Interview: Matt Miner and the “Liberator” Comic Book

January 21st, 2013

Animal Liberation and how it is portrayed in popular culture has almost always been a tricky subject to traverse. We’re often left with a raised eyebrow at some very over the-top and unrealistic vegan character on an episode of Law and Order who we wince at for attacking people who are casually eating burgers on the street—their dreadlocks and dirty clothes flailing while some cop puts them into a cruiser. We sigh at the disheveled woman character throwing paint or a family of cartoon hippies who have a goat in their living room and “peta” t-shirts or some crap like that. We’ve been reduced to the worst end of the writing spectrum!

In so many forms of entertainment and infotainement compassionate animal advocates are either the butt of a joke, completely removed from society/relation or they are the villains, who needs to be contained lest society devolve into chaos. News media would often have you believe that we have no goals aside from destruction, and even this week in a statement locally, a notorious animal abuser called activists in our local area “radical animal rights bullies.” We’ve been getting a bad rap for a good long while, and for what–caring about animals as much as we do ourselves, and for living out politics? It’s skewed at best, and dangerously uninformed at worst.

Enter Matt Miner and his project titled “Liberator” which is a multi-issue comic book series that follows antiheros that avenge the torture of animals! (Finally, a story that we as a community can be proud to associate with.) Matt himself is a long-time dedicated animal advocate, the series is not an outsider interpreting our scene but rather someone on the inside writing stories that can bring in AR people and comic book fans alike. The project is presently looking for backers; individuals can contribute money to the project in exchange for some very cool exclusive swag, and of course, copies of the comic once it is published.

The link to contribute to the project is here and we sincerely encourage folks to check it out and back this project if they are able. It’s not simply a donation; in most cases you get way more cool stuff back than the monetary amount you are actually contributing. It’s a way to invest in and be part of something awesome, while also getting some cool thank-you gifts as a return on your funds.

The Vegan Police Contributor Jennai sat down with Matt Miner to discuss the Liberator project.

VP: Can you first set us up by explaining what the Liberator project/kickstarter is about and what it is you are trying to make happen with this project?

MM: Liberator is a comic book mini series that features a pair of dark, gritty antiheroes who, instead of murdering crack dealers or stopping interplanetary war, are waging a fiery but nonviolent war on animal abusers.

We have a publisher who sees the value in putting animal friendly role models out to mass market comic readers, but we still need to pay the artists ourselves (which is normal for creator-owned comics like ours) so we launched this Kickstarter. The way Kickstarter works, we don’t get a dime of it unless 100% of the funding goal is reached – we’re really close, but need a few more pledges to make it happen.

We’ve come so far and it would seriously suck to fail because of something as stupid as money. A pledge to the project isn’t a donation, it’s more of a pre-order where you also get other awesome rewards – you can score you some seriously nice exclusive and cool swag, so I urge folks to check it out.

VP: Is there a specific part of your creative journey with this project that has been particularly meaningful?

MM: So many, it’s not even funny. I got a chance to study under Scott Snyder, one of the nicest guys and biggest names in comics right now; learning from him was amazing. I’ve found there are a lot more vegan and animal rights supportive comics fans out there than I’d suspected existed and I’ve met and become buddies with some really fabulous creators along the way. The heads of the publisher are all fantastic people and since launching the Kickstarter there’s been a gigantic outpouring of support from comic fans and animal folks. It’s been an enormous amount of work to get where we are but it’s all been worth it.

VP: How has the project been received so far by the community, both in radical/animal rights circles but also the comic book/fandom circles as well?

MM: I expected that the radical animal rights and environmental crowd would get it right away and be onboard and I was right. I’ve spent a lot of my life shouting into a megaphone and, sadly, I’ve seen some friends go to jail for the cause. I knew the AR community would be behind a book that accurately portrays the hell that animals endure and the activists that work to protect them.

What I’m really pleased to find, however, is how many non-vegan, non-animal rights comics readers are really excited for Liberator, too. I’ve made it clear that Liberator won’t lecture the reader and is focused on story and characters first, not on a lesson on animal abuse. I put away my soapbox and focused on what makes good comics: a compelling story, strong characters with relatable real-world personalities and problems, and an art team that takes that sequential storytelling to the next level.

VP: You yourself are well known for your own work in the animal liberation community, can you elaborate at all about your own background in animal rescue and liberation, or some of your other work rescuing animals and/or supporting prisoners in your day-to-day life?

MM: I worked in the aboveground animal rights movement for years – it was when I moved to NYC and found the HLS (Huntingdon Life Sciences, a notoriously cruel animal testing lab) campaign and the loud and confrontational fur demos that I really found my calling. For years I was doing 1 or 2, sometimes 3 to 4 days of demos a week. I even met my wife at a protest outside of Andrew Baker’s (CEO of Huntingdon Life Sciences) house, we were engaged at the national animal rights conference and married at Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary.

Lately we’ve been focused on animal rescue from shelters and abusers. We live in the Rockaways in NY and if you were watching the news around the end of October you know we were hit really hard by Hurricane Sandy. Since the hurricane there have been a lot more animals in need out here because people evacuated and left their animals behind to die or be taken for bait or fighting dogs. It’s really horrible out here and we’re doing what we can but it’s an amazing feeling to rescue an animal and be there every step of the way until they’re placed in a loving forever home.

I’m also a big advocate of political prisoner support. When we see our friends and extended animal rights and environmental family go to prison for protecting animals and the Earth it’s really our duty to support them. I know it sounds intimidating at first to just start writing someone you don’t know, but it’s super easy to send a postcard to get the ball rolling. Just thank them for their sacrifice, tell them to stay strong and keep their chin up and go from there. It gets easier and you’ll end up meeting and becoming friends with some fantastic people.

It means everything to a prisoner to get mail and kind words – plus it’s good karma for you.

VP: Is there something you would like to say to people who may be unsure about the project or your motives/intentions with it?

MM: The project has four main goals. First is to tell a great story that’s entertaining and fun. Second is to bring new people to comics and bring new eyes to animal issues. Third is to portray underground animal liberation activists as the heroes they are, as they’re too often smeared in mainstream media as violent extremists, and worse. Fourth is to help fund the animal rescue we do out here in Rockaway. Any of my personal profits will go back into helping animals out here. I’m not looking to cash in on the AR movement.


VP: Your kickstarter is entering its final days, with your goal so close this project is really feeling like it is within grasp! What would it mean to you to see this through and achieve full funding?

MM: It would be a 10 year dream come true. I’ve wanted this for so long and I’ve really had my nose to the grindstone for Liberator for over a year.

VP: Any future plans you’d care to give us some teasers for–can we expect more creative animal liberation projects from you in the future?

MM: I can tell you I’ve got more Liberator stories than you can shake a stick at. As long people buy them, and we can keep publishing them, I’ll keep writing.

VP: Finally, are there any thank-yous, final words or shout outs you’d like to do at this time regarding this project or any of your other work?

MM: Yes, absolutely!

Thanks to everyone who’s pledged to make Liberator happen so far and thanks to everyone who’s going to pledge after reading this. You folks are the best and we love you – thanks for believing in this project!

Thanks to all the organizations, celebrities, actors and bands who’ve endorsed the project and helped us out with rewards and quotes. Thanks to the folks at the publisher, thanks to my co-creators and the art team, thanks to everyone who’s written articles, shared on Facebook and tweeted about the project. Thanks to my wife for all her help and support while I tried to get Liberator off the ground.

Lastly, the biggest thanks to the brave anonymous underground animal liberationists who inspired the story. The fire in your hearts and your courage to take action is truly the stuff of legend and the animals are better off from your actions.

VP: Thanks so much for the conversation Matt! I really appreciate you taking the time.

The “Liberator” kickstarter is in it’s last 10 days! There is no more time to hesitate if you were going to contribute the clock is ticking. The project is nearly funded, with even more great pledge rewards added recently, so if you haven’t checked back recently we suggest you do. Included already for backers of the project are items from Bad Religion, Propagandhi, Descendents, Arme, Beagle Freedom Project, Outcast Agenda, SHAC, NAALPO, Because We Must, DARTT, Conflict Gypsy and more! The link is here.Thanks again to Matt for the interview and to everyone who has supported this project! We wish you all the success in the world and hope that others will help see this through to completion.

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Interview: Kim Socha “Women, Destruction, and the Avant-Garde: A Paradigm for Animal Liberation”

February 5th, 2012

The 11th Annual Institute for Critical Animal Studies Conference is coming up soon at Canisius College (Buffalo, NY) from March 2nd to the 4th. We thought it would be a great time to contact some of the people pushing ICAS forward to find out about how they got involved, and how their work is shaped by, and shaping, Critical Animal Studies. The first up in this series is Prof. Kim Socha (Normandale Community College). Kim is a Director with ICAS and just released a book “Women, Destruction, and the Avant-Garde: A Paradigm for Animal Liberation” as part of the Critical Animal Studies series at Rodopi Press. We thank Kim for taking the time to answer some questions for us and look forward to her upcoming presentation at the Conference!

Can you talk a bit about your background in animal advocacy and your entry into the academy?

It took me a while to really get involved in animal advocacy in an intensive way, as opposed to dabbling in groups here and there. I was a vegetarian for a long time, but struggled with going vegan for the simple reason that I liked cheese; I won’t even try to pretend I had some great philosophical purpose for not going vegan sooner. My reasons were purely self-indulgent. It was when I began my Ph.D. program in 2006 that I began to work more ardently as an animal advocate. I took a course in Critical Vanguard Studies—which entails exploration of aesthetic and political groups such as Dada, Surrealism, the Black Arts Movement, etc.—to solidify what I have come to see as my personal conception of the animal liberation movement (ALM). While taking that course, I also began to read about the Animal Liberation Front (ALF) via Anthony Nocella II and Steven Best’s Terrorists or Freedom Fighters. I became convinced that the ALM is a contemporary manifestation of the avant-garde, those groups and individuals who see reality in advance of mainstream popular conceptions (i.e. war is an inevitability of human existence and humans must eat nonhumans to live), and we strive to help others see the world differently as well. At that time, I began to volunteer at a no-kill animal shelter and speak on campus about nonhuman animal issues. And, of course, I went vegan. My timidity had also held me back from being a stronger advocate for years, but viewing Shannon Keith’s documentary Behind the Mask, about the ALF, allowed me to put my social anxieties aside and realize that my fears of being misunderstood and mocked were far less significant than the institutionalized brutality of animal treatment the world over. Once moving to Minnesota from Pennsylvania in 2009, I joined the Animal Rights Coalition (ARC), a grassroots abolitionist animal advocacy group with a thirty year history. I now sit on ARC’s board, and I am also on the board if the Institute for Critical Animal Studies (ICAS).

Can you tell us about what drew you to the Institute for Critical Animal Studies?

ICAS’s Rodopi book series was the second publisher to whom I sent my book manuscript. And the only reason they were not the first is because I was not immediately aware that they had a book series. I had faith in ICAS because of their stated mission to abolish exploitation in a holistic way, including animals, humans and the environment, and I was pleased that their book series accepted manuscripts from academics and activists. I did not see ICAS as trying to establish yet another esoteric theory that with no real world applications (all deference to the Deconstructionists) that will only hold meaning in higher education. Plus, I was a follower of Nocella’s work, so his association with ICAS as co-founder and Executive Director made me confident that this was a sound organization. I feel honored to have published through their Rodopi series, edited by Drs. Vasile Stănescu and Helena Pederson, two of the best editors I can imagine working with.

You are also involved in prison abolition advocacy as well as radical education advocacy. Can you tell us a bit about the projects you are involved in?

