Radioactive Fish

David Cassuto There have been a number of developments on the agriculture front that I want to discuss but that will have to wait until things settle down around here at least a little bit.  In the meantime, here´s an interesting tidbit from today´s WaPo.  Apparently, fish in the Connecticut river, in the New Hampshire/Vermont [...]

Animals are Family Too

Seth Victor           This past week I attended the 2010 New Jersey State Bar Association Annual Meeting and Convention in Atlantic City. I had a very enjoyable time, and while I think part of holding the event in Atlantic City is to entice lawyers to come and make a holiday of it, I was there [...]

Voiceless — Australian Animal Law Grant Opportunity

David Cassuto From the email: We are delighted to announce that from next week, applications will be accepted for the 2010 Voiceless Grants Program. Now in its seventh year, the Grants Program has awarded more than $1 million to universities, local councils, and animal protection and non-profit organisations for projects that improve the lives of [...]

Cute Frogs and the Death of Nature (But Certainly Not the Oil Spill…)

David Cassuto This post is not about the oil spill in the gulf.  It´s not about the hideous and incalculable damage to fragile coastal wetlands, marine life, and shore birds, or the other collateral damage from this petroleum-based nightmare.  It´s not about the lack of a viable disaster plan or the continued national unwillingness to connect [...]

Talking Animals, Climate Change and Agriculture in Sao Paulo

David Cassuto Today, I gave a talk on industrial agriculture and climate change at the Planeta Verde Conference, the largest environmental law conference in South America and maybe the world.  Instituto O Direito Por Um Planeta Verde (Law for a Green Planet Institute) is a Brazilian NGO founded (I believe) by Antonio Benjamin, a major [...]

Some Comings and Goings

David Cassuto Our hero has been doing a lot of speaking lately.  I gave a talk in Belem (in the north of Brazil) a few weeks ago, in Rio at the Attorney General’s Office last week, and I’m in Sao Paulo right now getting ready to talk at the Lawyers for a Green Planet Conference [...]

`Octomom´ Nadya Suleman is the New PETA Poster Child

David Cassuto Nadya Suleman, the (now) self-described `Octomom,´ has a sign on her lawn urging us to heed her example and “Don’t Let Your Dog or Cat Become an Octomom. Always Spay or Neuter.”   Suleman, who had octuplets 16 months ago (in addition to her 6 other children) and has been struggling to make ends meet, [...]

Call for Papers: Race and Food

David Cassuto Lots one could say about this.  The journal is Race/Ethnicity: Multidisciplinary Global Contexts out of Ohio State.  The call for papers is here.  Submission deadline:  November 15, 2010. h/t: Our Hen House

Does One Compromise Over Whale Slaughter?

David Cassuto The hoo-ha is growing over the recent proposal by the International Whaling Commission (IWC) to lift the existing outright ban on whaling in exchange for the scofflaw nations (Japan, Norway & Iceland) ceasing  “scientific whaling” (in the case of Japan) and getting to kill more of some different kinds of whales (in the case [...]

Speaking of Hermaneutics…

David Cassuto Not that we were…  A former student writes and asks: Is it wrong that I was so happy he didn’t murder the dog, that I missed  the point of the story? 

New Book on AETA and Animal Activism

David Cassuto From the email, a new book by Dara Lovitz: I am pleased to announce the publication of my book, Muzzling a Movement: The Effects of Anti-Terrorism Law, Money, and Politics on Animal Activism, which examines the silencing of the animal activist movement in violation of time-honored constitutional principles.  For further information, or to [...]

The Show-Me State Legislature Making the World Safe for Factory Farms

David Cassuto I used to live in Missouri (in Rolla — a place locals call “The Middle of Everywhere“).  I have many fond memories of my time there including my first visit to Stonehenge, drinking grape juice made from local grapes (the wine is pretty good, too), and doing a radio show on gulf coast rhythm [...]

Missouri Court of Appeals Keeps Friends Close and CAFOs Closer

David Cassuto Excellent post here about a recent Missouri Court of Appeals decision eradicating a buffer zone between the historic town of Arrow Rock and a proposed CAFO.  In Missouri, a CAFO need be sited only 3000 feet  from residential areas.  Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster litigated this case furiously on behalf of the factory farms, arguing [...]

Sloth

Seth Victor  I wrote that gluttony is the biggest of these applied sins, but I may have spoken too soon. Everything I’ve written so far is meaningless if no one critically considers the issues contained in these posts, and while my goal is to get people thinking and talking about these issues, that alone is [...]

Some Measurable Poultry-Related Success in the U.K.

David Cassuto A while back, I relayed some info about the `Quash the Squash´ campaign by the RSPCA in the UK aimed at improving the lot of chickens.  Apparently, the campaign was/is very successful.  Despite the recession, British consumers are increasingly willing to spend more money on `higher welfare´chickens.  And, more importantly, they are buying less chicken [...]

Envy

Seth Victor Have you ever wanted to fly? Have you ever wanted to be able to dive into the obliqueness of the ocean, breathe through the water, and resist the pressure of the depths? How about sprinting over the terrain in but a few strides? Of course you’ve dreamed of these things, or if not [...]