Last year we exposed cruel “ventilation shutdown” (VSD) experiments at North Carolina State University (NCSU). VSD is a controversial method of mass-killing farmed animals, in which barns are sealed, airflow is cut off and the hundreds or even tens of thousands of animals inside slowly suffocate and die of heat stress or suffocation. VSD+ adds heat or carbon dioxide to aid in killing the animals. The researchers at NCSU subjected chickens to VSD in various forms, and the birds’ suffering was documented and, in some instances, recorded on video, in graphic detail.
Earlier this month, Vox published a lengthy story, by Marina Bolotnikova, about the “bitter civil war” dividing veterinarians over VSD. The article outlines the divide between veterinarians who uphold the profession’s duties to animals and the corporate capture that has landed some vets firmly on the side of the animal agriculture industry–and therefore VSD. It prompts important moral questions about where veterinarians should stand with respect to practices in animal ag that cause intense suffering. We are thrilled to have had our work included in this important article, and we hope you’ll read it.
Vegan-Strong Athlete Video Series - Marcus Daniell
We have another installment in our Vegan-Strong Athlete video series, this one focused on New Zealand professional tennis player Marcus Daniell. In the film, Marcus shares his story about why he stopped eating meat. He discusses his realization that, by feeling comfortable eating some animals but not others, he had set up an arbitrary line–“there’s no difference,” Marcus says, between eating a whale or a pig or a cow. He also notes the health and sports performance benefits of giving up meat. Check out the video here.
Check Out Our Latest Pop Culture & Animals Video: Avatar
Animal Outlook’s Director of Investigations, Scott David, is back in 2023 with that latest in our Pop Culture & Animals video series, where Scott discusses the stories that film, gaming, and other bits of pop culture tell about animals, cruelty, and kindness. The latest installment is about Avatar, the 2009 James Cameron film. The first sequel–Avatar: The Way of Water–was released last month. Scott discusses the relationship between the fictional, humanoid creatures in the film, the Na’vi, with their planet, Pandora. The Na’vi have a deep relationship with trees, which they must defend from destruction by the antagonistic Resources Development Administration (RDA).
As Scott explains in the video, a fitting comparison in real life to the RDA is animal agriculture. On Earth, we are losing more than 5 million hectares of forest per year, the vast majority of that in order to raise animals for food. Eighty-three percent of global farmland use is for animal agriculture, though it provides only 18 percent of calories. As usual, the costs of animal agriculture vastly outweigh the benefits, and the best way not to contribute to those costs is to not eat animals–period.
Click here to watch our latest Vegan-Strong Athlete video
Click here to watch the lastest installment in our Pop Culture and Animals series
Help Animals Year-Round
Thanks to our generous donors, we were able to continue exposing the truth and inspiring change in 2022, and we’re continuing the fight into 2023. Thank you for being part of our work. Will you take the next step and become a monthly donor?
$25/month supports creative and effective outreach opportunities to empower others to choose vegan
$35/month helps encourage international corporations to make changes to reduce suffering by providing plant-based options
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$50/month supports brave investigators in the field to expose the hidden horrors forced upon billions of farmed animals
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