meat is murder

Just as Christmas approaches and people celebrate the birth of one life by the commercialised mass killing of another, turkeys have developed bird flu.
( 22 million turkeys are killed each year in licensed plants with an estimated 10 million being killed at Christmas (based on consumption figures, DEFRA, 23/10/2001). )

WARSAW, Poland: Turkeys at two poultry farms in central Poland have tested positive for the H5N1 strain of bird flu, authorities said Saturday. It is the country’s first reported case of the deadly virus in domestic livestock.

The outbreak occurred on two turkey farms near the city of Plock, some 100 kilometers (60 miles) northwest of Warsaw, said deputy chief state veterinarian Krzysztof Jazdzewski.

Initial tests indicate the H5N1 strain of the virus, and samples have been sent to the State Veterinary Institute in Pulawy for final confirmation, Jazdzewski said.

He added that authorities plan to cull more than 4,000 birds from the two farms.

Authorities ordered farmers to keep poultry indoors and launched inspections of farms within three kilometers (2 miles) of the outbreak.

It’s Friday, it’s the weekend, and for a lot of people no more work for a day or two, so let’s have a positive story rather than focusing on the torture and misery of the meat & dairy industry. For those visitors of meatismurder.info from the US (and there are a lot of you!) there is a new vegan bakery in town - NYC to be precise (and soon to move to West Hoolywood). Also, this story again highlights that vegans should no longer be viewed as a fringe group eating veggie burgers, but a vibrant ever growing community with money to spend and a market to be met.

In a city dominated by cupcakes overflowing with sugar, flour and butter cream, it’s easy for those with delicate tummies to feel left out. BabyCakes offers all natural, organic and delicious alternatives free from the common allergens: wheat, gluten, dairy, casein and eggs.  Rest assured, all sweeteners have been chosen responsibly and used sparingly. White sugar will never be found in our bakery, nor will we ever use toxic chemical sweeteners. Instead, most products are sweetened with agave nectar—a natural syrup from a cactus which is low on the glycemia index and often a safe alternative to most non-insulin dependant diabetics. Occasionally, unprocessed and unrefined sugar is used in certain goods, although sparingly.

Erin McKenna
Founder, BabyCakes NYC™

BabyCakes NYC™
248 Broome Street
(Btwn Orchard & Ludlow)
New York City, NY 10002
(view a map)

Telephone 212.677.5047

Monday: 10am–8pm
Tuesday-Thursday: 10am–10pm
Friday-Saturday: 10am–11pm
Sunday: 10am–8pm

meatismurder have been advised that in Manchester, UK there is a benefit gig being held in December to raise money for a social centre that has been shutdown due to fire and flood damage. The news is relevant to meatismurder because the space has a lot of functions that benefit animals. It has a vegan cafe that feeds vegans and highlights to non-vegans how great the food can be. It acts a focus for animal rights groups and campaigns, and has even held an art and history exhibition about the ALF.

Single Cell Collective at Cafe Saki Thurs December 13th 8pm-2am (map to Cafe Saki)

Single Cell invites you to bear witness to a night of music by Defunkles and
Caulbearer performed by the ever mutating cellular big band. With special guest I-mitri from UK roots-reggae label, CounerAction. Imagery by The Heap.
(More information:myspace.com/singlecellrecordings)

The gig is to raise money for The Basement - a social centre in Central Manchester with a vegan cafe, library, bookshop, computer hub, meeting venue and exhibition space.
The Basement is a place for all those who are sick of Manchester’s polluted streets and corporate takeover, angered by wars, environmental damge, animal abuse and mainstream media lies. People who want to turn the world upside down to start making things better. Everyone gives their time and skills for free in order for The Basement to be a hub away from capitalism.

    * a collective of collectives have a look at our page on the Working groups
    * a haven away from capitalism
    * a little bookshop
    * a vegan / organic cafe
    * a radical book, zine, magazine, dvd and video library
    * an exhibition/event space
    * a computer hub
    * a place for groups and people to meet and hang out
    * entirely staffed by volunteers (who all work very hard for free)

the Grocer…an artist of vegetables…however he is thinking of moving into meat & dairy. Let him know how you feel about this. We need beautiful vegetables on the street, the supermarkets sell us pornographically presented images of meat everyday, everywhere, we need to give the vegeatables a fighting chance.

