Artist Liz Clayton Fuller

Recently, the work of a young artist from Nashville, Liz Clayton Fuller, was on exhibit at Halcyon Bike Shop on 12th Avenue South.

Liz, a Nashville native, received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration with a minor in Art History from Savannah College of Art and Design. Currently, she lives in Nashville and is pursuing a career in Illustration. Her passion for the natural world and her love for plants and animals both inspire and inform her work.

My dear friends, Jill Lindner and Don Cobb, bought one of Liz’s pen and watercolor drawings – Hummingbird, leaving it on display until the end of the exhibit.

A week or so later as Liz was taking down the exhibit, an avid biker and one of the worlds most entertaining and talented personalities, Academy Award winning Robin Williams, dropped by the Halcyon Bike Shop. He had been in the neighborhood for several weeks, filming a new movie, Boulevard, at the home of some other dear and close friends, Susan Savage and Steven Mallett.

Immediately, what was remaining up of Liz’s artwork captured Mr. Williams’ attention. After closely examining several pieces he asked if he could purchase the Hummingbird drawing for his wife, Susan Schneider, an artist and graphic designer. When he was told that Hummingbird had already been sold, he was obviously disappointed, but asked if Liz had any other work he could see.

After moving outside to Liz’s car, he ultimately chose another piece from her portfolio, White-throated Sparrow, quipping, as only he can do, “this will make for a great story . . . the purchase of a priceless piece of artwork from the trunk of a car in Nashville, Tennessee.”

If you would like to see more of Liz’s artwork or would like to inquire about any of her pieces, click here to go to her website. She accepts commissions, as well.

From Food Babe: What is Trader Joe's Hiding?

If you shop at Trader Joe's read the following article from Food Babe:

What Is Trader Joe’s Hiding?

The answer to that question is easy – A LOT.

A family member does this little game with me and it happens over and over. After trying a bite of something that looks homemade, I say, “Mmm where did you get this from?” and she says, “Don’t worry, it’s from Trader Joe’s, so it’s organic.” The fact that people assume all products from Trader Joe’s are organic or healthy or better than what you would find elsewhere is an alarming misconception.

For the last several months, I’ve been getting a lot of questions about Trader Joe’s. Many people are questioning the grocery store chain’s policies on genetically engineered ingredients (GMOs) and asking if I personally trust their statements about the use of GMOs in their store brand products – my short answer is no, I don’t.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I LOVE shopping at Trader Joe’s. It’s fun, the employees are super nice and helpful and it’s a pleasant experience. However, they won’t share any information with us and are completely cloaked in secrecy regarding their business practices, which makes my head want to explode.

Trader Joe’s Official GMO Statement:

Our approach to Genetically Modified Organisms is simple: we do not allow GMO ingredients in our private label products (anything with Trader Joe’s, Trader Jose’s, Trader Ming’s, etc. on the label).

Given what Trader Joe’s tells us about their GMO policy, we should trust them, right? Or are we trusting them just like many consumers trusted Naked Juice, Tostitos, Kashi, Gold Fish, Barbara’s Bakery, etc. who are or have been faced with lawsuits finding suspected GMOs in their so-called “natural” products?

During my research, I found out there is no regular independent third party certifier verifying their products are non-GMO on a regular basis at Trader Joe’s. It is completely up to Trader Joe’s product supply team to regulate GMOs from suppliers – not the Non-GMO Project or the USDA (for organics) that requires a high level of standards and third party testing before stating a product can be deemed free of GMOs. If there are complaints about a product, Trader Joe’s will conduct verification with a secret third party that they won’t disclose, but it’s completely up to the consumer to alert Trader Joe’s with a complaint.

In fact, Trader Joe’s stated that their products “don’t allow for auditing using the Non-GMO Project because there is an additional cost associated with that.” A representative from Trader Joe’s went on to say, “We tend to not label our products a whole lot, and won’t until there is a government regulation to understand what non-GMO even means, we aren’t going to label products that don’t have specific FDA guidelines.” So this begs the question – what does non-GMO mean to Trader Joe’s? Are they making up their own definition because they claim they don’t have direction from a governmental official?

