How To Go Veg-Head in 2 Minutes…

By sharing these facts with you, or you sharing these facts with someone else, eyes will be opened to the vile ways of factory farming…

Factory farming is the leading cause of:

Deforestation
Ocean Dead Zones
Species Extinction
Water Depletion
Global Warming

260,000,000 acres of natural forests have been destroyed for factory farming purposes. Between watering the plants to feed the animals, giving the animals water, etc, it takes an average 2,400 gallons of to produce 1 lb. of meat.

Not eating a pound of meat saves more water than not showering for six months. HALF of the water in the U.S. is used for agricultural farming.

80% of ammonia emissions in the U.S come from animal waste. Ammonia can ruin aquatic ecosystems, ruin soil quality, ruin crops and put human health at risk. So basically, when the bully from middle school told you to eat s***, you did exactly what they told you to do. Jokes 😉 But still, disgusting.

If we continue our ways, in just 100 short years, there will be no more forests in the United States.

Annually, well over 56,000,000,000 (yes, you read that right, 56 BILLION) animals are killed. Humans would be extinct faster than you could say “save the animals” if we killed each other at this rate!!!!!

ALL WITHOUT ANESTHETICS – these cruel acts are performed on farm animals

Debeaking of birds
Extraction of piglet teeth
Docking of piglet tails
Neutering of male piglets
Removal by burning of cow’s horns

AS A MATTER OF FACT – HIGH SCHOOL FFA STUDENTS NEUTER THEIR FARM ANIMALS WITH NO ANESTHETICS! We are teaching impressionable kids that this is okay! It is sociopathic.

ABUSE FROM FARMERS SEEN BY RESEARCHERS

Stabbing
Beating
Kicking
Punching
Lifting animals with pitchforks
Hurling them into the air
Countless other abuses…

The only farmer to ever be tried for his abuses was Shawn Lyons. The only reason he was caught is because a researcher set up cameras without him knowing so he would be able to show proof in court.

Shawn Lyons. He was caught –

Preforming acts of beastiality
Encouraged colleagues to abuse
Slammed baby piglets on the ground, killing them
Pulling on pigs ears so hard they would rip

Who’s to say there aren’t countless other farmers doing the same exact thing behind walls?

If you take a look at human canines and the canine teeth of a lion, one can easily come to a conclusions that there is a size difference, a power difference and a significant difference in what they can tear through. Humans were not designed to eat meat. We can find fully sufficient protein in foods that are not steak, not dairy, not eggs. Broccoli has more protein per serving size than a 6 oz. steak.

PEOPLE CANNOT HIDE FROM FACTS. SPREAD THE WORD.

Image result for baby farm animals — Photo from: TakePart

I am sorry about the hiatus. I am back, free from writer’s block! We will talk soon.

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Go save an animal!

Brookie Teagan

Cruelty-Free Beauty!

How to have cruelty free beauty:

Sephora and Ulta are two extremely popular cosmetic retailers in the United States. Together, these two stores hold well over 200 beauty brands!

If you’re ever wondering if a product is cruelty free, check for these stamps, they can usually be found on the packaging or the product itself:

From: Cruelty Free Kitty

The following are cruelty free, meaning their products are NOT tested on animals, but may contain non-vegan products.

Urban Decay

Hourglass Cosmetics

Kat Von D

tarte Cosmetics

Milk Makeup

Image result for too faced — Too Faced Cosmetics

Illamasqua Cosmetics

Marc Jacobs

…countless other brands are cruelty free too, however, with these being some of the powerhouse companies for the industry, it is important to know they are cruelty free! Always be aware what you are putting your money in.

The following brands are VEGAN, which means they are cruelty free and contain no non-vegan products. Usually, vegan products end up being better for your skin because the substitutions that are used in the product tend to contain vitamins and essential oils!

Cover FX

Hourglass Cosmetics

Kat Von D

Many online retailers are cruelty free as well! Before you purchase makeup, be sure you research and you know what you are putting onto your skin. Living a cruelty free life is beautiful!

Though these products are more on the high end side, freedom is priceless. These brands also offer incredible products with beautiful assortments of colors and high pigmentation!

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you had a wonderful holiday. Talk to you soon!

xo,

Brookie Teagan

Fluffy Ears and Button Noses from PetSmart and Petco.

