I met a marquess with figs and tea

Dear Vegans/Vegetarians

emberfine:

laureloutloud:

rachellori:

maidenmarvel:

We will respect your choice in what YOU eat if you respect our choices in what WE eat.

I would love it if you would stick with me and read this because I am not trying to put you down or call you a shitty person.

The problem with your post is that you are making the wrong decision.

And I don’t even mean from a moral, ‘omg but the poor animals’ standpoint.

The meat industry, as it stands today, is destroying the environment, wasting water, and contributing to world hunger.

Here’s how:

The beef industry takes up 24% of all available land on the planet. Almost a full quarter—that’s land used to grow their feed AND for pastures. Deforestation occurs at alarming rates to make room for meat animals and the crops that they need to eat. In addition to the deforestation, the industry creates tons of pollution. Literal tons. In addition to the carbon dioxide emissions from machinery, there’s the methane emissions from the cows. And the shit. TONS of cow shit. Seeping through the soil into your water sources. Gross, right?

Now let’s talk about water. In the US, the beef industry uses fifty percent of available fresh water. We’re using our clean, fresh water to water crops for feed for cows that we don’t actually NEED to eat while there are states that have droughts every year. How doese that make sense?

And finally, world hunger. Over a third of the world’s grain harvest is used just to feed cattle—then there’s all the other meat animals, pigs, ducks, turkeys, etc. Over 70% of the grain in the US goes to these meat animals. By the time a cow gets to ‘slaughtering size’, it has consumed close to 3000 pounds of grain. A slaughtered cow will yield, on average, about 700 pounds of meat. So you could either take the 3000 pounds of grain and use it to feed people, or you can put it into a cow which, in the end, produces only a third of what you could have had. If the populations of the United States were to reduce their meat consumption by only 10%, we would save enough grain to feed 100 million people. 

So you see, the meat industry, in addition to being full of cruel practices, is simply not sustainable, or beneficial to the planet and it’s inhabitants in any way. I hope this has given you food for thought.

http://www.globalissues.org/article/240/beef Here’s my source, if you’re interested in more reading.

So I’m a partial vegetarian (only eat local, hormone free meat) and I used to be a vegan.

BUT I NEED TO RANT ABOUT THINGS BECAUSE I AM AN AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES MAJOR AND I KNOW THINGS

Ok. SO. the beef industry taking up 24% of available land. Alright.

Quick question. Do you like the dust bowl? Do you think those would be fun times to live in?

Because if the land we raise beef and other livestock on was used for vegetables, then WELCOME TO THE DUST BOWL BABY.

Basically we have really fragile lands from overproduction and misuse of agriculture in many parts of the country. In those places, we need strong root structures and little to no plowing in order to keep the soil stable and in place (i.e. NOT BLOWING INTO YOUR HOUSE TO SAY HELLO).

So these lands are used to plant perennial grasses. These have strong root structures and require little to no plowing.

Vegetables, like tomatoes, or even corn, have really simple root structures because they are annual plants, and they generally get ALL THE PLOWS.

Now, humans can’t eat grass, because our stomachs don’t contain the little bacteria that many livestock bellies do to digest the cellulose and other fibers that grasses contain.

So since we need to plant grasses on these fragile lands, and we can’t eat grass; logically, we raise livestock on the pastures. If we can’t be using these lands for yummy fresh veggies, then at least we’re using them for something edible.

ALSO COW SHIT IS GOOD FOR PLANTS SO DON’T ACT LIKE IT’S A BAD THING.

I don’t eat meat unless it’s local and hormone free:

a) Because of the amount of pollution carting the meat across the country

b)Because growth hormones are bad for my body.

And yes, people are allowed to eat what they want, and there are plenty of reasons to chose to be Vegan if that’s what you want.

BUT PLEASE STOP USING THE 24% OF LAND BULLSHIT UNLESS YOU DON’T MIND HAVING LITTLE HOUSE ON THE SAHARA

#AgricultureMajorOut

(Source: marvelousspoiler, via waxjism)

Reblog if you’ve ever yelled at a book.

cannibalcoalition:

afoxnamedtod:

Are there people who don’t reblog this?

I can only assume that the ones who haven’t aren’t reading the right books.

(via arineat)

Safety and the State

queeringgenderga:

So, among many other largely disappointing moments in the debate, there was this: 

Obama said that the most important government duty was to keep people safe. Then he went on to say that the federal government has the “capacity” to create opportunity and create frameworks that allow people to succeed.

