Posts in animals

Movie Review: Food, Inc.

Food, Inc. poster Live in America? Eat food? Watch Food, Inc. - one of the most important films of this decade.

As American consumers, few of us have any idea how our food comes to be. Food, Inc. details the industrial farming of plants and meat in America, and documents, with unapologetic grit, how a few large companies have come to control the vast majority of what we eat, affecting our health, economy, environment, and society.

Basically a more thorough, helpful film version of Eric Schlosser's book Fast Food Nation, fictionalized in film in 2006, Schlosser, Michael Pollan (author of The Omnivore's Dilemma), Polyface Farms owner Joel Salatin, and others share their research and knowledge of industrial farming. Others share personal stories - a mother whose son died of E. Coli earlier this decade; a union organizer questioning why individual illegal immigrants rather than the corporations who helped them come here are targeted by government raids.

The film is rife with disturbing footage and facts - it takes 75 gallons of oil to produce the average cow, which typically spends much of its life in massive feedlots knee-deep in manure - but the filmmaker provides signs of hope and tips on how to eat well while supporting companies that value health and life, including some helpful, easy-to-follow tips at the end of the film:

"You can vote to change this system three times a day.

Buy from companies that treat workers, animals and the environment with respect.

When you go to the supermarket: choose foods that are in season, buy foods that are organic, know what's in your food.

Read labels. Know what you buy.

The average meal travels 15,000 miles from the farm to the supermarket. Buy foods that are grown locally.

Shop at farmer's markets.

Plant a garden.

Cook a meal with your family and eat together.

Everybody has a right to healthy food. Make sure your farmer's markets take food stamps. Ask your school board to provide healthy school lunches.

The FDA and USDA are supposed to protect you and your family. Tell Congress to enforce food safety standards and to re-introduce Kevin's Law [see the movie for details].

If you say grace, ask for food that will keep us, and the planet, healthy.

You can change the world with every bite."

One of the easiest ways to make change in the food system (check the Food, Inc. site for more tips) is to stop eating so much meat - foregoing even one meat-based meal a week makes a difference; visit the PB & J Campaign for more info. And be sure to watch Food, Inc.

activism, animals, biology, business, economy, energy, environment, film, health, productsTristanAugust 16, 2009food Comment

Movie Review: "The Tiger Next Door"

Dennis Hill and Tiger in The Tiger Next Door

At the Indianapolis International Film Festival, I was fortunate to attend the world premiere of "The Tiger Next Door", a documentary film by Camilla Calamandrei, about the keeping and breeding of captive tigers in the United States. The film is an excellent character study on Dennis Hill of Flat Rock, Indiana, whose biker looks and attitude belie his apparently gentle, naive nature.

Big cats are fascinating, and though the film moved steadily and showed its subjects beautifully, I was disappointed during the first half of the movie that Calamandrei chose not to focus on the bigger picture of the plight of endangered big cat species, but rather focused on a few individuals: Hill, his neighbors (pro- and anti- Hill), Exotic Feline Rescue Center founder Joe Taft, and a smattering of other animal-welfare supporters and government officials. I'd earlier hoped for more of a "Sharkwater"-style film, centered around an individual to tell the story of a global concern.

But Hill's battle to keep his exotic tigers, cougars and other big cats amidst impending government intervention proved to be a story worth telling: how many people know it's legal to keep - and breed - such exotic creatures in half of the United States? Or that a dead tiger is worth more than a live one in the U.S.? Or that there are likely more tigers in captivity in the U.S. than exist in the wild? Or that the rules and regulations on keeping these powerful predators aren't enforced, and even if they were, would be far from adequate in guaranteeing the health of these wondrous creatures, or the safety of the communities living around them?

The small community around Hill's Flat Rock home spoke often throughout the film, and at times added much-needed doses of humor to an otherwise somber film. Calamandrei told the story from all sides well, though I was disappointed more information wasn't included regarding a neighbor's claim that a severed tiger head and tail were found on his adjacent land.

After the film's debut, Calamandrei took questions from the crowd, who seemed more than eager to side with Joe Taft, whose Exotic Feline Rescue Center looked like paradise compared to Hill's facilities. The discussion's moderator was wise to diffuse potential arguments in the passionate audience by directing most questions to Calamandrei, who, as in the film, was sufficiently fair to all sides. I asked if she was more or less hopeful for the future of endangered species after making this film; unsurprisingly, she's not optimistic, and feels more confused about what's best for these animals now that she's learned more about their story, at home and abroad.

Hill appears to love his big cats because of their power and the difficulty of controlling them - and somewhat selfishly because of the elusiveness of white tigers - and Taft, in the film, is shown to be compassionate about their well-being and quality of life. Neither of these Hoosiers mentioned the more global issues facing these creatures, but I can't blame them: focusing on the few cats they have is more than full-time work, and attempting to ignite positive change overseas in natural tiger habitat is far beyond their abilities. Even Taft admitted, during the Q&A session, that he hasn't attempted to push change on Indiana's state regulations on captive tigers. But he suggested a start (require a strict minimum cage area to allow them to live in). And judging by one of the audience member's enthusiastic offer to support regulation (she's been involved the past several years in puppy-mill legislation), Taft's suggestion might be all that's needed to kick-start a better future for these animals.