I believe that our overflowing prisons are society’s problem, and not necessarily the problems of individual prisoners. In many ways, our culture produces prisoners because it is fundamentally unjust and set up for certain demographic groups to “fail” at the American dream (i.e. African Americans in poor urban communities). This is especially true in terms of America’s drug laws, with about half of U.S. prisoners sitting in jail cells for drug-related crimes. I should also explain that I do support anarchism, as well as the legalization of all drugs. (The anarchy/drug connection is a much longer story that I don’t have time to discuss here.) This is why I am interested in prisoner advocacy work. The incarcerated are not evil individuals, but rather, individuals who have been forced by an inherently flawed system to engage in illegal activities. Due to prison overpopulation, the term “correctional” facility has become laughable. Not enough prisoners are given the chance to actually transform. Rather, they often leave prison more hardened then when they first got there. I’m not talking about the Ted Bundys of the world, of course, but those who break laws in a country where laws are set by a few privileged people who often have financial motives for establishing those laws. In other words, we live in a plutocracy, not a democratic nation, and until the broken system is fixed, prisons will never be the answer to social ills.

As to my advocacy work, I am involved with Minnesota Circles of Support and Accountability (MnCoSA), a program that helps recently paroled sex offenders integrate back into society so that they do not repeat their offenses. I have worked with survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault before, so my interest in MnCoSA—which has about a 75% success rate in helping offenders not to repeat their crimes—is not just about the individual offender, who may have committed a crime that I personally find revolting; it is about making sure that those in the community remain safe from sexual violence. And again, it is the crime that is revolting, not the offender.

I am also a part of Twin Cities Save the Kids (STK), which Anthony Nocella was a part of in New York and has now brought to Minnesota. This award-winning program enters youth detention facilities to help children develop skills and perspectives that will keep them out of incarceration and break the school-to-prison pipeline. Some of this is done through hip hop pedagogy and poetry, which the kids find much more relatable than what they were learning in school (which may be why many stop going to school). We are also beginning to develop a program at local jails where we can work with teaching adults, some of whom are going to be in prison for life, through group building activities and education (i.e. obtaining a GED). Change is possible if people are given access to the means of transformation. I don’t want to sound too Pollyanna-ish, as I don’t think that I or any of these programs will change every individual or the world within my lifetime. My realistic goal is simply to let the incarcerated know that alternatives exist. There are many who want to take advantage of these alternatives, which are what MnCoSA and STK offer.

As to our educational system, from kindergarten to higher education, it is a fucking mess. Based on Euro-American models of learning, students are taught early on to stifle creativity and learning is cordoned off into disciplines (English, History, Math, Science) with very little thought to the intersectional, holistic nature of learning. I am part of the problem. I work as a community college instructor because I believe that education should be open to and affordable for everyone. However, I am also an English instructor, and in order to keep in step with the policies of my institution, I teach many traditional modes of writing, which are formulaic and based upon Western conceptions of reason-based rhetoric and logic. I struggle with this on an ideological level, but I also want to give my students what they want—preparation for the world we currently live in, not Kim Socha’s vision of what that world should look like.

There is a belief that much of the confusion around “Human Animal Studies” and “Critical Animal Studies” can be traced back to disciplines “English” and “Cultural Studies.” As someone from the academy who works in those disciplines do you feel like this criticism is unfair? Or do you struggle with finding peers who keep their work rooted in liberatory praxis?

I think the criticism is fair. I’d also like to think that although my doctoral diploma says “English Literature and Criticism,” that my degree is really in Cultural Studies (when I discuss my book, this will become clearer). I’ve met those academics who continue to look at English via New Criticism and Formulism, but I also see a massive shift away from those out-dated modes and into the arena of Cultural Studies, which is less Euro-centric and more holistic. However, I think that to be a real Cultural Studies scholar, one must be an activist. Many aren’t. I’ve met these individuals in higher education and looked at them for mentorship, but all I found was careerism. In kind, I think that street-level activists are engaged in Cultural Studies on a fundamental plane that scholarship alone will never reach.

The same can be said for the rift between Human Animal Studies (HAS) and Critical Animal Studies (CAS). Some facets of HAS seem to look at animals as curiosities, as objects with very little agency, which is not to discount those vegan HAS scholars who are sympathetic to nonhumans. However, much of HAS seems divorced from, as you say, “liberatory praxis.” (Ok, so an anthropology scholar has analyzed the use of snake symbolism throughout human history. So what? How does this help animals now?) I have been on HAS discussion boards, and I have seen those who support vivisection identifying as HAS scholars, even if they want to make animal research more “humane.” Even the term Human Animal Studies seems to reinforce the binary between humans and animals. In contrast, CAS scholars and activists are just that—critical of human use of nonhuman animals and active in their protest of that use. Yes, I write CAS scholarship, but I also “hit the streets” to take part in protests, leaflet, organize events, etc. CAS also considers how oppressed human animals and the environment factor into a more encompassing view of domination. When I look at the term “Critical Animal Studies,” I include humans in that conception of animals, and I think that part of our goal as activists and scholars is to destroy the binary by reminding others that humans are animals too, though animals with greater social agency and, thus, greater responsibility to end oppression.

You just released the first book in an ICAS series, entitled, “Women, Destruction, and the Avant-Garde: A Paradigm for Animal Liberation.” Can you tell us about the book and do you think it will be useful for people trying to bridge these two communities of thought/resistance?

Women, Destruction and the Avant-Garde: A Paradigm for Animal Liberation (WDAG) attempts to integrate the animal liberation movement into the history of the avant-garde, which refers to those politico-aesthetic groups who use(d) the arts as a means of social protest. The term avant-garde literally translates from the French as “advanced guard,” in military terms, and it has been used to refer to social critics who are ahead of their time, who see a reality that the popular mainstream either cannot see or chooses to ignore. For example, early twentieth-century Dada and Surrealism arose in response to the massive loss of human lives in WWI, and these individuals were fierce social critics as well as poets and artists. The animal liberation movement (ALM) arose in response to the indefensible way that humans use nonhumans, and we are a political movement that relies on the symbolism of the artist. To wit, my book looks at protests and ALF/ELF actions as symbolic acts that attempt to help others see the dangers of speciesism, capitalism and environmental destruction. I consider WDAG interdisciplinary, factoring in literary analysis, feminist manifestos, popular culture, radical political theory, true crime and, of course, animal liberation theory and praxis. Whether or not this can bridge the chasm between HAS, CAS and other academic disciplines remains to be seen.

Now, on to the problem. As visionary as they were, the Surrealists were (justifiably) accused of misogyny, so to the ALM. This is a movement dominated by women, but the patriarchal, rationalist male voice continues to govern the movement (though some contest this idea). Thus, WDAG looks at how avant-garde female writers and performance artists have responded to patriarchy and misogyny in marginalized vanguard culture, considering how their performances can act as a “paradigm” for the ALM. Quite often, these women have used their bodies to protest their cultural impotence on the social hierarchy of rights, but often times the ways they use their bodies simply mirror the position that patriarchal culture has put them in: as objectified beings desired for their bodies but ignored as independent individuals with social agency. PETA does this with women as well, hoping that by exploiting one group of animal, women, they will liberate other species. In contrast, there are those artists who have used their bodies with integrity (i.e. Carolee Schneemann and Coco Fusco), so I look at the ways in which the ALM can adopt their attempts at liberation.

I am drawn to the notion of “destruction” that runs through the your new book as the term itself carries such power. Do you see “destruction” as a narrative that can lead us out of stalled understandings of “reform” vs. “abolition.”

The first chapter of WDAG looks at a mid-ish twentieth-century anti-capitalist avant-garde movement known as the Destructivists, for through destruction, they claimed, rebirth and renewal are possible. They didn’t go around destroying things for the sake of destruction alone, but to dispute the commodification of art. They would, in fact, destroy their own art as a way to protest art as object desired and “corporatized.” I relate this aesthetic to both a true crime event—the mutilation and torture death of Sylvia Likens—and the work of three female writers who have written about destruction in the sense that if you destroy what keeps you oppressed, you will be free. In 1914, Mina Loy’s “Feminist Manifesto” declares that when girls hit puberty, their hymens should be destroyed, for virginity held cultural capital during that time period. In 1967, Valerie Solanas, famous for shooting Pop artist Andy Warhol, wrote the SCUM Manifesto, in which she explains that the only hope for a culture in decline is to scrap the whole thing and start over, and this included the mass genocide of all men. Next, I look at a novel by Katherine Dunn called Geek Love; there is a lot going on in this interesting text, but here I want to focus on a character named Miss Mary Lick, a wealthy woman who pays attractive women to make themselves undesirable through horrible acts of disfigurement. She believes that only by making women unattractive to men can they became independent beings. These are fascinating ideas, but ethically unviable, as well as presented tongue-in-cheek (one hopes). Still, these varied writers touch on a significant point: destroying the cause of the problem may be the only avenue for renewal.

This is why I am against reform, though not reformists, as I believe that they do work that is in keeping with their compassion for animals, however misguided I find them to be. However, reform is just that, a way of reforming what already exists—laws and standards developed by those with financial interest in maintaining animals as machines. When that power is kept in the hands of the power brokers, real change is off the agenda. The recent agreement between the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and United Egg Producers (UEP) is a perfect example of this agenda, and the moderate changes the UEP promises to make in egg production still maintain animals as property, product and machine. I think the legal system and humans’ views of nonhuman animals need to be destroyed before there is any chance for liberation, and this destruction can manifest in varied ways: from helping someone go vegan at outreach event to starting a revolution that topples the legal system and the animal/global industrial complex. Destruction need not be a bad word. In fact, I find it liberating, whether one is vandalizing public property to leave an animal liberation message or breaking into a research lab to save a nonhuman animal from his/her life of torture.

As to whether or not destruction “can lead us out of stalled understandings of ‘reform’ vs. ‘abolition,’” I have my doubts because reformists and even some abolitionists will not be able and/or willing to divorce that term from the violence that seems to go along with it, which is not necessarily the case. That said, I hope that those who read my book gain a better understanding of destruction as an avenue out the desperate situations into which we’ve imprisoned nonhuman animals, the environment and ourselves.

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Interview with Lantz Arroyo (Radix Media)

July 22nd, 2011

My first contact with Lantz came in 2009 as I got in touch with him for a copy of his AETA Support Poster. I’ve watched Radix Media grow since then and am so stoked on all of the projects he is working on. I hope this serves as a reminder for everyone to support their favorite (preferably vegan) radical print shop!

Why Print? Why Radical Politics? Why Veganism?

I’ll answer those in reverse, because each one informs the other a little bit better in that order.

I went vegetarian about eight years ago, despite my upbringing in an Americanized version of Puerto Rican culture mixed with the tiniest bit of Greek culture. Meat is a very heavy staple in those diets, especially in Latin food, but it wasn’t until college that I found myself eating the worst food imaginable. Originally, I decided to go vegetarian for health reasons. But the more information I sought out about cruelty to animals, factory farms, and all the exploitation that an animal enterprise is capable of engaging in, the more those health reasons evolved into ethical reasons.

A year later, I went vegan. Many of my friends around that time who shared my values and were very militant are no longer vegan, but I’ve still been going strong. It’s hard for me to understand how someone can see what they see, know what they know about all the horrific things that happen in the animal industry, and yet still return to consuming animal products. I try not to be too preachy, though, because I think there’s a huge element of privilege involved in it; it’s definitely a privilege to be able to choose what you eat. Fortunately for me, I have that privilege, so I use it to be as ethical as I can be.

No one is perfect, of course. After all, humans are animals, too, and plenty of workers are exploited for most of the food that mainstream society consumes. Much of the food that vegans eat come from thousands of miles away and come with a ton of packaging. Food that is not organic and fair trade has a lot of blood on it, too. But perfection and purity is not something to strive for – you just have to make an honest attempt to do the best you can.

