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August 16th, 2010
New Book About Food and Factory Farming




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Earlier this year, author, activist and Sea Shepherd crew member Dr. Stijn Bruers contacted me about using one of my factory farming images for his upcoming book. Translated from Flemish, the title is "The Destruction of Animals", due to be published this October. Stijn also writes and lectures on environmental philosophy and ethics, as well as volunteers for human and animal rights, social justice and nature conservation. Keep reading for a translated synopsis of the book.

Justice, compassion, peacefulness, caring,... Does the meat on our plate push away our most precious ethical feelings and values from the table? Is our relation with the animals a moral failure, a fiasco? The livestock sector is the biggest cause of the biodiversity crisis and creates enormous health risks. In this book we present a clear and logical argument of animal rights, we refute possible arguments and fallacies of meat eaters and we look for psychological mechanisms behind our uses of animals. Is meat a status symbol? Do we feel guilty for eating it? Do we live in denial? And do we have a moral blind spot when we look at the animals we eat?

open link


August 10th, 2010
Unveiled: the Horrors of Fur Farms in Sweden




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In June and July of this year I spent some time working undercover with the Animal Rights Alliance in Sweden. The overnight investigations were gruelling and what I witnessed was truly horrific. The following press release details the reasons for the campaign and why we hope that a ban against fur farming will be a topic at the upcoming Swedish elections.

After months of filming and photography, the group put together a 17-minute documentary about the state of fur farms in Sweden. The subtitled version can be found here: open link

Undercover Investigation Reveals Horrific Animal Cruelty at Swedish Mink Farms – Photos Could Bring an End to Sweden’s Fur Industry

During 2009 and 2010, the Animal Rights Alliance took undercover photo and video at one-fifth of all of the fur farms in Sweden. Investigative materials show that mink on Swedish fur farms live under miserable conditions – worse than earlier recognized by the Swedish Government. The results of the investigation could bring the fur industry in Sweden to an end. In 2003, a governmental commission of inquiry gave mink farms until 2010 to comply with the Animal Welfare Act. The commission of inquiry concluded that if the fur farms did not comply with the law, then the farming of mink for fur should be partly or totally banned.
“Our investigative material clearly proves that the fur industry has done nothing to improve conditions for mink on fur farms. At the majority of the farms that we visited, we found evidence of stereotypical behavior, multiple cases of cannibalism, and countless mink with gaping wounds, missing ears and rampant infections. The animals react to stress and frustration in their extremely small cages by biting each other to death”, says Malin Gustafsson, spokesperson for the Animal Rights Alliance.
She continues: “Mink naturally spend more than half of their time in water; they would normally climb and run several kilometers every day. The Animal Welfare Act in Sweden states that all animals should be allowed to live according to their natural needs. Fur farms are a mockery of the law. With only a month left until the 2010 national election, many Swedes are eager to know if the Swedish political parties intend to respect the Animal Welfare Act and ban fur farming. We hope so”.
Beyond documenting violations of the Animal Cruelty Act, the Animal Rights Alliance also documented many environmental offenses. Contrary to regulation, sewage from many farms ran straight out into the surrounding environment and mink carcasses were not disposed of properly.
For more information, film and photo:
open link

(In this photograph: 4 kittens, one with its ear torn off due to the fighting caused by cramped spaces and stressful conditions, cuddle up to their dead mother)


August 7th, 2010
Finally, an update!




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Time flies, and I feel I have to explain my absence. It's been a few months of busy activity, some of which I've had to keep close to my chest, and the rest simply has to do with making a living. I'm never home any more, it seems, so when I am, I need to be working my buns off with regular old commercial photography. It keeps me incredibly busy during the summer months and helps to fund my animal work.

Some changes are coming to We Animals, finally! The site will soon have a long-overdue "How You Can Help Animals" section. In addition to that, the photos will finally be given the space they deserve, each of them taking up a much greater portion of the page. Stay tuned for new stories as well: Sea Shepherd (those photos have been posted at open link since February), greyhound racing in Australia, alligator factory farms in Louisiana, bird rescues at the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and last but not least, a soon-to-be launched campaign which I had the privilege of working on this summer.

