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Spring has been a bit of a whirlwind here so far! The last little while has been one of the most hectic times in recent memory.
I took an quick trip out to Edmonton for the Cross-Pollination workshop at the end of March. This was probably the best professional gathering I’ve ever attended – it was a small, invited group of people which allowed for really good discussions. There were no concurrent sessions and we all were asked to workshop our papers, which had been circulated ahead of time. There were so many interesting topics discussed and it was just amazing to have the opportunity to really think deeply about how “environmental thought and activism” (to borrow from the event sub-title) can emerge from the arts and the humanities. So many excellent papers and so many exciting ideas exchanged. I think I thoroughly enjoyed the entire event, but if I had to pick a highlight I think it would be Lyndal Osborne‘s discussion of her work. Absolutely incredible stuff! (and to think I used to be both a student and a sessional instructor in the same department as Lyndal but did not actually meet her until this workshop. How odd!)
While I was in Edmonton I got to have a quick whirlwind visit with my parents, which was lovely! We went for a celebratory dinner at Padmanadi, one of the most delicious vegan restaurants I’ve ever been to! The food is Chinese food-style, but made with analog meats instead of the “real deal.” Loads of yummy fresh veg too! What a treat it is to be able order anything from the menu!
I also got to spend a fabulous evening with Fiona, a good friend who I haven’t seen in ages because she has been living in places like New Zealand, the UK and Alaska. The stars aligned and we were actually in the same city for the first time in about 5 years! We went to the Hotel MacDonald for old time’s sake (we used to go there for drinks and to restore our sanity when we both lived in Edmonton) and had a blast ordering a ridiculous amount of ridiculously expensive appetizers ($10 popcorn anyone? But it was tossed in truffle oil, so…) We were too busy yakking to take any photos, but it was such a great night!
The week after I got back from Edmonton was the “Thinking About Animals” conference at Brock. It was so amazing to see such a great turn-out for this event. I don’t know the exact count, but people came from all over to discuss, debate and think critically about relationships between species. It was fabulous and I was sorry that I had to miss so many sessions due to teaching and other commitments. (the perils of attending a conference at one’s home institution, I guess)
The 2011 Niagara Social Justice Forum came on the heels of the “Thinking About Animals” conference. I was part of the organizing committee for the NSJF this year, so it was an especially intense time. We had a great day for the forum – beautiful sunny skies, perfect for the nature walks along the escarpment that were booked for mid-day. There were 18 workshops on a wide range of topics (everything from youth homelessness to water access and social media to the rates of diabetes in Aboriginal communities), an “art space” (featuring an exhibition of images to raise money and awareness for Toronto Pig Save, a children’s art competition and a craft table where participants could paint messages of social justice on a banner and make their very own compostable plant pot and then plant an heirloom tomato seed donated to the event by Tree & Twig), a performance by WomEnchant, and a screening of NFB’s Reel Injun. A long, wonderful, rich and rewarding day!
I thoroughly enjoyed all of these events, but I’m glad that the pace is going to slow down a bit now. Classes have ended and it is time to turn my mind to summer research/writing + gardening. I’m looking forward to some new adventures on both of these fronts!
If you had told me a few years ago that I would be blogging about food, that I would be interested–really, really interested–in trying new recipes and that kitchen gadgets (hello Vitamix!) would be on my “wish list” I would have laughed. For years I was a pretty lazy vegetarian — frozen pizzas, lacklustre sandwiches, cereal. Whatever. As long as it wasn’t made of animal flesh I was ok with it.
Being vegan has brought many changes to my life – all of them positive. This weekend I was thinking a lot about how I’ve begun to pay more attention to what I eat, both from a nutritional and ethical point of view, but also from a taste point of view. I’ve been thinking more about flavours, textures and how different dishes go with one another.
We cooked up a storm this weekend. First up: White Bean and Kale Soup and Biscuits. Then Carrot Raisin Muffins from my all-time favourite vegan cookbook, Vegan With a Vengeance.
We took a trip to the market on Saturday to stock up on greens and goodies. (veggies for us and for Jill the rabbit!) While we were there we stopped at Rise Above Bakery’s booth and got some fabulous chocolate croissants – yes, they were vegan! Oh. My. Goodness. So delicious! Then we stopped at the Truly Organic Foods booth and had a great chat with Lee-Ann. We bought some Salad Booster and some Coconut Oil from her. Both sounded amazing, but while I was pretty confident that I knew what to do with the Salad Booster (“sprinkle on top of salad”), I was less certain about what to do with Coconut Oil. Turns out there is a whole world of Coconut Oil goodness just waiting to be created! Marlie sent me a recipe for a Granola made with coconut oil so I had to make that today. The whole house smelled like toasted coconut goodness.