I also think that it’s important to meet people where they’re at, and presenting factual information as nicely as possible can often be a better strategy for winning people over. Save the in-your-face tough guy posturing for vivisector home demos!

So when we talk about ending exploitation and giving all these different species the autonomy to live in their natural world without being screwed over, we can’t help but look to other struggles. I identify as an anarchist, meaning that I believe society would be best organized horizontally rather than vertically. That is, I don’t believe there should be a coercive government, no rulers, no gods, no masters, and no borders. People should be able to live their lives free from oppression, and in control of their own futures. And that’s why I get kind of bummed out when militant anarchists eat meat, or when I meet super liberal vegans whose only priority is to consume as many vegan sweets as possible.

One struggle, one fight; I made a poster with that phrase and it means a lot to me, because I believe in it 100%. If you say you’re against oppression, then you should be against all oppression. Animals are oppressed by humans, but we oppress each other too. People of color, queer and trans folks, differently abled folks, undocumented immigrants and others all suffer daily for circumstances they have no control over, for facets of their being that they didn’t ask for. They should not be ashamed of those facets and discriminated against because of them. When we talk about ending exploitation, it’s larger than one struggle; it’s every struggle. No one is free until all are free.

That leads us to print. Print is dead, right? No. The print industry is definitely being hit hard because of the popularity of blogging and social networking and smartphones. Many shops have closed, sold their equipment, merged with other companies or just gone bankrupt. But I think this is primarily happening in the commercial print industry. The companies that have spent astronomical amounts of money on machines and superstar press operators to print “direct mail” (i.e. junk mail that ends up in your recycling bin) all claim that the sky is falling. Well….yeah. If you print total disposable crap, what do you expect? To be fair, shops that are unionized, radical and firmly placed in social justice movements are also struggling to make ends meet. But that has to do more with our economy than with the print industry specifically. People just aren’t into spending money right now

But the fact is, the underground thrives best in these conditions. There are lots of things to say, lots of ideas to share, and the best way to do that is through printed material. You can slip someone a cheaply made pamphlet at a potluck or an event, you can borrow books from your local infoshop or library. You can totally connect with someone who reads a text that you lend them; even if they hate it, you can have a dialogue about it. And that’s what print retains that the Internet is trying so hard to re-create: the human connection. You know that feeling you get when you find a rare, old book in a used bookstore for four dollars, and you think about all the people before you that had it? You know the handset type, the simple design, the roughness of the cover, the smell of the pages? You can’t get that from a Kindle. And you never will.

Don’t get me wrong, though, I think technology has a lot to offer. There are so many opportunities to supplement printed matter with online materials. Many small radical newspapers such as The Baltimore Indypendent do a wonderful job of this. I’m also thinking about how to make the Radix website more interactive with more content. I think it would be great to have essays available, and perhaps a downloads area where people can get free posters and pamphlets and print their own copies. Interviews with writers that have recently been published by Radix would also be a great thing. So technology isn’t necessarily our enemy. It should just be used as a means, not an end. It should be seen as a supplement to the human experience, not a replacement for it.

Hows your edge?

SO GOOD! I’ve been straight edge for 15 years and counting. Being sober is so important to me, and I can’t imagine ever betraying that part of myself. I’ve made it through some pretty tough times and have never broken my edge, and I’m really stoked about that. Also, I’m always really broke so I couldn’t afford drugs and alcohol even if I wanted it!

You started apprenticing at Eberhardt Press in March 2010. Are you the fastest learner, or just that stoked on DIY printing?

I’m definitely a fast learner, but I’m also quite stubborn. If I have my mind set on doing something, I’m going to do it, regardless of what it takes. Sometimes this is my downfall, but I think it generally treats me pretty well. All that being said, none of what I do could ever be possible without my apprenticeship at Eberhardt Press.

Printing became fascinating to me for a lot of the reasons mentioned above. It was wonderful seeing how a small, struggling independent print shop operates. When I first started apprenticing with Charles, his equipment was not much better than what I have, and he had been using it for nearly five years, putting out some of the most beautiful printed work I’d ever seen. I’ve since seen him upgrade a lot of his equipment and become a vastly better printer. He’s also a brilliant designer, and I hope to some day be one-fifth of the designer and printer that he is!

In general, I think apprenticeships are pretty awesome. School can be beneficial too, but if you can’t afford the debt and aren’t into the super bureaucratic structure, the best way to learn a trade is just to find someone who does it and watch them. A lot of my time at Eberhardt Press, in the early days, was just me going to the shop twice a week and standing there, watching. Pretty soon I moved up to putting plates on the cylinder, jogging paper, and collating huge stacks. Those days of seemingly “doing nothing” have helped me understand the way offset presses work and how to troubleshoot things when they inevitably go wrong.


A lot of radical movements aren’t very multi-generational. Do you feel like by using old equipment and bringing old anarchist printers to light (which you did as a poster series) is working in that direct. An attempt at bridging the gap.

Absolutely. The equipment I use isn’t very different from the equipment someone before me used a hundred years ago. One of the things I love about printing is that it seems to be such an anarchist tradition. In researching radical printers for the poster series, I felt like I had hit a dead end a number of times, but ended up just hearing about someone from a friend of a friend. I had actually never even heard of Ross Winn until Josh MacPhee of the Justseeds Artists’ Cooperative mentioned him to me. And it wasn’t until I started doing some research on him that I discovered his connection to Portland, a connection that not even Josh knew about!

I love technology (believe me, I’m playing Scrabble on my smartphone even as I answer these questions!) but one thing that it does terribly is preserve the past. You’d think the opposite was true, but consider how many links you click on in a given day, how many blog posts you skim, how many articles you “Like” on Facebook or other sites. Think about how many people you “follow” on Twitter who tweet about their breakfast. Now think about how many of those things you actually remember, or reference a month or two down the line, even a year down the line. The Internet has made news, art, opinions, and ideas completely disposable. In this Information Age, everything is up for grabs, which in theory is great. The problem is, most of it is total garbage. Even the good stuff eventually gets swallowed in a sea of trash, forgotten about.

With zines, books, posters and other printed material, it’s far easier to reference them whenever you want, and because so much time and resources go into producing them, the quality is typically much higher. It’s a wonderful thing to have extra copies of zines and books to loan out to people you want to share those ideas with. And I think it’s important to have something to pass on to future generations besides a scorched earth. How can we communicate about our cultures, our ideas and our struggles to a kid a hundred years from now? You can’t pass down an iPad, that’s for sure.

So I think that this notion has really made me appreciate all the printers and publishers that came before me. Doing it has helped me understand their passions and their plight. It’s made me feel like part of a history, part of a movement. That’s been on my mind with this poster series, and it’s something I strive for with everything I design or publish. Are there stories we can’t afford to do without? Are there people whose voices are nearly extinguished? Then I will prioritize those voices, and seek out projects that perpetuate that history.

I know we have talked before about the impact Nick Riotfag’s “Towards a Less Fucked Up World” has had on us. Can you talk a bit about why you chose that zine and what process you have for deciding on what zines you are going to (re) print?

I had heard about that zine for awhile, mostly from my partner Rachel, but could never find a copy. It turned out that it was out of print for many years, until it was revised and included in the book “Sober Living for the Revolution: Hardcore Punk, Straight Edge and Radical Politics” that was published by PM Press. At the time I was going through sort of an existential crisis about whether or not I should call myself straight edge. Don’t get me wrong, breaking edge was never on the table and never will be, but I wondered about the usefulness of the label. As soon as I read that zine, my mind was made up: I would forever hold onto it. The very next thing I did was e-mail Nick to see if I could re-publish it.

It’s an important zine for a lot of reasons, but mostly because Nick has really solid politics. His analysis takes into account the dynamics of struggle, and is really coming at it from a radical perspective. This is crucial, because straight edge culture has such a bad stigma of being fused with fascist, right-wing nonsense. TALFUW was the first zine that I re-published and really one of the first things that I printed at all, and I’m happy to say that it is now in its second printing as a Radix Media publishing effort. A lot of people have approached me saying that they have read it and how big of an impact it had on them. To me, that’s worth everything. My hope is that this recent run of 500 runs out sooner than I think and then I’ll have to print 1,000!

When deciding what to publish, there are a number of things I take into consideration. I love finding things that are out of print, nearly out of print, or haven’t been touched or updated in ages. I also think it’s really important to keep stories alive that the status quo would rather see dead. A good example of this is the JANE pamphlet. JANE was a clandestine group that operated in Chicago in the 1970s, providing cheap or free abortions to poor women who couldn’t risk the trauma of being found out by their families, and couldn’t afford the super-secret doctors who were doing abortions. The JANEs operated for a number of years, performed a jaw-dropping amount of abortions and changed hundreds of lives. The original run of the zine was published by Firestarter Press, then re-published by Eberhardt Press. This most recent press run was co-published by Eberhardt and Radix Media and was released during a really important time where the reproductive rights of women are once again under attack.

Tells us about Red and Black.

The Red and Black Café is a worker-owned, collectively managed all vegan café in Southeast Portland, Oregon. As an establishment, it’s been around for over a decade and even in the face of gentrification has remained a hub of radical activity, both for local activists and for folks passing through. It’s also a great community space, hosting lots of events for local social justice organizations and prioritizing the needs of marginalized communities.

I have been a collective member at the café for about four years now, and it’s definitely been an amazing experience. When I first moved to Portland, I was barely radicalized. I had many of the same ideas and opinions that I do now, but they were far less honed and I couldn’t articulate them very well at all. On some level, these kinds of ideas were ones that I refrained from talking about, because I grew up in a place where they would have been received pretty badly. The Red and Black helped me discover and refine those parts of myself. It also introduced me to consensus decision-making and clear, transparent communication. And, of course, running a business outside the mainstream status quo.


The thing that fascinates me the most about DIY anarchist printing and zine making is that, as a medium, it is amazing at destroying academic/activists heirarchies. For better or worse, you don’t need a double blind peer review, you don’t need to hob knob your way into high minded academic society and you don’t have to incur a mountain of debt to be legitimate. You got something to say, you fucking write and print it! Even better is that with a more accessible format, what you write is actually more likely to be read by a greater number of people! I wonder if you are at all fueled by this critique of academia?

I’m always sort of on the fence about academics. In some ways, I’m biased against them because I’m usually not smart enough to understand their writing, so I get really jaded and grumpy the way one’s grandparent might get mad at a VCR. But I think we need academics because they often have the resources and the privilege to explore and spread ideas that otherwise might not get out into the world. The few academics I know are super legit and stand-up people. Kristian Williams comes to mind – in addition to being an awesome guy, he’s a great writer and speaker, and has been an indispensable resource for activists in our local community.

That being said, it becomes a question of access. Not everyone has access to a college education, but that doesn’t make their voices any less valid. Of course, there’s a lot of writing out there that I’m not really into, and I can’t really stand bad writing. But I think that the wonderful thing about independent publishing is that – just like you said – if you want to say something, you can write it and find some way to publish it. A collective of individuals can get together and write, edit, layout, design, print and distribute their work, quickly and inexpensively. Even if you don’t have access to a printing press, chances are you know someone who does. And really, it would be great if every radical trying to say anything had access to a printing press. Because, why not? The more we can control the means of production, the further we will get. Let’s cover these cities in propaganda!

I called your kickstarter fundraiser my favorite AR fundraiser of the year. When you first set out to put that together how scary was it and how amazing was it when it actually pulled through?

