Free From Harm Staff Writers | Free From Harm

Animal Advocate Leafletting Assaulted by Security Guard

59-year-old Richard Hershey is a former state social worker who now spends his time handing out leaflets about animal cruelty from Vegan Outreach. One September day last year, Hershey explains: “I was doing it on public property, a state university where I had obtained authorization to do exactly what I was doing and in the area I was doing it,” said Hersey. But that same day Sgt. Chris Givens, the security guard on duty, threw Hershey a surprise punch and then twisted and tugged at his leg while he was on the ground, as caught on this video. … READ ON

New Study: Animal Protection Viewed Most Favorable of Social Justice Causes

There is a high level of support for the animal protection movement. The animal protection and workers’ rights movements were rated favorably by more respondents than any other social movements listed in the survey, each receiving a “favorable” opinion by 68% of respondents. … READ ON

Videos: Ruby Roth on CNN, Counters Concerns about Her Vegan Children’s Book

“By calling my book controversial we’re actually admitting on a national level that what we do to animals is scary — too scary to even talk about. And that just tells me that people want to remain willfully ignorant and impose that ignorance on their children. And to me that’s unacceptable. And we know what happens in the world, the atrocities throughout history that happens when people become willfully ignorant. “ – Ruby Roth, author of Vegan Is Love. … READ ON

Michael Pollan, Pea Plant Communication and the Ethics of Eating Plants Versus Animals

Adam Merberg, a Ph.D. candidate in mathematics at University of California, Berkeley, where Michael Pollan is a professor of journalism, has posted a blog entry called Should communication between pea plants raise tough issues for vegetarians? where Merberg provides an extremely thoughtful analysis of Pollan’s New York Times piece about a new study of pea plants and Pollan’s assertion that the findings should compel vegetarians to consider the ethics of eating plants. … READ ON

500,000 Chickens Perish in Factory Farm Fire in Colorado

Roughly half a million chickens perished in a fire at a Weld County egg farm Monday afternoon, authorities said. The fire at Moark Hatcheries, located at 9575 Weld County Road 73, was reported at about 1:30 p.m. … READ ON

Video: What is Truly Sustainable in Terms of Food Choices? Richard Oppenlander PhD

This video presentation provides an overview of the key environmental impacts of our food choices and answers the question, what is truly sustainable in terms of food choices? Oppenlander debunks many of the common myths and greenwashing pitfalls of the so called sustainable animal agriculture industry. … READ ON

Speciesism the Movie: Questioning Our Power Over the Powerless

Speciesism is a term coined by Richard Ryder in 1970. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines specieism as “prejudice or discrimination based on species; especially discrimination against animals.” Ryder pointed out that all such prejudices are based upon physical differences that are morally irrelevant. He held that the moral principle of Darwinism is that all sentient animals, including humans, should have a similar moral status. If all organisms are on one physical continuum, then we should also be on the same moral continuum. In other words, speciesism defies evolution. So how did our judgment become so clouded? … READ ON

Dear New York Times Editors, Why Are You Trying So Desperately to Defend Meat Eating on Ethical Grounds?

If it’s so natural and normal and necessary, why does the New York Times try to defend meat eating and the meat industry with many elaborate, convoluted and often bizarre arguments from its panel of “experts” in its recent forum on the subject? Philosophy professor John Sanbonmatsu of Worcester Polytechnic Institute submitted the following amazing letter to The New York Times Magazine incorporating the concerns that many of us felt about the contest and its judges: … READ ON

From Vegetarian to Vegan: A Video Presentation by Author Sarah Taylor

Sarah Taylor, the “Vegan Next Door”, gives the very good health and ethical reasons for vegetarians who are asking, ” Why should I give up dairy and egg products, too?”, as well as specific tips to make the change to a healthier lifestyle both easy and pleasurable. … READ ON

What Are Leading Nutritional Studies Telling Us about How Vegans Compare to Meat Eaters?

In this video presentation, Jack Norris RD compiles highlights from the leading scientific studies that provide a comparison of vegan and non vegan, meat eating diets. The findings can be at times quite surprising and unexpected, breaking through the misconceptions and conjecture that plague discussions of vegan nutrition. Norris focuses particular attention to health conditions and deficiencies where vegans may find themselves more vulnerable than non vegans, providing clear and straightforward advice for avoiding them. This video can help empower vegans with science-based facts and recommendations to optimize their health in the long term. … READ ON

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