IDA Blog

Posts Tagged ‘San Francisco’

Support Ricardo’s Fight and the Fight for Animals

Ricardo Moreira doesn’t worry about not getting enough protein. This vegan cage fighter is solid as steel, but with a heart of gold. Moreira will be donating a portion of his winnings from his upcoming fight on February 11 to In Defense of Animals. If you are in the San Francisco Bay Area, be sure to check out Ricardo’s adrenaline-pumping cage fight and support the animals at the same time! IDA interviewed Moreira about his veganism and unique profession.

IDA: Why did you become vegan?

Ricardo Moreira: I’ve always loved animals, and I am a lifelong martial artist. Within the martial arts, there are many codes of conduct, one of which is to respect all forms of life. Veganism goes hand in hand with my martial arts training and philosophy.

IDA: When did you go vegan?

Moreira: I went vegan in 2006. I was lacto/ovo vegetarian prior to the transition. I was initially a bit hesitant to go full-blown vegan due to all the misinformation I had come across concerning athletic performance on a vegan diet. Luckily I was put in touch with two vegan bodybuilders, Kenneth Williams and Robert Cheeke, who helped me develop a high-protein vegan diet to fit my sport’s needs.

IDA: What is your martial arts/fighting background?

Moreira: I grew up studying martial arts, starting with Kenpo Karate. I simply fell in love with the virtues and lifestyle. I quickly realized that teaching was going to be my life’s aspiration, and that competitive fighting was intricate to that goal. I started competing in professional kickboxing over ten years ago, and in 2007, I made the transition to mixed martial arts. With a 2nd degree black belt in Kenpo Karate and a competition background in Muay Thai, I am best described as a “stand up” fighter within my current sport.

IDA: Are fellow fighters supportive or critical of your diet?

Moreira: At the professional level, the other fighters are both respectful and supportive of my veganism. Initially I stood alone but, since 2006, there have been a few high level MMA fighters that adopted the diet, including top-ranked UFC fighter Jake Shields. There are also a lot of vegetarians in the sport; in fact, mixed martial arts has the most vegetarians of any contact sport.

IDA: What are your plans for the future?

Moreira: When the time comes for me to walk away from the cage altogether, I intend to open a martial arts gym. I’m looking forward to producing an environment where the athleticism of today’s fighters meets the discipline and virtues of the traditional arts. I will also continue to spread awareness and fight my most important fights… the ones outside the cage.

For more information and to buy tickets,

http://www.facebook.com/events/279809845410731/

Or e-mail: kickboxer415@live.com

IDA neither endorses nor opposes any sport with all willing participants. What we do support is compassionate athletes speaking for the animals through their sport.

New to veganism? Click here to order a free Vegan Starter Kit.

To support our work please click here.

What? Yelling at people and insulting them isn’t effective?

There’s a phenomenon online where people feel free to say whatever they want to strangers, even when they wouldn’t say the same things in person. I have heard many people say that vegans and vegetarians are some of the rudest and nastiest people they have ever encountered on the internet and I’ve witnessed this myself.

What we should be hearing is that vegans and vegetarians are some of the most compassionate and respectful people on the internet and in the world, and even though I don’t adhere to their principles, I have the highest respect for their compassion and commitment.  Only then will they be open to our message.

Non-violence leads to the highest ethics, which is the goal of all evolution. Until we stop harming all other living beings, we are still savages. –Thomas Edison

Snack time at IDA's Hope Animal Sanctuary

As Animal Advocates, many of us frequently watch horrific videos of animal neglect, abuse and slaughter. It is quite natural when watching a defenseless child or animal being abused to become angry and have unkind thoughts toward the person committing those heinous acts. Those “unkind thoughts” need to be kept to yourself as private thoughts in order for us to be effective.

Recommending the eye for an eye philosophy only hurts animals and our efforts on their behalf. At IDA, we do not condone verbal abuse or acts of violence.

We want to win people over and make them comfortable with vegans. No one makes changes in their lifestyle if they are demeaned or addressed with disdain. Negative attacks will only push people further away from our message and deeper into their own denial and excuses. People change when a “friend” or respected authority gives them information in a caring and compassionate manner.

Speak up for animals, speak up for what is right, and speak loudly. Never be afraid to be labeled an extremist, but be an extremist for peace and compassion for ALL beings!

So the question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be. Will we be extremists for hate or love? Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice or for the extension of justice? –Martin Luther King, Jr.

To support our work please click here.

Work every day of your life to right what is wrong.

Please join IDA and activists worldwide to speak up for fur-bearing animals on November 25, 2011.

Fur Free Friday is the most widely-attended annual demonstration in the history of the animal protection movement. Don’t miss your opportunity to join with thousands of other activists worldwide for this international day of action.

Mark your calendars, contact IDA, and plan now! We must raise our voices in unison to educate shoppers and the media about the real cost of fur – the cold, brutal fact that more than 50 MILLION fur-bearing animals are slaughtered for fashion each year. Whether on fur farms, where these helpless animals go insane from the cramped, filthy conditions, or in the wild where they are trapped and left to suffer, these animals need your help now.

