22,381,499 members doing good!
about our ads
share your passions, stories, inspirations, and more
Farmer paints case for vegan lifestyle
Jul 12, 2007
Name: Robert Farmer’s family
Type: Tribute (for the living)
To Honor: Individual(s)
Location: , United States
Farmer paints case for vegan lifestyle
http://www.thecampuschronicle.com/arts/profiles/070629.cfm

Robert Farmer

Robert Farmer’s “Lunch Hour” pro-vegan paintings are on display at Hall Street Gallery through July 6.

By Ally Hughes
Published: Friday, June 29, 2007

A few years ago, Robert Farmer’s family made — in his opinion — a change for the better. They became vegetarians out of medical necessity, but he took an additional step to a complete vegan diet and lifestyle because of his sense of moral responsibility. Vegans don’t consume any animals or animal byproducts, such as milk, cheese or honey.

His ideology has also become the ethos for “Fodder,” the thesis exhibition for his Master of Fine Arts degree in painting from the Savannah College of Art and Design. Farmer’s work will be on display at Hall Street Gallery, 211 Hall St., through July 6.

Farmer’s paintings graphically illustrate his concerns about speciesism and hypocrisy in omnivorous diets. He questions why people care for some animals and consume others, implicating the animal farming and harvesting community in the United States of barbaric acts for profit — against human and animal welfare.

A few of his pieces, such as the large-scale “Because All Meat,” are inspired by publications by the controversial animal rights organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. While doing his ongoing research, Farmer saw a video that showed cats and dogs being farmed for human needs.

“There was nothing really out of the ordinary going on here except that they were potentially people’s pets,” said Farmer. “I was thinking — why not? If you are going to eat meat, why not eat all meat? The argument is that [pigs, chickens, fish, etc.] are intelligent creatures. Pigs have been proven [to have equal] cognitive abilities to that of a 3-year-old child, so accordingly that should put them above dogs. Should we only eat stupid animals? To me, it seems that if one should eat meat, one should eat all meat — one is as viable as the other.”

He also said that animals have the same human capacity as humans to understand and feel; thus, eating these sentient beings is unconscionable.

“The animals we kill every day for our food and clothing are living creatures that share with us the same capacity to feel love, joy, misery, fear and pain,” Farmer explained in his artist statement. “Animals raised on factory farms know only desperation and sorrow before their short, agonized existences are ended. We know that it happens, but turn an indifferent eye in favor of convenience.”

While Farmer said a vegan diet provides a multitude of heath benefits, some practical aspects are accessibility, cost and preparation. On average, vegans have to put more consideration into their diets and how they balance nutrition than other people, he said.

“We do our shopping at Brighter Day, and it doesn’t come out to be that much more [expensive] than it was before we became vegans,” he explained. “But you do have to think about what you eat and look at labels to read the ingredients.”

Farmer, a skilled and articulate painter who indeed makes an impact with his work, noted that whether people subscribe to his philosophy or act against it, veganism is an individual choice, and he isn’t out to hit anyone over the head with his message.

Ultimately, he chooses to express his way of life through the medium he prefers.

Farmer intentionally treats his characters with cartoonist likeability as a way of lightening the atmosphere surrounding his message. The paintings and drawings, which are for the most part large-scale, have an atmosphere fraught with meaning and personal symbolism.

