Jenny Brown: "The Lucky Ones: My Passionate Fight for Farm Animals"
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2012-08-06/jenny-brown-lucky-ones-my-passionate-fight-farm-animals
Pigs Judy and Pasty at Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary.
Photo courtesy Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary
When bone cancer forced the amputation of Jenny Brown’s leg at age 10, she learned firsthand the suffering of living as a victim of forces beyond her control. Now, as an author, activist and founder of the Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary, she works daily to protect domesticated animals who also have no choice in their fate. She joins Diane to talk about her passionate fight for farm animals and her new memoir, “The Lucky Ones.”
Guests
Jenny Brown
co-founder and director of the Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary.
Related Items
Related Video
A photo tour of Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary:
Read An Excerpt
Excerpted from THE LUCKY ONES by Jenny Brown with Gretchen Primack. Copyright (c) 2012 by Jenny Brown. Reprinted by arrangement with Avery Books, a member of Penguin Group (USA), Inc.
Comments
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We should all know the true story of how meat gets on our table. There are many good documentaries on the subject. If they were shown to the general public, we'd all eat less meat. Better for us. Better for the planet. And certainly better for the animals.
My wife and I adopted a Cocker Spaniel from an Amish-owned puppy mill in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, so we are familiar with the sad history of Amish involvement in puppy mill cruelty. How do the Amish, who believe that God gives them "dominion over the animals, treat their farm animals and their livestock?
I understand being distraught in the treatment of animals--especially as it relates to puppy mills, research animals, and farm animals in commercial production sites. I am aware that such treatment of animals may lead many people to vegetarism or veganism. I do eat meat, but I eat meat that is from local farms. Such animals are organic and free range--access to sunlight and pasture, not given chemicals, hormones, or antibiotics, and well cared for by the farmers. Even the slaughters are humane. For those who choose veganism or vegetarianism, then that's fine. However, if you are going to eat meat, make sure that it's rear well. Check out eatwild.org and localharvest.com for local sources, and check out the movie Food, Inc and the book Real Food by Nina Planck as well--which justifies my reasoning.
SHAME on you for giving another voice to the radical and violent animal rights group PETA.
If PETA has their way, there is a future for us which has NO ANIMALS, nor any animal products whatsoever.
PETA is linked with ALF, the violent Animal Liberation Front, and also with Humane Society of the United States, all of which advocate the end of "animal slavery".
I eat meat, I will continue to do so, and slaughter of animals for the table can only be so humane.
I am offended by your support of these (IMO) despicable groups that want to deprive me and others of our right to consume meat and enjoy companion animals.
I certainly agree that eating less meat and eliminating animal torture for cosmetic testing are wise and noble goals. However, I am curious as to whether or not the guest believes in a world where no one eats meat, and if so, how practical that goal would be on a planet of 6 billion + people with limited land resources for agriculture. How would we support such a polulation? Is population control part of the equation?
I have been a faithful vegetarian for over 17 years. Now that I have your list of "smartest" animals. I am feeling the need to give up even my vegetarian bacon!! Thanks for the hour and for the book.
In terms of supporting the 6 billion + (which is now over 7 million +) population, it is, in my opinion, vital that people once again grow healthful food locally--based on their environment. The supermarkets and Monsanto are terrible--as they promote GMO and less emphasis on seasonal food.
I am taking a permaculture certification course--in which one can plant and grow food symibiotically, so everything grows lush and plentiful. Permaculture also has three basic ethics--Earth Care, People Care, and Fair Share. In permaculture, all are encouraged to share any surplus, and to live harmonously will all. I encourage you to google it and check it out.
The vegetarian diet is better ecologically as well as more humane. I still love a good turkey sandwich or fresh fish every so often though.
The animal rights movement is founded upon a very simplistic and infantile view of the world. Ms. Brown fails to realize that farm animals will go extinct if they are no longer raised for food. There is no other reason to breed them. She also fails to acknowledge that crops can't be planted, harvested or stored without killing billions of animals (if pigs have "souls" than don't field mice too?) or that all forms of sustainable agriculture relies on inputs from farm animals.
I would like to know what Jenny feeds her animals. I would love to have an alternative to canned cat food (meat) for our cat. Thank you.
Thank you for the insightful discussion. Citing vegetarian registered dietitians would be a great idea during the nutrition discussion. Vegetarian diets are healthy and optimal, but the public is confused and misled, as evidenced by some of the calls.
