PATRICE GREANVILLE—After all, this may be (we hope) the end of animal agriculture as we know it, which has been at it for well over 10,000 years, having grown lethally and exponentially with the arrival of CAFOS (factory farms) in the 20th century, spearheaded by assembly line techniques borrowed from America’s first wave of industrialisation. Animal agriculture in the US and woldwide now contributes as much if not more greenhouse gases—especially methane— than all hydrocarbon-fueled vehicles on earth.
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This is an unpleasant article for many to deal with, certain to cause visceral reactions, but neither the logic nor the basic facts can be gainsaid. Truth is non-negotiable and justice indivisible. We can’t keep two sets of moral ledgers: one for our privileged species, and another for every other creature in creation. Especially in age when ecological reasons alone compel a full re-examination of our eating habits and treatment of animals.
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Capitalism’s inexorable march and its natural and poitical consequences are killing the Koala, along with a multitude of other species. Until 1922, koalas were hunted down for their fur (they became nearly extinct). Today, at approximately 50,000 animals, less than 1% of the original populations survive. Most koalas ended up sold as cheap fur on London markets.
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JULIE DERMANSKY—The historic opening of the spillway is happening in the midst of an ongoing and mysterious dolphin die-off in the Gulf of Mexico and the same week that the United Nations released its most comprehensive report on the state of biodiversity.The report warns that the rate species are going extinct is speeding up and can only be slowed by simultaneously combating climate change and directly protecting species and their habitats. But in Louisiana, despite more frequent and intense extreme weather and the current dolphin die-off, the local, state, and federal governments are showing little political appetite to deal with either.
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LAURA GOLDMAN—It’s also a very good sign that the Cantor’s giant softshell turtle is making a comeback. These freshwater turtles, native to southeast Asia, are also known as frog-face turtles because of their appearance. The turtles were popular targets of local hunters, who believed that eating their meat could cure various illnesses.In 2003, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classified the species as endangered. Because of no sightings, they believed that these turtles had perhaps gone extinct. But four years later, a team from the nonprofit Conservation International discovered a mother Cantor’s giant softshell turtle, according to Mekong Commons.