I reached out to the Executive Director of the Non-GMO Project, Megan Westgate, to find why Trader Joe’s refuses to become Non-GMO certified. This is what she said:

“The Non-GMO Project has reached out to Trader Joe’s a number of times over the years, and we remain hopeful that at some point we will be able to forge a meaningful partnership with them. To date, it has been very difficult to ascertain the credibility of their non-GMO claims. We know that many consumers believe Trader Joe’s to be a GMO-free store, but without transparent standards or third-party verification this is impossible to confirm. Many other retailers–independent grocers, co-ops, and Whole Foods Market–are leading the way by requiring rigorous testing and labeling, and it would be great to see Trader Joe’s follow suit.”

To read the entire article click here.

Emmy Rossum - "These Foolish Things (Remind Me of You)"

From Tribe of Heart

News from Tribe of Heart, Producers of PEACEABLE KINGDOM: THE JOURNEY HOME and THE WITNESS

Broadcast Premiere of
Peaceable Kingdom: The Journey Home
in Detroit and Canada
Monday, August 5th, at 10 PM EDT on WTVS - Detroit Public Television
Detroit Viewers: Tune in to Channel 56.1 or your regular cable or satellite channel
Southwest Ontario Viewers: Tune in to Channel 56.1 and Cogeco Cable
Options Available Across Canada: Shaw Direct Satellite TV (Channel 80 and 364-HD),
Rogers Communications, Shaw cable, and many more (check your local listings for PBS Detroit WTVS)
NOTE: Broadcast time for Canada will be 10 PM EDT, so adjust accordingly for your local time zone

Watch the Trailer About the Film Open your eyes. Trust your heart. Take the Journey... In this award-winning film that audiences are calling “a life-changing experience,” animal farmers struggle with their conscience and share powerful stories of transformation and healing. Their testimony, combined with rare footage demonstrating the emotional lives of animals, create an unexpected and unforgettable portrait of farm life. 78-minute documentary The Michigan Connection A fifth-generation farmer from Jackson, Michigan, Harold Brown spent half his life working in animal agriculture. In Peaceable Kingdom: The Journey Home, he shares the touching story of how he broke away from the traditions of his upbringing to forge a new way in the world, based on his desire to live in harmony with his most deeply held values. Today, through his non-profit organization, FarmKind, Harold educates the public on such topics as global agricultural domination, veganic farming, and the pursuit of a non-violent, peaceful way of life. He also offers practical advice and moral support to animal farmers who wish to make the transition to plant-based agriculture. Born in Kalamazoo and raised in Harrietta, Michigan, Peaceable Kingdom: The Journey Home producer James LaVeck pursued a degree in cross-cultural studies at Cornell University, spent six months traveling across India, earned a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, counseled inmates in the county jail, tutored pregnant teens, and wrote a novel about the generational impact of family violence. While he didn't realize it at the time, he was getting the education he needed to produce documentary films on the subjects of conscience and compassion. With his partner, Jenny Stein, James founded Tribe of Heart in 2000 and since then has produced documentaries that have appeared in 80 festivals around the world, where they have won 18 awards, including 5 for Best of Festival and 12 for Best Documentary. His work has appeared on PBS, LinkTV, FreeSpeech TV, and the United Kingdom's Community Channel. In addition to his filmmaking, James lectures and publishes on the subjects of living a conscience-driven life and the essential role of grassroots activism and independent media in maintaining a healthy democracy. In 2004, Kevin Smith of Royal Oak, Michigan, happened upon a television broadcast of Tribe of Heart's first film, The Witness. With decades of experience in the field of advertising, Kevin reached out to filmmakers Jenny Stein and James LaVeck to offer his support. As Associate Producer on Peaceable Kingdom: The Journey Home, Kevin's input was critical to the structuring of several complex, interwoven storylines. His extensive project development experience and creative problem-solving skills elevated the professionalism of several aspects of the project. He and his wife, Ramona, also donated the artistic talents of their post-production team at Section 8, creating beautiful title sequences for the film. Since the DVD of Peaceable Kingdom: The Journey Home was released in July 2012, Kevin has overseen our North American screenings program. To date, he has helped support more than 100 screenings ranging from venues as small as 25 to theatrical premieres reaching audiences of several hundred. Earlier in 2013, he assisted Ann Arbor's Humane Society of Huron Valley with holding a screening (details below), and that collaboration led to a meeting with WTVS programming staff, which resulted in the upcoming broadcast on Detroit's Public Television (PBS). This past February, Karen Patterson, the Director of Humane Education at Ann Arbor's Humane Society of Huron Valley (HSHV), contacted Tribe of Heart about screening Peaceable Kingdom: The Journey Home at the shelter. The film's associate producer, Kevin Smith, helped organize and participated in the event, and also arranged a Skype Q&A to follow the screening, so that filmmakers Jenny Stein and James LaVeck could interact with the many audience members who were moved and had questions. HSHV's President and CEO Tanya Hilgendorf was deeply affected by her experience at the screening and shared Karen and Kevin's feeling that the film deserved a much wider audience. So together they decided to reach out to WTVS, Detroit's PBS station, with which HSHV was already collaborating on a humane education campaign to nurture compassion and respect for companion animals. Dan Alpert, WTVS's Senior Vice President, and Dan Gaitens, WTVS's Program Director agreed to evaluate the film for broadcast. Flash forward six months: On Monday, August 5th, WTVS will be airing the broadcast premiere of Peaceable Kingdom: The Journey Home. We're grateful for HSHV's holistic vision, which embraces all animals, including those on farms, in their humane education message. It is our hope that other humane societies will be inspired by HSHV's example and approach their own local PBS stations to request they broadcast the film. For those interested in working on such initiatives in their local areas, please contact Tribe of Heart's Kevin Smith.

