My girlfriend is a vegetarian and I am not. Frankly I am seriously considering it. Let me tell you why. She made this choice a long time ago say back when she was I think she told me around the age of twelve. One of the reasons she remains so is is ethical. No we've been told many times here about the many reasons and virtues of vegetarianism/veganism. Whether you draw you comfort in the scriptures (Yeah there are pro vegetarian/vegan scriptures), or because CAFOs are a major emitter of greenhouse gases, or health reasons. I know that one of her reasons was ethical. She believes firmly that all animals should be treated humanely. I respect her a great deal for her choice. In addition to acting on this belief in her own dietary choices she has chosen to support an organization called United Poultry Concerns. That is what I'd like to talk about today.
The group was founded by a concerned citizen named Karen Davis. Her wiki page says this about her:
Karen Davis is the president and founder of United Poultry Concerns, Inc., which she founded in 1990 as a nonprofit organization that promotes the compassionate and respectful treatment of domestic fowl and includes a sanctuary for domestic fowl.
She has a PhD in English from the University of Maryland, College Park, where she taught for 12 years in the English Department.
At the University of Maryland, Davis founded the Animal Rights Coalition in 1989, and she pioneered a course in the University Honors Program on the role of animals in the Western philosophic and literary tradition. Karen is a featured speaker at the annual National Animal Rights and Taking Action for Animals conferences in Washington, DC and Los Angeles. On July 2, 2002, Karen was inducted into the U.S. Animal Rights Hall of Fame “for outstanding contributions to animal liberation.”
Since 1999, Karen and United Poultry Concerns have hosted six conferences on farmed animal advocacy issues.
Her mission:
United Poultry Concerns seeks to make the public aware of the ways poultry are treated by our society and elsewhere in the world. We assist the public to see how our treatment of these birds affects our health, our ethics, our education, our occupational safety, and our environment. We inform people about and actively promote alternatives. We do this through our extensive investigations, our chicken sanctuary, public talks, writings, mailings, conferences, information displays, and film presentations using such sources as public interest groups, animal advocacy organizations, poultry trade publications, government agencies, and scientific journals and proceedings.
When I went to the website I was shocked to learn this
THERE ARE NO FEDERAL LAWS REGULATING POULTRY RAISING, TRANSPORT, OR SLAUGHTER IN THE UNITED STATES OR CANADA
So you might ask what can you do? Well you can go here.
Listen to Ira Glass from This American Life talk on Letterman about how Karen Davis convinced him to be a vegetarian
You can listen to the This American Life show about it here
You can give on the organization's website. And like the title you can Eat Les Chikin®.
Here's a recipe
Chickenless "Chicken" Salad
The trick to this great salad is the marinating and grilling of the tofu.
1 lb. brick tofu-extra firm
soy sauce
spring or filtered water
3 ribs celery-diced
1 small red onion-diced
1 red pepper-diced
1/2 teaspoon each basil, sage, rosemary, oregano (or to taste)
2 teaspoons paprika
1-1 1/2 cup Tofu Mayo (see below)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly oil or spray a baking sheet.
Slice tofu 1/4-inch thick. Brush each slice, back and front, with soy sauce and allow it to marinate for 10 minutes.
Place on a lightly oiled baking sheet and bake for 30-35 minutes, turning once halfway through, until a deep, golden brown and crispy on the outside but still tender on the inside. Remove from oven and allow to cool until you can handle the slices. Then, shred the tofu slices with a sharp knife, creating irregular, angular pieces..reminiscent of shredded chicken. Mix with vegetables, spices and Tofu Mayo until ingredients are well-incorporated. Chill thoroughly before serving.
This salad is great on a bed of fresh, crisp greens or served as a hearty sandwich.
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Tofu Mayo
12 oz. silken tofu
3 tablespoons stoneground mustard
2 teaspoons cider vinegar
3 teaspoons brown rice syrup (or other liquid sweetener)
sea salt
juice of 1 lemon
Puree all ingredients in a food processor until smooth and creamy.
Special thanks to OrangeClouds115 for giving me permission to use her VMD trademark.