Easter weekend was busy in Old Town Hastings this, er, past weekend, because the weather cooperated (sort of). People come for all manner of reasons. Fresh baked organic bread at Judges. A pint of Doombar at the Jenny. Or home brewed beer at the FILO. A ride on the new stomach churning spindryer thingee at the fun fair on the seafront. Walks up on the East and West Hills and along the seafront. Among the visitors was Jesus Christ. The Grumpy Vegan wonders why he always picks Easter weekend. He should try the Old Town on a different weekend. He’ll avoid being crucified. It’ll be nicer for him and us.
Will Tuttle in England
More than a dozen people gathered together to listen to a talk given by Will Tuttle at the Land of Green Ginger in Old Town Hastings on Thursday, April 16 organized by Kim Stallwood. In his talk, Will focused on his excellent book, The World Peace Diet, and how a meat and dairy-based diet is responsible for human disease, environmental degradation and war. Will was joined with his partner, Madeleine, whose beautiful art depicting such animals as a giraffe and a cow were on display. During his brief trip to England, Will also spoke at a conference of British Jains, the Mahavir Janma Kalyanak Celebrations, and at the Incredible Veggie Show, which was organized by VIVA.
Lobbying Insight
Building a relationship with a small group of politicians is the most effective way to influence policy, according to new research by sector think tank nfpSynergy.
Official Slaughterhouse Video
Cargill is in the process of installing an animal welfare video auditing program in its U.S. beef harvesting plants. All of the Cargill beef facilities will have the program in place by the end of this year. The program was developed by Arrowsight in collaboration with animal welfare specialist Temple Grandin. Arrowsight will provide third-party administration and management of the system, which is designed to help plant operators monitor and teach animal handling. Cargill Beef President John Keating said investing in this program gives the company the objective input needed to effectively train employees and improve animal care processes. To complement the remote video auditing function, Cargill will put employees through a humane handling certification program. Grandin praised Cargill for being a strong industry leader in the area of animal handling. She called the Arrowsight service “the most comprehensive solution out there” for facilities trying to improve animal care practices. Cargill is the nation’s largest beef processor. The company harvested 7.53 million head in 2007.
KLA: Beef Processor Installing Animal Welfare Video Auditing System
The Grumpy Vegan wonders if this improvement will ever be made better as a live webcam. Then, we could all watch and see how live animals become dead meat.
Inevitable, I Suppose
He has already been the subject of obsessive news media coverage, and now he will be the subject of a children’s book. Bo the Portuguese water dog who recently became the first presidential pet in the Obama White House, is the star of “Bo, America’s Commander in Leash,” expected in stores by the end of the month. Mascot Books, a small independent publisher in Herndon, Va., specializing in titles based on university and school mascots, is rushing the book out to capitalize on the fervor surrounding the Obamas’ new dog. “Bo” is written by Naren Aryal, a founder of Mascot Books, and illustrated by Danny Moore, one of its employees. Mr. Aryal said he and Mr. Moore had been working on the project for about two months, leaving space for pictures of the dog, once it was chosen. Mr. Aryal said the Obamas’ two daughters aren’t named in the book because he wanted to protect their privacy.
First Dog Gets His First Children’s Book
The Grumpy Vegan supposes further that if you’ve got enough cheek to write a book about a dog before a dog has even been chosen, well, you’ve got enough cheek to make claim in the last sentence! And where will the book’s profits go, we wonder?
Economic Downturn: Chicken Farmers
The worst recession in decades has hammered all types of businesses across the country, farming included. But among the hardest hit are contract chicken farmers in the South and especially in North Carolina, the nation’s second-leading poultry producer, where it is a $3.3-billion industry. Last winter, the economic crisis created “pretty much a catastrophe” for contract farmers, said Dan Campeau, a North Carolina State University poultry specialist and extension agent. Demand for chicken nose-dived as beleaguered consumers cut back. The industry’s two biggest foreign markets, Russia and China, drastically trimmed their orders. Fuel prices surged, driving up the cost of chicken feed as some grain crops were diverted to produce ethanol.
