Stunning NY Magazine pet coverage, + NY Times on food & pets + Perdue 8/28/24

Today’s, Wednesday August 28, New York Times includes an article on the deli meat market’s challenges, and a thoughtful write-up on the HBO series “Chimp Crazy.” The latter refers to an edition of New York Magazine that I am sorry to have missed when it came out but was happy to still find on newsstands today, which focuses on our relationships with the nonhumans in our families — whether they are good for them and us. I will share more on that below. Also, today’s Charlotte Observer has a front-page story on a lawsuit filed by Perdue against a whistleblower.

Before I discuss those, let me thank all of you who wrote to the New York Times regarding the “What to eat on a Burning Planet” series, and share Stewart David’s wonderful letter, which got published at least partly as a result of your efforts. Few of us have his writing chops, but one really doesn’t need them in order to get a letter published. A couple of heartfelt lines are more commonly published, and even if yours aren’t, your having written increases that chances that somebody else’s will be on the same topic.

Though again a wonderful man in our movement was published, the New York Times is begging more women to write in. And please don’t expect to be published immediately. Stewart David is not only a gifted writer, he is a frequent writer, and not published every time he writes. But while some activists feel they may be bothering editors with too many letters, the opposite is true — editors like to reward regular writers by publishing them from time to time. If you write ten letters in and one gets published, you have made a fantastic contribution to our movement, by bringing animal issues onto the pages of one of the world’s papers of record.

Let me note again that the Times will ask you if somebody else asked you to write in response to an article, so I am not going to do that but am going to acknowledge that if I send you something from that paper it is because I feel it is begging for letters. Please don’t forget that those most likely to get published will make their point while complimenting the paper and adding to what has been said, rather than insulting it.

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Today’s New York Times has an article in the Dining Section, page 6, by Kim Severson, titled, “The Market for Deli Meats Is Facing Challenges.”

It discusses the high deli meat prices, as noted by Donald Trump in a campaign speech, but notes, “After a few years of pandemic- and price-related ups and downs, the cold-cut market is settling back into tempered growth, according to a 2023 report on bacon and lunch meat from Mintel.”

The article mentions a colorectal cancer sufferer and notes that “studies have shown that increased consumption of processed meats can raise a person’s risk of developing such cancers.”

The only reference to animals comes near the end of the article with Severson writing of buyers:

“Luring them involves offering innovative flavors, and underscoring animal welfare and improved processing practices. That has translated to products like antibiotic-free citrus-ginger turkey breast, national brands repackaged to emphasize sustainability, and vegan salami.”

DawnWatch can provide this gift link to the article and these instructions and tips from the paper.

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The write-up on the new HBO documentary series by the maker of Tiger King, called “Chimp Crazy,” takes a wider look at the issues with references to Vance’s cat lady remarks, for example.

It is on the front page of today’s section C, written by Amanda Hess, titled, “For Some, Kids and Pets Are Sort Of The Same,” and well worth reading.  And I can provide this gift link from DawnWatch.

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As I noted above, it refers to the August 12-25 edition of New York Magazine, which I was relieved to still find on stands today. (New York Magazine comes out every other week.) The cover has a striking photo of a woman in a cat mask behind bars, with the headline, “Is my Cat a Prisoner? And other private, uncomfortable thoughts about our pets.”

Inside, beginning on page 14, under the title, “Are we all bad Pet Parents” is an eighteen page spread, which includes the following articles:

Are We Forcing Our Pets to Live Too Long?
Am I a Terrible Pet Parent?
Why Did I Stop Loving My Cat When I Had a Baby?
What Do Vets Really Think About Us and Our Pets?
I Am Not My Animal’s Owner. So What Am I?
Was I Capable of Killing My Cat for Bad Behavior?
Should I Give My Terrier ‘Experiences’?
Is There Such a Thing As a Good Fishbowl?
Do Runaway Dogs Deserve to Be Free?
Are We Lying to Ourselves About Emotional-Support Animals?
Does My Dog Hate Bushwick?
How Agonizing Is It to Be a Pug?

I usually like to read or watch things before I send them out to you, but couldn’t read the whole spread today and didn’t want to take any longer to get it out to you.

New York Magazine publishes a page of Comments, gathered from those left on the website under articles or sent to comments@nymagazine.com .
It sure would be great if they get some that speak strongly for animals!

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On the front page of the Wednesday, August 28, Charlotte Observer, we see an article , by Gavin Off, titled, “Perdue Farms lawsuit threatens NC whistleblowers, group says.
We learn:

“In 2015, a Robeson County poultry farmer filed a federal whistleblower complaint alleging that Perdue Farms retaliated against him after he publicly said Perdue sent him sick birds that the company refused to help treat. Some were deformed, he said. Others were forced to grow so fast that the tired and heavy birds spent most of their time lying in their litter, which caused feathers to drop off. Some died of apparent illnesses just a few days after arriving at his farm, Craig Watts alleged in a whistleblower complaint to the U.S. Department of Labor….

And:

“The Charlotte Observer wrote about his case in a 2022 series that investigated poultry farming in North Carolina.”

The paper deserves so much gratitude for that kind of coverage, and the chickens and other animals need your voice. Folks in North Carolina, I particularly beg you to send off a quick note , but as the story is online, letters from everywhere will be welcome.

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Over the last week, folks in Los Angeles received an alert on what I described as a stomach-turning fluff piece promoting black rodeo.

Canadians got an alert about a superb column in the Toronto Star, “Ford helps factory farmers keep secrets.”

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In major media animal stories posted over the last week to the DawnWatch Facebook page:

The UK’s Daily Telegraph covered Captain Paul Watson’s arrest and plight. Here’s the Yahoo link for that.

Marc Bekoff interviewed Carol Mithers, the author of “Rethinking Rescue,” for Psychology Today.

The Los Angeles Times ran a front-page story on a man whose goats, used for a brush clearing business, were confiscated after run-ins with his neighbors.

And finally:

The Las Vegas Sun ran a wonderful piece by Congresswoman Dina Titus.

It includes:

“In a horrific video taken by American Wild Horse Conservation, a contractor hired by BLM is seen brutally beating a helpless wild horse after it had been wrangled at the Blue Wing Complex in Northern Nevada. After exhausting the wild horse by chasing it with a helicopter, an employee from Utah-based C.D. Warner Livestock LLC subsequently approached the collapsed horse and repeatedly kicked it in the head, a cruel and unacceptable act of abuse.

” …. in the 2023 fiscal year. C.D. Warner was paid $624,870 for the Blue Wing Complex roundup.”

That’s our tax dollars at work folks!

You can definitely still weigh in on the round-ups with a letter to the Sun.

Yours and all animals’,
Karen Dawn of DawnWatch