After all, if we don't respect living creatures, especially those as beautiful and as powerful as tigers, how can we respect Earth's top predators - our fellow human beings?

(Calamandrei is currently looking for a distributor for her film. For more information, visit TheTigerNextDoor.com.)

Indiana, animals, environment, film, politicsTristanJuly 21, 2009cats, reviews, tigersComment

Examples of leadership in animal welfare worldwide

I'm not an eternal optimist. But my faith in the power of hope and courage is stronger than ever, thanks to leaders like Rob Stewart (shark advocate and creator of the film Sharkwater), Paul Watson (founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society), Jill Robinson (founder of Animals Asia Foundation), and Seth Godin (social-media guru and inspiration to leaders/heretics worldwide.)

Rob Stewart is leading the fight against the extermination of sharks senselessly slaughtered for their fins. If you watch one movie this year, make it Stewart's film Sharkwater - it will change your worldview.

Stewart, a professional photographer and lifelong shark advocate, directed the film, which is predicated on the fact that sharks are the keystone predator of the seas, and arguably the world: without them, populations of creatures worldwide will be put in tragic flux, and because the seas serve as the earth's thermostat, our own livelihood will be at stake as well. Sound alarmist? Good. Even though we rarely, if ever, see sharks in our daily lives, they need your attention.

Sharks have been around for over 400 million years, and were here roughly 150 million years before land-dwelling dinosaurs. Unfortunately, human desire for the tasteless shark-fin soup (mostly in Asia) - which has been proven to have no beneficial effects on human health - has decimated global shark populations to 10% of their historical levels.

Movies like Jaws and sensational headlines of rare shark attacks haven't helped this beautiful animal's survival, but people like Rob Stewart have. He's seen and fought the bloody slaughter of these creatures firsthand, and risked life and limb to prevent their deaths. (Literally - he nearly lost a leg to a flesh-eating disease during filming of the movie, and had to avoid the "Shark-Fin Mafia", which rakes in billions of dollars a year thanks to the trade.)

Leaders like Rob Stewart are willing to risk everything for what they believe in, and though he might be viewed as a fanatical heretic by most people for trying to save what's traditionally been seen as a maniacal killer, future generations will likely look back at ours and either thank people like Stewart or wonder why more of us didn't help his cause.

Rob Stewart accompanies Paul Watson, founder of Sea Shepherd, on some shark-saving missions in the film. I won't go into detail about Watson's storied history (he's featured in Animal Planet's Whale Wars), but he's another leader who's fought for what he believes in despite naysayers, tradition and defiance.

Watson founded Sea Shepherd in the early 80's, and has embarked on hundreds of missions to save defenseless wildlife the world over. He's been met with criticism - and often violent opposition - from private fisherman, governments, and even other animal-welfare organizations. But he's forged ahead, maintaining his faith that the world will be better if the brutal slaughter of ocean life is put to an end.

Leaders worldwide are fighting successfully for causes they believe in, causes that benefit you or things you believe in even if you know nothing about what's going on. Animals Asia Foundation was founded by Jill Robinson to protect animals and end cruelty in Asia. They recently rescued 149 dogs being illegally shipped in China for their meat, and have made inroads in saving the lives of thousands of more animals in areas where dogs, cats, bears, tigers and other animals are consumed without abandon. In a culture where people often consume animals with complete disregard for their wellbeing (our culture isn't necessarily much better), Jill Robinson's courage and faith is all many animals have going for them. She continues in spite of what other people say against her.

Another leader in animal welfare, Nathan Winograd, has faced opposition from some of the largest animal-welfare agencies in the world. Director of the No Kill Advocacy Center, Winograd fights on for what he believes in - saving the lives of millions of shelter dogs and cats in America - in spite of intense attacks.

Tribes cover Winograd and other leaders are profiled in Seth Godin's latest book, Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us. Godin's a leader in his own right, and believes that leadership is more powerful than management, and that the faith of the few is more effective and inevitably more beneficial than the strength of the majority. If you're trying to make a change in your work, in your society, in your life, Godin's book will inspire you and give you insight into effective leadership.

Though you may've never heard of the people mentioned above, they're working passionately and fiercely for what they believe in. They've all inspired followers to work for their movements, and they've made inroads in areas that have been traditionally closed to positive change. They're heretics who challenge the status quo, who do what they believe in, who look to the future and forge ahead without fear of failure. And though they might not have nearly as many followers or detractors as other motivated, strong people attacked as heretics - Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Barack Obama - they're making positive change in a world of resistance.

The thing I've learned most from these people is that it doesn't take a world to make change. It doesn't even take a majority to form a meaningful and powerful movement. All it takes is a few people with faith and motivation to make the world a better place for everyone. Positive change comes from negative circumstances, and if you're looking to lead others in your faith - no matter what it is - you'd do well learn about these people, and to take this quote from Seth Godin to heart:

"Tearing others down isn't as helpful as building followers up."

activism, animals, books, environment, filmTristanJanuary 31, 2009Animals Asia, China, Sea Shepherd, culture, dogs, sharks, the futureComment