In a three month long investigation preformed by PETA at Holmes Farm in Pennsylvania, some horrific discoveries were made about what happens with animals before they reach the store to become our lifelong companions. PETA investigated that the animals were stored in bins with very little acknowledgement or concern, and cats were allowed to go into the storage area, attack and kill the stray animals. Bunnies received no treatment when an issue with them arose. Rabbits died left and right and were left in the wire cages with the other vital animals. The other animals could be identified as horrified. Many bunnies were found shaking, standing in puddles of feces and urine, and fearsome for their lives, a PETA member documented.

Image result for petco neglect — Bunnies crammed in cages. Image from: PETA

Baby mice could be found squealing in boxes labeled ‘Freeze.’ These baby mice were frozen alive to become Snake/Reptile food. These pet stores hope that by doing the killing for the consumer, it is a more humane way to feed their pets. A PETA representative and investigator documented that you could still visibly see the mice moving around in their ziplock bags after fifteen minutes of freezing.

A young woman who eagerly accepted a Summer job with PetSmart wrote an article about the hell she witnessed while working at the pet store. A quote from her documents the horrors and neglect inflicted upon these mice, “The first shock came when I noticed a large open wound on the face of a small white mouse. Immediately informing my supervisor, I was told not to worry about it because the animal was “just a feeder mouse.” This proves and explains how these large-chained pet stores often neglect their pets.

There are several ways to prevent these acts. We can band together and boycott the purchasing items from these stores. We can also choose to rescue from small animal shelters. Yes, they exist too! Always stay aware of what is REALLY going on in your local pet store.

Subscribe and join the fight!

Talk to you soon,

Brookie Teagan

Rode-NO!

What a great day it is to love an animal!

Goats, bulls, cows, horses and many other animals are all subjects of rodeo shows.

Roping is a common event in a rodeo showcase. In this event, usually either a calf or a goat is yanked off of their hooves by their necks, painfully pinned to the ground and tied up in attempt to see which competitor can complete this task the quickest. The captured animal commonly cries yelps due to the fear, suffering and pain of the roping. In order for a roper to become efficient in his event, he must spend extensive hours practicing. Young calves are sold to ropers and are used to assist the roper in practicing. Commonly, the animal is either accidentally injured or killed while practicing, leading to the need for another calf or goat. People do not commonly hear in the news about a professional roper killing an animal because the roper has practiced for so long that they are able to rope efficiently without killing their victimized animal, but injuries are unfortunately extremely common. Commonly, before the goat or calf is released into the ring to be roped, they are electrically prodded, poked, spiked or slapped in order to aggravate them and increase their speed, in hopes that the roper looks more skilled for the audience. Only 9/50 states that have banned electric prodding. Various cities in various states such as Greenburg, NY, have banned rodeos entirely.

Image result for calf roping — Photo from: Cambridge in Color

Injuries and deaths from steer busting, the act of flipping and roping steers, have been so great that the state of Nevada bans the event entirely. SHARK documented that in Amarillo, TX, at the 2004 National Steer Busting Competition, nine steers were spotted dead or crippled due to the event. This number only counts for the animals that were seen. We cannot know the true ‘behind the scenes’ number of just how many steers have died due to steer busting.

Bull riding or horse riding is an event that purposely aggravates the animal by poking, prodding with an electric prod, uncomfortably tying up the animals genitals to frustrate them and make them buck more violently, with hopes to make the rider appear more skilled. This event commonly causes severe injury and death. Animals commonly suffer from severe leg injuries, intense neck injuries and death.

The Job of a Rodeo Clown

The job of a rodeo clown is to ensure that once the bull rider has dismounted off the animal, the rider doesn’t get trampled and killed. Bulls do not charge or attack unless they feel unsettled and threatened. Rodeos inflict these negative emotions onto their animals so intensely that they feel the need to attack their riders. The rodeo clown often taunts the animal and has a main goal/task of aggravating the bull to create a show for the audience and protect the one aggravated the animal. There have been countless deaths and severe injuries documented from rodeo clowns. Rodeos are not only extremely dangerous for the animal, but they have/will always be extremely dangerous for humans involved as well.

Image result for rodeo clown — Photo from: Star Tribune

Torontosun.com explains that from 1989-2009, 49 severe injuries (with 21 fatalities) occurred due to bull riding alone. These are stats from professional bull riders, not people who are practicing to become professional. We can only imagine how massive the number of injuries is outside of the pros. I, personally, had an acquaintance who was into bull riding and unfortunately lost three of his fingers due to a tragic accident.