IDA’s last day for shipping materials for your event in the U.S. is Nov. 17, so plan now and register your event.  We have a new poster to make your event stand out. IDA is asking Nordstrom to be the first department store to go fur-free. Please consider targeting Nordstrom if you have one in your area and we can send you specific Nordstrom literature. Click here to see a list of stores.

TAKE ACTION: In 2008, high-end fashion brand BCBG signed a pledge not to sell fur,
but BCBG’s 2011 holiday line has fur! We are disappointed that BCBG is moving in the wrong direction and has gone back on its word. Please join IDA in asking BCBG to honor its original compassionate choice and go fur free … again! Click here now to send an e-mail to BCBG. 

We have lots of events already posted. Please check here to see if there is an event happening in your area.  Contact Hope Bohanec at Hope@idausa.org or 707-540-1760 to find out how you can get signs, literature, and ideas for outreach in your community.

The IDA San Rafael office had some fun this Halloween teaming up with the San Francisco Vegetarian Society to hand out vegan Halloween sweet treats and our Reason for Vegan Brochures to passers-by on Haight St. in San Francisco! Volunteers made frightening yummy treats like maple cookies and cinnamon chocolate chip bars to show everyone how delicious vegan sweets can be. We also had lots of donated Halloween dark chocolate peanut and almond butter bites form Shjakk’s chocolate. Yum!

Dressed in costumes, we handed out the treats and leafleted vegan materials, asking San Franciscans to help end the horrors of factory farming and try a vegan treat for Halloween. The responses were wildly enthusiastic—in fact, people were shocked that vegan treats and chocolate were so scary delicious! It was a gratifying day of outreach with lots of people discovering just how satisfying vegan sweet treats really are.

On September 27, 2011, the Richmond, California City Council voted to end live bird sales at its farmers’ market, effective November 1, 2011. In Defense of Animals partnered with LGBT Compassion to organize weekly protests, petitions, action alerts and other pressures to convince the city to end the cruel practice of selling live chickens at the Richmond Farmers’ Market.

The Richmond mayor received over 1,000 e-mails from local IDA supporters, and she acknowledged these e-mails at the meeting. Nineteen passionate animal advocates spoke in support of the ban and only two people spoke in opposition. All our efforts paid off with a 4 – 2 vote, with the mayor voting for the ban. Supportive Council Member Jeff Ritterman did a celebratory chair spin and fist pump in the air as the room full of animal advocates gave a standing ovation!

The vendor, Raymond Young, has a history of well-documented and shocking mistreatment of the spent egg-laying hens he sells at market. In 2009, San Francisco’s Animal Care and Control cited Mr. Young for 795 cruelty violations, including overcrowding, injuries, and failure to provide water. This was after he ignored requests for corrections.

At the weekly protests, IDA activists repeatedly witnessed the disturbing procedure of two birds being forcefully yanked from their tiny cage and stuffed upside-down into one paper bag with little ventilation. Most of the birds go immediate into a silent shock, but others loudly squawk and scream in fear and struggle in vain to free themselves. We have video of customers putting the birds in their car trunks and then returning to shop at the market. We witnessed children kicking and violently picking up and dropping the bags on the concrete. If there was a dog or a cat in the bag, these customers could be arrested for animal cruelty – a chicken has the same capacity to suffer as a dog or a cat.

There is no regulation or supervision of what happens when these chickens reach the customer’s house. They could be starved, terrorized by pets or children, and a careless or just unknowledgeable slaughter could cause prolonged and immense suffering. Self-slaughter violates California’s humane poultry slaughter laws, which require poultry to be killed by specific methods at licensed facilities – and for good reasons.

Two years ago, live birds were being sold at four Bay Area farmers’ markets. As of this week, they are sold at none, Richmond was the last to finally ban this practice, thanks to the tireless efforts of many animal advocates.

IDA Staffer Hope Bohanec at MeatOut 2011

In Defense of Animals teamed up with Farm Animal Rights Movement (FARM) for this year’s MeatOut to feed 1,000 people vegan Tofurky sandwiches! On Saturday, March 19th, we had a fun vegan feed-in at the annual San Francisco peace rally calling for an end to the wars. We served yummy, vegan sandwiches, leaflet IDA vegan brochures, and spread the message that peace begins on your plate!

The San Francisco event featured sandwiches made with Tofurky slices, lettuce, tomato, and a non-dairy cheese spread. With every sandwich, rally-goers received a brochure explaining how a vegan diet can reduce heart disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes, save animals from suffering on factory farms and in slaughterhouses, and conserve precious environmental resources. We got reports that the sandwiches were tasty and very appreciated.

Last year, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors signed a ground-breaking resolution and officially named every Monday to be Veg Day and encourage all San Francisco residents to consider cutting the meat habit one day a week. In this spirit, rally-goers got a taste of vegan versions of meat and cheese to reduce animal products in their diet.