It was totally nerve-wracking to go through with that Kickstarter campaign. I was really self-conscious about asking for money, when so many activist projects are broke and so many political prisoners need commissary money. I struggled with it a lot – was I asking for too much? Why was I important? Is it wrong that I want this to be a sustainable job for myself and not just an activist project that will dissolve within a year? All of these things went through my head as I printed flyers advertising my campaign, sent e-mails to people urging them to pledge money, and researched and planned for making the rewards, all without even knowing if it would happen or not. As it got closer to the end, the sea of support was endless. It seemed like someone new was pledging money every five or ten minutes. People re-posted the link on Facebook, and all of a sudden I found myself in the middle of a baseball game or a suspense film. Everyone was glued to their seats, anxiously staring into their computer monitors. And when the clock finally stopped, I realized that I had succeeded.

While Kickstarter has its flaws, it really shows that this model of fundraising works. I would definitely recommend it to other people.

I am a huge fan of the work Karol Orzechowski puts out and I want you to let us know about what Decipher Film and Radix Media have planned for Maximum Tolerated Dose.

Honestly? If I told you, I would have to kill you, and I’m sure a lot of people would be sad about that.

But what I can say is that I’m also a huge fan of Karol. He’s doing extremely important work and is keeping it DIY all the way. My background is actually in film, so it fills me with excitement to even be peripherally involved in a project like Maximum Tolerated Dose. I printed some postcards for the film awhile ago, and there will be more of that sort of thing on the way, along with limited edition posters that will be going to folks who help fund the film. In a way, Karol is using the Kickstarter method independently of Kickstarter. He’s a smart guy! Oh yeah, and if you have some money to throw down, do it! The film is going to be so amazing.

Radix Media has a pretty sweet distro offer for people who buy bulk. If people are interested in that, how should they get in touch?

We would love for our zines and posters to be carried by as many bookstores, infoshops and distros as possible! Folks who’d like to buy items in bulk can do so at a 50% discount on orders paid up front. Just send us an e-mail at radixmedia@riseup.net with the list of items you want. Please note that the minimum bulk order is 10 copies, and add $1.50 per item to cover shipping. In the near future, there will be a store on our website with a catalog of items, making it super easy to accomplish this.

Is riding bikes in Portland anything like this Portlandia skit?

Yes. I’m currently track-standing.

Morrisey’s Solo Career vs. The Smiths?

The Smiths, all the way. Nothing more can be said.

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Interview with Josh Harper (Conflict Gypsy)

March 30th, 2011

There isn’t really anyone in the animal rights movement that I hold in higher esteem than Josh Harper. When Josh first let me know about what he was planning with Conflict Gypsy I was really excited. Charting the history of the radical animal rights movement is right up the alley of this AR history-fan-boy. When the site finally launched I was blown away and with the near constant updates it’s only gotten better. I have never been so excited about the launch of website and Conflict Gypsy is already my favorite AR resource site to have ever existed! I am glad Josh chose to answer the questions in keeping with their sites “About Us“ section. Please support this site and if you have any content you think they may be interested in get in touch!

Why Conflict Gypsy as a title and what would you like to say to the haters who don’t entirely get it?

Conflict Gypsy was a term coined by the Fur Commission USA to describe traveling activists who roamed the country in the 90’s and laid siege to animal abusers. As far as the second part of your question goes, I don’t know that they are “haters” per se. I understand that words have power, and language can contribute to oppression. In this particular case though the term “gypsy” isn’t seen by most people as derogatory, and it was used to describe many stateless groups, not just the Romani people. My own grandfather on my mother’s side was Minceir, an Irish traveler group often referred to as Gypsies. To think that our usage of the word is somehow racist ignores context and intent. Ultimately, “Conflict Gypsy” was a term used to describe the movement that I was a part of, and I feel justified in using it. That being said, I am really sad that some people are offended. I hope that they’ll at least take the time to talk to me about it calmly.

Do you feel like people who are dismissive of animal rights/animal liberation will intentionally make an issue out of the name?

Yes. Some people are so unable to confront their own behavior towards animals that they will take any opportunity to deflect their guilt. That often takes the form of making accusations of racism, sexism, and homophobia against animal liberationists. That is not to say that we are all innocent of those behaviors, however.

How long has this project been in the idea stage?

It was only about two months from idea to execution. When it’s time to get to work we don’t fuck around.

Who came up with the slogan “Green is the New Read”?

That might have been me. I’m clever like that.

The DIY ethic runs throughout every facet of the site, from your approach to making the history of radical activism accessible to everyone, to the flimsy zines and materials that the content was printed on. Can you speak to how important that ethic is and how important it is to build that bridge with the past?

I could get real philosophical on this one, but the simple answer goes like this: Do It For Me is not an option to get animal liberation. No one else is going to take care of this massive problem for us, governments profit from animal abuse and thus fight to prop up the industries responsible, and national animal rights groups have salaries to pay and thus rarely do anything that might get them in trouble with the people they raise funds from. We have to do it ourselves if we expect to get from point A to point B.

Part of the intent of the site is to curb the destruction of private collection through illegal seizure. What are the steps taken to make sure the website and it’s content stay up?

I am not at liberty to discuss such things. Be assured that the International Zine Scanning Conspiracy takes such matters seriously.

The site already mentions the opening of a UK bureau. Are there any other expansion plans?

Eventually it is our intention to take over People Magazine. Their covers currently lack the bolt cutter and balaclava aesthetic that we prefer, and celebrity gossip will be boring in the radical vegan future. Before that time though there are major collections in Europe that we hope to obtain and post, and if our office in the UK does well I’d love to set one up in Scandinavia next. Ultimately, we want Conflict Gypsy to be a massive archive of movement literature published in multiple languages from every corner of the world. There is no serious academic attempt to preserve these things, and every day more and more of it disappears. I hope that people will help us by sending in their old zines and also by donating money. This effort costs money! If you enjoy the site, please consider sending us a few bucks.

I know this has happened a lot on this project but what are some things you have come across that have really blown your mind?

The picture of Ed Mead in the box of non-AR or Eco related stuff was amazing. Finding an almost complete collection of Open Road was awesome, and I can’t wait to use it to teach young activists about Direct Action and the Wimmins Fire Brigade, two groups with proto-radical environmentalism as part of their politics. Finding the rare final issue of Militant Vegan felt really good. Reading Homo Milk for the first time blew my mind. I think our best finds are still to come though. I know of one collection in Wales right now that I think could keep our readers busy for years if we can get our hands on it… Oh, and in the next few days a pretty major announcement will be made about some pieces of our history long since thought lost that we have obtained. Have you ever wanted some of those old ALF Christmas cards from the 80’s? How about splatter paint ALF Supporters Group coffee mugs? You might just have a chance to get some of those soon…

Conversely, what are some things that really made you re-think the boundary of what to acceptand what not to accept? Grey area stuff.

There were a lot of great activists that got sucked into the Hardline nonsense in the 90’s. Some of them are still around and are wonderful people these days. That being said, I’m not planning on giving any space to anti-gay rhetoric no matter how many articles about animal lib appear in a publication. Don’t expect to see issues of Vanguard or Unveil the Lies on our site. We can’t avoid Hardline altogether, it permeated too much of the 90’s AR culture, but we want to minimize it’s appearance on the site. We also debated at length whether or not to put up Declaration of War. In the end we did put it up on the site, but I really hate that book. At the end of the day though it isn’t about what we like so much as the historical importance of some of the documents, so from time to time we’ll just have to place it on there and try to provide some context for it.

Which Miley Cyrus album is best, Breakout or Can’t Be Tamed?

I think Miley has yet to release her masterpiece. She’s a young artist who is still finding her voice, and if she doesn’t get addicted to coke I think she has a real chance of topping Party in the USA. I know, it’s crazy to think that something could top Party in the USA, but on a long enough timeline she might pull it off.

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Interview with Glenn Gaetz (Canada Revenue Agency: The Promotion of Animal Welfare and Charitable Registration)

March 14th, 2011

It was a post from Glenn where I first eyed the CRA Promotion of Animal Welfare and Charitable Registration. My mind was immediately blown and I have found myself in the “overly-paranoid” group since. Seeing as Glenn has been through the guidelines previously, I thought it would be good to have him set a couple of things straight for us. For people looking for more commentary and context; Lesley Fox’s “Charity Guidelines Make It Tough For Animal Groups To Change Law In Canada,” Donald Cameron’s “How Ottawa Stifles Animal Activists,” and Merrit Clifton’s “Canada Revenue Agency Moves To Muzzle Animal Charities” are all good sources. It is my sincere hope that people talk publicly about this issue even though I know it has caused some anger and frustration and opened some old wounds. It is not very often that Canadian activists get to have a discussion on tactics and effectiveness that is specific to this country. Also, do not forget that public comment can still be submitted to the CRA until March 31, 2011! The fact that the CRA has posted an update clarifying the proposed guidance is already a great testament to the amount of people who have written in.

I would also suggest people taking a look at the great work that Glenn and all of the folks at Liberation B.C. are doing, and also supporting his newest venture, an all vegan shoe store in Vancouver B.C. called Nice Shoes.


Ever since the Canada Revenue Agency posted their Consultation on proposed guidance for The Promotion of Animal Welfare and Charitable Registration for comment on Feb 5th I have witnessed a broad spectrum of responses; some feel it has no teeth, some are angered by the “paranoia” surrounding it’s impact, others are sincerely cautious of its potential impact and precedence while others point to this as definitive proof that charitable status is more of a hinderance than anything else. What is your reaction to the proposed guidelines?

Let me begin by addressing a slight misconception about the guidance document that I’ve been noticing. It seems as if many people are seeing the draft guidance document as a new set of regulations that will somehow change the charitable rules for animal advocacy or protection groups. But this document is really just an effort by Canada Revenue to present guidance to animal protection groups as to whether or not their activities would be considered charitable under the current regulations. As far as I know, they are not considering any changes to the current regulations. They are not changing the laws to take charitable status away from anyone who already has it. No organizations charitable status is under threat (any more than it has been, of course).

So, to answer your question, I’ve really found the document to be useful. Canada’s charity laws are murky at best, and unbelievably obscure and even contradictory at worst. This document at least clarifies many of the points that prevent many animal protection groups (especially animal rights, anti-animal testing, vegan advocacy, etc) from becoming tax-exempt charities. The document also highlights just how much our charity laws protect the status quo.

Organizations working to change the system are severely limited in how “hard” their advocacy work can be. This isn’t limited to animal protection – all groups are limited in how much advocacy work they can do as a charity.

Animal protection groups face the additional barrier of not being able to advocate solely for animals (especially when human interests are opposed to the animal interests).

I tend to fall into the camp that charitable status is a hindrance, but not entirely. If you are smart and know the regulations really well and can handle auditors well, then you may be able to walk the charitable tightrope. For most animal protection groups, the time and effort involved in pursuing charitable status is just not an effective use of those resources. And, if you really want to advocate for animals full-time, then it’s definitely a hindrance. I think this is especially the case for grassroots groups.

I wouldn’t downplay the advantages of becoming a charity, though. Charities have access to more grants and more government resources than regular non-profits.


I feel like this issue has opened up a bit of a sore between animal advocacy groups that have charitable status and those who do not. I am wondering if you have noticed this as well and if you think this was an intended consequence?

Maybe it has, maybe it hasn’t. I’m not really sure. I know that most everything opens up a sore between one set of animals advocacy groups and another. I don’t know if it would have been intended, but my inclination is to assume that CRA has posted this guidance document to save themselves some time. They must have to deal with so many groups applying for charitable status all the time, and so many questions about eligibility, that probably take up a decent amount of time.

I covered the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act throughly on this site and I definitely see sections of these guidelines being influenced by that legislation, most notably the section on terrorism. I see a lot of people in Canada glossing over that section as they assume they don’t associate with terrorists, or the constructed image of the Islamic Terrorist, without recognizing that people in the United States are currently being charged with terrorism for freedom of speech cases (AETA 4, SHAC 7, etc.) As someone who is a member of numerous animal advocacy groups with chartible status, but also someone who publicly supports and raises funds for those charged with terrorism in the United States, I see this as a massive issue. Just as the AETA used the label of “terrorism” to push the militant animal rights movement to the fringe and build separation between that and the above ground mainstream advocacy movement, I see these proposed guidelines pushing for the same effect here.

Again, the CRA document is really just an explanation of the current CRA regulations as applied to animal protection groups, not a new set of laws. Efforts in the US to label animal activists as terrorists have progressed much, much further than they have in Canada. We definitely have to be concerned with any language that limits resources “indirectly” made available to someone who engages in or supports terrorist activities (“Under the Charities Registration (Security Information) Act and the Income Tax Act, a charity’s status may be revoked if it makes its resources available, directly or indirectly, to any individual or group that engages in or supports terrorist activities”). Anti-terrorist rhetoric has not reached the same level in Canada as it has in the US, but it’s definitely something to be cautious of.

The terrorist issue applies to all charitable organizations, animal or not, so charities really have to be careful about who they support and collaborate with. I don’t know if that has been tested in Canadian court yet, but as far as I know, no animal group, including SHAC, has yet been officially labelled as “terrorist” in Canada.

Some who have seen this legislation feel as though any attempt to enforce it could be easily defeated on the grounds that animal advocacy is charitable and beneficial to humans. Is this approach nieve though as the guidelines are based upon legal precedent, precedent which we currently don’t have even if we have a wealth of logic and reason on our side.

I think you are correct that this view is incorrect, although it would be nice if it were true. In Canada, common-law (precedent set by the courts) does determine how the law is interpreted. Once a court rules a certain way, subsequent tests of that same law are bound to be ruled in accord with the original precedent.

The example CRA uses is animal testing. Many years ago animal testing was ruled to be beneficial to humans, therefore groups that are formed around the issue of opposing animal testing would be ruled to not be charitable because they would be opposed to human benefit.

To challenge the animal testing ruling, someone would have to find a way to prove that the cost to humans outweighs the benefits, which would be a challenge, to say the least.

Animal exploitation industries do benefit large numbers of humans in terms of jobs, if nothing else. To say that animal advocacy can be seen as beneficial to humans is incorrect – especially when you consider that some groups of humans benefit more from exploiting animals than others, and that the costs to humans are not easily weighed.

Take the Canadian seal hunt for example. Some humans definitely benefit from it, while very few humans face any costs from it. Only the seals themselves bear the brunt of the cost.

I think this is a real weakness of our charity laws. Charities should be able to advocate for animal protection, even if it means humans will not be able to benefit from those animals. It ties charities too closely to government and social structures, basically making charitable work an extension of the status quo. Not being able to benefit is quite a bit different than an actual cost.

Some people point to French laws for Charity Advocacy as an example to follow. Can you tell us a bit more about them?

I know very little about France’s regulations, but I do know that charities in France have much greater freedom in terms of advocacy work, and they can actually be involved in political activities.

The US system actually seems to work pretty well too. They used to have a system that was very much like ours, but they changed in 1976. Now more groups are able to become “charitable” and their activities are less limited than they are here.

Most of my knowledge is around advocacy by charities, rather than the actual application of animal advocacy. However, I do know that many groups considered charitable in the US would not be able to get charitable status in Canada. PETA, Mercy for Animals, Compassion Over Killing, Vegan Outreach – there’s a slim to zero chance that any of them could ever get charitable status here.

What do you see as the way forward for the animal advocacy movement in Canada?

Mostly, I’d say be willing to support animal protection groups that do work you like even if they are not able to give you a tax receipt.

If we could find more ways to work together and pool our resources we might be able to grow stronger. Canada already has a much smaller amount of donations available than the US (we’re about 1/10th the size), so using the US as a model for building organizations is probably not the best idea.

Lamenting the fact that there are big organizations working in the US but not here in Canada really doesn’t do any good. If the system is stacked against us, we need to get creative, start overlooking slight philosophical differences, support each other, and build a different network of animal activists that can exist without the support of charitable donations or grants. I’ve seen organizations develop into well-funded non-profits without charitable status – even with offices and paid staff. So it is possible. It just takes work.

And, definitely challenge the current charity system. Send comments to CRA about the draft guidance supporting a real change in the way the law works and write to your MP and ask them to work on this issue. Canada, even more than the US, is a democracy, and the system can change.

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Interview with Lindsey Mills (Lindsey Mills and the Predators)

March 2nd, 2011

Lindsey got in touch only 5 days ago. I have listened to the Predators Ep around 7 times since then. I already love this band, want more material and want Lindsey to come to Niagara and play a show at my house.

Lindsey Mills and the Predators. Explain the name. Tell us how everyone in the band got from where they were to this band.

We all pretty much grew up in the same general area. Brian Lugo (bassist) and I met when I was 13 at a Strokes concert, started playing music together a couple years later, after we had both been writing and performing independently for a bit. Our solo projects were self-titled, the band was called Apply Yourself! Folk punk all the way. Met Andrew Bond (drummer) somewhere during that high school period and his rad punk band, Insurgent Me, played at a lot of the house shows Brian and I were hosting at the time with my metaphorical big brother, Tommy. We all shuffled around a bit, but in 2010, Brian, Andrew and I were all living in Gainesville. I listed them on my Fest application as my back-up band before even asking them about it. Luckily, they said yes. Since I was billed as Lindsey Mills, and we were playing full-band versions of my solo songs, I figured an “and the” name would be best. Landed on the Predators because I admire those too-often misunderstood and undervalued animals at the real top of the food chain. Brian and Andrew became the predators to my prey.

Three songs are up on the bandcamp site. Three songs are not enough. Is there a place to find older stuff, (other than myspace) and when can we expect new stuff?

Everything I put out on my own can be found here. And the idea is to record a full length with the Predators over the summer! My guess is that it will be done by Fest in October.

Tell us about your cat(s)

This cracks me up because I do not in fact take responsibility for any of the six cats that live in my house, a.k.a. the Cheetah House–they are my roommates’ children. But I LOVE them! They call me Aunt Lindsey, ahaha. Truly, though, since Waldo and Domingo (brother-sister duo) moved in, I’ve been thinking more seriously about taking one on because their affection is habit-forming. I hesitate only since I hope to tour more in the near future and I already know one cat who moved in with the neighbors for good when his papa left for a month on similar business.

***UPDATE: Since I wrote this, a sweet-darlin’ kitten has at least temporarily come into my life. I found her on my ride back from class the other night and she had a little wheeze so I took her home then to the vet and I’m calling her Radish and I’m very much enamored of the little dear.

Anti-nuclear protest songs. Heck ya!

Totally. I wrote that song (HXC NRG) for a class in high school around the time when some assholes were trying to build a power plant on a wildlife refuge in my hometown.

One thing I immediately liked about the band, even with a couple songs, is that you clearly fit within the tradition of the awesome cute folk punk genre, but there is a sense of adventure in the music (which sometimes lacks in that genre). How do you keep that sense of adventure in a genre/community that sometimes feels pretty stifling. (i.e. play fast, be sincere, cry at your shows, be socially awkward, etc <---- that is not a knock on folk punk, I love it all!).

Though I exploit the cuteness factor mercilessly, I write songs to say the things that are hard for me to in everyday conversation. Those things are usually related to my angst over other people’s depression and antipathy, or all the adventures I imagine I’m missing out on. I’ve lived in Florida for most of my life, so I gotta give props to this state for providing a constant source of inspiration, both in that I’ve had many adventures in Florida, and that its limitations keep my imagination limber. Folk punk seemed like a natural fit.

Kids outside of Gainesville love Gainesville. I hear stuff all the time about how awesome it is. Give us the insiders perspective. Where is the best place to see shows in Gainesville? Where is the best spot to get vegan food!?

Gainesville rules! Probably most of the things you’ve heard about how awesome it is are true. For example, the Fest. The Fest is such a magical weekend. This year is the tenth anniversary, so it should be extra-craycray–I’m pumped. Fest time or not, Wayward Council is my favorite venue for folk/punk/DIY shows. For harder shit, the Atlantic wins. As for vegan food, it’s REALLY hard to pick just one place. I’m going to say the Top’s Sunday brunch can’t be beat (biscuits n’ soysage gravy, hellooooo?), Reggae Shack is sure to please, Satchel’s makes a mean vegan pizza pie, and I can hardly express how wonderful it is to be able to walk into Karma Cream any time of day and order a brownie sundae with coconut whipped cream and cookie dough pieces.

Can people expect you to wear plush antlers at every show?

The antlers were constructed for the Predators’ first show at the Fest 9 on Halloween last year, where I learned how hard it must be for those who always have antlers to avoid whacking others in the face. I haven’t worn them at a show since that occasion, however they’re too neat not to put to use again. They’re still ready for action.

Would you eat cheese made from human breast milk?

L O L, I read this incredibly interesting article about a woman who had recently held a tasting for three cheeses she made herself, the catch being that these cheeses were brewed with the breast milk of three humble volunteers. And it wasn’t that the article/interview made me want to eat the cheese (because I think eating any kind of dairy beyond ya mama’s, beyond bein’ a baby, is gross), I just thought it was a provocative look at the practice of dairying, where it comes from, and the cultural mores that keep people eating dairy unquestioningly. Since the common perception is that consuming human breast milk is disgusting, why isn’t it the same for any other animal’s, ya know?

Solo Electric vs. Solo Acoustic

I know I preferred solo acoustic for at least as long as I was performing that way (five years?), but now that I’m in a band and am learning my way around pedals, having a microphone, being loud even, I’m beginning to enjoy the electric thing just as much. (Eds. Note: Wrong answer, solo electric always)

Tell us everything there is to know about thisbigmonster records.

Originally composed of Tommy Coleman, Brian Lugo and I, we basically just started putting out each other’s stuff, both songs and art, then eventually put out some other friends’ stuff too, all in a very low-budget fashion. We toured Florida a little, had a bunch of house shows, fed a lotta people a lotta vegan food. SO much fun. Currently inactive, but TBM lives on!

Soy Milk vs. Almond vs. Hemp vs. Rice vs. Oat

Almondddd all the way.

Tempeh vs. Tofu vs. Seitan vs. TVP

There happen to be two competing tempeh producers in the town of Gainesville, so I’m partial to it for this reason. But also because it’s the least processed.

Paul Baribeau vs. Paul Baribeau

Ummmm, BOTH!

Lindsey covering Owen’s “Breaking Away”

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Interview with lauren Ornelas (Food Empowerment Project)

February 17th, 2011

We first wrote about the Food Empowerment Project back in December when we handed out our 2010 Donut Awards. As we creep into February of 2011 the Food Empowerment Project is still my top pick for best grassroots organization. The work that lauren and other volunteers are doing with the project is astounding and provides endless inspiration for thinking about these issues as fluid and not static. I hope others share my enthusiasm for the Food Empowerment Project and incorporate these ideas into their own activism and daily lives.

I am a person of few vices. Chocolate is one I struggle with though. I don’t want to reduce all of FEP’s great work to the chocolate question, but can you let us know what information you have found connecting chocolate with human slavery and child labour.

Obviously, you are not alone here, and I appreciate you not wanting to reduce our work to this one issue. However, not only is it one that I feel passionately about, but I do think this is one issue that resonates with many vegans because a lot of us choose not to consume animals in order to reduce suffering and fight against injustices, and chocolate is in this same category.

What we have found is that slavery is very much a part of the chocolate industry. In West Africa, child labor has been documented on both conventional and fair trade cocoa farms. In addition to this, reports have been made of workers in Africa who are actually locked in at night and beaten if they try to escape.

You can find more on our website

In your response to my feeler for this interview you pointed out the rich history of the Niagara region in regards to the anti-slavery movement and the underground railroad. I felt like crying because I spend a lot of my time attempting to inject that history into dialogues within this community and I get a lot of blank stares. The notion that this movement is an extension of the anti-slavery movement is gaining traction, but it doesn’t seem as though many are willing to give that connection anything more than mere lip service. I know you have breached this subject on the blog as well pointing out that many are quick to use Cesar Chavez as a reference, however, few are willing to also advance the plight of farm workers.

Your experience has indeed been mine as well. Unfortunately, it seems many want to use other social justice movements as a means to an end to help people understand the animal rights movement. As much as I understand the desire to do so, I think for many it ends up being a bit hollow if there is no true understanding of these other movements and their importance. And yes, I do get personally frustrated when people talk about Cesar Chavez being vegan and yet do nothing to promote the cause that Cesar devoted his life to – that of the farm workers.

I know intersectionality is very important to the Food Empowerment Project, as it is to us, however, how do you manage the criticism that connecting-everything can sometimes gloss over the specificity of each problem or perpetuate notions of human privilege, i.e. we should care about animals to the extent we feel connected to them

Well, our goal has been to focus on just food versus all forms of exploitation and oppression. Our website works to go over all of these issues in detail, even though we can’t work on all of them. We do what we can with our language to ensure that animals are represented as individuals and not talked about in relation to how they “benefit” humans.

Food apartheid, Environmental racism, Food Deserts, Food Security, Time poor, are all words used quite a bit by the FEP, for people not used to thinking of the issue in this way, can you explain what they mean.

Every animal rights activist should be familiar with the term environmental racism and understand what it means. As a movement we do talk about being a social justice movement, and living up to that image doesn’t mean just talking about the suffragists or the civil rights movement, it means being tied into a social justice movement that is alive right now.

This is the definition of environmental racism that F.E.P. has been using: Environmental Justice activists approach environmental protection in a different way than those groups that focus solely on environmental issues. These activists consider the environment to be where “we live, work and play, go to school (and sometimes pray).” They work to right the wrongs of environmental racism, which is typically due to the intended or unintended consequences of regulations that may be selectively enforced or not enforced at all, resulting in negative impacts on people of color.

According to the dictionary, apartheid means any system or practice that separates people according to race/caste and I use the term food apartheid to explain how unjust the food access issue is in the U.S. where it does indeed seem to draw down lines based on ethnicity.

Food deserts are areas where access to healthy foods is difficult or even non-existent, yet there are plenty of fast food restaurants.

Food security is not only about access to the healthy foods but also an individual’s ability to purchase them. If you have food security, you are not worried about eating or starving.

An example of a time poor individual would be someone who is working two jobs because neither one of them pays him/her enough to survive off one salary; therefore, they do not have time because they are working constantly.

What is some advice you can give to people who want to reach out with this information to community groups, shelter organizations, church groups, etc? I personally have a very hard time creating a space for dialogue at a shelter I volunteer at because I feel being vegan makes it easier for people in positions of authority to be resistant.

I think I know what you mean. Sometimes when someone hears you are vegan, it seems that they assume that anything that comes out of your mouth is going to be ‘extreme’ or ‘radical,’ like somehow compassion toward animals is something that should be feared. And honestly, one of the ways I have found to talk about veganism, as well as other issues around food oppression, is to really break these issues down to what is at their core and remind them that they most likely feel this way too. Whether they act on it is something completely different. And maybe that is what scares people. If they can’t do it – not eat cheese, bacon or chocolate that is from Africa – then it is somehow too difficult, so those people who can do it, well, they must be extremists. It is unfortunate that these issues are sometimes seen as being political instead of as being compassionate.

We recently did an interview with Elizabeth DeCoux who wrote an article stating that data points to the vegan population either leveling off or actually dropping. Can you tell us about FEP’s “Food Chain” as it seems to be a recognition of that.

I sure hope the population isn’t dropping, but yes Food Chain is something we are working on to keep people vegan after they have made to the decision to go vegan. With all of the literature outreach that vegans have done over the past couple of decades, you would think we would have millions of vegans to equate with all of the materials that have been handed out.

But that doesn’t seem to be the case.

We at Food Empowerment Project believe that many people decide to go vegan when they are handed a leaflet or see a commercial, but many of them do not stick with it. It can be difficult for people for a variety of reasons. We have created Food Chain as a newsletter for people to receive once a month and give them a variety of reasons for staying vegan.

Every issue contains both a factory farming story and a rescue story, so if the reader went vegan for the animals, there’s something that speaks to them. For those who went vegan for the environment or other social justice issues, we include articles and information to nurture those motivations. If they want to learn more about the health benefits they can read about those too as well as general support questions and recipes.

Although this is a project of the Food Empowerment Project, we have made sure to incorporate a variety of groups so that it isn’t about us – it is about the issues.

Our goal is to survey people in the middle and at the end to see what worked and what didn’t work for people.

The project is all-volunteer and must take up a lot of your spare time. What do you like to do with the rest of your spare time ( I hope there is some!)

Yes, Food Empowerment Project is all volunteer. I have a full-time job with a non-profit called the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition, and I also coordinate a local animal rights group called Santa Clara County Activists for Animals.

I have a variety of political interests that I work to stay engaged in, including Californians Against Slavery, and I write to a couple of political prisoners as well.

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Interview with Craig Rosebraugh (Arissa Media)

January 31st, 2011

Interviewing dynamic activists like Craig Rosebraugh is very hard because their advocacy is extensive and it’s near impossible to fit all of that into a neat little package. (For example aside from co-founding the North American Earth Liberation Front Press Office, did you know that Craig has also owned and run a vegan restaurant as well as a bakery! Fun fact!). Although I can’t provide the whole picture, I hope people take away a curiousity for Arissa Media and for Craig’s upcoming documentary Seventh Generation. I have admired Resistance Magazine and other Arissa produced materials for a while now and hope to play a part in the process of growing their audience.

For the unitiated, can you tell us why you co-founded Arissa Media Group? What void were you trying to fill and what were the motivations?

After having been involved in political activism for over a decade by 2003, it became increasingly apparent that public education on social and political justice issues was and is a necessity. We are in a war for access to the public’s mind and are losing the war thanks to the corporate specialty interests that can buy airtime, and influence news and programming. By and large, our own views and political opinions have become little more than regurgitations of what was spewed on the network news the evening before. Consumer, lifestyle, cultural, and voting behaviors are all influenced and to a degree controlled by the PR specialists on the payroll of industry. Arissa Media Group was started as a project to assist in combating this corporate control of media and to present a voice of reason in a world of insanity. We are an independent, all volunteer publishing house that was formed in 2003 and focuses on producing literary works on political and social justice issues.

So much of the literature Arissa puts out focuses on giving voice to those accused of “terrorism” because of their political beliefs (Black Panthers, E.L.F/A.L.F, etc). Is the hope that if people hear from the voices of these people then the use of the term as a tool of political repression becomes stunted?

Ideally yes. In this world of 1 second soundbites and attention spans, the mainstream press is easily able to use a one-word weighted description, such as terrorism, to describe an act that was committed for political motives. Yet, there is always so much more to the story. There are the individuals who have been accused of these crimes, who may or may not have committed them, and the revolutionary struggles they are apart of. As the famous saying goes, one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter. Here in the U.S., our elected leaders can spend trillions of dollars on military battles overseas and define it as protecting freedom or furthering democracy. These same leaders will simultaneously denounce and severely criminalize the actions of those domestically who dare to speak out, organize and struggle against this hypocrisy. By giving a voice to the relatively voiceless, we hope to tell the stories of freedom fighters to the widest audience possible.

I also want to ask if this is a part of a larger goal of “breaking” or abolishing the prison industrial complex.

The prison industrial complex, like many aspects of our society needs considerable attention. As part of my own work I see inmates on a regular basis in state prison facilities rotting away for crimes they are either completely innocent of or who were sentenced to extreme terms based on the political nature of their crime, their race, or class. The U.S. Constitution clearly prohibits cruel and unusual punishment and yet the conditions that many inmates exist in, under international standards, would be defined only as such. The primary goal of Arissa is to educate so people have the fundamental knowledge and background to effectively advocate for positive change.


How does Arissa navigate trying to reach a large and diverse audience but still remain independent? Is it a struggle to stay relevant in an age where internet media is so woven into government repression?

The book publishing industry only continues to be increasingly cutthroat and dominated by a few giant corporate conglomerates. Because of the internet and communications age, fewer people are reading printed material which makes it even more difficult for a small independent press to exist. However, we have recently brought on a number of new motivated volunteers who are assisting in bringing our titles to the streets in cities across the United States – tabling at conferences, lectures, community fairs, shows, etc. Additionally, our main distributor, Small Press United, is a subsidiary of Independent Publisher’s Group (IPG), one of the largest distributors in North America. This ensures our books are also available in small independent stores as well as larger chains. Most recently, we have started the process of making all of our titles available in digital format since increasing numbers of people are now reading e-books.

Arissa has done a great job of chronicling acts of resistance. I am wondering what your own personal thoughts are regarding what the atmosphere is right now. I know the animal rights community the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act has instilled a lot of fear in people and lead to a lot of division and a lot of debate around the effectiveness of tactics. That said, we are close to the ten year anniversary of the Sept 11th, the AETA 4 indictment was just thrown out and the word “terrorism” seems to be losing some of its power.

On a personal level I have mixed feelings. One one hand I do see that the term “terrorism” has lost some of its punch it once had during the eight years of the Bush/Cheney regime. There was a lot of pressure from law enforcement during the past decade on various movements and that pressure was somewhat successful in diminishing the effectiveness and support for those causes. Today, I see the need for action on a variety of fronts and a variety of levels extremely necessary, yet fairly absent on the national level. I am hoping this will change.

Will Potter from the blog, Green is the New Red, recently posted a leaked document from the Federal Bureau of Prisons – Counter Terrorism Unit (Aug 24, 2009). 4 of the 45 pages of that document are dedicated to the Resistance Magazine and Arissa Media. I am baffled that a Counter Terrorism Unit would spend so much time covering commentary that sternly cautioned the E.L.F/A.L.F from engaging in any action that could potentially injure any being.

While it is astonishing, I am not surprised. The ELF was named the number one domestic terrorist threat in the United States officially in the year 2000, even before 9/11 occurred. This extreme labeling was a very illustrative example of the priorities of those in power. When environmentalists who committed non-violent property destruction get sentenced to longer prison terms than the average murder sentence nationwide in the U.S. it is clear the government deems politically motivated activity a far greater threat than random violence and murder.

When talking about issues like Government Repression do you think there is some unstated assumptions that need to be brought up? One example would be the issue of race/class in social justice movements. There is a sense of moral outrage in the animal/environmental justice communities whenever we can plainly see repression, however, Latino, Black, Native American communities are well attuned to these methods of repression and have been for centuries.

Well put. Overall there continues to be a serious problem of race and class consciousness amongst the activist movements in the United States, and repression is one area that highlights this problem. There is a definitive difference between one’s choice to engage in political activism and the repercussions that are faced as a result, and the race based or class based oppression that occurs in society not because of the political activities people are engaged in, but because of who they are. Until this difference is realized and considered I fail to believe much positive growth will be made in this country as a whole.

You personally are working on full length documentary, Seventh Generation. What stage of production is the film in and what can people expect from it?

I began working on Seventh Generation in 2009, wanting to produce a documentary that explored the corporate dominance of the fossil fuel industry and the various impacts that have and still occur as a result. From spending hundreds of millions of dollars to buy off politicians, to millions on PR campaigns to control the public’s minds, consumer and voting habits, to outright negligence and murder, the industry is ripe with corruption and greed. We were in production for six months during the first half of 2010, filming in fourteen countries and capturing the stories of those impacted by this industry around the world. Our crew is an amazing group of filmmakers who have been involved with some great projects including Inconvenient Truth, 11th Hour, Why We Fight, as well as documentaries for National Geographic, Frontline/PBS, Discovery, and Animal Planet networks. We are currently in the editing stage of post-production and have a trailer for the film that is set to be released sometime in the next couple of months. The film is scheduled to be completed later this year or early 2012.

Your biography works as a great timeline as you radicalize more and more with each step. Can you talk a bit about animal rights as an entry point into activism for you with People for Animal Rights and then a bit about the Liberation Collective.

Sure. I first became involved in political issues through concerns over the way animals are used and treated by humans in society. I grew up around animals and always was taught to have respect and care for them. When I began college, I had to do a research paper for a writing class and I chose the topic of animal experimentation, knowing next to nothing about it. I assumed, like many do in society, that even though it was cruel and horrible, it was likely needed for medical breakthroughs to benefit human health. After diving into the research my opinion changed as I found that numerous doctors and scientists worldwide opposed animal research because of the inapplicability it has to human health. That combined with the cruel and torturous nature of the experiments made me want to continue to learn more and get involved in assisting to stop it. Once I began on this path I experienced a bit of an awakening of my consciousness with respect to justice in the world. As I began to become more involved, I began to realize the interconnectedness of social and political issues. I became further involved with human rights, environmental and animal protection campaigns. Over twenty years later, I’m still involved and more dedicated to promoting positive political and social justice than ever.

What advice to have for young activists who are just starting out on their path?

I think there are many lessons that can be learned from history and all too often those lessons are neglected. Young activists would do well to learn about the history not only of the issue and struggle they are involved with but of social and political justice struggles in general. The more we repeat the mistakes of the past, the more we are doomed to never make progress in the future. Also, it is important to think for yourself and realize, no matter who you are or where you come from you can make a difference. Use your mind, your creative talent and skills to find a way to be effective and make a positive contribution to justice struggles.

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Interview with Karol Orzechowski (Maximum Tolerated Dose)

January 3rd, 2011

Photo Cred to Jo-Anne McArthur

My buddy with the last name that’s hard to spell! Karol has become a good friend since I first sent him an email about starting this show (he was co-hosting Animal Voices at the time) and I am proud to do a proper interview and promote his newest project, Maximum Tolerated Dose. The film is in production and Karol and Decipher Films are looking to the community to help make this project a reality. Expect us to ride this DIY Media project all year because I know that in the end its going to be an amazing resource. Throw your funds at this and if you have Bob Barker’s email then please send this to him!

You made two short docs last year from your travels in Europe. One from a rabbit slaughterhouse “The Rhythm” and another featuring an Open Rescue. Was there an intention of documenting these things to bring back across the Atlantic? I am wondering specifically how you think the open rescue concept translates to North America.

There was definitely not an intention going in to bring anything over the Atlantic as an idea. The only intention I really had in going to Spain to document that stuff was to offer myself as a resource for the Igualdad Animal activists, to essentially volunteer with them for the three weeks I was there and do whatever needed to be done.

That being said, while I was there, I visited my first factory farm in person, saw dozens of bulls killed in bullfights, visited the slaughterhouse in that video, saw the entire process of dairy production from artificial insemination to a calf being taken away for veal to milking, and on, and on… and I participated in my first open rescue. It was really a transformative experience for me. I had always admired it as a tactic, and I had always thought that it was a tactic that could be successful here in Canada. But after seeing it in action, I thought now more than ever, “this can happen here.”

The animal rights movement in Spain is still quite new, so access to many of the places we went was fairly “easy,” at least in comparison to what might be thought possible over here. I think in Canada we’re in a weird position because we’re so close to the US, where the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act makes a lot of activists nervous. But based on my own research, I’ve never been able to find similar Canadian laws, on a federal or provincial level. So, we talk a lot about the AETA, but is it relevant to Canadian activists except as a cautionary tale? And are Canadian farms as hard to get into as we think? How do we know unless we try?

The open rescue technique offers three things that I think make it an important tactic for activists in Canada (and beyond) to consider: 1) It rescues real individuals from places of exploitation and offers them a new life. 2) By not covering their faces, activists take ownership over their actions and show media and public that they are willing to stand by them. 3) By not revealing the name of the farm, it removes the possibility of debate over which farm is a “better” place of exploitation to support – It’s not about a particular farm, it’s about the system in general. It also makes the actions harder (or nearly impossible) to prosecute, because it puts the onus on the farmer to come forward and claim the exploitation as their own before charges can be laid.

Pretty amazing as a tactic, I think. I hope my Canadian activist buds think about it.

Those two short docs are packed with emotion. The elation of rescuing an animal from an exploitative situation and then also the eery mechanized horror of a slaughterhouse. As someone behind the lens, how do you manage your emotions when you put yourself in these situations?

It’s hard to answer this question without sounding cliché, but I’ll try my best.

Basically, there’s no option but to manage your emotions, and keep them in check while this stuff is being documented. The rabbit slaughterhouse tour was done “officially,” meaning we had permission to be there and were given a tour by the owner. We were taken around, talked to the workers and to the owner about what they were doing, and got as much footage as we could. While one of us talked to the owner/guide as interference, the other would focus in on the more graphic stuff. It was done under entirely false pretenses (we made up a story about being from a “meat magazine” from Canada), and we could not under any circumstances break character. The option of being found out was not an option. I’ve also done some Canadian undercover work which hasn’t really been released yet, and it’s the same thing: You have to numb the part of you that wants to instantly stop what’s happening. You need to recognize the value of the documentation you’re getting, and really believe that it will result in a greater amount of animals saved, as opposed to just grabbing 4 rabbits and getting the hell out of there.

In these situations, and in doing some other undercover work I’ve done, you just have to be the person you say you are and deal with what you see later. It helps to have people around you who you can debrief with, and go over what you’ve seen. And there’s a certain amount of therapy in watching the footage again, and putting it together in a way that might reach other people.

The open rescue / investigation was the first non-undercover situation that I’ve been in, and managing emotions there was surprisingly similar… Because it doesn’t help to get really upset when you have limited time to investigate, document, and liberate. Every minute is precious, and there is work to do. I really wanted to do a good job, and get the best documentation possible. I cried a lot and felt all of those intense emotions in the days and weeks following, in private, with friends, in a safe space.

What was the motivation behind a film around vivisection and Maximum Tolerated Dose tests?

I should say first that the film isn’t about MTD tests per se, though the experiment serves as a powerful metaphor, and that was why I titled the film that way. I wanted to make this film because I think the debate about vivisection in the mainstream media is essentially ossified into two caricatured positions: on the one side, you have evil scientists who hate animals and will perform cruel experiments on them at their whim; on the other side, you have naive bleeding heart protestors who don’t understand science and want everyone with diabetes to stop taking insulin and die. But those aren’t the only people concerned about the issue, and hey, what about the animals as well?

My motivation for the film came by accident from two interviews I did early in 2010. I talked pretty extensively with two people, who both had happened to work in animal experimentation, had subsequently dropped out, and were now working to help animals in different ways. Their stories blew me away, not only because what they said was so haunting and honest, but also because they represented what I feel has been an untapped point of view in the debate. I had never really heard much about people who’ve participated in and ultimately rejected animal experimentation, and I wanted to know more about what they thought, and how they arrived at their conclusions.

So, in that sense the title is a metaphor in the language of the industry: How much can you take before you can’t take anymore? My motivation is to explore the issue by examining that fine edge between the “pro” side and the “anti” side by talking with the people who couldn’t take it anymore. I see it as a pivotal point for understanding the issue.


Talking with people inside the industry do you notice a weird disconnect with people who go into veterinary science or medicine out of a real desire to help, but or seemingly stuck in an industry that forces them to continually reduce animals to objects.

The film is very much in pre-production/production right now, so I am still arranging and need to conduct further interviews. But, the people that I have talked to have definitely felt stuck at different times. In Canada, we have very few veterinary schools, and we generally make our vets do some pretty shitty things to animals to get their certification.There was an interview that I tech’d for Animal Voices that really blew my mind about that process, and is really instructive for anyone who wants to know about the pressure to participate in animal testing, even as tool for vet training.

For scientists and medical personnel, the pressure to test on animals doesn’t just end at school. There is tremendous pressure to continuously refer to and perform animal tests to justify new techniques, new products, or even to prove old theories. The “life sciences” companies — the euphemistic term for companies that breed and provide animals for testing, or who accept contracts from other companies to perform tests so that the original company can claim that they “don’t test on animals” — are massive and exert a lot of pressure. Vivisection is an industry, and one of it’s key elements is steamrolling any “disconnects” that people might feel.

Though I’d like to interview some people who are completely pro-vivisection, as well as those who have always been opposed to it, I’m especially interested in speaking with the people who have seen both sides; Who have felt the allegiance and the disconnect, and have acted on their ethics.

I know talking with you we always talk about the real lack of information specific to Canada. Will the film have a Canadian focus?

I definitely want this film to have a Canadian focus, though as it stands now I have had an easier time finding contacts in the US. There are a couple of support groups for former lab workers that I’m in touch with, and they will be key to getting more interviews. If any of my Canadian pals out there have contacts that will help me to these ends, you can reach me really easily. In terms of the animals’ stories, I have been reaching out to a couple of different (Canadian) sanctuaries and am trying to arrange for interviews with people who can speak to the animals’ histories, and offer some idea of what their lives were like before and after.

The biggest problem in making this film will be finding the people to come forward, period. Many of the leads that I have involve people who may not be experimenting anymore, but are still part of the science industry (whether doing medical or product tests), and don’t necessarily want to come out publicly. There is fear of being ostracized or actually fired for speaking out. That is the real extent of the pressure to conform. I’m open to having people in the film anonymously (see the trailer for an example).

Who are some of your idols and sources of inspiration when it comes to documenting social justice issues, whether that be with media/print/photo or film?

I first heard about social justice issues through punk rock, so I’m a big fan of that kind of “citizen journalism.” Unfortunately, punk rock isn’t very informative these days.

I really learned about animal issues through my time at Animal Voices, and I feel like I owe a HUGE debt to Lauren and everyone who was a guest while I tech’d, co-hosted and hosted for continually opening my mind to new ideas and ways of thinking about animal rights. I don’t listen to many other radio shows (besides CBC radio pretty steadily), but AV alone offers listeners a huge trove of information, virtually instantly accessible. It is invaluable.

For media sources, I try to pay attention to independent media as much as possible, while also spending a good amount of time critically reading mainstream sources. I strongly recommend that activists spend serious time reading articles and books by people they disagree with. It will sharpen you 10x more than reading a Gary Francione article you already agree with. I am currently reading “Second Nature: The Animal Rights Controversy” by vehement animal rights critic and current head of the Fur Council of Canada, Alan Herscovici. It is blowing my mind.

Photography-wise, I’m very much inspired by Jo-Anne McArthur’s longtime We Animals project and often work with her, and I regularly check out Burn Magazine for photos and subjects that are both artful and communicate a strong message.

Film-wise, I’m always watching documentaries. Recently checked out EDGE: The Movie, Helvetica (a doc about the font I love most), and High On Crack Street: Lost Lives in Lowell, an old HBO doc that was alluded to in the recent “based on a true story” film The Fighter (which I saw, and hated). But the HBO doc was amazing. Fiction(alized) films about real social justice issues just don’t move me in the same way. I’m addicted to docs.

I also just rewatched Roger and Me by Michael Moore, and it was awesome. There’s a really intense rabbit killing / slaughter thread through the film that I didn’t remember, and bowled me over the second time through.

Your fundraising campaign offers a pretty unique opportunity as a top donor can see a rough cut of the film and offer their opinion. I am wondering if you struggled with ideas around artistic control before you made the decision to offer that?

