A Thinking Reed

"Man is but a reed, the most feeble thing in nature, but he is a thinking reed" – Blaise Pascal

Animal Rights and Issues

  • Beyond Prejudice 1

    I recently finished Beyond Prejudice, a book on “the moral significance of human and nonhuman animals,” by philosopher Evelyn Pluhar. Pluhar is part of a second generation of animal rights/liberation theorists who build on the pioneering work of thinkers like Peter Singer and Tom Regan. Pluhar’s main contention is that attempts to rebut the assertion Read more

  • A good night for American chickens, sows, and calves too

    Proposition 2 passes by about a 2/3 margin! Yay! Read more

  • CA voters – don’t forget Prop 2!

    Just a friendly request to any readers in California to consider voting “yes” on Proposition 2 tomorrow, which would make modest–but significant–improvements in the lives of millions of farmed animals. Yes on Prop 2 California Voter’s Guide to Prop 2 And, just for balance, here’s an argument against proposition 2. Yes, we here at ATR Read more

  • Debitage

    Via Lynn, I discovered a previously unknown (to me) blog, Debitage, that has a lot of interesting posts on the environment, philosophy, politics, religion, and other topics. Of particular interest to me, there are several good posts on animal rights, for instance: here and here. Read more

  • Prop 2 in the news

    The NYT and the Washington Post both have articles this weekend on the Proposition 2 campaign in California. The Times profiles Wayne Pacelle, CEO of the Humane Society, who’s group has been spearheading the campaign. The Post article gives the lay of the land on both sides of the issue. I’m astonished by some of Read more

  • Jesus in the grocery store

    From Christianity Today: The local grocery store is the space where we gather the fruit of the earth — all of which come from God’s gracious hand — and distribute them to the creatures made in God’s image. Take away all the sophisticated marketing labels and bold two-for-one signs, and you have a place where Read more

  • Oprah does factory farming

    Apparently Oprah dedicated an entire episode of her show to how animals are treated in factory farms (and has even experimented with a vegan diet). I’m no Oprah fan, but I imagine this is probably the most exposure that most of Oprah’s many, many viewers have ever gotten to this issue. Good on her. Read more

  • Don’t forget Prop 2!

    A pre-Election Day reminder about Proposition 2 in California. This modest measure could not only make a dramatic difference to the lives of millions of animals, but establishing these protections in the largest state in the Union could have a dramatic ripple effect on animal welfare across the country. More info here. (Links via) Read more

  • Flex time

    My pal Mary links to this article from Newsweek on “flexitarians” – folks who, for a variety of reasons, eat meat sparingly but without being full-bore vegetarians (or vegans). I think this is all to the good. In particular, as veggie options become more widespread and palatable, people will recognize that you can eat well Read more

  • Humane Society steps up its religion and animals program

    A report from the Boston Globe (via Episcopal Cafe). With a rising concern about things like fair trade and global warming within a lot of churches, will animal welfare start to make inroads? My sense is that this is still not on most churches’ radar screens. Perhaps out of a concern that focusing on animals Read more