MEAT IS MURDER, FOR THE ANIMALS, THE ENVIRONMENT AND THE CLIMATE
When I first stopped eating meat in 1982 it was for two reasons; partly because I didn’t like the factory farming system and also because it felt ethically and morally wrong to slaughter sentient mammals and birds for food when there were alternatives.
In those days climate change wasn’t on the agenda and carbon dioxide emissions weren’t considered crucial. Yet the UN asked us over two years ago to move towards a meat and dairy product free diet to save the world from the worst effects of global warming.
How many people do you know that listened to this advice?
Did you?
Perhaps you never read about it at the time? Well I’m telling you now – meat is murder, for the animals, environment and the climate.
Professor Edgar Hertwich, the lead author of the report, said, “Animal products cause more damage than producing construction minerals such as sand or cement, plastics or metals. Biomass and crops for animals are as damaging as burning fossil fuels.”
As I learned more about farming methods I became more and more sure it was the right decision, especially when the Thatcher government allowed farmers to feed rendered carcasses of dead animals to cows to save money and increase profits. This terrible policy, for which I believe nobody was prosecuted or even censured, led to the deaths of over four and half million cattle in the UK alone and 200 humans globally.
Bovine spongiform encephalopathy or BSE was popularly known as Mad Cow Disease and led to British beef being banned for export to the EU for a decade.
It seems to me that this disease is indicative of all that is wrong with the present economic system. Profits come first, before health, happiness or morality. A small group, either farmers or capitalists, make decisions that affect millions or billions of others without caring for the outcomes and with the masses treated like farm animals.
As George Orwell showed in Animal Farm, we are living on a huge factory farm where we are the animals – our worth is measured by how much work we can do for the system and when we are no longer economically productive we’re put out to pasture in old folk’s homes, or left to rot on inadequate pensions. Those with disabilities have their benefits cut, even when it’s obvious these people cannot get jobs, while the media push propaganda that the poor are little better than wild animals that have no value to society and therefore can be safely ignored.
Well over 200 years ago, Jonathan Swift – the greatest satirist these islands has produced, wrote his ‘Modest Proposal’ which suggested poor folk’s children should be fattened up and sold as food for the rich.
It caused a great controversy then, but really, what’s all the fuss about? 30,000 kids die each and every day – that in itself shows we don’t give a shit about human life or we’d all be up in arms and most people don’t even mention it. People in this country are more concerned that some so-called princess’s tits are shown in a foreign magazine. Remember, tits evolved for feeding babies, not for selling newspapers and magazines.
So what’s the difference between eating humans and pigs, cows and sheep? It cannot be solely down to intelligence because it’s clear mammals are highly aware beings that feel pain and become upset when their young are taken away from them. If birds, fish and other animals are highly intelligent and resourceful, as recent studies have amply shown, then nobody could argue pigs are stupid enough to be slaughtered willy-nilly.
In this country we don’t eat horses, cats and dogs – why? In France folk feast on horsemeat and in parts of Asia dog is considered to be very tasty. Click here for online store. Only last week I had a conversation with a chap who told me that dog meat is quite sweet and unlike other more commonly devoured animals.
Apologists for meat eating claim they couldn’t live without regular helpings of flesh and that it is a viable, humane industry. Whenever I hear the word ‘humane’ I cringe. If bestiality is so bad then killing and eating must be much worse – especially as there are alternatives. How can slaughtering millions of chickens, cows, pigs and sheep be anything other than a continuing massacre?
Have you ever been to a chicken factory farm? Go to one then see if you can still stomach your cheap poultry from Tesco. Perhaps you like your animals killed ritualistically by a rabbi or imam? Would you like your throat cut while hanging upside down? If carnivorous aliens landed and fancied a bit of you, would you still think it okay to eat other animals, or would you say, “Hold on, God created us special…”
If you claim to be ‘spiritually inclined’ how can you accept so much suffering to consume your steak, chop and quarter-pounders or watch children eat shit like chicken nuggets?
Humans are animals and most of us care deeply about our fellow beings, whatever species they are.
So when are the majority of our fellow humans going to wake up and treat other animals with the same respect?
This is big news…
Delia Derbyshire – the most famous woman nobody’s heard of…
I want to introduce you to one of my all-time heroines – Delia Derbyshire.
As with many women, her work was mostly invisible to the outside world, but Delia created something virtually everybody has heard – for she was responsible for the electronic effects in the original Doctor Who theme.
I was at my gran’s when the first episode was broadcast back in 1963 and I still shiver when I hear it now. Click here to listen to the original music.
Delia Derbyshire was born to working class parents in Coventry, England, in 1937. She was educated at Barrs Hill Grammar School Coventry and Girton College, Cambridge, where she was awarded a degree in mathematics and music. This was some achievement for a working class female as only 10% of undergraduate places went to women in those days and hardly any were from such humble beginnings.
In 1959, after graduating, Delia approached Decca Records, but was told that the company DID NOT employ women in their recording studios, so she went to work for the UN in Geneva before returning to London to work for music publishers Boosey & Hawkes.