Lastly, I have to share some exciting news. I attended Farm Sanctuary's Hoe Down this past weekend, which is always one of the highlights of my year. Each year on the Saturday afternoon they announce an annual "Farm Animal Friend" award recipient. As usual, I was up at the front of the room, cameras in hand, ready to photograph the honoured activist. When the farm's Executive Director, Dr. Allan Kornberg started to make the introduction, I paused when I heard the word "photojournalist". Then I heard my name. Well.... Farm Sanctuary is my home away from home. I've been taking photos for them since 2003, and I would pretty much do anything for the staff and for their rescued animals. Being honoured is always a wonderful thing. But being honoured by those you love and cherish and respect is really the best feeling in the world.

I could write more about my visit to Farm Sanctuary but I'd much rather you read what John Sakars had to say. I absolutely loved reading about his experience there. His story reminded me that most people aren't ever exposed to the animals they eat before they're slaughtered. John has been vegan for 12 years and had never met any "food animals" until this visit to the sanctuary. Meeting the animals at Farm Sanctuary, these ambassadors of the factory farming industry, makes a huge impact on everyone who goes there. I love his descriptions of the joy we all felt that weekend. open link . Read up and enjoy!

(In this photograph, L to R: Gene Baur, me, Susie Coston, Allan Kornberg). Photo by: Karol Orzechowski/ open link


June 2nd, 2010
If Not You, Then Who? If Not Now, Then When?




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The We Animals exhibit and fundraiser was such a success, I can hardly believe it. We arrived at the venue, which is Jason Yuen's office, and rearranged the whole place into a swank lookin' art and party space. Lots of people came, even more than I'd hoped. Jason deejay'ed, the ladies who organized the event worked their butts off all evening to make sure everything went smoothly. HUGE THANK YOUS to Sandy, Karen, Carol and Connie. They made and brought tonnes of veggie food and burgers which we devoured. Thank you to Ryan for handling the BBQ all night, to Karol for designing the pamphlet and making awesome vegan cookies, to Vanessa for being, as usual, the master of decor, to Emily for the poster...hm... there are more thank yous that I am surely forgetting. Thank you to everyone who donated to the silent auction, including Panacea, Delta Chelsea Hotels, Blue Rabbit Jewelry, Shizen Spa and so many others. Thank you to everyone who attended; I hope you had a great time and came away from the event w/ some nice art or some lovely treats!

Jason and Sandy forced me to do a quick hello and intro which I dreaded but turned out well in the end. Mostly because Sherri Delaney asked what I wanted everyone to take away from the evening, from looking at the images from We Animals.

Something that's really killing me these days is that we're completely saturated with information. Knowledge is power, right? More than ever, people know about factory farming. They know about not buying a dog when they can be adopted from a shelter. Many of us have seen "The Cove" and we know that dolphins are being slaughtered in Taiji. We know that wearing fur is unnecessary and cruel. My photos aim to add to this pool of knowledge about animal abuses and educate that these abuses are unnecessary. The thing is, we're gaining all this knowledge but it's not moving enough of us to change in real and meaningful ways. For some reason, knowledge seldom equals caring. We're too comfortable in our lifestyles. Change seems difficult, uncomfortable. We're too used to having anything we want at a low personal cost.

So, that was my answer to Sherri and to everyone there, and to anyone who reads this blog. That we all need to start acting on the things we've learned. Myself included. I spent two weeks shooting at the oil spill and I still drive my car when I don't need to.

Time is critical. Please. Let's get off our butts. There are so many compassionate options. So many bikes to ride, so many veggie burgers to devour! Make small and then big changes, and share them with others, ask others to do the same. Expect and encourage others to do the same.

If not you, then who? If not now, then when?


June 2nd, 2010
Tea Tree: the new veggie restaurant in my 'hood... yum yum!




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I've been waiting for a great veggie cafe to open in my 'hood and my dreams have been answered! Tea Tree Cafe and Eatery deserves all the love and support you can give it... this place is cozy and delicious. The menu boasts favourites such as vegan chili, the tomato melt and a new summer sandwich: the black bean burger.
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Hours of operation: Mon-Fri, 8am - 6pm. Weekends: 10am - 6pm. Yes, they do brunch!
Free wi-fi too, so good :)