I should probably point out that just because someone gets to watch the rough cut, it doesn’t mean they will have any artistic control! Hahaha. If anyone takes me up on that offer, I will be happy to show the rough cut to them and take their notes into consideration. It has taken me a long time, but I’m getting better at incorporating feedback into my work (I’ve always been able to take criticism pretty well, I just wouldn’t necessarily do anything with it). So yes, if you donate a good chunk of cash, we will watch a rough cut together, and I will take feedback… But I reserve the right not to act on that feedback if I think it will make the film less effective / less appealing / just plain weird.

If there are people who are financially able to support the film to any degree, any little privilege I can offer them is important for me to do. So I’ve tried to do that in a way that makes sense for everybody, with the whole fundraising scale. I figured that maybe seeing how a film goes from rough cut to final version might be a cool experience for someone, and something I could only provide to a choice few.

I know its intentional, but for others, can you explain why you feel it is important to make media that is grounded and responsive to the community. Everything from using your talents to help build sites (including this one), actually documenting theories being put to practice and keeping a keen eye on making your work available as a resource for other activists, that’s everything I love!

I feel like I’ve spent a long time building a skill set that is fairly valuable: I can do web design and development, graphic design, shoot/edit/process photos, compose music, and edit film. These skills are, in a lot of ways, the currency of the internet, and since so much activism is being promoted on the webz, I try to use those skills to support the community as much as I can. I’ve been doing web design since 1998, and it makes me sad when I see really great animal orgs with really terrible websites. If I can do work for cheap or free to create a website for them that is more visually appealing and attracts more people, that’s the least I can do.

As far as making media grounded in and responsive to the community, the animal activist community is my home, and I want to make media that is first and foremost useful for activists. Animal activists often face a really uphill battle in trying to reach people through the media, because there is a true cliché about animal rights media that it is often a gorefest and hard to watch. The gorefest films and stories have their place, for sure, and I’m not knocking them. They can be very effective at different times. Still, there is a real lack of animal advocacy media that works those gory images in through a trojan horse approach, when people might not suspect them. I try to create films that embody an artistic aesthetic but also deal with serious issues. The gorefest videos already exist, and I don’t want to make them again. I want to make videos that activists can show to their friends and family without having them turn off instantly. I also hope that my films will make it beyond activist circles, and be appreciated for their aesthetics and stories on their own, and get people to think about the issues that way.

And as far as theory goes, I’m serious about making films that communicate the ideas of complex theories simply and effectively, and recognizing that viewers can be led into accepting a hardcore position if it is communicated in the right way, with the right pace and sequence. MTD will be an abolitionist film at its core, and will be obviously anti-vivisection, though I’m not sure I or my interview subjects will ever use the word “abolition.”

Advice for the person out there who wants to document and bring these issues to light but just doesn’t know how…..

Well, it’s definitely not for everyone. There are a lot of things to take into consideration when undertaking this kind of work, including the legal repercussions. Be realistic and think through what it entails. It’s not a swashbuckling and heroic way to do activism: for every image or piece of footage you see, there could be months of research, work, infiltration and trust-building that goes along with that. That being said, the movement is always in need of up-to-date and local resources, to be able to show people, this is happening here and now.

If you think this type of documentation is something you can do well, and offer up as a skill to the movement, I would spend some time reading undercover / above-ground accounts from other activists, or if you know other people who have done similar work, take them out for a fair trade coffee and pick their brain. First-hand information is always helpful. And pace yourself… Don’t think you will change anything overnight.

It’s the start of a new year so why not following along. Resolutions for 2011?

My resolution is to make this film… And I will do my best to stay true and posi along the way. (Eds. Note – Correct Answer – Do 100 Push Ups)

Tofu vs. Tempeh vs. Seitan

Hail Seitan. I make my own using gluten flour and I have a personal vegan gluten rib recipe that I have to copyright before I can share it, because it is just that explosive.

Almond vs. Soy vs. Rice vs. Oat vs. Hemp Milk

I am currently loving almond milk, a) because I’ve never cared for oat milk or rice milk b) because hemp milk is really, really tasty and delicious, but has a surprising amount of fat in it and c) because I like to trim my soy intake whenever I can.

Favorite place to eat in Toronto?

Toronto is full of awesome vegan/veggie restaurants and I have eaten at and loved most of them. Still, my favourite spot is Nazaret Bar, 969 Bloor St. I’ve been going there pretty regularly for the past 4 years. It’s not a veggie restaurant, but they have amazing vegan Ethiopian platters for insanely low prices with the best service ever. You will never be able to eat at any other Ethiopian restaurants again because you will be so blown away with how good it tastes.

Apart from Nazaret, my favourite place to eat is my house. I make cheap (sometimes free), delicious vegan food for myself and others. I don’t so much like cooking for myself, so I like having people over to cook for them. Come over!

Cursed vs. Burning Love

HAHAHAHAHHAHAA. That’s a really tough one for me. I’m firmly of the mind that any band that currently exists is more important than those that are defunct. So by that token, Burning Love beats Cursed hands down. Still, Cursed was a pretty influential band for me, and I’ve yet to see Burning Love live (shame). I’m generally a big fan of all things Colohan, though if he does at some point go all “big beard psychedelic” on me, I may lose interest.

The Joy of Painting with Bob Ross vs. The World.

How did you know that I love Bob Ross? Actually, I would like to do a documentary on his life. He was quite the animal lover and regularly rehabilitated injured squirrels and other animals around his home. I remember one episode where he brought an injured squirrel that he had named “Pea Pod” onto his show, and talked about his love for animals and the importance of looking after them. He was a vegetarian, too!

Besides his love for animals and awesome hair though, the guy built his entire career on empowering people to think that they too could be creative and paint if they wanted to. And that is seriously punk rock. GET OUT THERE AND DO STUFF.

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Interview with Cory Kalanick (The Vegan Firefighter)

December 19th, 2010

Everyone familiar with this site knows that I am a big fan of fundraisers and a big fan of Farm Sanctuary. Anytime those things come together I get really happy. We got these questions off to Cory just before his marathon fundraiser but he was busy training so we got them back after, but fear not, Cory is still taking donations for this past run and plans to continue to run marathons and raise funds for Farm Sanctuary. I suggest heading over to Cory’s site, The Vegan FireFighter to stay up to date with his fundraising. This is a great story and I wish Cory the best!

You adopted a vegan diet two years ago, as a fire fighter was it tough to convince your peers that what you were embarking on wasn’t going to effect your job performance? How important are books like the Engine 2 Diet in breaking down that wall with other fire fighters?

Well, you know how guys can be especially in my line of work. I definitely get a few comments here and there about being a tree hugger or being fragile, but its all in good fun. For the most part my crew and department has been pretty supportive of my “diet”. We have all vegan food days at the station where I will do all the cooking. On typical days I bring my own food from home. I still sit with the guys at meal time we are just all eating our own things.

As far as the wall goes with the other firefighters, it seems that being armed with information is key to helping them understand veganism and why it is important to me. Animal cruelty or bad farming practices do not really come up. It’s much more of a health based approach at work. I only recently met Rip Esstelsyn and picked up a copy of Engine 2 Diet. From what I have read it’s a good book and does broach some of the subject matter I have had come up at work. So I may use some of the information I gather from the book at a later point.

How long have you been running for? Have you noticed any difference as you moved towards plant based foods?

I have been running for about 3 years. I have noticed a difference in all facets of my life physically since moving towards plant based foods. I believe my endurance and overall performance with running did improve with becoming vegan. Not to mention my day to day energy level went up. I had also experienced some intestinal issues throughout my life (lower GI) and once I made the switch I no longer have those problems.


The connection between saving lives, in your professional live and your personal live, is a great story. I am wondering how deep that connection is for you, do you feel like human and non human animals are connected in an inextricable way?

I have always been compassionate towards animals but, becoming vegan really amplified that compassion. I became much more aware of the horrible conditions food animals must endure and that knowledge has undoubtedly raised my compassion for them. I do believe that non human and human animals are connected and that both feel pain, joy etc . I find that it has always been important to me to decrease the suffering of any living thing when possible if it be in those last fleeting moments or throughout their life. Dealing with death on a daily basis has made me all the more aware of the limited time we all have.

What advice and words of caution do you have for others looking to embark on a active fundraiser like yours?

My advice would be to people considering raising money is to go for it! I never anticipated how huge this whole thing would get. Inquiries like yours, donations from across country, mentions on various blogs… it’s just incredible! I was able to raise $1000 and so much awareness. That said, if it does get big be very aware of the time commitment that will be required. I believe if you are putting your name out there in support of anything that you want to do your best to represent yourself and the organization well, doing that may take more time then you would think. I would also tell people that raising money and receiving support from people that do not even know you is an incredible experience and is definitely worth all the time and sweat put into the fundraiser. I also think that representing the Vegan Firefighter in a professional and organized manner (the blog, t-shirts etc) helped instill confidence in people which allowed them to feel comfortable in sending money to me for Farm Sanctuary although that had not met me personally.

Your run is coming up this weekend, for those interested in supporting you how can they help donate to your run?

Obviously I got back to you a little late for this one. But, I am still accepting donations for Farm Sanctuary by check. The website donation program I had set up for credit card donations has ended. My mailing information is Cory Kalanick, 2697 Sun Drive, Hanford, CA 93230. The mailing information is also available on the blog.

I am by no means done raising money for Farm Sanctuary. I am in the process of mapping out the next race I will be doing and how to best raise more funds for Farm Sanctuary.

Soy Milk vs. Almond vs. Hemp vs. Rice

When I first went vegan I bought various types of milk and tried them all out. Initially, I only really cared for Rice Milk. But, two years later and I enjoy Almond and Soy milk even more then Rice. I get quite a bit of soy in my diet as a vegan so I tend to lean towards Almond Milk just to alleviate some of the soy consumption.

I also have found making cashew cream at home works better than most milks for cooking. I use it quite a bit for cream sauces on pasta and also use it to make various desserts.

Tofu vs. Tempeh vs. Seitan

Personally, I can’t stand Tempeh… maybe it was the way it was prepared but it tasted like hot garbage from behind a fish market. I do use a decent amount of tofu. I recently started making my own Seitan and that’s probably my favorite meat substitute. Purchasing it is rather expensive, but making it is very cheap and you can flavor it anyway you want. I use a No Chicken bouillon from Better Then Bouillon that is incredible.

What is on your playlist when you run?

I have a little bit of everything. Literally everything… Tainted Love to Black Eyed Peas to George Straight. Here is a sample list (the whole thing is pretty long)

Add It Up- Violent Femmes
All Summer Long- Rock Heroes
Big Weekend- Tom Petty
Come As You Are- Nirvana
Eye Of The Tiger- Survivor
Fortunate Son- Creedence Clearwater
The Fireman (of course)- George Straight
Mama I’m Coming Home- Ozzy Osbourne
Raise Your Glass- P!nk
Pump It- Black Eyed Peas
Shake It- Metro Station
Used To Get High- John Butler Trio (kind of a funny song about all the garbage we eat in America)
Ring Of Fire- Johnny Cash

Your first big meal after the marathon will be ………

My first big meal after the marathon was a great meal at the Encore in Las Vegas. The owner of the Encore and the Wynn, Steve Wynn is vegan. He has made it mandatory that all of his restaurants have vegan options. I definitely appreciated that and wanted to support him by eating out at one of his hotels. My family and I went to the Society Cafe and I had a killer Grilled Vegetable Flatbread topped with peppers, eggplant, vegan cheese, marinara etc. We also ordered a Vegetable Tasting for the table that was incredible. It had roasted beets, trumpet mushrooms, a lemon and thyme artichoke and some quinoa.

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