For dinner tonight I finally got to try a recipe I’ve been dying to try for ages, Tomato Basil Cream Pasta from Vegan Yum Yum. Wow. Just wow. (please note, I’m complimenting the recipe, not my cooking 
). This will be a go-to favourite from here on in. I’m still always amazed at the versatility of nuts. (I’m also discovering, much to my delight, that businesses like Truly Organic Foods sell raw nuts that have very likely not come into contact with peanuts. I know that it is pretty difficult to guarantee this, but by virtue of how these raw nuts are acquired, packaged and sold the risk for someone with a severe peanut allergy is pretty minimal. This makes me very, very happy.)
We also were invited to a fabulous vegan brunch on Sunday morning. (thanks Crista & Dylan!) What better way to enjoy good vegan food than to share it with friends?! I’m seriously thinking we should start a vegan brunch club, moving the feast from house to house each month. Anyone with me?
It is hard to believe that in a few short hours 2010 will be over and the year 2011 will be ushered in. All-in-all 2010 was a pretty good year. I started it off with a 6 month sabbatical which I found amazingly productive and restorative. It was nothing short of luxurious to reconnect with my research in such an in-depth way. I’ve also been reminded during this year just how happy I feel when I’m knee-deep in a research project. Work?! This is the stuff that keeps me ticking!
The other big focus for me this year was my commitment to veganism. I’d been a vegetarian for years and years and years, but the PCRM’s “21 Day Vegan Kickstart” in March gave me the push I needed to make the transition to a vegan lifestyle. I’ve been having a great time trying new recipes, learning how to veganize things, reading vegan cooking blogs and, of course, buying vegan cookbooks!
I’m not a resolution sort of gal, so instead I’ve made a list of my top 5 favourite things about 2010. In no particular order:
1) Visiting the George T. Angell memorial in Boston. I’ve been reading so much about his work, so this was pretty special.
2) A fabulous road trip out to Nova Scotia for the first-ever ALECC conference at CBU. Yeah! Here I am trying to blend in with the landscape along the St. Lawrence.
3) Organizing the first-ever Walk for Farm Animals in Niagara. So amazing! I’m still blown away by the wonderful turn-out we had for this event and am looking forward to the 2011 Niagara Walk for Farm Animals!
4) Any and all time spent with Jill the rabbit and Jenny the cat.
5) I’m going to cheat a bit here and combine a couple of related wonderful things in to one point – this year I had my first trip out to the Donkey Sanctuary of Canada and two trips down to Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glen, NY. All three of these trips were wonderfully inspiring and life-changing. A shout-out to all who give their time, money, labour and love to animal Sanctuaries. May we one day have one in the Niagara region.
And one last bonus point — I had a great trip out west to visit my mom and dad in Leduc this fall. It was a short trip, but we packed a lot of fun in to it!
Happy 2011 everyone! May it be a happy, healthy, productive and peaceful year.
Where do the weeks go? I blinked and November disappeared.
I had 2 November blog projects:
1) Vegan MoFo
2) Blogging my way through Brooklyn’s vegan pub menu
Vegan MoFo was fun. I especially enjoyed reading other Vegan MoFo blogs and getting recipe ideas. I just wish I had more time to cook right now!
And on that note, I didn’t get over to Brooklyn’s as much as I’d hoped in November (I swear, we got a compressed month, not an actual month-long month!), so I will continue this project over the coming months. On the last day of Vegan MoFo I did treat myself to my very favourite pub sandwich on Brooklyn’s menu though, the Spicy “Chick’n” Sandwich. Yum!
And on the subject of those who eat a vegan diet, we have a new addition to our household! Jill the bunny! Jill was rescued by Niagara Action for Animals earlier in the year. I wasn’t sure how the Jenny-cat would take to Jill, but so far so good. They’ve been nose-to-nose sniffing one another quite a bit. So cute! Jill’s favourite foods are arugula and bananas. Below is a video of her eating a banana. I could just stay home and feed her bananas all day! (I’ve got to work though so that I can pay for the new roof I have to put on my house. Good times.)
This weekend we drove down to Farm Sanctuary in Watkins Glen, NY to attend the Celebration for the Turkeys. This event, of course, takes place around the same time as American Thanksgiving and is a symbolic way of both celebrating the animals rescued at Farm Sanctuary and remembering those millions and millions of animals who are not as lucky. At this event turkeys like Daphne and Velma get fed tasty treats like cranberries and mashed pumpkin.
We spent a few hours at the farm, hanging out with the cows, pigs, chickens, geese, goats and rabbits. I absolutely love Farm Sanctuary — one of my favourite places on earth!
