New Feature An interview with Kristin Candour and Tashee Meadows, founders of Justice for All Species
Justice for All Species (JAS) is an organization of people of color with the mission of providing resources to communities of color to promote a vegetarian diet and a harmonious relationship with humans, fellow species and the earth we share. JAS believes all forms of oppression that obstruct this goal are interrelated and is committed to facilitating dialogues on these topics. For more information about JAS, contact via email jasveg@yahoo.com or mail P.O. Box 29232, Washington, DC 20017.
We spoke with Kris Candour (KC) and Tashee Meadows (TM) about JAS and their commitment to ending the oppression of animals. ________________________________________________________________
BV: Tell us about JAS. How and why was it started? What are the short-term and long-term goals?
TM: We considered ourselves and our friends to be socially conscious, but realized few were aware of the atrocities affecting other species and the environment. So we hosted a meeting and found that members of our communities were immediately sympathetic and made the connections with many other social justice issues. We also realized that both political activity and simply personal experience gave us a unique understanding of the conceptual thinking that one segment of beings was not put on this earth to serve another. Couple that with the fact that the animal agriculture industry preys on communities of color in employment decisions, factory farms locations, and distribution and marketing of their products, and the need for our voices becomes clear. Our short-term goal is to provide resources and programs to encourage our communities to explore a vegetarian diet. We currently are looking forward to launching our first program, "Make Your Next Meal Vegetarian!" Our long-term goal is to facilitate further research and dialogue about the common dynamics of all forms of oppression.
BV: Let's talk terms. How do you name the work that you do? Are you an animal rights advocate, an animal rights activist or do you use another term? Why did you choose this term over another?
KC: I am an animal and human rights advocate. I have gone to as many "animal rights" protests as I have gone to demonstrations against war, homophobia, the death penalty, sweatshops, capitalism, and other evils that I see as oppressive and unwelcome in this world that we share. I work against oppression, and I fight against suffering and injustice everywhere I see them. I like to call the animal rights work that I do vegan advocacy sometimes because veganism addresses so many issues at once; it is a great solution to problems concerning human health, the environment, and animal suffering. I use the word "activist" sparingly because social justice work is a dedication of one's life; it is recognizing the things in this world that go against your values, and resisting them in your daily life, both in theory and practice. To me, the label "activist" does not capture the intensity of the commitment, maybe because it is so misused and overused.
TM: Either one is fine with me. I have no preference. I work to inform others about how our decisions impact the reality of other species.
BV: Why and how did you become active about animals?
KC: I first went vegetarian when I was 16 years old for health and vanity reasons. I went "on a diet" to lose some weight and I excluded meat products from my diet because of the high fat and cholesterol content. Then I went on to STAY vegetarian and BECOME VEGAN when I learned about animal rights and the other terrific reasons to be vegan from animal rights literature. A speech I heard by Erik Marcus, author of Vegan: The New Ethics of Eating, pushed me from dairy-consumption (lacto-vegetarianism) to veganism overnight, although I had thought a little about making the switch before. In the speech, Marcus simply addressed the fact that the milk industry is just as foul as the meat industry, and actually, they are different sides of the same coin of oppression against other species.
Dairy cows, before they are slaughtered for beef, are held against their will, impregnated, and attached to milking machinery for most of their miserable lives. Their babies are unnaturally weaned from them, usually within 24 hours, and many of the male calves are used for veal. (I've heard folks say "There's a hunk of veal in every glass of milk." It's a disgusting visual image, but it definitely has a theoretical basis, and it's one of the best reasons I can think of to dump dairy.)
Anyway, once I learned of the horrible conditions that other feeling, living beings are subjected to for corporate profit, palate preferences, and tradition's sake, I just could not go back to the old carnivorous way of life. And I felt it was a duty, as a compassionate, able human to speak out and educate others on behalf of those who cannot speak for themselves.
TM: Our family was separated and moved around so much that I befriended anyone of any species who'd have me. I also think the separations made me sympathetic to dogs, cats, and birds that found themselves lost and alone. We had a shared appreciation for the basics: food, companionship, protection for your loved ones, and a safe place to call home. I "rescued," and "saved" anyone from gypsy moths in the middle of the road to a young greyhound that someone was going to kill because he broke his leg and could no longer run.
When I moved to D.C. 12 years ago, I learned about factory farming from a pamphlet I picked up at an Earth Day event and it broadened my perspective of social justice. Here was an entire economic system built on depriving beings any ownership of themselves. They don't own their bodies, their reproductive systems, or their social systems. They are living beings, similar to dogs, cats and humans, being produced and destroyed as if they were car parts. I became vegetarian and, after working with veterans at the VA in Maryland, children at Martha's Table and a stint of activism at UDC, I shifted my thinking from "saving" to "liberating," and decided to focus my energies on individuals of other species because they cannot organize and they cannot lobby. They don't have hands that can hold a sign, beat someone off their children or burn down the plants where they are massacred --hundreds per hour. With JAS, I hope to help stop what isn't an isolated atrocity, but a government supported and socially sanctioned way of death. If we can impact this, I believe it will have a ripple effect in the way we treat the earth and each other. I believe peace begins on the plate.
