a family farm. I appreciate your concern about blanket condemnations, but
once again, would you say "don't condemn all slaveholders; many are small
plantations who treat their slaves decently?"
I am not a vegetarian, because I AM a family farmer. I've been involved in
animal husbandry and subsistence farming for many years; I am not an
urbanite discussing this from an armchair in my drawing room. If my milk cow
has a boy calf, there is no other future for him than to be eaten. If one of
our laying chickens dies, or we have too many roosters, they must be eaten.
If we were not willing to eat this occasional meat, we could not raise milk
or eggs. So I am not naive about necessary and natural relationships.
Factory farming, whether owned and operated by a family or a large
corporation, is a despicable abuse of power by our species, just like
slavery, and is unnatural and extremely unhealthy for everyone in all
directions.
No one is going to be able to produce biodiesel from collecting a gallon of
lard from one little farm and two gallons from another every few weeks or
months. That's not what my e-mail was about. Sometimes blanket condemnations
are actually appropriate, as in the case of slavery or genocide. What we do
with animals every day and every night in factory farms is both slavery and
genocide. Sorry, I cannot hedge on that. To me, that's false tolerance and
is a problem of our age.
Bo
From: Kim & Garth Travis <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: RE: [Biofuel] Cleaning Up Factory Farms
Date: Mon, 07 Mar 2005 11:28:31 -0600
Greetings,
But what if your lard or tallow came from the small family farms trying to
survive? Any blanket statement is against improving the farming picture.
Many people do raise animals in a humane, environmentally friendly manner.
And we have a hard time staying alive with the competition from the factory
farms. Cutting off a source of income, to us, without investigating who is
doing what is harmful and promotes the factory farms. Trace your sources
and be picky about whom you support, yes. Blanket condemnation is what is
killing the small farmer who is doing it right.
Bright Blessings,
Kim
At 10:36 AM 3/7/2005, you wrote:
To answer your question, Keith, my organization, Carolina Biodiesel Inc
(www.carolinabiodiesel.org) has already discussed and made official policy
that we would not morally be able to use animal waste as a feedstock no
matter how cheap it was or who else was doing it. We decided we did not
want to benefit from the back door of factory farming, even if it meant we
could no longer compete with other producers. wrong is wrong.
Sounds like you and I see the connection between factory farming and the
ecological movement in much the same way. Glad it's being said somewhere.
Bo
From: Keith Addison <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: RE: [Biofuel] Cleaning Up Factory Farms
Date: Tue, 8 Mar 2005 01:24:45 +0900
Hello Bo
Hi Keith,
I apologize for hyperbole in using terms like "the least of the
problems," but to be more accurate, my point is still that I have met
biofuels folks who have made enthusiastic friendships with factory
farmers as though waste and fuel were the only issues, not the horrific
treatment of living beings.
Did you read my whole reply to you? Including the last paragraph?
One reason that I posted this here is that we keep having these
band-aid allegedly new-tech industrial "solutions" offered (eg with
turkey wastes) that will turn the wastes into energy, hey, "solving"
the whole problem so we can all ride off into the sunset and everyone
lives happily ever after (except the turkeys). Then some list member
enthuses over its being wondrously environmental, and some of them have
been completely baffled when I've said there's more to it than that.
You see the problem.
There's more to it than "the horrific treatment of living beings" too -
or at least the living beings being factory farmed aren't necessarily the
only ones being horrifically treated.
It hurts to see that, much like it would if we were involved in this
field during the ninetheenth century and formed affectionate
relationships with slaveholders who were a good source of cottonseed
oil. The people may indeed be nice individuals, but they are involved in
a significant social evil that we must not turn a blind eye to.
Indeed not, but it's hardly the only significant social evil involved in
fuels and biofuels issues, or in food and fuel issues.
That was all I was trying to get across. I love and respect animals for
the same exact reasons I want to use and support biofuels. How can the
two be separated?
Would you use biodiesel or WVO containing lard or tallow or chickenfat?
Actually I don't see abusing animals as much different to abusing
anything else, whether it's plants and trees, soil, air, water, other
humans, or any other part of the biosphere - hubris in general, and
indeed very much to do with supporting biofuels.
Best wishes
Keith
Bo
From: Keith Addison <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: RE: [Biofuel] Cleaning Up Factory Farms
Date: Mon, 7 Mar 2005 14:51:56 +0900
Hello Bo
Please friends, let's realize the problem with factory farms is
factory farming -- not the discharge of wastes.
Nope - both are problems, and they're not the only ones. Of course
without the factory farms the waste problem wouldn't exist, but the
waste problem is nonetheless a useful approach, for raising awareness
and for bringing pressure to bear.
There is no stretch of the imagination that can condone the torture,
cruelty and insanity of raising "food" in that way.
I fully agree.
Ever been inside one?
Yup.
Please don't even respond to this e-mail unless you have, or at least
have seen truthful film footage of how animals are raised and treated.
I'd like to think that anyone interested in biofuels would be
absolutely opposed to factory farming.
Absolutely - and if not why not.
The wastes are the least of the problems, in my view.
The wastes are a severe problem in their own right. It's all a problem.
There's nothing good about any aspect of it.
You will, I believe, find previous posts on many or most of the other
problems associated with factory farming in the list archives. That
includes for instance how the feed is produced, a whole other
nightmare, the effects of which are global, with some horrendous
results.
One reason that I posted this here is that we keep having these
band-aid allegedly new-tech industrial "solutions" offered (eg with
turkey wastes) that will turn the wastes into energy, hey, "solving"
the whole problem so we can all ride off into the sunset and everyone
lives happily ever after (except the turkeys). Then some list member
enthuses over its being wondrously environmental, and some of them have
been completely baffled when I've said there's more to it than that.
You see the problem.
Best wishes
Keith
Bo Lozoff
From: Keith Addison <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Reply-To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: [Biofuel] Cleaning Up Factory Farms
Date: Mon, 7 Mar 2005 05:24:15 +0900
http://www.alternet.org/story/21391
Cleaning Up Factory Farms
<snip>
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