Aldf.org says, “The official rules of the PRCA permit [the animals] to be confined during transport for as long as 24 hours without being fed or watered.” Transport can be very scary for the animals, as well as very claustrophobic. While this is a rule, this does not necessarily mean that rodeo riders go 24 hours. This fact just states that if a competitor were to do this, there would be no penalty.

You can fight this unfortunate event by boycotting rodeos entirely, making sure that rodeos in your area have all of the right permits before they start their events, and by informing others of this abusive act!

Subscribe and join the fight! Thanks for stopping by!

xx,

Brookie Teagan

http://aldf.org/cases-campaigns/features/rodeo-facts-the-case-against-rodeos/

http://www.sharkonline.org/index.php/rodeo-veterinarian-speaks-out

http://www.actionforanimalsaustin.org/anti-circus-campaign/the-cruel-truth-about-the-rodeo/

http://www.sharkonline.org/index.php/rodeo-events/712-steer-busting

http://www.startribune.com/rodeo-clown-is-never-far-from-mud-and-blood/386847121/

Don’t Be Fooled By “Free-Range” Labels…

While your compassionate intentions are highly commended when selecting the egg cartons labeled “Free-Range,” it is highly likely that the label is used to gain higher profit for the supplier/company by attempting to deceive and manipulate consumers into believing that the way of farming is humane.

The term “Free-Range” does not have any set definitions or requirements that allow the animals to be in a “Free-Range” environment. For example, a company is able to put “Free-Range” on their cartons if there is a single window in the coop that allows a minuscule amount of sunshine. This can also mean that the animals are allowed to freely move around outside, but there’s no telling how long that amount of time is. It could be once a week for twenty minutes. It could be one day out of the entire month, there’s just no telling.

chicken-farming

Despite the extreme lack of moving space for the animals, and the extreme potential to be trampled and killed, the image above qualifies as a free-range industry.

Just because a company is “Free-Range” does not mean that the chickens, or other animals, are not subjected to inhumane practices. Some of those being beak cutting, painful steroid injections, starvation, etc. Beak cutting is a very common practice used in the farming industry. The beaks of birds are removed WITHOUT PAINKILLERS OR ANESTHETICS to ensure that in times of distress, the birds do not peck at each other and cause harm or potentially kill each other. These practices can occur, and commonly do occur on farms that are Certified Humane!

Not to mention, males that are born in these industries are grounded and shredded ALIVE in industrial machines. This happens to over 6,000,000,000 (yes, you read that right, six billion) males every year. This is approximately 16,666,666 a day. This is a gruesome, violent, inhumane tragedy that must be stopped.

Next time you are in the grocery store, do not be fooled by the false information given to you by companies who just want the green from your wallet! Rise up, spread awareness. Join the fight for compassion.

Subscribe and stay in the loop. Thanks for stopping by!

Leave a comment or reach me via email, I’d love to speak with you.

xx,

Brookie O’Brien

“How to Decipher Egg Carton Labels.” The Humane Society of the United States, HSUS

Capps, Ashley. “12 Egg Facts the Industry Doesn’t Want You to Know.” Free From Harm, FFH

Dairy is Dangerous. Words From A Fellow Activist, Emily Michelle!

Happy Friday, Animal Lovers!

I would like to introduce a very special, dedicated, and inspiring activist, vegan and animal lover, Emily! Emily has had a vegan diet for the last 8 months, but had a vegetarian diet for 9 years! She graciously answered some questions regarding her diets, beliefs and actions that I am thrilled to share with you all today.

Firstly, we asked her why she chose to switch to a plant based lifestyle. She answered with this, “I am vegan because as a society, we have over-industrialized the meat and dairy industries, which harm our bodies… Personally my body doesn’t even accept dairy products because of how over-processed they are. In BOTH industries, animals are not treated as living creatures and are forced into cruel living conditions until their inevitable, abrupt and violent deaths.”

When you purchase a gallon of milk at the grocery store, not only are you purchasing a gallon of milk, but also a concoction of chemicals, antibiotics, artificial hormones, anti-inflammatory chemicals, pesticides, the list goes on and on. A recent study logged by http://www.pcrm.org explains a link between testicular cancer, prostate cancer, ovarian cancer, and breast cancer with the consumption of dairy prodcts. Individuals who consumed more than two servings of dairy a day had a 34% higher risk of developing certain types of cancer. IGF-1, with a form closely related to insulin is raised in the bloodstream when dairy products are consumed, which acts as a stimuli for cell growth, then causing forms of cancer. This article also reveals that individuals living in Asia, where soy, fruits and vegetables are much more commonly consumed over dairy products, breast cancer and other various forms of cancer are substantially less common than in the United States, where meals/products with dairy are the everyday norm.

