D&B Link

Please read this snippet.

Jill Phipps was a dedicated and compassionate activist, who was heavily involved in the campaign against live exports through Coventry Airport. One fateful day, she blocked the lorries’ paths but they refused to stop and she was crushed to death in the midst of a protest.

On the 4th February we will remember Jill on the anniversary of her death for giving the ultimate sacrifice for these calves. We call upon Albert Hall Farms to cease involvement in this vile trade.

Join us and stand strong against live exports on Saturday 4th February!

Full Story Here

For those that can go and stand up for Jill’s rights as a free human being to protest, and the animal rights to dignity, please do so. I know I will certainly doing more from now on because fear is what keeps us in our place and I don’t want to be kept there anymore. To Jill x

I’ve not posted for a while, part laziness, part trying to figure out a few things in my life!

Things I have discovered since my last post.

1. Vegan and Veggie friends are so important. Not just because they don’t shovel meat down their faces but they most likely share other opinions and viewpoints. If they are compassionate about animals, likely they are compassionate about people too.

2. Support people and they will support you back. Let people down and karma will get you.

3. Stand up for what you believe no matter what. Whether that means complaning to a school about them teaching your child fast food songs or whether it means standing in a demo, knowing you are going to get in a heap of trouble.

Hope to get back up to speed with posts soon.

Controversy

In 2001, the company was sued by seven former employees, who alleged the company did not protect them from harassment by fellow workers in the workplace. The alleged harassment activity included the posting of swastikas and Ku Klux Klan graffiti, as well as rope nooses and Confederate flags. The incidents are said to have taken place between 1993 and 2000. The case was settled in May 2003, when the plaintiffs agreed to a $3.3 million out-of-court settlement.^[13]

Two shareholders filed lawsuits against Dean Foods and Horizon Organic Holding Corp. in 2003, alleging Dean paid too little in their agreement to acquire the company. The lawsuits, which sought class action status, also alleged neither company met their legal obligation to satisfy the interests of the Horizon Organic shareholders. Executives at Dean Foods said the lawsuits were without merit. Dean Foods settled with the shareholders in May 2007.^[13]

On May 12, 2008, Cornucopia filed a complaint with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) declaring that Deans Foods restrained an abundant amount of their cows to an unhygienic feed yard in Snelling, California; federal organic regulations require such animals to be maintained in an organic environment with access to pasture and fresh grass. Allegations from the federal agency were dismissed.^[14]

The Dean Foods’ facilities in Colorado and Texas milk approximately 20,000 cows. These operations have been investigated by the USDA as a result of complaints filed by Cornucopia representing the family-scale farming community.^[14]

In 2009, the company was criticized and accused of being a monopolistic broker.^[15]

In the fall of 2009, Pioneer Press reported the Cornucopia Institute had made complaints to the U.S. Department of Agriculture accusing Silk producer Dean Foods and its WhiteWave Foods division of shifting their products away from organics without properly notifying retailers or consumers.^[16][17] According to the Star Telegram and other news sources, Silk brand soy milk was made using organic soybeans until early 2009, when Dean Foods switched to conventional soybeans while maintaining the same UPC barcodes and prices on the Silk products and replacing the word “organic” with “natural” on the Silk product packaging.^[18]

Foremost Farms USA, a cooperative of over 2,000 dairy farmers in several midwestern states, sold its Wisconsin milk processing plants to Dean Foods in 2009.^[19] On January 22, 2010, the US Department of Justice, along with the state attorneys general of Wisconsin and Michigan, filed a law suit and complaint that alleges the purchase created a monopolizing provider.^[20] According to a press statement released that same day, Dean Foods announced it was contesting the complaint.^[21]

Link to full article here.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Stop-the-Badger-cull/133391970008456

Government ‘to back badger cull for South West’

The badger (Meles meles) is a protected species under UK and European laws

The government is expected to announce it will back a cull of badgers in south-west England.

The coalition has always said it was “minded” to introduce culling to help fight bovine TB.

A similar badger cull was approved in Wales but the decision was overturned in the High Court.

Sources have told BBC West political correspondent Paul Barltrop the two areas where the cull will operate will be in Gloucestershire and Devon.

Campaign organisations remain opposed to the cull and are likely to challenge it in court.

Bovine TB costs the UK economy about £100m per year, blighting farmers in areas such as south-west England, with tens of thousands of cattle killed.