After spending time at the Farm, we all gathered at the Harbor Hotel for a vegan thanksgiving dinner. So delicious! The menu included: a yummy salad with pomegranate, a pumpkin soup that might just be the best soup I’ve ever had in my entire life, mashed potatoes, a beans and greens mix, Tofurkey, assorted veg and some delicious desserts (including chocolate dipped strawberries).
We stayed at the Marmalade Cat B & B in Watkins Glen and enjoyed a delicious vegan breakfast, complete with french toast. (thanks Sally!) There were 3 lovely cats who lived at the house — Charlie, the orange and white cat, was especially friendly!
Good Groceries was right next to the B&B and it was great to shop for products that we can’t yet get in Canada — things like the Tofurky pizzas with Daiya, Soy-based Whipped Cream and Field Roast sausages. (I know, I know! Prepared foods are not the most nutritious and we generally don’t eat them, yet it was really exciting to see and purchase products I’ve heard about in the vegan blogosphere but have not yet had access to. I promise to use them sparingly!)
While we were down in the Finger Lakes region we decided to nip over to Ithaca. I was so looking forward to going to the Moosewood Restaurant, but it is only open for dinner on Sundays. My disappointment was short-lived though — we found a funky little waffle house that had vegan waffles. Yay!!
We held our first-ever Walk for Farm Animals in St. Catharines this past weekend. The event was one of about 70 taking place across North America to raise money for and awareness of Farm Sanctuary. I travelled down to Farm Sanctuary this past spring and it was, in short, a life-changing experience. When the call went out for cities to host a Walk for Farm Animals, I knew this was a way I could get involved and help out.
We selected the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend for our walk, and it turned out to be just a perfect weekend. The sky was blue, the sun was warm, the atmosphere was one of happiness and celebration. We had 80 walkers come out and join us on Saturday, Oct. 9th. 80!! I was so impressed! Our group raised about $6100 for Farm Sanctuary, so I was really delighted about this too. A big shout-out to everyone who joined us for the Walk and to those who sponsored a walker. We couldn’t have done it without you! (for more on the St. Catharines Walk, see these articles from the local press)
I also want to acknowledge the kindness and generosity of the following people and businesses who donated food, time, raffle prizes or helped to promote the event: Allison Arbour, Brooklyn’s, Kindfood, Niagara Action for Animals, OPIRG-Brock, Strega Cafe, The Peanut Mill. You all are wonderful!
The news about the abuse uncovered on an Ohio Dairy Farm by Mercy for Animals has hit the global media. The horrific film footage showing cows and calves being beaten, stabbed and kicked is stomach-turning.
I wish this were an isolated incident, but as anyone who has tried to learn more about where our food comes from knows all too well, abuse of animals in factory farm settings is not uncommon.
There is no doubt that this is difficult stuff to read about, look at, and discuss, but we need to know about it. I can’t tell you how many people have said to me “oh, I can’t look at that stuff. I can’t hear about animal abuse or look too hard into where my food comes from.” These are often well-educated, intelligent people who I love and respect. And yet on this point I must respectfully disagree. If you care about your health, the health of your family, about animals or the fate of our planet nothing could be more important than knowing these sorts of “dirty little secrets” that the factory farming industry would rather we didn’t know.
I’m not saying we should all make a bowl of popcorn and sit down with the family to watch the Ohio dairy farm footage on the big screen TV. And yet, as Ed Burtynsky pointed out during an interview on CBC’s The Current yesterday, imagery is often what brings much needed attention to an issue. Burtynsky was not talking about the Ohio Dairy Farm case but, rather, about another horrific story, the BP Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The point, however, is valid in both instances.
As someone who teaches about and conducts research on visual culture, this point is one that I have spent a lot of time thinking about. Right now I’m doing a lot of work on 19th century animal welfare activism and, in particular, the use of imagery in that movement. The great 19th century reformer Frances Power Cobbe began one of her illustrated anti-vivisection pamphlets with the words: “Do Not Refuse to Look at These Pictures.” She went on to discuss why it was so important for people to see with their own eyes the ways in which animals were treated behind closed doors in medical laboratories. Cobbe recognized that most people would not be granted access to these labs (just as we aren’t easily granted access to factory farm complexes) and, as such, she strongly believed in the power of visual culture to convey this difficult information to a broader public.
Things haven’t changed that much since Cobbe’s day and here I’d like to repeat her plea — “do not refuse to look at these pictures.” We can not keep ignoring what is going on.