Again, thanks for the engaging discussion!
I must disagree with the guest. Plant proteins aren't really complete. If so, how come they must be combined or more ways than one?
Please ask your guest about free range chickens.
Is there really such a thing?
Scott Jurek, a world famous ultrathoner (someone who runs races of more than the marathon distance of 26.2 miles) has been a vegan for quite some time and has recently released a book discussing how veganism has IMPROVED his athleticism.
Enjoyed this hour, very insightful.
Thank you.
how does your guest respond to scientific studies showing that plants can communicate with each other? Does this make you feel guilty for eating plants?
http://inhabitat.com/plants-can-talk-to-each-other-by-clicking-their-roots/
- Will
The last caller needs to research Joel Salatin of Polyface Farms in terms of healing the earth while raising animals for meat. It is possible.
I love animals too, but God has a plan which is a chain of who eats who so all can keep a balance in nature. The animals were put on earth to feed us and have to beware of animals above us who can eat us. We are omnivours and have to have meat and vegetables. The trick is to maintain a balance and not destroy it. I agree that the treatment of farm animals is horrible, but I am not going to give up eating.
How does the guest respond to the lack of Vitamin B12 from a vegetarian or vegan diet? Yes, there are supplements, but those are not natural. There have also been studies to show that babies born to vegan mothers have shown signs of failure to thrive resulting from the lack of nutrients from the breastmilk resulting from what the mother has not consumed.
I don't deny that we can get what we need from a vegan diet but that is becoming harder to do as industrial farming practices reduce the nutrient content of veggies we eat. Support local farms and heirloom varieties.
I agree with pcarson. Well said.
Hard core (animal rights) and passionate! Go Jenny!!! I'm pretty much vegetarian (some fish and eggs), but am ambivalent about meat eating. I do think we can raise and eat animals with love and respect, but I think we need to eat mostly plants. I am vegetarian for health reasons and because of the inhumanity of industrialized farming and the pollutant effects it brings to our environment. I look forward to reading your book.
Thank you for having this guest on the show. The discussion is fascinating and necessary. There are so many ways in which animals are routinely exploited, including being raised in deplorable conditions and killed on factory farm kill floors, which are essentially assembly lines of death.
People will come up with all sorts of reasons to continue to eat meat but the truth of the matter is that there are so many benefits to a vegan diet! I've been vegan 20 years and am in great health. My father reversed his heart disease after switching to a vegetarian diet and my mother switched to a vegan diet after having breast cancer; she has now been in remission for 20+ years.
For more information on plant-based sources of protein, see the following article for more information: http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-4491/My-Top-7-Sources-of-PlantBased-Prote...
As a vegetarian for several years and recent meat-eater convert I can provide insight to both sides of the argument:
1. From an evolutionary perspective, humans are opportunistic omnivores which digestive tracts designed to eat a meat-dominant diet (see Inuit diets) to a more veggie/fruit diet (see Katavan hunter-gatherer diet).
2. Vegan is NOT guilt-free. Diets based on grains and legumes are based on monoculture agriculture in which thousands of acres of land are planted with single-species crops leading to soil erosion, excessive spraying of fertilizers and pesticides, and widespread ecosystem destruction when those monocultures are harvested (birds, mice, snakes, etc. are chopped up during harvesting).
3. The nutrition profile of a grain/legume-based diet is lacking in nutrients. One can "survive" on a diet where proteing is grain/legume-based, but not "thrive."
4. The statistic that 1/3 of grain is fed to cattle might be accurate; this grain, however, is feed corn-grade and cannot be consumed by humans unless processed into something like high fructose corn syrup (additionally, the nutrient profile of corn vs. beef is substantially worse).
5. In theory, much of the land in the US that is unfit for crops could be reclaimed by pastured cattle to produce valuable food calories = cows eat scrubgrass, encourage grass growth, fertilize soil with manure, replace arid lands with grasslands (similarly to what buffalo did prior to their near annihilation by the white man in the 1800s).
Loved the comments about animals having souls. One of my role models is St. Francis. Being raised in Arkansas and still living here, I'm exposed daily to lots of domesticated and wild animals. In a state where hunting is the most popular "sport" (or could run a close second to Razorback football), I practice shooting wildlife with only a camera.
The more I've studied the philosophies of the greatest peace-makers in history, the more I've tested my ability to approach other species with calm, love, and assurance that I want nothing but to enjoy their beauty and share, not alter, rob, or destroy, their environment. It works wonderfully and I've enjoyed the mutual benefits of approaching other humans in the same manner. Peace starts with oneself and is proliferated one person at a time.
