From InCity Times article, Are Speciesists Stupid?

Excuse me for stating the obvious, but racists are dumb. That’s not just my opinion. It’s the conclusion of a provocative new study published in the journal Psychological Science. Gordon Hodson, a psychologist at Brock University in Ontario, and his colleagues found that children with low intelligence are more likely to grow up to be racist adults. A previous study examining homophobia showed that people who are less adept at abstract reasoning are more likely to be prejudiced against gays.

All of this got me thinking: Does the link between brains and bias apply to how we view animals too? Are “speciesists”—people who believe that humans are superior to other animals—just not all that bright?

“There may be cognitive limits in the ability to take the perspective of others,” explains Hodson. In other words, the less intelligent you are, the harder it may be for you to put yourself in another’s shoes—and the more likely you are to hold prejudiced beliefs about other groups.

If someone is unmoved by the plight of elephants shackled, beaten and forced to perform in circuses or of animals poisoned and blinded in laboratories, perhaps they similarly lack the ability to consider the animals’ point of view.

The anecdotal evidence linking intelligence and empathy for animals is certainly intriguing. Some of the world’s greatest minds from throughout history—including Pythagoras, Leonardo da Vinci, Mohandas Gandhi and Leo Tolstoy—have been vegetarian.

Albert Einstein, whose diet was primarily plant-based, said, “Besides agreeing with the aims of vegetarianism for aesthetic and moral reasons, it is my view that a vegetarian manner of living by its purely physical effect on the human temperament would most beneficially influence the lot of mankind.”

A few years ago, the BBC reported on a study that linked a high IQ with being vegetarian. More than 8,000 children in the U.K….

read the rest of the article…

You can pick up a print copy at lots of places around town. I picked up my copy at Bagel Time on Park Ave, after I got a toasted chocolate chip bagel with tofutti.

So, the new year is already in full force and you’ve likely started your new year’s resolution of cutting cheese out of your diet or turning your Meatless Mondays into Meatless Everyday. Heck, maybe you’re already vegan and your goal is to finally make that taco recipe from Terry Hope Romero’s Viva Vegan or spend some time volunteering at Maple Farm Sanctuary.

VegWorcester is setting our goals for the new year as well and we’re getting psyched to make some big announcements soon about our upcoming VegFest. It got us thinking; maybe we should briefly pause to reflect on the kick ass things that happened during the last 12 months in the microcosm of Worcester from a veg-head point of view. So, here goes…

In 2011…

• VegWorcester started the year off strong by hosting our second Mac Daddy Mac N’ Cheeze Cook-off, and the winner was WooDaddy Waffles!
• Duck Yao, the formerly underground vegan eatery made a comeback in Worcester, opening a small sit-in and take-out restaurant on Main Street in Worcester.
• VegWorcester members took trips to view veg-themed films such as Forks Over Knives in Boston and a showing of Bold Native at WPI in Worcester.
• In April, VegWorcester hosted the 2nd annual Worcester VegFest. We estimate that approximately 3,000 attendees came to the event at Worcester State University that included speakers Bruce Friedrich, Tracye McQuirter, Will Potter, and an awesome cooking demo by Terry Hope Romero. We had family-friendly performances, 40+ ethical and cruelty-free exhibitors, coverage in a variety of online/print/news media, and feedback was overwhelmingly positive.
• After a city-wide crackdown on curiously tasty vegan cupcakes (Okay, we’re exaggerating there,)VegWorcester’s vegan bake sale fundraiser was shut down. In response, we took it upon ourselves to legalize bake sales in the city of Worcester.
• VegWorcester started a more regular monthly general volunteer meeting where we discuss ideas for vegan outreach and invite anyone who is interested to join us and get involved.
• VegWorcester raised money with your help and created a snazzy updated Summer version of the Worcester Vegetarian Dining Guide. 5,000 copies were distributed over the summer around Worcester County. 5,000 more copies of a newly updated Fall version of the guide have also now been distributed in the thousands! …..Wow!
• Volunteers leafleted at local universities and events, and did a ton of tabling outreach at just about every summer and fall festival in out city including the 3th Annual Pet Rock Festival, Start on The Street: Spring Edition, 2011 Fall StART On The Street, King St. Block Party, Open Road Festival, 21st Century Worcester Pride, Main Street Celebrates, and more.
• As a community with many animal activists, we joined with other local groups and protested Ringling Circus, Fur as “fashion,” McDonalds cruelty, and other animal abuses.
• Local animal rights defenders such as Michael Budkie of SAEN and Alexis Fox of The Humane Society came to Worcester to educate about abuses in our own state and what we can do as a community to have the most impact.
• In the fall many of us enjoyed vegan “Thanks-living” celebrations such as the free SAVVY Vegan Thanksgiving at Clark University.
• Loving Hut celebrated 2 years of Loving Hut Buffet fundraisers, and continued to donate 10% of buffet profits to VegWorcester to support our outreach to help animals.
• Finally, to close out the year with a bang, VegWorcester hosted its 1st annual Holiday Vegan Cookie Swap complete with a vegan Santa. We had 24 entrants with bakers swapping over 1,500 vegan cookies!

