Poultrygeist

May 11, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Oh. My. God.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VXDbUE3Et8

“Here’s a supershort synopsis: A KFC-like fast food joint opens up on an ancient Native American burial ground. A group of college lesbian animal rights activists protest the restaurant, but fail to close it before zombie chickens hatch and reap bloody revenge on everyone in sight, including D-list porn star turned PETA activist Ron Jeremy.”

Official synopsis:

Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead is cinema’s first chicken-zombie horror-comedy… with musical numbers!

When well-meaning but somewhat dim Arbie (Jason Yachanin) returns to the spot of his first (and only) romantic encounter with his high school sweetheart– the not-so-romantic Ancient Tromahawk Tribe Indian Burial Ground– he is shocked to discover two horrible realities:

Not only has the graveyard been bulldozed to make room for the newest fast-food “American Chicken Bunker” chain restaurant, but after only one semester at college, his girlfriend Wendy (Kate Graham) has been transformed into a left-wing, lipstick-lesbian liberal, and spends her free time protesting the corporate takeover of America.

Reeling from heartbreak and a brutal beating from Micki (Allyson Sereboff), Wendy’s new activist girlfriend, Arbie channels his spite into applying for a job at the very restaurant they are protesting against.

But something else is feeling wronged by all of the construction and commotion… Something not human…

Meanwhile, newly employed Arbie’s new coworkers are a colorful group: the sassy manager Denny (Joshua Olatunde); the burqa-clad Muslim, Humus (Rose Ghavami); the animal-loving yokel Carl, Jr. (Caleb Emerson); the effete Mexican spitfire Paco Bell (Khalid Rivera); and a mysterious 60-year-old man who has been working in fast-food all his life (Lloyd Kaufman).

Together, they slowly uncover the supernatural secret of the American Chicken Bunker, while the owner General Lee Roy (Robin L. Watkins) tries to keep a lid on everything, lest the scandal taint his growing empire. But once workers and customers start dying in bizarre and grotesque ways, it becomes clear that this isn’t just a mild case of salmonella … but something much more FOWL.

Will Arbie and his friends stop the supernatural before they infect all the artificial food stuffs, the customers or even the world? Will Arbie be able to win Wendy back now that he’s making minimum-wage? What’s Carl Jr. doing with that frozen chicken? And what’s with all the singing and dancing?

It’s Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead!

Posted by Elaine Vigneault | Filed Under Animals, Food, Politics, Sexuality, TV and Film, veganism
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The Separator

May 8, 2008 | 1 Comment

This is another How It’s Made video. It shows where chicken (the meat) comes from. Please watch the whole thing. Don’t worry, there’s no slaughter or anything like that:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkuohLV2u0k

Questions to ask yourself:

Do you think “The Separator” always functions properly or do you think some chickens get stuck?
Do you think these baby chicks enjoy the conveyor belts?
Do you remember how old the chickens are when they’re slaughtered?

This is why, I believe, factory farmers don’t want video cameras. Because even when everything is legal and clean, it’s still deeply upsetting to most consumers. I have faith in people. I think the notion of treating animals as commodities is fundamentally disturbing to most people, as is death. People simply don’t like seeing baby chicks on conveyor belts. That feels wrong - because it is wrong. So even “humane,” clean, legal treatment of food animals for profit upsets people - because it’s wrong.

Posted by Elaine Vigneault | Filed Under Animals, Food, veganism
1 Comment to "The Separator"

Here’s Some Help To Make Veganism Easy

May 7, 2008 | 4 Comments

It can be difficult being vegan. Especially when you’re a new vegan and you don’t know all the “ins and outs” of vegan shopping and cooking. Sometimes you can feel like being vegan is so hard that you might just think about dropping your new vegan habit.

STOP.

Please don’t give up on veganism. Giving up on being vegan is giving up on yourself. You’re not giving yourself enough credit. You CAN do this! You can!

Here is a list of some cookbooks that can help. These books make vegan cooking simple, easy, convenient, and cheap:

Specifically about vegan convenience and ease:

Specifically for quick vegan meals:

Specifically for cheap vegan meals:

Specifically for single vegans:

And here are some great beginner books for the newly vegan:

(Crossposted at Vegan Convenient.)