BV: Why should others feel compelled and empowered to also do this work?
KC: What a difficult question to answer! There are so many reasons to fight for animal rights, it is hard to pinpoint why someone else should be active for animals, especially because people are inspired by different issues and motivations. But I will say that for me, the oppression of other species is an issue that permeates our society and our way of life. Animal exploitation is unnecessary for human survival, and is morally wrong because it infringes on the rights of animals who think, feel, and value their lives, just as we do, to live free from suffering and exploitation.
I think that too many people are unaware of animal suffering, and all of the social ills that accompany animal exploitation. Corporations and their manipulative marketing techniques play a pivotal role in maintaining folks' meat and dairy addictions, keeping people ignorant, sick, dependant on cheap, health-hazardous foods, and ultimately robbing them of their money and years of life.
I am vegan not just because of animal rights, or the environment, or spirituality, or health concerns, but because of all of them. They are all extremely important to me, and the fact that ONE decision affects so much of the world and myself, to me, makes it that much more important and worthy of advocacy to the world.
That does not mean that I do not believe that now is the Holocaust for nonhuman animals, and that it is absolutely imperative to stop it, because I do. It just means that I see the whole picture. . .
It is also the Holocaust, so to speak, for natural resources, and for the rainforest, and for nutrient-rich soil, and for Black folks and Latinos, whose families are getting wiped out by diabetes, cancer, and heart disease (even more so than AIDS is affecting us). Everyone (and virtually everything in Nature) is under attack, all by the perpetuation of animal exploitation. Abolishing animal exploitation is a solution to many problems, and we can all unite to do that, no matter what our reasons.
TM: It's easy. Other issues require so much to make a difference. When it comes to social change for other species, however, we can make a difference every time we sit down to the table. It's that easy.
Twenty-seven billion, pigs, cows, chickens and fishes are artificially brought into creation only to be destroyed. Pigs are artificially impregnated and caged by metal piping on slatted flooring so tightly they can't turn around. Their babies are taken away to be rapidly grown for slaughter or impregnation. Marc Kaufman of the Washington Post has written about "egg-laying hens, which are routinely housed in small cages, have their beaks cut off and are denied food and water to induce molting, which increases egg production." The male chicks are thrown alive into garbage cans to suffocate as "byproduct."
These are just a few of the systems of food production, which include the processing plants, their waste, and fast food distribution, which disproportionately affect the physical, environmental, and spiritual health of our communities. The meat industry exploits the inequities of race and class in plant location, employment, and distribution decisions. They have built their Tyson's, Purdue's, KFC's, McDonalds, etc. on them. This is why communities of color need to have a voice in this dialogue. I encourage others to join the JAS listserv to get informed and get involved to stop institutionalized cruelty to others, to protect the environment, and to protect ourselves.
BV: Let's talk about companion animals and pets. Do you have animals in your home? Why or why not?
KC: I have had companion animals, and I loved them and cared for them as long as they lived. I have a problem with the fact that animals were bred by humans to be "pets," but I have no problem with humans taking care of those animals who are already here. We should do our job to curb their population by spaying and neutering, but there are so many unwanted animals that I fully support and encourage anyone who can provide a good, loving home to an animal companion to do so.
TM: Yes. A cat, Judy, lives with me. Though she was dependent on humans, the people who were responsible for her would not afford her shelter during the winter, so I did. In the larger picture, we haven't allowed dogs and cats to live independently and therefore we must take responsibility--both personally, and as a society, for their well being when they are in our care. In my case, I don't consider Judy my "pet," nor do I believe she was created to provide companionship to me. I simply appreciate her presence and provide her with options for living her life.
BV: What are your views on spaying and neutering?
KC: We as humans bred domestic cats and dogs to be our "pets." We must never forget that humans messed with nature by breeding such animals for our purposes. We left many animals starved for attention and food, and other general care, and we have left them to breed so much so that it is inhumane NOT to spay and neuter. Millions of animals are killed when suitable homes for them cannot be found. Curbing the overpopulation of cats and dogs is necessary to prevent animals from dying in the streets by cars and trucks, and at the hands of "animal control" authorities and desperate and overloaded animal shelter workers.