Pasting up fresh grocery items because i love you, Chicago. I’m accepting requests and suggestions for painting subjects - limited to non-boxed grocery items that are uncooked. This can include fruit, veggies, bread, meat, fish, etc. Send me a message and i’ll try to hook it up! Right now i’m going to focus on fruits and veggies, but i’ll hang on to the meat/bread/fish requests for when i’m ready to do that.

Current Requests - I’m getting to these, i promise!

- Ginger
- Garlic
- Limes
- Horned Melon (completed)
- Leek
- Star Fruit
- Mushrooms (completed)
- Rutabaga
- Sweet Corn
- Mango
- Peach
- Bananas
- Papaya
- Blueberries
- Durian
- Beets (completed)
- Cabbage
- Blackberry
- Pineapple
- Clementines or Oranges Do nipplettos count?
- Peas in the pod

Non fruit/veggie requests for later

- Red Snapper
- Pork Chops
- Wedge of Cheese

Thanks, Juxtapoz! - June 22, August 3

Commission Requests
I have had quite a few inquiries about commissioned work - which i’d love to do. When asking about the price of a proposed commission, i need to know the following info:
1. size
2. type of fruit or veggie
3. your preference of rectangular wood panel with painted background -OR- wood “cut-out” around the contour of the fruit.

Just sent me a flickr mail or an email with the details and i’ll get back with you right away!

TheGrocer.org
Chicago, USA

Is the uproar being caused by import of monkey and atelope meat to New York, a reaction to worry about disease, intolerance to different religious customs, or speciesism? Certainly if the meat being imported was of a variety more typically seen in the West the meatismurder team predict the news coverage wouldn’t have been so massive. Monkeys are like us, and antelopes are so graceful thay deserve column inches. Those damn cows though…they can look after themselves.

NEW YORK (AP) — From her baptism in Liberia to Christmas years later in her adopted New York City, Mamie Manneh never lost the longing to celebrate religious rituals by eating monkey meat.

Family members sit with a portrait of Mamie Manneh at their home in Staten Island, New York.

Now, the tribal customs of Manneh and other West African immigrants have become the focus of an unusual criminal case charging her with meat smuggling, and touching on issues of religious freedom, infectious diseases and wildlife preservation.

The case “appears to be the first of its kind relating to that uniquely African product,” defense attorney Jan Rostal wrote in a pending motion to dismiss. “Unfortunately, it represents the sort of clash of cultural and religious values inherent in the melting pot that is America.”

At the center of the case in federal court is a modest woman with nine children and a history of domestic discord.

The case dates to early 2006, when federal inspectors at JFK Airport examined a shipment of 12 cardboard boxes from Guinea.

They were addressed to Manneh and, according to a flight manifest, contained African dresses and smoked fish with a value of $780.

Instead, stashed underneath the smoked fish, the inspectors found what West Africans refer to as bushmeat: “skulls, limbs and torsos of nonhuman primate species” plus the hoof and leg of a small antelope, according to court papers.

Three days later, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service agents were at Manneh’s door, where she told them she ran a smoked fish importing business.

According to the agents, she initially denied ordering any bushmeat from Africa or ever eating it while in the United States.

But after she consented to a search, the agents came across a tiny, hairy arm hidden in her garage.

“Monkey,” she explained, claiming the arm was sent to her out of the blue “as a gift from God in heaven.”

Federal prosecutors hit Manneh with smuggling charges that accused her of violating import procedures and suggested she was a menace to man and beast alike.

A criminal complaint cited evidence that the illegal importation of bushmeat encourages the slaughter of protected wild animals.

Shock horror news…people who trade in corpses for a living maybe aren’t always honest.*
Further shock horror news…decaying body isn’t always in best condition.
* according to allegations mades in the article below

A food company supplied contaminated meat to Government departments, prestigious schools and top hotels, according to a former employee.

McLaren Foods, based in Ashford, Kent, supplied meat to the Treasury, Westminster School and The Dorchester and Claridges hotels.

The company, which has since gone into administration, also supplied hospitals including London Chest Hospital, Ipswich and Royal Marsden and care homes.