Overcome the dollar and expand compassion, Wes progressives By Elizabeth Weisholtz In my work as an anti-corporate globalization activist, I see two distinct, though overlapping, problems: the power of the dominant voice, and the power of the dollar. We are all very familiar with the slogan “human need not corporate greed,” which addresses the problem of the power of the dollar. I suspect we are all equally familiar with the problem of hegemonic thought, as many activists know from first-hand experience, that it is very difficult to challenge the status quo without being regarded by the mainstream public as crazy, stupid, or naïve. No industry highlights these two problems more clearly than the food animal industry. Part of the definition of a culture or a society is that the people who belong have a particular “way of life.” So in this way, a certain amount of hegemonic thought is actually necessary for there to be these cohesive groups of people that we call communities, societies, or countries. But the ideal society must find a balance between on the one hand losing all identity and cohesion and on the other hand alienating and silencing those whose lives run counter to the “mainstream.” The society must be vibrant, and we—its people—must be willing and eager to change. We must welcome dissenting individuals, evaluate their thought as critically as we should be evaluating our own and that of our culture, and strive to meet their challenges when their concerns have successfully opened up our eyes. Sadly, the society we are living in is far from ideal. And I would say that the theories of modern animal rights have had more trouble breaking through our mind-walls than any other form of modern progressive ideology. It’s pretty shocking how vehemently people can respond to the concept of veganism simply because it is “radical” and calls for a significant stance against the status quo. (In fact, I have never heard a convincing argument against the fundamental concepts of animal rights from someone educated about modern farming practices. Those who argue against animal rights tend to be either uninformed or stupid with anger; the latter is a result of our collective inability to challenge the hegemonic thought of our society.) We are forever silencing others and deafening ourselves, and these days, the farms animals are the most tragic victims of our cowardice. It might not even be necessary to point out, but as for the problem of our profit-oriented society treating sentient beings like commodities, the animal food industry is also the worst. An export development manager for the Wall’s Meat Company is quoted as saying, “The breeding sow should be thought of, and treated as, a valuable piece of machinery whose function is to pump out baby pigs like a sausage machine.” This attitude is not only common but actually necessary for the maintenance of the factory farming industry. According to Steve Cockerham, a USDA inspector at Nebraska slaughterhouses, and former USDA veterinarian Lester Friedlander, “the federal law requiring slaughterhouses to kill animals humanely has been increasingly ignored as meat plants grow bigger” (Vegan Outreach). But unfortunately, information like this does not often make it to television, while commercials ending in “Pork: the other white meat” and “Beef. It’s what’s for dinner” are regular visitors to prime-time. As I see it, we can only go so far in challenging the system of profit and dangerously hegemonic thought if we do not challenge factory farming. So in conclusion, I am sending out a call to all thoughtful progressives: consider expanding your compassion for people and your criticism of our corporate, propagandistic society to include non-human animals and animal farming practices; before I did this myself, there was a gaping hole in both my approach and my analysis. “American Dream”: an award-winning documentary about a slaughterhouse workers strike, 8 PM tonight at FISK 205 (Tuesday, November 6) www.farmsanctuary.org www.veganoutreach.org Weisholtz is a member of the class of 2004.

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