Posted by Elaine Vigneault | Filed Under Books, Food, veganism
4 Comments to "Here’s Some Help To Make Veganism Easy"

The Difference Between The Exploiters And The Rescuers

May 7, 2008 | Leave a Comment

This is what the ‘war on terrorism’ actually looks like:

“I live at a chicken sanctuary in an area dominated by the poultry industry. If our neighbor who operates a factory farm were to come onto our property without permission in order to take pictures of the birds at our sanctuary, he could be charged with trespassing. If I were to go onto his property without permission in order to take pictures of the birds locked on his farm, I could be charged with a kind of terrorism.”

That’s from page 57 of Aftershock. Quote obtained via Animal Person.

Posted by Elaine Vigneault | Filed Under Animals, Environmentalism, Food, Politics, veganism
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The Fat Acceptance Movement Exists For A Good Reason

May 6, 2008 | 7 Comments

I just want to point out a few things about fat…

1. An old BBC article began: “Male drivers who are involved in a car crash are more likely to die if they are obese, a US study suggests.” The picture shows a large belly with the comment “Male drivers with a BMI above 35 were more likely to die.” Further into the article, one learns:

“The team found that male drivers who had a body mass index that was either higher than 35 or lower than 22 had a ’significantly increased risk of death’ compared to those with an intermediate body mass index (BMI).”

The story lede was misleading. It reflects a social bias against fat.

2. The term “morbidly obese” exists yet there’s no thin equivalent term, even though it’s just as dangerous to be very skinny. When skinny people die because they’re skinny, it’s called malnutrition, starvation, or an eating disorder. They are often pitied. And their conditions are often perceived as being outside of their control. When fat people die because they’re fat, they’re not as often pitied and are often considered selfish, greedy, sloppy, dirty, gross, and lazy. Their condition is often perceived as being their fault. The terms we use, their definitions, and their connotations reflect an unfair social bias against fat.

3. There are different kinds of fat. BMI (body mass index) is not the only consideration when it comes to health. Many other factors influence health. For example, my BMI is higher than ideal for my height, which categorizes me in the “overweight” group. However, I’m healthier than many of my skinnier counterparts because of a few things:

my excess calories come from low risk, high nutrition foods like nuts, avocados, and bread because I’m vegan
I don’t smoke or do drugs
I exercise
I get regular doctor check-ups and I monitor my health
I’m relatively well educated and have a pretty high socio-economic status
I’m tall

I have never had high blood pressure in my life, despite my weight. I’ve never had high cholesterol in my life. I’ve never had many of the problems traditionally associated with higher than ideal BMI. That’s because BMI isn’t everything. (Google “waist circumference” for one example of why BMI isn’t perfect.)

4. Where you live matters. Fat is a stronger indicator of mortality in certain countries than in others due to the factors influencing fat, health, and death.

5. It’s called the “Obesity Epidemic” instead of the “Corporate Force Feeding Epidemic.” For example, when fast food companies are allowed to market heavily to children and those children grow up with severe health problems due to consumption of fast food, that’s not a fat issue, that’s a fast food issue. The responsibility lies with the fast food company, not on the individual consumer who was trained since childhood by fast food propaganda to eat fast food as though it’s really food.

6. Fat and size discrimination is real. For example, “Discrimination against fat women and men seeking to adopt is common in the Untied States, especially among private adoption agencies[...] Fat people are often turned down for adoption by private agencies or public child welfare departments primarily based on prejudice and assumptions about presumed future health problems and/or lower life expectancy.” (source)

That is the kind of stuff that the fat acceptance movement is fighting. They/we are not fighting for burgers and fries. Fat acceptance is about truth, responsible journalism, freedom from prejudice, appropriate physical accommodation, ending discrimination, ceasing ridicule, erasing the stigma, and creating a fair and just society for all. Here’s an example: Declaration of Health Rights of Fat People.

And yeah, what she said and what she said.

Posted by Elaine Vigneault | Filed Under Food, Health, Fitness, & Beauty, Philosophy and Guidance
7 Comments to "The Fat Acceptance Movement Exists For A Good Reason"