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You are going to want to read Chapter 11 first of Striking at the Roots first . Chapter 11, “Animal Care: Activists are Animals Too” is Mark’s favourite chapter and one to which he has devoted a lot of consideration. From coping with burnout and traumatic knowledge to dealing with your family or friends, it is covered here.
This book is a field guide to animal activism, it includes everything from leafleting to demonstrations to corporate campaigns to using food as outreach. There really is something for everyone. He provides tips, suggestions and checklists about each activism method, as well as a few recipes to get you inspired about using “food as outreach”.
I chat with Mark about some things not covered in this book but of which he is well qualified to speak, such as, how animal advocates should treat each other and how to keep a healthy perspective. He also gives some suggestions for other resources that he finds important for animal advocates, such as foodispower.org , https://www.thebeardedvegans.com/ , http://www.sistahvegan.com/ , http://veganwarriorprincessesattack.com/ , https://www.christophersebastian.info/ and the book Growl by Kim Stallwood http://kimstallwood.com/2013/05/28/growl/.
Also check out Mark’s blog for more ideas, information and thoughts on animal advocacy at https://strikingattheroots.wordpress.com/
Dr. Katherine van Ekert from PETA speaks on Lululemon’s Refusal to Stop Using Down
Lululemon is a Vancouver-based company that prides itself on being ethical and in fact includes “no harassment or abuse” and “environmental responsibility” in its code of ethics. PETA has been asking Lululemon to stop selling goose and duck down-filled jackets since 2011. Lululemon agreed last year to sit down with PETA and talk about taking down out of their clothing but Lululemon has reneged on that agreement.
Lululemon has claimed that their down is sourced from birds who are plucked after their throats have been slit and do not come from factory farms that force feed for foie gras. However PETA has done some undercover work on this and found that Lululemon’s down does come from factory farms some in China where there are no protections in place for animal treatment. This video shot by PETA shows live plucking in China, WARNING:Disturbing footage https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqS5dX2DpwY#action=share
Dr van Ekert explains how down is obtained and how it is detrimental to the birds, farm workers and to the environment. Three strikes against you, Lulu.