The Rural Voice, 1994-05, Page 46If 1 had a million dollars 1'd
buy you a fur coat. But not
a real fur coat, that's cruel.
The Bare Naked Ladies
Whether or not this
Canadian singing group has
taken a stand on the animal
rights/animal welfare issue or
if their song lyrics are purely
satirical doesn't matter. What
is notable is how animal rights
issues have found their way
into the popular culture. This
season two prime time
television shows, both directed
at a teenage audience, have
woven animal rights issues into their
story lines.
On Beverly Hills 90210 the focus
has been animal testing at the
university the trendy California
teenagers attend. Two of the main
characters, Brenda Walsh and her
friend Donna, found a stray dog who
happened to be an escapee from the
university research labs. In
attempting to return the pup to its
rightful owners the girls learn about
the horrible things that are happening
on their campus. "Burning .. .
Electrocuting ... Microwaving ..."
of animals. Cigarette smoke is forced
into the dogs; holes are cut in their
throats. Of course Brenda and Donna
both sign petitions to put an end to
the torture. And they are comforted
to learn that their new found activism
follows in the tradition of such
noteworthy heroes as daVinci,
Woodsworth and Einstein.
Turning off meat
Prompted by urban media,
more and more young people
are turning against meat and
toward vegetarianism
By Sarah Borowski
On another popular prime time
show, Blossom, the teenage character
of the same name is experimenting
with vegetarianism. Blossom's new
morality was instigated by concern
for her single Dad's cholesterol levels
but the writers of the show managed
to weave some interesting
information into the dialogue. For
every 16 lbs. of cattle feed, Blossom
tells her T.V. audience, farmers
produce one pound of meat and 15
lbs. of manure. A reference is then
made to the world's starving.
Blossom also makes mention of the
rain forests and the part animal
agriculture plays in their destruction.
Leslie Ballentine is the Executive
Director of the Ontario Farm Animal
Council, an organization founded in
1988 in response to the animal
welfare movement. OFAC's
mandate is to provide reliable
information on current farming and
food production practices and to
inform the public of the
excellence of animal
agriculture.
Ballentine doesn't see a
direct connection between
animal rights organizations
and television's current
portrayal of animal rights
issues. "I don't believe
there's an evil intent," she
says.
"It seems that it's the theme
of the season." And
Ballentine, who saw the
follow-up Beverly Hills
90210 episode where Brenda
and Donna are invited into the
university research lab to see what is
really going on, describes that show's
handling of the issue as "fair and
balanced".
"What does concern me," says
Ballentine, "is that we are seeing the
rhetoric of animal rights groups
become institutionalized myths." She
has seen statistics, such as the ratio of
beef to manure produced by farmers,
quoted in a variety of venues. "The
numbers differ," says Ballentine,
"anywhere from 10 to 20 lbs. of
manure." But she notes that the
source of the information is never
given, and points out that feed -to -
finished -product ratios differ widely
between feedlot production and range
fed cattle production.
The rhetoric of animal rights groups
on things like the "waste" in beef
production is becoming
institutionalized myth.
42 THE RURAL VOICE