An in-depth article on http://www.articles.mercola.com reveals that a pesticide called glyphosate that can be found in certain dairy products which have a plethora of devastating effects on the human body. A few being the following:

Increased toxin exposure
Systemic toxicity – which can lead to a significant overgrowth of pathogens.
Food-borne illness
Sulfate deficiency
Gut dysbiosis – leading to “leaky gut”
Creation of ammonia, which leads to brain inflammation, associating with Autism and Alzheimer’s Disease.

and so much more…

The second question we asked Emily was if she noticed any positive physical or mental changes after switching to a plant based/animal diet. Her answer was exciting, “After becoming vegetarian, I noticed I had a lot more energy and lost [some excess] baby fat. After becoming vegan, I found myself being sick way less frequently (a boosted immune system) and I am always in a better mood! My body overall just feels better.”

It is a universal fact that processed, fatty and modified (whether it be genetically or chemically) weakens the immune system. The natural vitamins and chemicals found in fruits and vegetables naturally strengthen the immune system. Scientists have found a direct link between the consumption of apples and the lesser likelihood of developing Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and various forms of cancers. The COMPLETE opposite of dairy products! These examples are just grains of sand on a beach full of benefits! The benefits are endless!

The idea of giving up dairy may be incomprehensible to you. The thought of giving up cheese may make you cringe. Fun Fact: there is a protein fragment found in cheese called casomorphins that ACTUALLY makes cheese addictive! It’s time to break the addiction and make change! This post reveals a minuscule amount of devastating facts towards the body, but doesn’t even begin to touch on the abusive, inhumane treatment of animals in this industry.

Start by going one day a week without dairy. Pretty soon you will realize it is not as difficult as you thought, and before you know it, you’ll be on your way to a healthy plant-based, animal friendly diet! Let’s change the world!

Don’t forget to subscribe and be notified every time a new post is up! Thank you for stopping by! Go love an animal today!

xx,

Brookie Teagan

I would like to sincerely thank the scientists and writers who have made facts, research, and informative articles so obtainable!

Credits:

Anonymous. “Ask the Expert: Dairy Products.” The Physicians Committee, Food For Life, 22 June 2015, http://www.pcrm.org/health/cancer-resources/ask/ask-the-expert-dairy-products

“A Glass of Milk Could Contain as Many as 20 Chemicals.” Mercola.com, Mercola, 26 July 2000, articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/07/26/who-knew-this-cocktail-of-up-to-20-chemicals-was-in-your-glass-of-milk.aspx.

“15 Health Benefits of Apples.” Best Health Magazine Canada, Best Health, 20 Oct. 2016, http://www.besthealthmag.ca/best-eats/nutrition/15-health-benefits-of-eating-apples/

Advocate For Compassion

Mashed potatoes and green beans aren’t the only thing that accompany your 16 oz. ribeye. Fear, trauma, despair, abuse and senseless murder are served hot and ready and unfortunately people all around the world are unable to taste it.

I’m sure, at least once, while on Facebook a disturbing form of media that displayed an innocent animal in a slaughterhouse waited for you on your feed. Within a few milliseconds of glancing upon this image, you hastily scrolled as fast as you could away from the horrifying picture. You probably then thought to yourself, ‘I need to unfriend whoever shared this. How dare they attempt to expose these gruesome images on social media?’ People are desensitized to the grilled chicken on their plate, but the second they see an image or a video showing them where their meal came from, it’s game over. I am here to encourage that disgusted part of you to take action. If it hurts to see the pictures, it should hurt to see on your plate. Once you are revealed to the tragic truth of factory farming, your carnivorous tendencies will be no more. Your animal friendly diet can be accomplished much easily and more deliciously than you think!

A quote from http://www.animalequality.net states, “Over 56 billion farmed animals are killed every year by humans. These shocking figures do not even include fish and other sea creatures whos deaths are so great they are only measured in tons.” If that fact makes you squirm, it’s time for a personal change.

Having had an animal friendly diet for the last two years, I can attest to the beauty and benefits of this lifestyle. My body has never felt so clean, my immune system has never been more strong, and it feels liberating to eat guilt free!

I hope you care to follow me and join me on this journey of compassion.

Sincerely,

Brookie Teagan

Proverbs 12:10 – The righteous care for the needs of their animals.