“I don’t think of myself as controversial; these are just my views and my lifestyle,” he said. “Once I became a vegan, I had a pointed view where I thought I could add to the collective conversation and stand behind my beliefs.”
(0) | () | | send green star | flag as inappropriate
Visibility: Everyone
Tags: , , , , ,
Posted: Jul 12, 2007 10:00am
Whole Foods first Sustainable Eco Lifestyle Market
Mar 16, 2006
Focus: Health
Action Request: Meeting
Location: United States
Tuesday, March 21, 2006 - 12:00pm
Whole Foods Market Lifestyle Ribbon Cutting Ceremony
Whole Foods Market in West Hollywood will be hosting a ribbon cutting ceremony with the City of West Hollywood and the Chamber of Commerce in celebration of the new lifestyle department. The Whole Foods Market Lifestyle department sells eco-friendly and sustainable products for body and home. Immediately following the ribbon cutting ceremony, there will be a sidewalk event featuring designer organic cotton clothing lines for babies and adults and representatives from numerous lines of housewares, furniture, and gift items made from sustainable materials. Organic snacks, beverages, raw, vegan foods sampling and book signing with Dorit, Certified Living Foods Chef and author of Celebrating Our Raw Nature . The will be live music, and customer giveaways will be provided while supplies last.  Dorit will be speaking on the Benefits of adding Raw, Vegan Foods to our diet.   The new Whole Foods Market Lifestyle selections range from organic blue jeans and recycled handbags to paints free of harmful volatile organic compounds (VOCs), all providing options and education for a sustainable lifestyle. The 2,000-square-foot area was built using sustainable and environmentally friendly materials—flooring, shelves, walls, paint, hemp curtains for the dressing rooms and even reclaimed and reused furniture as displays and for sale.
Whole Foods Market West Hollywood
7871 Santa Monica Blvd.
West Hollywood, CA 90046
(323) 848-4200

Tuesday March 21, 2006
12:00 p.m. Ribbon cutting
12:30 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Sustainable living fair and refreshments.


Dorit
c/o Serenity Spaces
310-854-2078
www.serenityspaces.org
(0) | () | | send green star | flag as inappropriate
Visibility: Everyone
Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted: Mar 16, 2006 1:21am

 
 
 
Content and comments expressed here are the opinions of Care2 users and not necessarily that of Care2.com or its affiliates.

Author

pElAgUS hellot
female , single
Tamarindo, Costa Rica
Shares by Type:
All (1001) | Blog (255) | Alert (445) | Poll (4) | Recipe (12) | Photo (11) | Tribute (59) | Message (215)

Showing shares tagged with: lifestyle [show all]
ads keep care2 free
SHARES FROM PELAGUS'S NETWORK
May
18
(0 comments  |  discussions )
The sun in the North is a temporary guestWho brings with him much warmth and light when he comesFor a few precious months every year he keepsUs company through night and day He makes the trees green, he makes flowers bloomHe makes the birds sing, and ...
May
14
(0 comments  |  discussions )
Ashley is our middle cat and only female.At 11:48 a.m. Thursday, 9 May 2013 in a valiant battle against agressive lung cancer, Ashley died at home.
May
9
(0 comments  |  discussions )
The largest genocide in human history happened where? Most people would answer Germany, and the Jewish Holocaust. Actually though, the largest genocide happened in the USA, with the native American Indians, with estimates of 19 million to 100 millio...
May
8
(0 comments  |  discussions )
(0 comments  |  discussions )
Official Nuclear Radiation Study; Tokyo University Hayno, R.S., et al (2013) Internal Radiocesium Contamination of Adults and Children 7 to 20 Months After the Fukushima NPP Accident as Measured by Extensive Whole-Body-Counter Surveys, Proc. Jpn....
May
6
(0 comments  |  discussions )
Toxic radiation accumulates in water supplies after nuclear accidents. Radiation bioconcentrates in fish that live in fresh water and salt water. Runoff of fresh water from land which has been contaminated ends up contaminating oceans, and salt wate...
(0 comments  |  discussions )
66 Atomic Bombs were exploded on the Bikini Island Atolls. Hundreds of islanders were removed from the islands, but not from harms way. One hydrogen bomb exploded near the islands, and the children played with the dust from the bomb, as it fel...
May
5
(0 comments  |  discussions )
"Under our current law, a suspected terrorist on the FBI's No-Fly List can't board an airplane -- but they can still legally purchase guns and explosives. This loophole, known as the “Terror Gap,” is ...
(0 comments  |  discussions )
Germany added more solar panels in one month, than the US did in ONE YEAR. Nearly 1/3 of Germany power output is handled by bottoms up solar energy during the middle of the day. The transition to a 100% renewable energy nation is in process. T...
(0 comments  |  0 discussions )
http://www.upworthy.com/ /the-top-8-ways-to-be-tra ditionally-married-accord ing-to-the-bible?c=upw1 According to the Old Testament, which defines all of the 'rules' of traditional marriage, the above examples are all of the ways that couples can be ...

Copyright © 2013 Care2.com, inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved