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News at Brighter Green

Presentation from Africa Animal Welfare Action Conference Available 9/7/10

Mia MacDonld's presentation from the AAWA conference underway in Nairobi is available now, covering Ethiopia's livestock sector, developments in nature's rights and animal rights, and strategies for action.
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Brighter Green Video on Ethiopia's Complex Relationship with Livestock Now Available 8/31/10

Narrated by former Brighter Green intern Whitney Hoot, this video is part of Brighter Green's Food Policy and Equity Program, outlining the social, environmental, and animal welfare consequences of intensifying meat production and rising domestic and export consumption on Ethiopia, home of Africa's largest livestock herd.

Brighter Green Video on Brazil's Soy and Meat Economies Now Available 8/31/10

Brighter Green's program on Food Policy and Equity continues to grow, with a video on the expansion of Brazil's livestock sector now available. The video, narrated by Simone de Lima, professor of psychology at the University of Brasilia and founder of Brazilian animal rights organization Pro-Anima, explores the profound environmental consequences of Brazil's booming livestock and soy industries.

Brighter Green Video on China's Meat Consumption Now Available 7/12/10

As part of Brighter Green's Food Policy and Equity Program, a short video detailing China's rising consumption of animal products is now available. The video is narrated by Brighter Green Associate Stella Zhou, who is blogging from China this summer. More to come soon as we explore further the impacts of the globalization of industrial animal agriculture in China, India, Brazil, and Ethiopia.

Huffington Post Blog Generates Discussion on the Web 6/2/10

Last month, Mia MacDonald posted a blog on the Huffington Post, covering Goldman Sach's involvement with factory farming in China. Her piece, "Investment Bankers with Wings: Making a Killing," earned several notable mentions online, from sources such as the PETA Files, Discovery's Planet Green, and Current TV.

Brighter Green in the Huffington Post 5/4/10

Mia MacDonald posted a blog on Goldman Sachs's investment in factory farming in China on the Huffington Post. Read it here. Feel free to add your comments or share with others or link to it.
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Mia MacDonald's Presentation from Pace Law School Now Available 4/21/10

Brighter Green Executive Director Mia MacDonald recently discussed the environmental impacts of factory farming at a Pace Law School Panel, organized by the Student Animal Legal Defense Fund and the Environmental Law Society. Click here for the PDF of this presentation.

Hot off the Press: Diet for a Hot Planet 4/14/10

Brighter Green colleague Anna Lappé's new book is out. Diet for a Hot Planet addresses the climate impact of our food choices, and what we can do to make a difference. Thanks, Anna, for mentioning Brighter Green's work in helping to shape a more just and sustainable food system for New York City!

Article by Mia MacDonald Featured in Resurgence Magazine 3/9/10

The March issue of Resurgence Magazine, themed "The Future of Food," has published an article by Brighter Green Executive Director Mia MacDonald. Click here for a PDF version of the article, "Eat Like it Matters."

Congratulations to Karin Chien! 3/8/10

Karin Chien, founder of dGenerate Films and Co-Executive Producer with Brighter Green of "What's for Dinner?", has won the Piaget Producers Prize at the Independent Spirit Awards. Karin won the award for her work on The Exploding Girl, and Santa Mesa.

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Native New Yorkers, the Four-Legged Kind

by Whitney Hoot
February 9, 2010 2:08pm
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If habitat destruction continues, we may see even more coyotes on Manhattan streets.

Is that the neighbor's dog barking in the apartment upstairs, or should you look out the window for something a little wilder? On Sunday morning, Columbia University Public Safety spotted three coyotes in front of Lewisohn Hall, on Broadway and 116th Street. One of the coyotes was sighted again later in the morning, but no arrests were made--these wild dogs are still roaming free. The Chief of Public Safety warned community members to report any sightings, but not to approach the animals. This isn't the first coyote sighting in Manhattan this year, and it certainly isn't the first encounter between humans and those "other" urban dwellers who usually remain hidden in public parks, subway tunnels, and in the recesses of urban minds that have forgotten what nature looks like.

It's only February, but the NYC Bureau of Communicable Diseases reports that 32 rabid raccoons have been captured in Manhattan since the beginning of 2010. The Throggs Neck housing projects in the Bronx have also been infiltrated by unwanted visitors: skunks. One lifelong resident reports,"If it was just rats and roaches, I could take care of it myself. But these are wild animals." When does an animal cross the line, from being a standard feature of the natural landscape to becoming an urban pest, wild vermin? Really, we're the ones encroaching on them: As housing developments, shopping centers, and golf courses (like the one near Throggs Head) continue to proliferate in New York suburbs, animals like skunks, raccoons, foxes, and even coyotes are displaced from their natural habitat. Manhattan may not seem like the obvious choice for wild animals, but at least there aren't any bulldozers or apartment complexes in Central Park.

In New York City, nature doesn't have many rights; man is king here. How many New Yorkers will be willing to defend the rights of raccoons and coyotes to live in "our" parks, eat "our" garbage, and roam "our" streets? Probably not many. These animals truly are native New Yorkers, but without the accent, no one seems to recognize them.

Photo courtesy of Alan Vernon