In 1960 Delia joined the BBC as a trainee studio manager. She excelled in this field, but when it became apparent that the fledgling Radiophonic Workshop was under the same operational umbrella, she asked for an attachment there – an unheard of request, but one which was, nonetheless, granted. Delia remained ‘temporarily attached’ for years, regularly deputising for the Head, and influencing many of her trainee colleagues.
To begin with Delia thought she had found her own private paradise where she could combine her interests in the theory and perception of sound; modes and tunings, and the communication of moods using purely electronic sources. Within a matter of months she had created her recording of Ron Grainer’s Doctor Who theme, one of the most famous and instantly recognisable TV themes ever. On first hearing it Grainer was tickled pink: “Did I really write this?” he asked. “Most of it,” replied Derbyshire.
Thus began what is still referred to as the Golden Age of the Radiophonic Workshop. Initially set up as a service department for Radio Drama, it had always been run by someone with a drama background. Derbyshire was the first person there with any higher music qualifications, but as she wasn’t supposed to be doing music, much of her early work remained anonymous under the umbrella credit ‘special sound by BBC Radiophonic Workshop’.
Before long the Workshop’s TV output had overtaken work produced specifically for radio broadcast. Derbyshire was called upon to do music for drama and documentary programmes set in the distant past, the unseen future or deep in the human psyche – in fact any area where an orchestra would be out of place. Science, arts and educational programmes also benefited from her abstract style. Her work with Barry Bermange on the four Inventions for Radio is perhaps the best illustration of Delia’s intuitive way with soundscaping.
Derbyshire soon gained a reputation for successfully tackling the impossible. When asked to “make some TV title music using only animal sounds” – much thought and ingenuity resulted in Great Zoos of the World. Delia always managed to soften her purist mathematical approach with a sensitive interpretative touch – ‘very sexy’ said Michael Bakewell on first hearing her electronic music for Cyprian Queen.
Derbyshire also worked with the composers Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, Roberto Gerhard (on his 1965 Prix Italia winning ‘Anger of Achilles’), and Ianni Christou, doing sound treatments of their orchestral music. She was also assistant to Luciano Berio at the 1962 Dartington summer school.
On being told at the Workshop that her music was ‘too lascivious for 11 year olds’ and ‘too sophisticated for the BBC2 audience’, Delia found other fields where the directors were less inhibited – film, theatre, ‘happenings’ and original electronic music events, as well as pop music and avant garde psychedelia. To do this she encouraged the establishment of Unit Delta Plus, Kaleidophon and Electrophon, a private electronic music studios where she worked with Peter Zinovieff [composer and inventor], David Vorhaus and Brian Hodgson.
It was here that Delia, in collaboration with Vorhaus and Hodgson, cut perhaps the trippiest LP ever made. They called themselves The White Noise and the album was entitled “An Electric Storm”
Your hidden dreams – One of my fave tunes of all time
My game of loving – Beware orgy sounds halfway through!
Firebird – Haunting melody about the legendary Phoenix
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMWg92GGI-g&feature=bf_next&list=AL94UKMTqg-9CBuWyqYkL7n-3e4vVVxRAp
Love without sound – trippy and strange but good
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bEWrsLjfF4Q&feature=bf_next&list=AL94UKMTqg-9CBuWyqYkL7n-3e4vVVxRAp
Here come the fleas – bet you’ve never heard anything like this before…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFRacpYt5F0
During the following decade, Derbyshire enjoyed creative relationships with Stockhausen, Peter Maxwell Davies, Brian Jones and Paul McCartney. She also cut a bizarre pop record with Anthony Newley, and engineered, with Yoko Ono, a ‘happening’ in Trafalgar Square. In the process, she gained a reputation as an energetic and incorruptible innovator.
Delia’s works from the 60s and 70s continue to be used on radio and TV some 30 years later, and her music has given her legendary status with releases in Sweden and Japan. She is also constantly mentioned, credited and covered by bands from Add n to (x) and Sonic Boom to Aphex Twin and The Chemical Brothers.
A recent Guardian article called her ‘the unsung heroine of British electronic music’, probably because of the way her infectious enthusiasm subtly cross-pollinated the minds of many creative people. She had exploratory encounters with Paul McCartney, Karlheinz Stockhausen, George Martin, Pink Floyd, Brian Jones, Anthony Newley, Ringo Starr and Harry Nilsson.
Delia believed that the way the ear / brain perceives sound should have dominance over any basic mathematical theory, but as with most things in life it is important to know the rules in order to advantageously bend or break them.
A complete list of her works has yet to be compiled, but amongst other things she has mentioned doing: Special works and soundtracks for the Brighton Festival, the City of London Festival, Yoko Ono’s “Wrapping Event”, thGeorge Martin, Pink Floyd, Brian Jones, Anthony Newley, Ringo Starr and Harry Nilssone award winning “Circle of Light”, music for Peter Hall’s “Work is a 4 Letter Word” starring Cilla Black, The White Noise LP “An Electric Storm”, special sound and music for plays at the RSC Stratford, Greenwich Theatre, Hampstead Theatre and the Chalk Farm Roundhouse.