If you’re interested in getting involved with VegWorcester or the 3rd annual Worcester VegFest, come to our General – Volunteer Meeting this Tuesday, January 17th @ WPI (Taylor Room – Campus Ctr) from 7pm~8:30pm and we’ll get you up to speed on what we have planned for 2012!

Maple Farm Sanctuary in Mendon is a place where rescued farmed animals can live out the rest of their lives in peace. They’re having a volunteer get-together on Sunday, January 22 in Mendon. It’s a vegan potluck. RSVP on their website.

From Maple Farm’s invitation:

Past, present and future volunteers and friends – whether you are a long time herbivore or newly veg-curious, we welcome you to join us for a delicious vegan feast!

Here’s the plan…

• 6:00 pm – appetizers
• 6:30 pm – dinner
• 7:30 pm – desserts & hot drinks
• 7:30 pm – update and Q&A with Cheri

Please let us know if you’ll be bringing an appetizer, main or dessert by adding a comment below. (If you’d like to bring an appetizer, please arrive by 6pm.) Please refrain from using any animal products in your dish, this includes meat, fish, eggs, dairy and honey. It’s easier than it sounds, check out these links for tips and inspiration!

• www.theppk.com
• www.compassionatecook.com
• www.chooseveg.com/vegan-recipes.asp
• www.cestlavegan.com
• www.veganchef.com
• kblog.lunchboxbunch.com
• blog.fatfreevegan.com

Label your dish with your name so it can be returned to you at the end of the evening. Please also attach a list of ingredients or the recipe.

If you would like to help out with this event, please contact Laurie at info@maplefarmsanctuary.org

From “A Very Vegan Weekend” by Kaitlyn on the Tye Dye Files blog:

The take-home point of Alexis’ presentation was that citizen advocates have power. To me, this is an encouraging message. It’s easy to feel like your word is lost in the shuffle and that the effort to make changes on a governmental level is useless, but hearing an inside perspective changed those views. I want to share with you a few tips from the workshop that I found helpful. And these apply to any form of advocacy, not just animal rights.

1. More time taken is more meaningful in the eyes of your legislator. The more you inconvenience yourself to lobby your views, the more seriously you’ll be taken. A visit to your legislator means more than a phone call which means more than an email.

2. Do whatever you have time for. If you can’t find time to visit your legislator personally, make the phone call. Every little bit helps. In fact, despite the little interest with which a phone call or email is often met, each contact about a particular bill is a checkmark in your column. Often a legislator will base a decision on which side had the most votes from those he or she represents.

3. Get the public involved. Write letters to the editor of your local newspaper, attend public meetings and state your opinions. Do whatever it takes to get people talking and get your legislator listening.

4. Know the bill number and name. In Massachusetts currently there are over 8000 bills on the table. The bill number is an extremely important piece of information to make sure your opinion is heard and also to boost credibility.

5. Be clear and concise. State your opinion in an intelligent manner and don’t vent. Maintain your credibility.

6. Get to know your legislator. People are willing to do more for those they know, so get to know your legislator. Personal touches are always welcomed and remembered. Thank them for work on past bills that you supported. Develop that relationship so you’re memorable and your voice stands out.

Alexis was well-spoken and personable. I left feeling like animal activism is not a radical and impossible battle front but an attainable and worthy cause, and I have a newfound respect for the Humane Society and their work.

Read the rest of Kaitlyn’s blog post…

You also can become a fan of The Humane Society in Massachusetts on facebook and sign up to receive email action alerts from HSUS.

Good notes, Kaitlyn!

The Massachusetts state director for the Humane Society will be giving a presentation on Effective Animal Advocacy (facebook event) at Loving Hut at 11am. Right afterwards, there will the monthly all-vegan buffet fundraiser at Loving Hut (also on facebook). The workshop is free, but if you stick around for the buffet it’s $10 and 10% of your check is donated to VegWorcester.

If you still haven’t had enough excitement, join Massachusetts Animal Rights Coalition at 2pm for an anti-fur protest at the Greendale Mall. Many of the members will be at the buffet, so you can likely carpool from there.

