Bullfighting banned in Barcelona

Wether it's because they want to be separate and different from the "Fatherland" or because they care about animal welfare or both... it seems like a victory for the bulls in Cataluña as they vote 68-55 to ban the ancient (and truly barbaric and backwards) tradition of bullfighting.

I can't tell you how happy I was to hear this and so glad that I've lived to see it. I hope I live to see it banned in all of Spain and anywhere else in the world were this painful, dangerous and senseless event takes place.

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House wins Victory for Animals... now we need the Senate

On Wednesday, the U.S. House of Representatives voted nearly unanimously to pass H.R. 5566, the Prevention of Interstate Commerce in Animal Crush Videos Act of 2010. Congress will soon recess for the remainder of the summer, but we are hopeful that a Senate companion bill will be introduced when the session resumes in September.

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Spiritual Ecstasy...? sounds good!

Bernini's St Theresa

"Spiritual ecstasy is not a feeling or an idea but a shift of perception in which direct contact with spirit is made..." (Read more...)

Support this better alternative until fully vegetarian or fishetarian!

Certified Humane® in the News

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VALLEY FORD CHEESE COMPANY NOW CERTIFIED HUMANE®

(Herndon, VA) July 19, 2010 - Humane Farm Animal Care (HFAC) announces today that Valley Ford Cheese Company of Valley Ford, California has been awarded the Certified Humane® label for its cheese.

Valley Ford Cheese Company is located at Mountain View Jerseys, a 640 acre dairy farm in Western Sonoma County, California. Owned by Paul Bianchi and his children Karen Bianchi-Moreda and Steve Bianchi, the farm has been operated by Bianchi/Grossi families, since 1918.

Valley Ford cheeses originate from a closed herd of over 400 Jersey cows. The closed herd concept means no outside breeding stock is ever introduced to the existing animals. Using this type of process has been shown to cut down on disease and generally produces a healthier and stronger animal.

The farm is well known for its Estero Gold Italian farmstead cheese and a new cheese Highway 1which recently won a medal at the California State Fair. The Estero Gold is an aged artisan cheese that is made in the tradition of the Swiss-Italian canton of Ticino where the Bianchi/Grossi great grandmothers were from. Highway 1 is made in a fontina style.

“We have a lot of pride in our product and our farm, it shows the minute you enter the gates,” said owner Karen Bianchi-Moreda. “We took the certification process and inspection very seriously, and believe me the dairy and our cheese making processes were looked over with a fine tooth comb by the HFAC inspectors. We had nothing to lose and absolutely everything to gain by becoming Certified Humane®,” she added.

HFAC is the leading non-profit certification organization improving the lives of farm animals in food production. The Certified Humane® designation assures consumers that meat, poultry, egg, or dairy products they purchase have been produced according to HFAC's precise standards for humane farm animal treatment. Animals must receive a nutritious diet without antibiotics or hormones and must be raised with shelter, resting areas and space sufficient to support natural behavior. Since the HFAC program was unveiled in May 2003, more than 60 companies, representing hundreds of farms and millions of farm animals, have been certified.

Endorsed by more than 36 humane organizations, the Certified Humane Raised and Handled® program is nationally recognized as the Gold Standard for certifying animal welfare from birth through slaughter. HFAC’s Animal Care Standards were developed by a veritable “Who¹s Who” of national and international animal scientists and farm-animal welfare experts. Producer compliance with the HFAC standards is verified through annual on-site visits by HFAC’s third-party inspectors.

Valley Ford Cheese Company products can be found in markets in Sonoma, Napa and Marin Counties, California as well as several other states and the Washington, DC area. To find out where to purchase these products visit our website www.certifiedhumane.org. For more information on the farm: www.valleyfordcheeseco.com.

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You Can Help Farm Animals Right Now

Send an online donation by credit card. You may make a one-time donation, or set up a recurring donation for monthly, quarterly, or annual gifts. Recurring donations are a wonderful way to support our work while helping us reduce the administrative costs associated with processing gifts.

You may also send your donation directly to Certified Humane by mailing a check or money order payable to: Humane Farm Animal Care, P.O. Box 727, Herndon, VA 20172

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Humane Farm Animal Care is a 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to improving the lives of farm animals through the Certified Humane Raised and Handled® program, which sets rigorous standards, conducts annual inspections and certifies humane treatment of farm animals. For more information, please visit our website.

ANIMAL ABUSE AND CRUELTY WORLDWIDE

I debated wether to post this graphic and heartbreaking video. But then I thought, that if I... we, keep turning our heads and choosing not to really see the reality of what is, we will never really understand, and it will forever remain something " we heard on the news...". Whenever you eat your next yummy lamb meal, or beef shawarma, or your ropa vieja... think what you see in this video is what happened prior to this food showing up in your plate. This is not only something we must not support but something we should not eat as well. I guess it would be a perfect world if we could all be vegetarian, but at the very least, the amount of animal flesh we consume should be so low, that the demand should drop tremendously. If you are a meat eater, please support HUMANE TREATMENT OF FARM ANIMALS so that they are feed well and live a good life until it's time for them TO GIVE UP THEIR LIVES IN ORDER TO PRESERVE YOURS. There is no reason why these animals should live tortured lives to end up in the slaughter house and then you EAT THAT TORTURED FLESH, and God knows how much ANTIBIOTICS they were filled with or what kind of DISEASE it has, and now you are consuming. So think about this as you go through life feeding yourself and your families. As far as products made from animals, IT SHOULD NOT EVEN BE AN ISSUE, IT SIMPLY SHOULD NOT BE. We are living in 2010, there are plenty of other sources that we can make coast and soaps from. If you choose not to look at this videO, it's ok. But think that YOU CHOSE NOT TO WATCH IT BECAUSE YOU KNOW IT IS HORRIFYING AND HEARTBREAKING AND THAT IT'S SOMETHING YOU CHOSE NOT TO CONFRONT!