A positive story!

We'll keep you posted here on important information and updates about animals in factory farms, but we also like to draw attention to positive stories now and then -  there are so many people doing wonderful things to stop animal abuse on factory farms.  We at GoEO applaud them!

 http://www.thisdishisvegetarian.com/2011/05/1591mercy-for-animals-and-gentle-barn.html

You can also check out the above link and more from our Facebook page - please check us out and we'd love to hear your comments!

Animals on Factory Farms

We just came across this link and think it provides a good overview on the lives of some of the animals we consume on factory farms.  As you can see, life for them does not resemble the pictures of red barns and green pastures we see on most of the labels for these products:

http://www.compassionatespirit.com/factory_farming.htm
 
When you GoEO make sure to read labels carefully and don’t get led astray by false slogans or images.  For more information on labels, check out the GoEO Toolbox on our website

Vegan and EO?

It might seem strange  for a vegan to be co-founder of GoEO. As an animal rights lover and advocate, a vegetarian since the age of 12, and a vegan for the past 8 years, I can certainly understand why many might see the term “ethical omnivore” as a contradiction in terms – at the end of the day, can eating meat be an ethical choice? When the end result is an animal’s death, do the standards under which that animal lived out his or her life matter?

In many ways these questions are irrelevant to the reasons I am proud and excited to be behind this movement for EO. After nearly twenty years of spreading the message to go veg, eat vegan, or cut animals out of one’s diet and wardrobe, I can say that my message often falls on deaf ears. The gap between what I believe and what many meat-eaters believe is simply too wide. Not only was I not making a greater impact towards improving rights for animals, but I may even have been alienating people who – while not ready to commit to a vegetarian/vegan lifestyle – would be horrified to know the circumstances under which factory farmed animals lived their lives.

The reality is that approximately 95% of people in this country eat meat, whereas only about 5% identify as vegetarian, and roughly 1% as vegan. If I spread my vegan message, I only reach a tiny audience. Yet studies show that many of those 95% meat eaters are dismayed, disgusted, and distraught when they learn the truth behind the meat that is on their plate – the problem is that the message simply isn’t getting out there.

By spreading the word to meat-eaters that they have the power to go EO and change not only their lives, but the lives and suffering of so many billions of animals, I believe I am doing more for animal rights than if I continue to exclusively promote a vegan lifestyle. Of course, there’s plenty of room on the eating spectrum, as we like to think of it around here, and I strongly encourage all those interested in ethical omnivorism to try out many of the amazing, continually evolving vegan products on the market!

You may find that you can eat cheese from an EO-approved family farm one night, but enjoy vegan Daiya mozzarella equally as much on your pizza the next night. Either way, we’re all working together to end animal suffering and animal cruelty, and make this planet a better one for every species with which we share it.

- Rebecca LeMaitre, Co-founder of GoEO

The Birth of GoEO!

Every organization has to get started somewhere, and our story goes like this: Rebecca lent the book 'Eating Animals' by Jonathaan Safran Foer to Emmy a few months back.  The result was the following email, and the beginnings of GoEO...

To:  Rebecca LeMaitre
From:  Emmy Bernard

Subject:  Thank you....

....for not EATING ANIMALS and for opening my eyes and encouraging me to educate myself about the US meat and dairy industry.  I am increasingly disgusted and angered by what I am learning (and have been, since Monday evening when I dove into a research project way over my head, which managed to take up 100% of my free time, involved sorting through tons of conflicting data, and involved a two-hour panicked planning ritual for weeknight dinners).  Of course a complicated spreadsheet (which still needs lots of organization) with a bunch tabs and random data has recently been created by yours truly, essential to helping this family make sense of it all....

I have come to the realization that being a vegan or vegetarian - as difficult as it would be for a foodie like me - would be MUCH EASIER.  MAKING THE DECISION to eat non-factory farmed products, only pastured animals, heritage bred and raised humanely was super easy - in fact, it was made I would say at about page 25 of “Eating Animals”.  While the decision was easy, IMPLEMENTATION of the decision has been a dire task (but one that must be done properly and whole-heartedly in my opinion). I have identified a few local farms where we will be ordering all our meat and dairy from.  We went to the Union Square Market yesterday - we bought all our meat for the month from the farmer I had researched the day before, and bought all our eggs and dairy similarly.  I would like to visit these farms in the very near future as a final check. Today was "Trip to Whole Foods" to get the egg-less mayo and acceptable (sustainable) canned tuna.  (BTW, I’m not at all a fan of the mayo)

I know it is a learning process and until I figure out what everything means, it may mean some (I hope very few) slip-ups.   But I think its a move in the right direction......don't you?  (I'm not sure as a vegan if you can agree with the former statement, but I hope you can agree with the fact that YOU WERE DIRECTLY RESPONSIBLE FOR A MASSIVE CHANGE in me and my husband's eating habits).

As I had predicted, the real challenge for me is the dairy - milk, cheese, eggs..... which seems to be in everything which I adore.  The milk chocolate hanging around the office that I used to devour every afternoon around 3PM has gone untouched by me.....  Boy this has been hard,  but I believe if I cut corners and make too many exceptions, it would be a lame, half-hearted attempt that I can no longer justify.  Eating out remains very difficult, and in those cases I have accepted that it will be mostly vegetarian fare for me in restaurants (the only way I can be sure).

Anyhow, feel free to share your thoughts or any helpful information with me.  I cannot extend to the vegan or vegetarian realm, I probably never can, but I know it is my duty to eat responsibly.  

I don't know what they call people like me, nothing I guess as I’m not doing anything super noble except trying to eat real meat from animals raised responsibly. But I refuse to put one additional US Dollar in the hands of what I believe is probably one of the nastiest, dirtiest, most corrupt racket this country is keeping from the public.  No wonder everyone is fat, diabetic and allergic!!!  BUT HOW DO WE GET THIS MESSAGE OUT TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC, HOW DO WE EDUCATE THE POOR WHO CAN'T AFFORD TO EAT BETTER FOOD - DO WE LET THEM CONTINUE TO EAT IN IGNORANCE?

I don't remember the last time I have thrown myself so whole-heartedly into a project.  Nor did I ever think I would have the self-discipline (given my deep love of food) to not ingest anything unless I knew exactly where each component came from.  I have surprised myself.

Anyhow.....Just wanted to say thanks ;-)

I am highly respectful of your vegan philosophy, and although I am not a convert, I hope you can still understand how appreciative I am of how you have influenced 2 people on this planet to be at least the most humane-conscious meat eaters possible........I know its a small step, but a step in the right direction nonetheless.....I really believe we need to support our local, sustainable farmers so that they can thrive and prosper and hopefully someday overtake the monopolistic factory farm system currently in place!!!!

-Emmy