. This is far more than would be produced naturally, e.g., if human intervention had not "tweeked" these animals to produce an unsustainable amount of milk. Cows naturally produce enough milk to feed their offspring. In commercial dairies, a cow's calf is removed from her almost immediately after birth so that her milk can be used for human consumption.
Female calves (heifers) are often retained as replacements for cows who can no longer produce, are sick or injured or die from other causes. Male calves are sold as veal or raised for beef. They are what is called a "by-product" of the dairy industry. Thankfully, California has outlawed the use of veal crates a few years ago. The old crates can still be seen stacked up by the roadside at dairies that are about a 20 minute drive from my home. California also outlawed tail-docking of dairy cows.
When I was growing up in a Los Angeles suburb, we still had one dairy in my community very close to my family home. I never saw a cow with a docked tail in California and that dairy didn't have a large number of cows and they were kept in good conditions. I believe with the advent of the factory farm, everything has gone downhill.
It is very important that all of us fight proposed "ag-gag" laws which would make it a criminal offense to enter a farm or dairy and film the activities. These undercover videos are sometimes the only means to document horrendous abuse.
Please contact your U.S. Representatives and U.S. Senators and ask them to vote "no" on any "ag-gag" bills. My California Representative and Senators Diane Feinstein and Barbara Boxer are always very receptive to animal welfare issues.
Hopefully, DiGiorno will remove this dairy from their supply chain. Videos such as this one highlight the rampant abuse present in some dairies. These gentle, helpless creatures were kicked, stabbed, cursed, hit about the face and body and the downed animals were lifted on a "cow lift" by various parts of their bodies. One cow was pitifully "mooing" as she was being lifted.
Also, these poor Holsteins were slipping on the manure-covered surface they were non. This, of course, leads to foot and leg problems. Once a cow cannot stand and move on her own, her life is over. Cows raised in clean, humane conditions can have a life span of 25 years, but from what I have read, the average lifespan of today's dairy cow on a factory farm is four to five years before she is physically spent from producing a cow each year and producing an unnaturally large amount of milk.
Milk production per cow has dramatically increased in the last thirty years. The most recent figures I can find show many dairy cows produce an average of about 20,000 lbs. of milk per year. This is far more than would be produced naturally, e.g., if human intervention had not "tweeked" these animals to produce an unsustainable amount of milk. Cows naturally produce enough milk to feed their offspring. In commercial dairies, a cow's calf is removed from her almost immediately after birth so that her milk can be used for human consumption.
Female calves (heifers) are often retained as replacements for cows who can no longer produce, are sick or injured or die from other causes. Male calves are sold as veal or raised for beef. They are what is called a "by-product" of the dairy industry. Thankfully, California has outlawed the use of veal crates a few years ago. The old crates can still be seen stacked up by the roadside at dairies that are about a 20 minute drive from my home. California also outlawed tail-docking of dairy cows.
When I was growing up in a Los Angeles suburb, we still had one dairy in my community very close to my family home. I never saw a cow with a docked tail in California and that dairy didn't have a large number of cows and they were kept in good conditions. I believe with the advent of the factory farm, everything has gone downhill.
It is very important that all of us fight proposed "ag-gag" laws which would make it a criminal offense to enter a farm or dairy and film the activities. These undercover videos are sometimes the only means to document horrendous abuse.
Please contact your U.S. Representatives and U.S. Senators and ask them to vote "no" on any "ag-gag" bills. My California Representative and Senators Diane Feinstein and Barbara Boxer are always very receptive to animal welfare issues.
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