Agenda
Posterboard 
Stream 
Month February – June 2013
In Animal Wise: The Thoughts and Emotions of Our Fellow Creatures, science writer Virginia Morell takes us on a dazzling odyssey into the inner worlds of animals. With 30 years of experience covering the sciences, Morell uses her formidable gifts as a storyteller to transport us to field sites and laboratories around the world, introducing us to pioneering animal-cognition researchers and their surprisingly intelligent and sensitive subjects. She probes the moral and ethical dilemmas of recognizing that even “lesser animals” have cognitive abilities such as memory, feelings, personality, and self-awareness — traits that many in the 20th century felt were unique to human beings.
Virginia Morell is a prolific contributor to National Geographic, Science, and Smithsonian, among other publications. She is also the author of Ancestral Passions, a New York Times Notable Book of the Year; Blue Nile; and coauthor with Richard Leakey of Wildlife Wars. After the discussion, Virgina Morell will be available to sign copies of the book for anyone in attendance.
You can join our meetup for this event here. See you there! Win a copy of Animal Wise!
Meatout is the world’s largest grassroots diet education campaign. In 2013, we’re asking dedicated activists to hit the streets the week before March 20th, asking the public to pledge to eat a more compassionate diet for one day – Meatout! The 2013 goal of Meatout is to get 25,000 people to pledge to eat vegan on March 20th.
Meatout is an international observance helping individuals evolve to a wholesome, compassionate diet of fruits, vegetables, whole grains. The purpose is to expose the public to the joys and benefits of a plant-based
diet, while promoting the availability and selection alternatives to meat and dairy in mainstream grocery stores, restaurants, and catering operations.
Meatout has grown explosively since its inception in 1985 to become the world’s largest annual grassroots diet education campaign. Thousands of caring people in all 50 U.S. states and a host of other countries welcome Spring with colorful educational events. These range from simple information tables, exhibits, and cooking demonstrations to elaborate receptions and festivals. Visitors are asked to “kick the meat habit on March 20 (first day of spring) and explore a wholesome, nonviolent diet of fruits, vegetables and whole grains.
Several mainstream health advocacy organizations, including the American Cancer Society, the National Cancer Institute, Johns Hopkins University, and the American Heart Association, have since launched their own campaigns to promote consumption of plant-based foods.
Meatout reflects national trends:
• Mainstream health advocacy organizations and the official government publication “Dietary Guidelines for Americans” tout plant-based foods.
• Over 30 million Americans have explored a meat-free diet.
• One in five teens thinks vegetarianism is “cool.”
• National beef and veal consumption have dropped by 25 and 70%, respectively.
• Major manufacturers and retailers are marketing meat-free and dairy-free meals.
• Several national fast food chains are offering veggie burgers and several major baseball parks are selling veggie dogs.
Animal agriculture releases 51% of all human-caused greenhouse gas emissions, According to a UN report, that’s more than all of the world’s transportation combined! Animal protein requires eight times more fossil fuel to produce than the same amount of plant protein and over half the total amount of fresh water consumed in the U.S. goes to irrigate land to grow feed for farmed animals. Less water is needed to produce a full year’s worth of food for a plant-based diet than to produce only one month’s worth of food for a diet containing animal products. The single most effective way to go green is to adopt a vegan diet.
In an effort to raise awareness of the plight of amphibians, the scientific community has declared Saturday. April 27, 2013 the 5th Annual ‘Save The Frogs Day.’ On this day we encourage the appreciation and celebration of amphibians by people from all walks of life.
Save The Frogs Day is the world’s largest day of amphibian education and conservation action. Help us reach our 2013 goal of 300 events in 50 countries: please organize an event in your community, and ask your local schools and environmental organizations to take part as well. Please be sure to register your event, no matter how big or small it may be.
Please get involved and help spread the word! Only a small proportion of our public is aware that frogs are disappearing, and amphibian conservation efforts will not be successful with an uninformed public. Our goal is to make the amphibian extinction crisis common knowledge, and Save The Frogs Day is our best way to make this happen!
If you can’t participate in Save The Frogs Day, please place a tax-deductible donation or fundraise for the frogs, and help us spread frog awareness to the furthest reaches of the planet. Together we can SAVE THE FROGS!
Malibu, CA – March 18, 2013 – American Tortoise Rescue (ATR) (www.tortoise.com), a nonprofit organization established in 1990 for the protection of all species of tortoise and turtle, is sponsoring its 13th annual World Turtle Day on May 23rd. The day was created as an annual observance to help people celebrate and protect turtles and tortoises and their disappearing habitats around the world. Susan Tellem and Marshall Thompson, founders of ATR, advocate humane treatment of all animals, including reptiles. Since 1990, ATR has placed about 3,000 tortoises and turtles in caring homes. ATR assists law enforcement when undersize or endangered turtles are confiscated and provides helpful information and referrals to persons with sick, neglected or abandoned turtles.