California has the incredible opportunity to once again be a leader in animal protection and environmental conservation with a new bill that would ban the possession, sale, trade and distribution of shark fins in California, Assembly Bill (AB) 376. Introduced by Assembly members Paul Fong (D-Cupertino) and Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael), this bill follows a similar ban in Hawaii passed in 2010 and could help start a much needed cascade effect of legislation to protect the top predator in the ocean.

Shark fining is a process where the fins and tails of sharks are cut off and the remainder of the often still living fish is thrown back into the ocean. Sharks then sink to the bottom, unable to swim and die a slow, agonizing death. Every year, tens of millions of sharks are killed in this manner for shark fin soup, a tasteless, Asian delicacy. This unnecessary dish has been a major contributor to the near collapse of many shark species world-wide as well as in California. Sharks maintain the natural balance in our oceans marine food web. Scientists are warning that the massive decline of sharks is having a devastating effect on the marine ecosystem.

At the heart of the debate is “culture”. Assemblyman Fong, an Asian-American, supports the bill and is fighting for the preservation of the oceans and the sharks. Senator Leland Yee, also an Asian-American, feels that the ban is an attack on the Asian culture as shark fin soup is a traditional Asian delicacy. It is true that cultures and traditions should be respected and preserved, but not if that tradition is causing suffering or environmental destruction. If sentient beings are being exploited, coerced, or are victims of genocide, the global community must step in and aid the oppressed. If a tradition is causing unbalance in the ecosystem, international intervention is needed and necessary- for the ultimate survival of the culture effected. Sharks are being hunted to extinction, and what befalls the oceans, affects us all. The health of the ecosystem is not confined by cultural boundaries and the planet must be protected by the international community.

There is also the culture of the shark to consider. Sharks are amazing creatures in their own right and deserve to live free of human imposed suffering. There are more than 350 different kinds of sharks and most sharks as we know them today developed about 64 million years ago during the age of the dinosaurs. After mating, some female sharks can retain the male’s sperm in their bodies for use when she is ready to reproduce, even if that does not happen until next season. Lantern sharks can glow in the dark. Sharks have a unique culture all to themselves that deserves to be preserved for future generations.

AB 376 will give important protection to sharks to help preserve the ecosystem and biodiversity of the California coast and the world’s oceans. Please support this important legislation and if you are a California resident, click here for more  information on how to help .

We gave edible underwear a whole new meaning as In Defense of Animals joined forces with PETA, East Bay Animal Advocates and Bay Area Vegetarians to march in San Francisco’s Gay Pride Parade Extravaganza on June 27, 2010. When I arrived the morning of the parade, our huge flatbed truck/float was filled with voluminous fruits and luscious veggies. Ladies were pinning greens on skimpy bikinis. One gal had a watermelon cut in half strung on as a bikini top. I joined in the fun and sprouted kale on my mini-skirt. Most of the gals looked like they jumped in a giant salad and came out just covered in strategic places.

There was something for everyone and the more modest among us had the option of t-shirts made especially for the day that read “Vegan Pride” or a variety of costumes. There was a cow, a chicken and a few pigs that held “Please Don’t Eat Me!” signs and a carrot, stalk of celery and other veggies whose signs read, “Eat ME!”

The best part was the outreach. For a long stretch of 8 blocks on Market St., we furiously passed out an estimated 17,000 pieces of veg literature to the lively crowd while smiling, cheering, waving and dancing to Lady Gaga! A few scantly clad veggie people danced on top of the truck “whipping” each other with chard stalks. This was our opportunity to show the world that vegans are not cloudy, dark, doom and gloom types, but fun, humorous, gorgeous and healthy! You can see all the pictures from our adventure here.

We were warmly received and we all felt that this sympathetic crowd allowed us to offer our message of compassion. I hope this inspires you to want to get out, take advantage of the summer months and do some veg outreach! We can provide you with materials and support. We also have World Go Vegan Week coming up Oct. 24 – 31. Start planning your event now! Contact hope@idausa.org if you would like to participate and do some outreach in your area.

Over the weekend, IDA, along with other activists, joined forces at Pier 39 in San Francisco—home to Aquarium of the Bay—to galvanize public support in urging the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to create and enforce stricter regulations to protect marine mammals held in aquaria for public display.

NMFS is accepting public comments through June 10 regarding the Marine Mammal Protection Act, including the section that permits its public display.  It is critical we continue to attract greater support in driving the NMFS to stop allowing ‘abusement’ parks like SeaWorld, the Miami Seaquarium, Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, and other commercial aquaria from exploiting marine mammals under the guise of “education.”  The United Kingdom boasts a progressive marine conservation ethic and there are no marine parks left—a perfect illustration that you don’t need to confine marine mammals in tiny, chlorinated swimming pools, forcing them to perform ridiculous tricks for food amid the din of a crowd and ear-piercing music to provide the public with a quality marine education.

As a first step, Congress must mandate that marine parks stop coercing animals to perform tricks for food, stop captive breeding programs, and ban the live captures of marine mammals for public display.

Please submit your comments to NMFS and share this alert with your family and friends on your social networking sites. The deadline is June 10.

Marine mammals are suffering in captivity and thank you for your help!