Gunther von Hagens has launched another sensational exhibition, Body Worlds of Animals. Like the original Body Worlds, this exhibition uses plastination to preserve and exhibit dead bodies. Unlike the original exhibition, however, these bodies belonged to nonhuman animals before they became part of this exhibit. (Although I do recall a horse being included in the original Body Worlds, however, the focus there was most decidedly on human anatomy.)
There are, apparently, a wide range of animal bodies included in this exhibition. According to The Telegraph, several of these animal bodies were donated to the exhibition by the Neunkirchen Zoo. Through this donation we are encouraged to keep gazing upon these animals for our own entertainment, education, and enlightenment, even after their death. Unlike the dead humans in the original Body Worlds, these animals did not (could not?) give consent for their bodies to be used in this manner any more than they gave their consent to have been put on display in the zoo in the first place.
On the website for this exhibition Dr. von Hagens states that: “The more the individual thinks about the fragility of his or her body, the more respectful he or she will become toward other people and animals. BODY WORLDS of ANIMALS makes a valuable contribution to animal welfare and to increased appreciation of endangered species. The exhibition strongly supports the educational mission of the zoo and animal welfare organizations.”
The argument, it appears, is that this exhibition makes viewers realize the “fragility” of their bodies and, in turn, this leads to a heightened sense of appreciation of other species. This is a pretty tenuous link, one that echoes numerous arguments that have been made in favour of public zoos and animal theme parks throughout their history. According to this line of thinking, seeing animals in captivity or as “performers” somehow will make humans better appreciate nonhuman animals. The abundance of animal cruelty cases, the extinction (or near-extinction) of species and the destruction of habitats seems to be evidence to the contrary. Further, the notion that continued exploitation of animal bodies somehow supports animal welfare initiatives is very troubling.
PS: Is the giraffe on the Body Worlds of Animals website blinking!?? How many different kinds of creepy is that? Compare this to the stoic-looking splash screen for the original Body Worlds, with its visual nod to the very serious business of science and technology. A dead, blinking giraffe? Really?!?
I just got back from a wonderful research trip to Boston, which included many days in the archives of the MSPCA. Before my trip I knew a bit about George T. Angell and the founding of the MSPCA, but I now have a much better understanding of the significance of this organization to the early animal welfare movement. I had such a great visit — I learned so much and everyone was so friendly (hi Jan!).
I would love to post more (including some pics from my weekend tourist breaks to the Arnold Arboretum and the historic North Church), but I’m up against a writing deadline, so these yellow beauties will have to suffice for now.
The last little while has felt like a whirlwind compared to the hermit-like state I’ve been in for most of my sabbatical thus far. Some highlights:
1)Last Friday I attended the Medieval Documents Symposium at Brock. This event was to celebrate the recent discoveries of some medieval documents in our Special Collections as well as some donations of documents to the university. My own area of research is the late 19th C/early 20th C, so it was a real treat to learn about an era so far removed from the one I spend all my time studying. This was a truly fascinating event. First of all, I’m always a little in awe when in the presence of material objects that have survived this long. It kinds of blows my mind! Secondly, the presentations made last Friday really embodied a spirit of interdisciplinary inquiry that I find especially engaging. For example, we heard from some of the folks involved in the DEEDS project at U of T. As I understand it, this is a piece of software that can calculate the approximate age of an undated Medieval charter based on the patterns of language that appear in that document. Very, very cool!
2)The 2010 Niagara Social Justice Forum took place last Saturday. I look forward to this event each year as it brings together faculty, students, staff, community members, activists, etc. for discussions, workshops and a chance to exchange ideas. The food that Strega provided was knock-your-socks-off delicious and it was pretty fantastic to have all that vegan/vegetarian food on campus. I just wish we had these kinds of eats at Brock all the time. Le sigh…
3)This week we had Erika Ritter come to campus to talk about her book, The Dog by the Cradle, The Serpent Beneath: Some Paradoxes of Human-Animal Relationships. This is an amazing book that really delves into the many complexities of human relationships with nonhuman animals, both in our current era and in the past. The event on Tuesday included a lecture but also a discussion where most people in the room had an opportunity to ask questions or offer comments about the multitude of paradoxes that seem to define human-nonhuman relationships. It was a wonderful event, and I left campus that day feeling very energized and couldn’t wait to get back to work on my new research, a topic which is very much related to the themes explored in this book.
4)Tomorrow evening brings another animal-themed event, this time a book launch and fund-raiser. The book being launched is John Sorenson’s book, Ape (from the Reaktion series, Animal), and the funds are being raised for the Story Book Farm Primate Sanctuary.
All this *AND* talk of a cross-lake ferry service between Toronto and St. Catharines makes it a pretty exciting week to be living in Niagara!