On Saturday, December 10 from 11am-noon, the Massachusetts state director of the Humane Society of the United States will be joining us in Worcester for a special (free) workshop on how to effectively get active for animals in our little Commonwealth. Followed by Loving Hut’s awesome monthly vegan buffet.

Join Alexis Fox for Effective Advocacy for Animals (RSVP on facebook) at Loving Hut at 415 Chandler St. She’ll be presenting at 11, an hour before the monthly vegan buffet. This is a great opportunity to learn about how to get active for

If you are concerned about animal cruelty, farm animal protection, protecting wildlife, or creating a more compassionate Massachusetts, you should attend this informative and motivational meeting to learn how you can help. This is about building a solid movement for animals in our state. Alexis will be discussing some important legislative that is pending in our state.

The monthly Loving Hut buffet will follow at noon. By now you must know that Loving Hut hosts a totally kick-ass monthly vegan buffet fundraiser for VegWorcester on the second Saturday of every month. It’s only $10 and you can eat as much vegan mock meats as you can handle. Come for the workshop and stick around for a lunch afterwards.

Can you help us promote this workshop?

You can print out our event flyer (pdf) and hang it up at your work or around town. Or you could spend a few minutes and invite your animal-loving friends on facebook. And most importantly, attend yourself! Maybe bring a friend or your mom.

Members of VegWorcester, Private Citizens for Pets in Peril , and Massachusetts Animal Rights Coalition (MARC) met up on Saturday, October 8th to protest Ringling Bros Circus Cruelty. The peaceful protest included sign-holding and leafleting to circus-goers in front of several Worcester DCU Center entrances to a Ringling Circus event.

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey has a long history of animal abuse. Alleged mistreatment and investigations cover things such as the animal deaths due to over-heating during transportation, beatings with bull-hooks, constant chaining, lack of adequate veterinary care, forcible separation of babies from their mothers, causing trauma, psychological stress, a variety of physical harm to animals, and more.

Approximately 30 people attended the protest, including a few children who already understand that cruelty to animals for entertainment is wrong. Check out this guest-blog post at Telegram’s MassMoms.com from Erin, a VegWorcester member who attended the protest.  More Photos at Facebook.

We urge you to share the message with your family that circuses are no place for animals!

Michael Budkie of  Stop Animal Exploitation Now!  will give a presentation at Loving Hut Chandler  tonight, Monday, September 26th on animal exploitation and exposing the truth of animal experimentation in laboratories.  Stop Animal Exploitation NOW! (SAEN) was founded in 1996 to force an end to the abuse of animals in laboratories. The event will begin at 6pm, with Loving Hut serving vegan food, and the lecture will follow from 7:00pm-8:45pm

“Michael Budkie, A.H.T., is the co-founder & Executive Director of Stop Animal Exploitation NOW! (SAEN). After witnessing the atrocities of animal experimentation during his education, he successfully ended a head injury experiment on cats at the Univ. of Cincinnati. In the mid-1990s, Michael founded SAEN, which works to terminate research projects & force the USDA to take legal action against laboratories. He has been published & travels extensively, appearing on TV & radio programs to expose the truth about animal experimentation.”

RSVP to this event on Facebook.

For more info or questions about this event- contact Jamie at 978-265-9503

Also check out SAEN’s website for more information about Michael and his work.

]]> http://VegWorcester.com/2011/09/26/michael-budkie-stop-animal-exploitation-presentation-event/feed/ 0 http://VegWorcester.com/2011/06/07/farm-fest-maple-farm-sanctuary-2011/ http://VegWorcester.com/2011/06/07/farm-fest-maple-farm-sanctuary-2011/#comments Tue, 07 Jun 2011 05:05:56 +0000 Manda Rose http://VegWorcester.com/?p=4177 This past Sunday, Maple Farm Sanctuary in Mendon, MA hosted Farm Fest, a festival-fundraiser and celebration where the rescued animals are the stars for the day. The purpose of the event was to raise awareness and money to help provide veterinary care, housing, food , and a peaceful life for the animal residents, who have come from factory-farm conditions and/or were previously abused, neglected or abandoned. 

Check out this video of Farm Fest, including a thank-you

message from Cheri, (co-founder of Maple Farm Sanctuary.)

The bike trip is leaving from the Turtleboy statue at the corner of Franklin St & Front St (map) at 10am on Sunday. We’re going to take it easy and the ride should take about 2 hours. Bring water. Meet at the statue at 9:30 if you want to check out the route or hang out, we’re leaving at 10  promptly.

The route
We’re biking up RT 122 to RT 140. The whole trip is 17 miles. Check out a map of the route.

View Larger Map
 

Here’s the facebook event: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=102320479860513