Dear friends, We are thrilled to announce the broadcast premiere of Peaceable Kingdom: The Journey Home! It will air Monday, August 5th at 10 PM EDT on Detroit's PBS station, WTVS, which is not only available to a large audience in the US, but also to millions of viewers across Canada via broadcast, cable and direct satellite. Thanks to the collaboration and leadership of the film's associate producer, Kevin Smith, and that of Tanya Hilgendorf, Karen Patterson and Deb Kern of the Humane Society of Huron Valley (HSHV), the film was brought to the attention of Dan Alpert and Dan Gaitens of Detroit Public Television (DPTV), which has a history of working with HSHV on humane education initiatives. One successful example of their educational collaboration is the airing of the groundbreaking PSA campaign, " Be Humane -- animals have feelings too," that teaches compassion and respect for companion animals. Now, with their decision to launch the broadcast premiere of Peaceable Kingdom: The Journey Home, the WTVS team has again chosen to take a leadership role in advancing our society's dialogue on the ethics of the human-animal relationship. For several of us involved in the making of the film, this broadcast premiere brings us full circle. I am a native of Michigan, as is film subject and former farmer Harold Brown. Kevin Smith resides in Royal Oak, a suburb of Detroit. At a time when the people of the region are struggling with serious economic hardship, this broadcast event, which has been made possible through the combined efforts of several Michiganders (yes, that's what we are called!), serves as a potent reminder of the community spirit, moral courage, and compassion that can inspire us to overcome any obstacle. We are honored to present our work to PBS viewers in Southeastern Michigan and across Canada, and to do so in collaboration with programmers and educators who have contributed to the common good for so many years, and in so many ways. Finally, a special note of gratitude goes to Kelli Marshall of S.M.A.R.T., who first brought Peaceable Kingdom: The Journey Home to the attention of Karen Patterson, HSHV's Director of Humane Education. That led to HSHV working with Kevin Smith to hold a screening of the film at the Ann Arbor-based humane society, which in turn inspired all involved to approach WTVS. So many of the best opportunities for our films begin like this, with one person sharing the film in a personal way, leading to a chain of events that could not have been anticipated. Like pebbles thrown into a pond, we can never know how far the ripples of our actions will spread. Thank you, Kelli, for starting this wave of positive change, and thanks to all of you out there who likewise find ways to share a compassionate message and keep it moving. Working together, we can -- and will -- change the world! James LaVeck Producer Help get Peaceable Kingdom aired on your PBS station Now that WTVS has gotten the ball rolling, Peaceable Kingdom: The Journey Home is all set for broadcast with any PBS station. Such broadcasts almost always begin with a local viewer bringing a film to the attention of the station's programming staff. With the help of the Tribe of Heart community, our first film, The Witness, aired on many PBS stations nationwide. If you are interested in bringing Peaceable Kingdom: The Journey Home to the attention of your regional PBS station, please contact Kevin Smith. Tell your friends in Michigan & Canada about this broadcast It's easy! You can use the share button at the top of this page to reach out to the people you know in Southeastern Michigan and Canada, or paste this page's link on your social media sites: http://www.tribeofheart.org/hb/080113.htm Please also use our Facebook invitation to let your friends know, and to RSVP yourself if you plan to watch. Thank you for helping get the word out! Can't watch the broadcast? You can still see the film Individual DVDs $20 each Peaceable Kingdom: The Journey Home DVD includes 78-minute film plus 90 minutes of bonus material. All content is available with subtitles in English (SDH), Spanish, French, and Portuguese. Special Offer Both Tribe of Heart DVDs for $25 Peaceable Kingdom: The Journey Home and The Witness 10-pack of DVDs $100 (half price) For gift giving and sharing the film with people and groups in your community

