Roughly, the Minutes
Present: Clair, Carli, Nathan
On the agenda: name change, working on the constitution, group registration, planning for the first meeting
- Name change: We have changed our name. We are now Animal Advocates for Agricultural Reform (AAAR). It's short and catchy, and it makes for an excellent conversational gambit in encouraging the question "What kind of agricultural reform?" It also means that we have to know our stuff.
- Constitution: Notably, we have changed all occurences of CCAD to AAAR. Also, we have worked in farm labor and the environment. We have defined 'active membership' to mean those who attend at least 2/3 of the meetings; these are the voting members of the group. We have used the concept of "active membership" in place of "president", "vice president", and "treasurer" wherever possible. We will review the changes within the first few weeks of the semester.
- Registration: we have registered with the SAO as AAAR. We must wait until the registration form is processed before we can register for web space.
- First meeting: we have one more planning meeting on Wednesday the 23rd of August. Additionally, we will produce (via email correspondence) a succinct pamphlet or quarter card to advertise for our first meeting. It will be distributed during move in. Also, I'm up for chalking Ho Plaza and North Campus—send me an email if you wanna help out with any of this stuff. If I remember correctly, the first 'open' meeting is going to be on the 6th of September, at a location TBA. I should probably confirm that before I start telling people about it...
Perspective on this change of focus (Nathan M):
WHY AGRICULTURE?
If we are to take the issue of animal oppression seriously, we must do more than simply talk about fur, foie gras, cosmetic testing, and other issues that are easy to distance from one's self. We must deal with the tacitly accepted brutality of industrial farming toward animals, workers, and the environment. Here we will encounter a machine with a great deal more momentum and organization than anything our movement can currently compete with. Furthermore, we will find that no matter how much disgust with which we regard this system, we will find it inextricably tied to our own existence; we can not simply wash our hands of it by saying "Not on my plate/Not in my back yard."
WHY NOT LIFESTYLE POLITICS?
Many animal rights/welfare activists (including myself) choose to abstain from eating animal products. For many of us, it is a personal statement of commitment to the cause. While this may be good for the soul (or conscience, if you prefer), it is ineffective activism. For when we finish our 5-dollar hummus and seitan sandwiches, we drive home in our bio-diesel cars, we tacitly shake our heads in disgust at poor kids eating school lunches made out of "spent hens" and at men and women working in dangerous slaughterhouses for minimum wage or less. Simply: a culture that systematically and brutally crushes the lives of animals is a culture that crushes the spirit of humanity, and we are a part of that culture.
WHAT SHOULD WE DO?
Within this group, we should focus on a more comprehensive view of animal oppression that includes the closely related issues of labor exploitation and environmental degredation. This more comprehensive analysis will not only give us more credibility, but will also help us to understand the context for and causes of the exploitation of animals. Externally, we should forge alliances and build solidarity with groups who deal with related issues: these groups will be exceedingly receptive to our cause, and will welcome and reciprocate our support. Manifestly, we should publish a newsletter that puts our analysis into action and reports on the plight of domesticated animals, human laborers, and the destruction of the natural world without putting the blame on those who are victims of the same system. We should support farm-labor movements that demand dignity, safety, and adequate compensation for workers; and we should push for sustainable practices in farming, especially where current practices are immediately harming animals and human beings.