It is likely plans for a cull will move a step forward, with the government indicating that nothing in its lengthy public consultation has changed its mind.

The Environment Secretary, Caroline Spelman, will address MPs in the Commons later in response to a consultation on badger control.

But BBC environment correspondent Jeremy Cooke said it still seemed unlikely that any cull of badgers would happen in the immediate future.

There could be further consultation on the method which would be used to kill badgers and how the cull would be organised.

The government also knows that it is certain to face legal challenges by campaigners who insist that the scientific evidence suggests that culling badgers would not reduce levels of bovine TB, but may actually make it worse, our correspondent says.

‘Something must be done’

Last month, a poll for the BBC suggested a majority of Britons in both town and country opposed killing badgers to curb cattle tuberculosis.

Click to play

Peter Kendall, president of the National Farmers Union and Jack Reedy, from the Badger Trust, debate the controversial cull

Across the country, 63% said badgers should not be killed for cattle TB, with 31% in favour of culling and the remainder undecided.

But one cattle farmer, Aled Rees, said something had to be done.

“I don’t want to kill badgers unnecessarily, but we can’t go on as we are. Something has to be done about it and let’s get into a position, sometime in the future, where we can vaccinate the cattle and vaccinate the badgers and have an an end to all this.”

Government statistics show that the incidence of cattle TB declined slightly between 2009 and 2010, probably due to the escalation of TB testing on farms and restrictions on herd movements.

However, provisional figures indicate that incidence was slightly higher in the first two months of this year than in the corresponding period for 2010.

The European badger (Meles meles) is a protected species under European and UK law but ministers can sanction killing in certain circumstances, including to tackle disease.

Now it is not very often I have something complimentary to say about a UK train station. However, I have to say that I had a delightful breakfast at the Sloe Bar Cafe recently. I was in a rush and missed breakfast and was meeting a connecting train with forty five minutes to spare so instead of the predicted bag of crisps on the train, I tried the veggie breakfast at this cafe (which is inside the station). I said I was vegan and that was well noted.

The breakfast arrived and was all freshly cooked. 2 flat mushrooms, baked beans, 2 hash browns, tomatoes and toast. Admittedly it was £5.50 but I truly enjoyed it. Recommend this one to any travelling veggies/vegans!

http://apps.facebook.com/petitions/1/unclaimed-pets-to-be-gassed-in-72hrs-in-japan/

A sad reality: Japanese animal holding centres in and around the disaster areas have announced that all pets who are not claimed within 72 hours will be ‘disposed’ of (gassed). This is the sad reality in Japan unfortunately and why we are truly racing against the clock now.

And if anyone listens it will be a miracle….

Or shall I moan about the Welsh badger cull plans being back on the drawing board?

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/mar/09/wales-press-ahead-badger-cull-tuberculosis

Or the call for a badger cull in Sussex too…

Well, you can look at all that, but my moan today is a small one as I am a small voice and there is a lot of coverage of the above stories. This blog is really about a mum trying to get through life as a vegan and the things which hinder me!  It is these small things which upset me as they simply pass people by. I was in the Co-op last week, my local shop of choice as I know I can get vegan options, often a good soup, fair trade options, vegan wine etc. My son picked up some sweets and I looked at the back to find out that they contained beef. Yes, BEEF, in childrens sweets. Now I must admit my kids don’t eat a lot of sweets but the occasional treat I allow has to be thoroughly checked, no crushed insects for us please. But Beef. Really? These were spiderman thin sugar sticks, you remember like the old fake fags (such a good idea, whose-ever that was too!). So please take note and avoid buying this rubbish altogether – you never know what all those e-numbers are anyway – however, I did recognise beef!!

On an aside, it was my sons 4th birthday party yesterday and it was good to see 14 toddlers tucking into some good, vegetarian food. No complaints, not even a comment as to where the chicken dippers or fishfingers were…why then do we feed them such crap? Now there’s a question!…

Article Here

So for all of you reading wondering what it would be like to do something wonderful, give it a try. For yourself. For them.

Also check out the recycled camo bags, I donate a percentage of these sales to Nowzad dog charity, helping stray animals in war torn countries. Happy shopping and feedback welcome on the site as it’s a self build – still got lots to do!

http://www.ethicsboutique.com