Derbyshire was also involved in several of the earliest electronic music events in England, including shows at the Watermill Theatre, Nr Newbury, the Chalk Farm Roundhouse [with Paul McCartney], The Royal Festival Hall and the first electronic music fashion show!
Work from Delia’s engagement at the BBC has also been published on numerous Radiophonic Workshop and Doctor Who LPs and CDs.
By the mid 1970s Derbyshire was disillusioned by the apparent future of electronic music and withdrew from the medium. In the musical dark ages to follow, she worked in a bookshop, an art gallery and a museum. In the mid 90s she noticed a change in the air and became aware of a return to the musical values she held so dear.
Delia passed away after treatment for breast cancer in Northampton, England, on July 3rd 2001.
Shortly before Delia died, she wrote the following: “Working with people like Sonic Boom on pure electronic music has re-invigorated me. He is from a later generation but has always had an affinity with the music of the 60s. One of our first points of contact – the visionary work of Peter Zinovieff, has touched us both, and has been an inspiration. Now without the constraints of doing ‘applied music’, my mind can fly free and pick-up where I left off.” http://www.delia-derbyshire.org/
Is Torture Still Illegal?
Torture is a brutal attempt to destroy a person’s sense of dignity and sense of human worth. It acts also as a weapon of war, spreading terror beyond its direct victims to communities and societies.
States must take effective legislative, administrative, judicial or other measures to prevent acts of torture in any territory under their jurisdiction. There are no exceptional circumstances whatsoever — whether a state of war, or a threat of war, internal political instability, or any other public emergency or national security situation. States’ obligations also include the duty to provide effective and prompt redress, compensation and rehabilitation for all torture victims.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message for the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, 26 June 2012
And yet in the Guardian we read:
“Detainees who claimed they had been tortured were treated dismissively by officers at Dover immigration removal centre, prisons inspectors have said. Reports by officers at the Kent centre lacked photographs, body maps and judgements on whether scarring matched alleged abuse, inspectors found.”
Compare this response to how government officials act on terrorism and organised crime, yet torture is illegal in any circumstances under international law. The UK Government’s attitudes are disgusting and illegal under law.
Click here to see this blog’s author discuss the issue in a debate at Coventry University.
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)
The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), adopted in 1979 by the UN General Assembly, is often described as an international bill of rights for women. Consisting of a preamble and 30 articles, it defines what constitutes discrimination against women and sets up an agenda for national action to end such discrimination.
http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/cedaw.htm
The Convention defines discrimination against women as “…any distinction, exclusion or restriction made on the basis of sex which has the effect or purpose of impairing or nullifying the recognition, enjoyment or exercise by women, irrespective of their marital status, on a basis of equality of men and women, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural, civil or any other field.”
By accepting the Convention, States commit themselves to undertake a series of measures to end discrimination against women in all forms, including:
- to incorporate the principle of equality of men and women in their legal system, abolish all discriminatory laws and adopt appropriate ones prohibiting discrimination against women;
- to establish tribunals and other public institutions to ensure the effective protection of women against discrimination; and
- to ensure elimination of all acts of discrimination against women by persons, organizations or enterprises.
The Convention provides the basis for realizing equality between women and men through ensuring women’s equal access to, and equal opportunities in, political and public life — including the right to vote and to stand for election — as well as education, health and employment. States parties agree to take all appropriate measures, including legislation and temporary special measures, so that women can enjoy all their human rights and fundamental freedoms.
The Convention is the only human rights treaty which affirms the reproductive rights of women and targets culture and tradition as influential forces shaping gender roles and family relations. It affirms women’s rights to acquire, change or retain their nationality and the nationality of their children. States parties also agree to take appropriate measures against all forms of traffic in women and exploitation of women.
Countries that have ratified or acceded to the Convention are legally bound to put its provisions into practice. They are also committed to submit national reports, at least every four years, on measures they have taken to comply with their treaty obligations.
Is Torture Still Illegal?
Torture is a brutal attempt to destroy a person’s sense of dignity and sense of human worth. It acts also as a weapon of war, spreading terror beyond its direct victims to communities and societies.
States must take effective legislative, administrative, judicial or other measures to prevent acts of torture in any territory under their jurisdiction. There are no exceptional circumstances whatsoever — whether a state of war, or a threat of war, internal political instability, or any other public emergency or national security situation. States’ obligations also include the duty to provide effective and prompt redress, compensation and rehabilitation for all torture victims.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s message for the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, 26 June 2012
And yet in today’s Guardian we read: “Detainees who claimed they had been tortured were treated dismissively by officers at Dover immigration removal centre, prisons inspectors have said. Reports by officers at the Kent centre lacked photographs, body maps and judgements on whether scarring matched alleged abuse, inspectors found.”
Compare this response to how government officials act on terrorism and organised crime, yet torture is illegal in any circumstances under international law. The UK Government’s attitudes are disgusting and illegal under law.
Click here to see this blog’s author discuss the issue in a debate at Coventry University.
DOG Sharon 