Sunday 22 June 2008

Why I *heart* humanemyth.org, or: Stuff I actually learned in grade 9 english but am only posting now.




Most of us have had to read George Orwell's 1984, and so are familiar with the term "doublethink". Also, most of us read 1984 with a smug sense of superiority that we were far too intelligent to get drawn into doublethink. Meh, I say. Every time I meet a compassionate and caring person who convinces themselves that using animals is somehow compassionate and caring (or even ecologically sustainable), I see doublethink in action. For starters, in what way is *killing* compassionate? At this point, I rant. I rave. I fume. And eventually, I inevitably reach the point where I decide that I won't discuss veganism with my friends anymore. Enter humanemyth.org, a bunch of really awesome people who have better anger management and diplomatic skills than I do who are "encouraging truth, transparency and integrity in animal advocacy". Which means that they are taking all the bullshit of "happy meat" and "humane slaughter" apart sentence by sentence, exposing the doublespeak of the animal use industry for...well... doublespeak. Instead of relying on shocking images (a la Earthlings) or blatantly sexist publicity stunts that make no sense whatsoever (a la PETA), they actually go through the media coverage of "happy meat" and show where it is inconsistent, where it is twisting language, where it is leaving key information out, where it is lying, and where it is just plain nonsensical. And they have piles of resources. And more information than you can shake a stick at, if you are the stick-shaking sort or if you have to convince another one of your ecosexual friends that no, the carbon footprint/energy consumption of happy grazing grain-fed, personally massaged cows is NOT smaller than that for tofu. (Oh, and you still kill them. Killing = not so compassionate. If this is unclear to you, picture someone killing your pet. Nicely, but for no reason other than they wanted a new dog-fur purse. Now see if you think that person acted with compassion. Right. That little outburst is why I'm stopping this rant right now and referring you to the not-ranty vegans with loads of cool info. And decent diplomatic skills.)

However, you *do* get a food post for making it through that rant. The most Scottish Bread Ever (TMSBE): mashed potatoes, kelpie seaweed ale, smoked salt, rosemary, whole wheat flour, baking powder, yeast. You can tell it's TMSBE because a) tartan oven glove and b) potatoes AND ale. Served with the chickpea cheese stuff from The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook and sliced (scottish) apples and walnuts. Oh yes. Bring on the giant sammich. That'll be lunch tomorrow. Some of the bread got made into pizza dough, and I did this: TMSBE, chickpea cheez, greens, pear, olives, walnuts, dried figs. Dried figs go with everything, right? That was a rhetorical question. They do, and I don't want to hear otherwise. Oh yum. TMSBE is about to become a kitchendancing staple. The forecast calls for soups. Also, I think I will make the chickpea cheez with seaweed in it.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

A- I heart 1984.
B- Thanks so much for the link. I'd heard of the site before (perhaps it was on the Vegetarian Food for Thought podcast? Not sure.), but I had forgotten to go explore it. I'll definately use this next time I get frustrated with someone who asks me to explain my food choices.
C- I think I have to go veganize Scottish Oatcakes now. Once I get my blog moving, I'll have to share that.

sinead said...

oh yes. oatcakes would be nice with the chickpea/seaweed cheez, though i find that most scottish oatcakes are already vegan. but i'm not scottish, so perhaps i'm missing something....

glad you like the link.

medici said...

Great link. I hope that lots of people check it out.

And TMSBE sounds awesome, too. Actually, I'm getting hungry. How delicious!

Jake said...

Please to be posting chickpea cheez recipe now. kthanxbai.

sinead said...

oh baby, can't. the uncheese cookbook lady doesn't like her recipes given out on blogs etc., which i can understand, since they *are* pretty damn original. email me.

Tuimeltje said...

Sounds like a very interesting site. And it looks like a most exciting bread.

sinead said...

It *is* a nice site. The only problem I have with it are the "give us money" on every page, though I guess these things have to be funded somehow. Also, it doesn't mention going vegan in the "take action" section. I suppose that maybe they're afraid to scare people with the V-word? .... But yeah, the stuff they do present is great.