When I was sixteen I used to post up flyers around school with an image of an elephant with a target pointed directly at it’s forehead. Underneath it read a quote by Ghandi – “The greatness of a people can be measured by how well it treats it’s animals.” I used to carry this poster wherever I went. I was a vegetarian. I used baking soda and vinegar to clean long before eco-products where even something people talked about. I was an activist if ever there existed one; writing letters to animal welfare organizations, trying to figure out how to get myself over to Africa to feed orphaned elephants, trying to learn Swahili, going to lectures by Jane Goodall and Biruté Gladikas.
Then I went to university, got overwhelmed in my science course at U of T and dropped out of zoology. I went into art, and then for some reason I ceased to have a voice, a cause, a reason. My artwork came out of myself, I stopped preaching, became bored of my own broken record, and started eating meat again.
After watching “The Cove“, I began to wonder again what happened to that part of me. Where did that dynamite go? This documentary covers the awful and unnecessary destruction of dolphins in Japan. For no other reason than exploiting them in entertainment shows, these beautiful and intelligent animals are herded, selected from and then subsequently massacred. The problem is, their meat is not even suitable for human consumption. The high content of mercury makes them dangerous for us to eat. So why do a select number of fishermen slaughter thousands of dolphins each year? Because of a misguided idea that dolphins are “pests” destroying their fishing catches. I encourage everyone to try to see this documentary as soon as they can.
I think most of us have it and I think we CAN affect change in so many ways. The primary way is to be an activist consumer. It’s so important that the decisions we make as consumers affects every company. And we must support sustainable practices.
STOP GOING TO SHOWS THAT EXPLOIT DOLPHINS AND WHALES. This means, Marine Land, Sea World and probably Canada’s Wonderland. We must stop the trade of these beautiful creatures.
EAT SUSTAINABLY. Think before you eat (and buy).
Please read more and spread the word about this documentary and this problem. I know there are so many issues in the world today that it’s hard to get behind just one. But I think this is the trick. Be strong about one issue, not weak about many and eventually we can affect real change.
Get even more info here.
The Company We Keep 