Tribe of Heart is a 501(c)(3) charitable non-profit organization that produces award-winning, life-changing films about the journey of awakening conscience and the ethics of the human-animal relationship. As a small organization with a big vision, we depend on the power of our community to make our programs come to life. Thank you for the many ways you help Tribe of Heart encourage positive, peaceful transformation.

Donations can be made online or mailed to Tribe of Heart, PO Box 149
Ithaca, NY 14851

Recent Photos Near the Narrows

I Highly Recommend the Following Website

Bit Of Earth

by Hannah, the girl behind the stove

 

Hannah is a junior at a small liberal arts college in Minnesota. She is studying two majors with two concentrations: Asian Studies and a major entitled The Optimization of Health & Happiness that she is designing herself. According to her, she spends most of her non-academic time cooking and eating, or thinking about cooking and eating. She has been a vegetarian her entire life and a vegan since 2011.

If you are interested in learning about a plant-based lifestyle join her as she cooks and eats her way toward optimal health and happiness.

Click here to go to her website – Bit of Earth.

The Camp Gyno

From The New York Times (Nicholas Kristof)

Treating Farm Animals With Respect

By NICHOLAS KRISTOF

 

My Sunday column is a side trip from the issues I mostly write about, and has nothing to do with international relations or politics. Rather, it’s about our ethical obligations to animals.

I grew up on a family farm in Oregon, raising sheep, cattle, pigs and geese, and so I’ve had a special interest in animal husbandry. In the agriculture world I grew up in, farmers often (granted, not always) had lots of empathy for their animals, but today we have a model of corporate agriculture in which animals have been reduced to widgets. But outside of factory farms, there is progress, for all the reasons I outline in the column.

Granted, since I’m not a vegetarian, some of you will find this hypocritical and inconsistent. You’ll point out that I’m arguing for treating a cow with respect, until we kill it and eat it. I acknowledge the point, but in all areas we start by banning extremes. And in this case, that means not torturing or abusing animals unnecessarily, even if we eventually dine on them. So read the column, and let me know if I’m just a soggy sentimentalist, or a silly hypocrite, or whether humanity for non-humans is the wave of the future. I’d also welcome your thoughts on where to take this line of reporting. I’ll be spending some time on the family farm this summer and might come back to this broad issue.

 My response to Kristof's Editorial:

I know I am a moral creature. I know that it is morally wrong to allow my wanton desires to interfere with the basic needs and interests of other sentient beings.

I know the physical and psychological abuse – confinement, social deprivation, mutilation, genetic and reproductive manipulation, and profit exploitation – imposed by us on other animals is morally wrong. Our exploitation of other sentient beings cannot be achieved without cruelty, violence, or injustice.

When Gandhi said, “live simply so other may simply live,” he recognized that in order for life to survive on this planet all reasoning beings must adhere to this principle.

Long before we are capable of truly understanding, of making an informed and conscious decision on our own, our identities are formed by others for us.

As each year passes it becomes increasingly difficult for us to question and challenge what we have become, until, at last, in order to maintain our self-worth, our psyche's ramparts become nearly impenetrable.

Ignorance becomes our first line of defense. “Don’t tell me! You’ll spoil my dinner.”

For some reason I was never able to justify the “malice of no thought,” the hypocrisy of espousing a moral standard (the Golden Rule) without actually observing it.

Morality cannot be arbitrary.

That is why I have been an ethical vegetarian (vegan) for over forty years.

If we are to survive an increasing number of us must become aware of the the truth and consequences of our actions.