“World Turtle Day was started 13 years ago to increase respect and knowledge for the world’s oldest creatures. These gentle animals have been around for about 200 million years, yet they are rapidly disappearing as a result of the exotic food industry, habitat destruction, global warming and the cruel pet trade,” says Tellem. “We are seeing smaller turtles coming into the rescue meaning that older adults are disappearing from the wild thanks to the pet trade, and the breeding stock is drastically reduced. It is a very sad time for turtles and tortoises of the world.” (See slide show here http://www.slideshare.net/tellem/where-have-all-the-turtles-gone.)
Tellem says, “We have heard from organizations throughout the world that are also hosting World Turtle Day, including India, Australia and many other countries.”
Tellem and Thompson note that experts predict the complete disappearance of one of the world’s oldest creatures within the next 50 years. They recommend that adults and children do a few small things that can help to save turtles and tortoises for the next generation:
- Never buy a turtle or tortoise from a pet shop as it increases demand from the wild.
- Never remove turtles or tortoises from the wild unless they are sick or injured.
- If a tortoise is crossing a busy street, pick it up and send it in the same direction it was going – if you try to make it go back, it will turn right around again.
- Write letters to legislators asking them to keep sensitive habitat preserved or closed to off road vehicles, and to prevent off shore drilling that can lead to more endangered sea turtle deaths.
- Report cruelty or illegal sales of turtles and tortoises to your local animal control shelter.
- Report the sale of any turtle or tortoise of any kind less than four inches. This is illegal throughout the U.S.
“Our ultimate goal is to stop the illegal trade in turtles and tortoises around the world. Our first priority here in the U.S. is to stop pet stores and reptile shows from selling illegal hatchling tortoises and turtles,” says Thompson. “We also need to educate people who are unfamiliar with their proper care about the real risk of contracting salmonella from turtles. Schools and county fairs are no place for turtles. Wash your hands thoroughly every time you touch a turtle or its water, and do not bring turtles into homes where children are under the age of 12.”
For answers to questions and other information visit American Tortoise Rescue online atwww.tortoise.com or send e-mail to info@tortoise.com; on Twitter @tortoiserescue; “Like” American Tortoise Rescue at www.Facebook.com/AmericanTortoiseRescue; and join World Turtle Day on www.Facebook.com/WorldTurtleDay.
Suggested Tweet: #DidYouKnow World Turtle Day is May 23rd? @TortoiseRescue #turtle #tortoise
Animal experimentation kills untold millions of animals every year in the U.S. and across the world. Rats, mice, hamsters, rabbits, dogs, cats, monkeys, pigs, sheep, goats, fish, chickens, and many other animals die, often without even being counted. Their deaths pass without recognition except as statistics as part of experimental protocols.
We believe that it is time for their lives to be remembered and their deaths to be memorialized. Please join us along with activists worldwide for our fourth International Day of Mourning for Animals in Labs on Sunday May 26, 2013.
It is important for the animals, and for ourselves that we participate in this annual event. The animals MUST be remembered; we MUST give their deaths some meaning. And for those of us that are living, dealing with these millions of deaths on a daily basis — we NEED these events, too, for funerals are for the living. This event will remind all of us why we are working for the animals, and strengthen our resolve.
Please be a voice for these silent victims of animal experimentation! They deserve nothing less from us.
Remember, it is up to us to give meaning to the deaths of millions of animals. Please join us by organizing an event or attending one in your area!
Established in 2011 by the “Our Planet. Theirs Too.” Foundation in New York City, The National Animal Rights Day (NARD) has become an annual tradition in the US. On this day, we remember, and give a voice to, the billions of animals who die by human hands in this country every year. We mourn their loss, reiterate their rights to live happy and free, and celebrate their existence in our lives.
The Third National Animal Rights Day — New York City
Sunday June 9, 12 noon – 5 pm,
North Plaza of Union Square
12:00 noon: A ceremony to commemorate the billions of animals who lose their lives every year by the hand of humanity, and signing the Declaration of Animal Rights!
12:30-1:30: A free, open-to-all, yoga class which will focus on generating compassion for all beings — humans and animals alike!
1:30-5:00: Yummy free vegan food, vegan fashion show, live music, drum circles, street theatre, face painting, Capoeira, and other attraction!
Please ‘join’ the event on our Facebook page
The Third National Animal Rights Day — Los Angeles
Sunday June 9, 12 noon – 5 pm,
Santa Monica beach, by the Pier
12:00 noon: A ceremony to commemorate the billions of animals who lose their lives every year by the hand of humanity, and signing the 50-foot long Declaration of Animal Rights!
12:30-1:30: A free, open-to-all, meditation session which will focus on generating compassion for all beings – humans and animals alike!
1:30-5:00: Yummy free vegan food, vegan fashion show, live music, kite flying, and other attraction!
Please ‘join’ the event on our Facebook page