And, back to animals' souls: I've been reading a book I picked up at a garage sale called "Dewey; The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World". The author, Vicki Myron of Spencer, Iowa, suffered several bouts of cancer and family tragedies while recovering from a divorce and financial devastation during the farm crisis of the '80s. Dewey was dropped into a library return box and had an amazing impact on the morale of the physically and mentally ill, the unemployed, the heartbroken, and others in spiritual need.
"Dewey" is not a read for literary snobs, but contains bits and pieces of wisdom, insight, and inspiration relevant to every reader. If you never before believed that animals have souls, you will.
I am a proud omnivore and hunter (no better meat available than free-range venison, turkey, dove, etc). I have to ask Brown, how does she view humans? Are we animals at the same level as the pigs, cows, chickens, etc. that she is fighting so passionately to have stripped from the menu? Or does she consider H. sapien to be a cut above the other species? It comes down to whether we believe ourselves to be above nature or not. If we displace ourselves from the natural order, then all the other carnivorous species (insectivores and omnivores likewise) would then be considered ruthless murderous rogues would they not? How dare that lion attack and kill the wildebeest calf! Or the coyote chomp down on the unsuspecting mouse! They ought to be more considerate of those poor prey animals, who they subject to years of stressful existence. I try not to buy meat that is not produced locally or not in a humane manner (due to my own murderous habits our freezer is filled with venison and we almost never buy beef), but animals that are born and raised on free-range farms such as Polyface (or those ranches in the Plains area that raise grass-fed bison for example) live out a relatively stress-free existence. Most of their needs are met by the farmer, and they have a considerably lower risk of being eaten by a predator (those heartless bastard wolves). The higher up you get on that pedestal of humans as the 'humane species' the more you displace yourself from the farm animals you love so much.
Ms. Brown is quite passionate and articulate on the subject of animal rights. But aren't they all. Nothing new was discussed. Those that agree with her go to feel good, those that don't ignored her. The only justification for her being on your show that I recognized was in the last few seconds of the show she got free publicity for her Bed & Breakfast and petting zoo.
As the owner of a small farm where we produce our own milk eggs and produce organically I find today's guest particularly offensive. Our dairy goat kids are NOT ripped away from their bawling mothers at birth. They are allowed to nurse until weaned and then we milk the mothers. The chickens free range our yard and are given a balanced grain diet plus all the leftovers from both our table and garden. We shear our sheep humanely and without cuts and their wool provides warmth for us in a wonderful reciprocal arrangement. To think people will not eat meat is naive. We do eat and sell our own and offer these animals a good life compared to those housed in factory farms and feed lots.
I sincerely hope you will give a voice to small farmers on the other side of this issue. Ms. Brown has been so unfair to those of us who SHARE our lives with the livestock we love.
As the owner of a small farm where we produce our own milk eggs and produce organically I find today's guest particularly offensive. Our dairy goat kids are NOT ripped away from their bawling mothers at birth. They are allowed to nurse until weaned and then we milk the mothers. The chickens free range our yard and are given a balanced grain diet plus all the leftovers from both our table and garden. We shear our sheep humanely and without cuts and their wool provides warmth for us in a wonderful reciprocal arrangement. To think people will not eat meat is naive. We do eat and sell our own and offer these animals a good life compared to those housed in factory farms and feed lots.
I sincerely hope you will give a voice to small farmers on the other side of this issue. Ms. Brown has been so unfair to those of us who SHARE our lives with the livestock we love.
I disagree with the notion that there is "no polite way" to introduce death. Veterinarians practice humane euthanasia on a daily basis. Most family pets eventually end up being euthanized because of failing health. Death is never easy, natural or otherwise, but I have observed very peaceful and loving end of life procedures in veterinarians' offices. A natural death is never so peaceful. The lion is not gentle with the zebra.
I take offense at this author's support of PETA. I am a biomedical researcher working at a major medical university and I use rats for my studies. We work to understand the pathophysiology of traumatic brain injury and develop treatments. My rats are treated humanely and euthanized humanely. PETA is a terrorist organization that attacks humans.
I am also an animal rescuer. I have rescued homeless dogs, cats, horses and rabbits. Why does this author not advocate more for spaying and neutering and education of pet owners in understanding animal behavior?