Action for Animals Austin

Animal Defenders International (ADI) has just announced that the Greek government has voted to ban all circuses with any animals. Greece is the first European country to ban all circuses with animals. They join Bolivia as the second nation with this type of legislation. Other European countries have bans on the use of exotic animals in circuses, however. ADI now believes that the United Kingdom may be next in line to ban the use of...

read more

The Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure is in the news for deciding to not fund Planned Parenthood, then reversing that decision. Ingrid Newkirk, co-founder of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), wrote a great piece on HuffingtonPost.com on another reason to not support the Komen Race for the Cure: they fund animal testing. Here's here piece: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ingrid-newkirk/komen-animal-testing_b_1253803.html?ref=fb&src=sp&comm_ref=false#sb=1267869,b=facebook Here's part of what she wrote on how animal testing can be harmful: "...Taxol,...

read more

Will Potter. That's a name all of us should know. Will is the author of Green Is the New Red: An Insiders Account of a Social Movement Under Siege. In this book, he explains how the animal rights movement and the environmental movements became targets of government surveillance and repression after 9/11. This book is so good that it was named a best book of 2011 by Kirkus Review. Will was motivated to write this book after...

read more

Here's really great news: Paul Watson of Sea Shepard, is declaring that the seal hunting industry in Canada is dead. Why? Last year, the hunt only amounted to $1,000,000. The Canadian government set the seal quota at 400,000 but only 38,000 seals were killed. The U.S, Europe and Russia have banned import of seal products which dried up the market. So confident is Watson that the seal hunt is dead in Canada that he has...

read more

Last week we shared a news item with you about meat consumption dropping in the U.S. Now, we are happy to report that milk consumption has dramatically decreased, as well. Here's what the U.S. Department of Agriculture says, "...USDA statistics reveal that the average per-capita consumption of cow’s milk fell from 24.3 galons per person in 1994 to 20.8 gallons per person in 2008." That's a drop of about 20% in 14 years! That's amazing news...

read more

Many vegetarian-curious or vegan-curious or new vegans/vegetarians often don't know where to look for information on their new lifestyle. Here's NoMeatAthlete.com to help point you in the right direction. In this great article they cover: nutrition sports and fitness cooking how-to recipes groceries shopping travel entertainment and education And no, you don't have to be an athlete to find this info useful. http://www.nomeatathlete.com/50-vegetarian-resources/ Have questions? Leave them in the comments field and we'll answer them....

read more

More great coverage for veganism in TheAtlantic.com by someone who lives in San Marcos and eats at Casa de Luz. http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2012/01/the-evidence-for-a-vegan-diet/251498/#.TxelG-C6op0.twitter

read more

Many vegans do not eat honey. I'm one of them. I do not want to cause any harm to bees that might result from harvesting the honey from their homes. So, I choose to err on the side of caution by not buying it or eating it. Here's a great article explaining my choice but it adds something else I hadn't thought of. Many of you may have heard of Colony Collapse Disorder, a sickness/illness...

read more

Hi Everyone. In honor of Martin Luther King Jr Day, we're sharing one of his quotes: "Never, never be afraid to do what's right, especially if the well-being of a person or animal is at stake. Society's punishments are small compared to the wounds we inflict on our soul when we look the other way.” Martin Luther King Jr's son, Dexter, followed his father's philosophy and is now a vegan. Coretta, Dr. King's wife, was...

read more

Action for Animals has joined the Twitter movement! We're listed as: AFAAustin Join us!

read more

I don't like to use the word "diet" but I'll take this story! In this week's U.S. News and World Report is a great story on how more people and nutritionists and dieticians are embracing veganism as the healthiest way to eat. Columnist Dennis Thompson writes, "...nutritionists now believe that a well-thought-out vegan eating plan could be the most healthy way to live for most people." My favorite comment, though, is this one, "Properly planned vegan...

read more

Have you heard of Mercy for Animals? If not, then you should look them up here: http://www.mercyforanimals.org/ This week they made national headlines when their undercover video revealed horrible abuse to turkeys at a Butterball factory farm. See the video here http://www.butterballabuse.com/ This story was covered by CNN.com's home page and by NBC and endless other outlets. What's the best thing about this video and the media coverage? More and more people are learning about how animals are abused...

read more

Mark Bittman, food writer for the New York Times and author of several books including How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, writes in his new column that if going vegan for the new year seems too big then you should try "semi-veganism." He says that you're already eating vegan to some extent. You eat salads? How about fruit salads? Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches? So, take the next step and maybe once or twice a week, skip the meat at...

read more

I have some promising news to report.  On January 14, I made a presentation to the Animal Advisory Commission asking them to advise the City Council to prohibit wild and exotic animals from performing in circuses and traveling animal acts in Austin.  My presentation  was greeted with great enthusiasm. Members of the AAC are working on an ordinance to be presented to the Austin City Council asking for a prohibition on the use of wild...

read more

  Please be voice for a helpless animal affected by the animal testing industry and help put a stop to animal testing! Please meet at the Animal Resources Center 2701 Speedway 1 University Station    Austin, Texas 78712-0136 On Friday January 30th from  9:00am to 4:00pm to protest against animal cruelty . Please tell your  friends, family, and co-workers  (the more people the better !) thank you.  

read more

Action for Animals has just announced a rally against the Ben Hur Shrine Circus on January 14th, 2012. Here are the details: What: peaceful, legal rally against animal cruelty in circuses Target: Ben Hur Shrine Circus When: January 14th from 10:00 A.M. - 11:30 A.M. Where: Cedar Park Center located at 2100 Avenue of the Stars in Cedar Park Why: Any circus that uses animals abuses those animals by taking them from their families, forcing them to train and...

read more

A few years ago, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) successfully recruited Rev. Al Sharpton to speak up against KFC's cruelty to chickens. Now, he narrates their powerful new video on KFC's unwillingness to treat chickens more humanely. Watch the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrXkrWDA8lQ  

read more

To Ernest and all - wondering if you are planning a protest this year at the Cedar Park Center? It seemed to have generated some good press last year.  I did not attend because I was out of town. If so, would it be on Saturday?

read more

Former UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) Heavyweight Champ Frank Mir talks about being a vegan in this youtube clip. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NxuLtaI6YM0 Vegan and meat-free athletes are becoming much more common. Indeed, Nick Diaz, a mixed martial artist who's been a Strikeforce Fighting Champion, and IFC Welterweight Champion, is also vegan (and a triathlete). Listen to his youtube interview here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gk8NOet0Q7w . Also, nationally known ultramarathoner Scott Jurek, featured in a New York Times cover story last summer, is vegan....

read more

Wow! What great news! As this poll shows, we are truly making a difference in the country. The study was conducted by the Vegetarian Resource Group earlier this year and included a nationwide cross section of 1,010 adults (aged 18 and over). When asked, "How often do you eat vegetarian meals (no meat, seafood, poultry, fish)?" 17% of respondants replied "many of my meals but less than half of the time. But 16% replied "more than half my meals,...

read more