TM: I believe it would be an insult to the public not to acknowledge the clear contradiction present in this issue. The physical alteration of another individual to inhibit or impose pregnancy clearly runs counter to the concept of inherent rights. However, according to estimates from The Humane Society of the United States, "the number of cats and dogs entering shelters each year is between eight and ten million, with four to five million of those animals being euthanized." (Emphasis added.) Often, this is an act of mercy for the animals that are hit by cars and left to die, cruelly mutilated by humans, or simply abandoned with no idea of how to survive on their own. Sterilization will certainly reduce this number immediately, and save individuals from this frightening life-ending fate right now.
Given that, there is more to consider. If we are going to physically alter individuals of other species, we need to, at the very least, alter our own behavior and culture to reduce the number of animals entering shelters as well. For example, a ban on the capture, breeding, or sale of any being would reduce the abandoned population, as would laws that protect people moving with companion animals from discrimination in housing. Finally, we simply should not be killing healthy individuals of other species that are clearly self-sustaining independently of humans. The combination of these actions will drastically cut down on the number of abandoned, euthanized and killed animals, which is so often used as a justification for sterilization.
BV: What are your thoughts about the comparison made between the enslavement of people of African descent by whites and the oppression of animals in factory farms by humans?
KC: While I can understand why some people might be offended by being compared to an "animal," I always remember that humans are animals, too. Such comparisons are demeaning only if you make them so. So when I see pictures of animals enslaved in factory farms, I do see a connection between their condition and the unconscionable suffering that my ancestors had to go through under slavery by white domination. Humans dominate over animals because we can, not because it's right to do, or we have to do it to survive. Factory farms and corporations profit from animal suffering, just as slave owners profited from my ancestors. I can see parallels in the oppression and the treatment of animals, and of slaves, as well as the motivations of the powerful to dominate over someone, and profit from them. Anyone interested in these connections should definitely check out Marjorie Spiegel's book, The Dreaded Comparison .
TM: I have no problem with the comparison of humans with other species. It's no different then comparing a raccoon with a wolf. There are significant similarities, such as self-awareness, the ability to feel pain, the desire to protect our young, intelligence and social culture. There are also significant differences that vary depending on species. This is the case with all species including humans regardless of their ancestry.
So I am comfortable with members of other species being compared as sentient beings with all people, including those of us of African descent. We cannot deny the connection with capture, transport, breeding, confinement, and denial of physical integrity. However, I am concerned about who is not being compared to animals. When the comparisons made by animal rights groups focus solely on communities that have been "treated like animals," read Blacks, Women and Jews, the chance of white men, often the architects of such systems, being compared to other species is rare. This leaves them in a class unto themselves, and may unwittingly reinforce an existing hierarchy of oppression.
We need to continue to broaden the comparisons to include the power structures, economics, and cultural ideologies that allow and accept the torture of entire classes of beings. After all, these atrocities don't happen in a vacuum and viewing them in context, equitably calls everyone to account for both the problems and solutions.
BV: What is your vision for humans' relationships with non-human animals?
KC: My vision for humans' relationships with nonhuman animals is a utopian one. That vision is the same as my vision for humans' relationships with each other: That we all act with love and compassion, free from the compulsion to dominate one another. Human and nonhuman animals should enjoy lives free from suffering and exploitation.
TM: There are too many humans for us to live like lions. We must live more like elephants, and leave others to live as they please.
BV: What does your commitment to working against oppression mean for how you live your life on a daily basis?
KC: It means that I am always busy! Oppression is everywhere in our society, and if you see it (and the same white rich people perpetuating many of the different oppressions), then you realize what a daunting task it is to fight the systems and people oppressing us as Black folks, other people, and other species. Living vegan is not hard, and the food is delicious and nutritious! It's the protests, articles, and managing various responsibilities in different social justice organizations that I sometimes find taxing and time-consuming. But that is the nature of social change, and working to eradicate injustice and suffering. It's hard work, but it feeds my soul because I know that I am doing worthwhile work that is in keeping with my values. As Gandhi said, "we must be the change we wish to see in the world."
TM: I eat a wonderful diet of Thai, Ethiopian, Chinese and African cuisine, supplemented with wonderful vegan junk food. I don't eat dead animals and I don't use products produced with dead animals. Founding JAS allowed me to examine my place in the natural world while staying rooted in my culture and communities of color in general.
BV: Is there anything else you would like to share?
KC: I would like to thank the vegans who read this for making a compassionate and smart choice that affects so many lives, including your own. We are all in this struggle together, and I think it is important to remember to love and support each other, and outreach in our respective communities about veganism. Each one, teach one, until all are free.
TM: We interact with other species hundreds of times a week --unfortunately most of them are dead. We can choose to promote healthy living for other species and ourselves. JAS makes it easy to stay informed with bi-monthly bulletins distributed on our listserv: Justice_for_All_Species@yahoogroups.com .
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