Romney said the number one priority was protecting “life and liberty” and that therefore he would never, ever cut military spending.  Because war is the only way that the state can or is permitted to keep us safe.

Why didn’t the president expand on that indisputable “the government exists to protect the people” argument?  Why not point out that protecting someone from a terrorist attack loses its meaning when they are dying of hunger or of treatable disease?  Why not talk about the fact that fighting terrorism means less to a school child who lives in a poor neighborhood and who is subject to violence every single day of their lives?  Why not talk about protecting people from the vulnerability that comes with abject poverty?  Why not talk about protecting people from cancer, from heart disease, from misfortune?  

Why not talk about protecting people from hatred and bigotry?  Why not talk about ending homophobia and transphobia and misogyny and rape culture?  Why not talk about protecting the American People from all the demons we have stalking us here, within our borders, in addition to protecting us from attacks from outside this country?

Every year there are over 200,000 rapes, 86,000 gun homicides, 75,000 die of preventable infectious diseases, 17.2 million households suffer food insecurity - that’s when you don’t know if you’ll be able to eat or when your next meal will be or what it will be. 

These are real and actual threats to the safety and security of real, every day Americans.  48.5 million or 15.9 percent of Americans live in poverty.  And with poverty comes food insecurity and insecurity of other kinds; a sense of helplessness, of vulnerability.  When you can’t afford food or housing, you are more vulnerable to violence and exploitation than when you can.  As I type this it feels like I shouldn’t have to say it, because nothing should be so obvious as that statement. 

But apparently it’s all up for grabs now. 

Last night’s debate was about domestic issues, but all that was spoken about were jobs and the economy with a brief foray into Medicare and Social Security.  There were only brief mentions of poverty and there was zero mention of women’s rights, gay rights, trans* rights.  There was zero mention of the violence Americans commit against each other on a daily basis, much of it based purely on the perception of the victim’s body - that it’s the wrong color, the wrong gender, the wrong size or shape or that it has been altered.  

These are the security issues which face Americans and they are far more real to us than terrorism.  Terrorism is certainly something which has struck this country and its people here and abroad and it will continue because violence and fear is a favored weapon of those who would oppress.

But the terrorism which has the most immediate impact upon many Americans here at home also needs to be addressed.  Its name is hate, and though it was not addressed one candidate on the stage last night has embraced hate and the other has done some to fight it but not nearly enough.  

Mexican cafe gets death threats after refusing Romney visit

stfuconservatives:

supersoygrrrl:

tal9000:

abaldwin360:

The Mormon owners of a Mexican cafe in Denver says that they have gotten death threats, hate calls and fake orders after refusing to allow Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney to make campaign stop at their restaurant.

“One person who called said, ‘Watch your back. We know where live and we’re going after you,’” Oscar Aguirre, the son of the owners of Rosa Linda Mexican Cafe, told KMGH. “We just didn’t want our business used as a campaign stop.”

Aguirre explained that callers had been misinformed that the restaurant had refused to serve Romney.

“It was presented to us that [Romney] wanted to do a political stump here,” he said. “[He wanted to] talk about our small business [and] because we share our religious views with the candidate and are Latinos it would be great for him to do a campaign stop.”

“We did say ‘no’ because we are not Republicans, nor are we Democrats. We will welcome any sitting President of the United States. But, we did not want to be a campaign stop.”

The Mexican Cafe has also been flooded with fake orders and canceled reservations, according to Aguirre.

“Two people ordered $150 worth of food for lunch to be picked up today. They called later and said, ‘Oh, you’re the one who doesn’t want Romney in your business’ and they canceled their orders, even though the food had been prepared,” he recalled.

Aguirre said that the trouble began after an article published by Denver Westword earlier this week reported that their mother had refused the Romney campaign’s offer because “religion and politics don’t mix.”

“Since this article came out we have been getting hate emails, from people across the country, people sending us death threats and people calling us telling us we are racist… that they hope we go out of business,” Aguirre wrote in a letter on Wednesday. “If we do go out of business our Annual Thanksgiving Feast to the needy would end. Last year we fed 5500 meals, this year we may serve above 6000 meals.”

read more

Why is it whenever you hear about shit like this happening (the death threats, the attempts to put a small business out of business) it always comes from the right?

The party of “family values” and “morals” will threaten to fucking kill you if you’re not on board with them. 

This needs to go viral. 

Republicans are so pro-small-business they will try to put them out of business for refusing to be a campaign stop.

Also I don’t remember reading about any death threats against the white republican pizzeria owner who hugged Obama that angered the right. He got a lot of negative yelp reviews and threats of boycotts but I don’t recall death threats like a POC owned business did. Hm…

Right, because when we boycotted Chick-fil-A, we hated freedom, but when they send death threats to a business for expressing their views, it’s totally cool. Got it.

Do I think all Republicans everywhere are cool with this kind of action? No way. There are cool Republicans out there, although these days I think they tend to identify themselves to others as “Independent” despite holding all the more traditional republican views (fiscal conservatism and reduced government presence) to avoid being painted with the crazy religious right brush. Because there is an element within the Republican party (or two or three) that has no problem with using violence to promote their cause.  

(via foxglovesandaconite)

No, seriously: Register to vote

barackobama:

You only have a few hours left to register to vote on the actually perfect day to do it: National Voter Registration Day.

But here’s something awesome: We’ve embedded our registration form right here on our Tumblr so you can register to vote without leaving Tumblr.

Do it in less than five minutes and marvel that we live in the future.
 

therotund:

The Maternity Leave Myth

drst:

stfuconservatives:

bookling-stormborn:

bitchslap-barbie:

stfuconservatives:

amberlysays:

girlwithalessonplan:

wiinga:

stfuconservatives:

Hey, American uterus owners: want to be completely put off by the idea of ever procreating? Then read this expose in the NY Post about how many women have gotten screwed by our country’s Stone Age maternity leave policies.

In Canada, you get 50 weeks of paid maternity leave. In England, you get 20 weeks paid. In Mexico, 12 paid. As a matter of fact, 178 countries around the world mandate paid leave for creating a totally new human. In America? Twelve weeks, unpaid, and only if you’ve worked for the company for at least a year, and only if your company has more than 50 employees. And they *technically* have to give you your job back, but as this article proves, your employer can probably find a way around that.

So hey, pro-lifers: where are your voices on this? Where are your rallies and signs to support new moms, instead of expecting ones? Where is there a single pro-life legislator fighting to make it easier to have a baby and keep your job? Where are the “family values” politicians when it comes to actually having a child and raising it?

Going through this right now. Why can’t I have a baby AND a job?

Yep.

Sorry. This pro-lifer is too busy caring about the murder of babies to spend time getting you free money for not working. Its funny how the same people who grouse about men making more or getting promoted sooner have no issues with giving a woman a very long, extended paid vacation after birth but you don’t hear them campaigning for the fathers to have those same benefits. 

Hey guys, check it out: pro-lifers want to force you to have a baby, but begrudge you an “extended paid vacation” and “free money for not working” to take care of it.

Like, this is so fucking ridiculous I cannot even. Babies are being murdered and daddies aren’t getting paid time off, you guys, so mothers shouldn’t get a free vacation!!!11

PRO-LIFERS DO NOT GIVE A SHIT ABOUT YOU. THEY ONLY CARE THAT YOU ARE FORCED TO CARRY A FETUS TO TERM. After you leave the hospital, they don’t give two shits about the quality of your life OR the baby’s. I hope everyone realizes that by now.

Hey, pro-birth person. Because that’s what you all do - get that baby born somehow, someway, no matter if you have to use coercion and misinformation, no matter if you’re treating the woman like a uterus and not a real, full person. And when that baby is born and the mom is poor and needs help (which is why she came to you in the first place), TOO FREAKING BAD. “We don’t help with that!” You find out the help they promised you is gone with the wind, and then they paint you as evil because *gasp*! SHE USES WELFARE. Or, they promise you an open adoption, and the MINUTE your week where they let you change your mind is over, a steel wall just slams down.

Been there, honey, done that, on the “pregnancy crisis centers”. And seen it and had to put a friend back together on the adoption thing.

I think you don’t understand a damn thing about why we have maternity leave and why it’s necessary. For starters, the MINIMUM of time that it takes the female body to minimally heal after giving “normal” birth is six weeks. Even then, you’re not sleeping, in pain, are a liability on the road, and you and your baby are JUST starting to figure out “this parent stuff”. 

If you went through a c-section, which people seem to like to ignore is major abdominal surgery, you need even MORE time to heal.

Then there’s breastfeeding. You get to feed your child in the way you want, but after 6 weeks? HA. I don’t think so. Companies HATE that and will use the letter of the law to make it impossible for you to either run home/to daycare and feed the baby. This forces you to pump, which is even harder, because your 6 week old baby is now totally confused between where you are and what the bottle is. And don’t even try to work out a good pumping spot with your boss, because you WILL end up doing it in a bathroom stall or, at best, in your car with a blanket draped over you, while the people who go for smoke breaks every hour sit there and yell about “not fair”. So when you put your baby on formula, then you get to be the La Leche League’s supervillain.

Been there, done that too.

Then… did I mention the highway robbery that is childcare? We are so profoundly screwed up that working at Target for $7 an hour (after the actual corporation you worked for fires you for pumping and you can’t get anything else) means to the government that you are MAKING TOO MUCH and therefore do not require any assistance. You people think that every welfare recipient is sitting there with YOUR money, laughing about it while they take a bath of welfare checks and then go on vacation to Cancun. THIS IS NOT THE REALITY. The reality is that getting the help you need to feed you and your baby is harder to get then getting Romney to admit to all the times he’s lied.

Also, been there, done that.

And you feel terrible. You’re not only fully healed after only six weeks, but you’re still at the mercy of your hormones. Dropping your baby off at a daycare when they’re all of 6 weeks old is a terrible rip in your relationship for BOTH of you. You feel like you’re the worst parent in the world. The first time I dropped my daughter off, it looked nice and clean, but I saw a crawling baby put a worm that had managed to find its way in without notice in her mouth. And I’m talking about a place that was supposed to be “the best”, the place that I scraped every penny and lived on Ramen to get her in to. If I’d called in and said I was going to be late on my first day, they’d have fired me then. So I spent the whole way to work sobbing, and got there trying to look like I hadn’t.

So, why should we get with the rest of the world in this? Happier, healthier families. A time to heal. Time to figure you and your baby out, no matter if it’s a biological or adoptive situation. Less people driving around dead tired, being dangerous to those around them. Less moms feeling torn apart and convinced that they’re the worst mothers in the world because they had to put their tiny, helpless baby into the hands of people they don’t know and gamble that everything is okay. Less women who are lied to and then dropped by “crisis centers”. Dads getting to stay home for a bit too, to help out with everything. They deserve to get time with their babies just as much as women do.

Listen up, idiot: IT IS NOT A VACATION. Not in any way, shape or form. Those measly 6 weeks are you, in pain, trying to communicate with and navigate a relationship with a totally new human being who is dependent on you in every way, but who does everything either the very opposite of what you do or gets sick at the worst time. You spend those weeks covered in things you never thought you’d be, delirious from lack of sleep, often with nobody to help you, unable to clean the house like you did before, unable to take decent, daily showers no matter how you rig it, having to take 5-minute naps when the baby decides to nap, having to learn to shovel food in FAST when you’re hungry because that’s about the time the baby gets cranky, and the cherry on top of this shit cake? When you go back to work still raw from all of this and find out that you’ve either been fired (employers HATE moms; I’ve heard one gripe about “breeders”) or you are forced to take a lesser position. And THAT’S if your company fits all the rules of FMLA.

Don’t. You. DARE. Say “Maybe you should’ve thought about it before you had that baby, then”, because no matter how wanted the child is, THIS STILL HAPPENS. And right now, you’re talking to someone who was raped and then coerced to have the baby, by “pro-birth” people like you. 

So SHUT THE FUCK UP, because you have NO idea what you’re talking about. Until you’ve been a 19 year old forced to be a single mother, or even a pregnant woman and her partner trying to figure out how they’re going to live without her income for six weeks and the only thing they can think of is to leave the baby with their 80 year old grandmother who can barely see, let alone take care of a newborn, while mom has to go back to work after ONE WEEK…

THEN you can talk. For now, you can get the hell off your high horse and actually DO something about the deplorable conditions moms face here. 

Giving birth = HUGE thing, physiologically, mentally, and emotionally for everyone, including the baby. Not having to worry about how you’re going to feed that child because you have benefits, and knowing that your boss HAS to take you back = happier families and workers. Happier families and workers = better-off individuals. Happier individuals = better societies. Better societies = WE ALL WIN.

Now do you get it, miss pro-birth, or do I need to chop this into smaller words?

^^^

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Sorry, I know I’ve reblogged this already but the added commentary was fantastic. Read it all.