“Full disclosure: I love to eat meat. I was born in Memphis, the barbecue capital of the Milky Way Galaxy. I worship slow-cooked, hickory-smoked pig meat served on a bun with extra sauce and coleslaw spooned on top.

“My carnivore’s lust goes beyond the DNA level. It’s in my soul. Even the cruelty of factory farming doesn’t temper my desire, I’ll admit. Like most Americans, I can somehow keep at bay all thoughts of what happened to the meat prior to the plate.

“So why in the world am I a dedicated vegetarian? Why is meat, including sumptuous pork, a complete stranger to my fork at home and away? The answer is simple: I have an 11-year-old son whose future—like yours and mine—is rapidly unraveling due to global warming. And what we put on our plates can directly accelerate or decelerate the heating trend.”

So begins Mark Tidwell’s essay, “The Low-Carbon Diet,” in Audubon Magazine.

This thought-provoking and well-researched essay makes the argument that for the sake of the planet, we should all dramatically reduce our consumption of meat, dairy and eggs, even if they are produced locally.

Here’s another excerpt:

“Indeed, accounting for all factors, livestock production worldwide is responsible for a whopping 18 percent of the world’s total greenhouse gases, reports the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. That’s more than the emissions of all the world’s cars, buses, planes, and trains combined. “So why do we so rarely talk about meat consumption when discussing global warming in America? Compact fluorescent bulbs? Biking to work? Buying wind power? We hear it nonstop. But even the super-liberal, Prius-driving, Green Party activist in America typically eats chicken wings and morning bacon like everyone else. While the climate impacts of meat consumption might be new to many people, the knowledge of meat’s general ecological harm is not at all novel.”

You can read the whole essay here.

~ Zoe

Image courtesy of PlayfulLibrarian via Creative Commons.

Since I’ve been writing a lot about what education is for (such as here and here), here’s another perspective, published in May in Educational Leadership.

Author Charles Haynes argues that education’s highest aim should be to “create moral and civic habits of the heart,” and his essay is compelling. Here are some excerpts:

“At a time when the United States faces unprecedented challenges at home and abroad, public schools must do far more to prepare young people to be engaged, ethical advocates of ‘liberty and justice for all.’ Yes, reading and math are important. But what matters most is what kinds of human beings are reading the books and doing the math.

“After all, the character of a nation is determined by the character of its people. ‘Is there no virtue among us?’ asked James Madison. ‘If there be not, we are in a wretched situation. … To suppose that any form of government will secure liberty or happiness without any virtue in the people, is a chimerical idea’ (Padover, 1953, p. 48).

“That’s why, as a lifelong advocate of social justice and First Amendment rights, I vigorously support character education and civic learning as high priorities in public education.”

Haynes goes on to recount a powerful story that illustrates his point that we need to educate the heart:

“A story I heard during a trip to Israel in August 2008 gave me a deeper appreciation for how much is at stake. I was standing in the Garden of the Righteous at Yad Vashem, the Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem. Our guide was relating stories of the Righteous—non-Jews who risked their lives to save Jews—as we looked at the trees planted in their honor. During a pause in the narrative, one of our group, Richard Foltin of the American Jewish Committee, said almost inaudibly, ‘Not all of them are named.’ I turned and asked what he meant. He replied, ‘I am standing here now because of a man whose name I do not know.’ When pressed to explain, he told this story:

‘My parents are Holocaust survivors. When my father arrived at Auschwitz, they were separating those who would be killed immediately from those who would be put to work. A guard called out, “Is anyone here a welder?” and my father shouted, “I am,” although he actually knew nothing about welding.

‘They sent my father and a few others to the welding shop and told them to make a sample of their work for inspection. My father stood there looking at the equipment, despairing over what to do. Then, almost imperceptibly , the German foreman in charge of the shop slipped a finished piece of work in front of my father. My father picked it up and took it to the guards, and he passed inspection.

‘Throughout the rest of his time in the camp, the foreman continued to secretly help my father—to cover for him when necessary. And my father survived. They didn’t speak. We don’t even know his name.’

When Richard ended his story, I could not help but wonder, why did that nameless German risk his life for a Jew he did not know? More broadly, why did any of the thousands now called the Righteous respond with compassion and courage when so many others were either complicit or indifferent?

Haynes’ answer lies in education for character.

~ Zoe

In an interview in this month’s issue of Ode Magazine, Lester Brown, founder of the WorldWatch Institute refers to Oystein Dahle, a former vice-president of Exxon in Norway, to whom he attributes this quote:

“Socialism collapsed because it did not allow the market to tell the economic truth and capitalism may collapse because it does not allow the market to tell the ecological truth.”

Robert Shetterly (activist and artist who has created the Americans Who Tell the Truth portrait series) and I gave a talk recently on the purpose of education. During the presentation I asked the audience to analyze a fast food cheeseburger to determine its effects — both positive and negative — on ourselves, other people, animals and the environment. After this analysis, I asked the audience what systems are in place that perpetuate this kind of food, and we explored agribusiness, politicians funded by lobbyists and industry, the school lunch program, advertising, and so on.

One woman said capitalism was the system to blame for the cheeseburger, and I asked her to say more. On the one hand it appears that capitalism perpetuates such unhealthy food systems because the market supports their success, but the truth is that we don’t have a capitalist system when it comes to food production, and fast food isn’t really a result of free market capitalism.

Without the massive subsidies, paid for with tax dollars, for water, grazing land, and dairy production; without the subsidies for escalating health care as people become obese and succumb to diabetes, heart disease, cancers, and other illnesses related to unhealthy diets; without the cheap labor of illegal immigrants in our slaughterhouses and on our farms; without the tax-payer-funded costs of our military protection of oil sources which are necessary for such food production, and much more, those fast food cheeseburgers would be prohibitively expensive. It is because we’ve socialized many of our systems that we don’t actually pay the true costs of a fast food cheeseburger at the register.

Socialism, in this case, tells neither the economic nor the ecological truth.

There are economists, activists, thinkers and solutionaries who are working to develop and promulgate systems that do tell the truth. Peter Barnes, for example, author of Capitalism 3.0, puts forth a system that protects the commons while maintaining the healthy and positive aspects of capitalist economies.

Rob’s and my presentation addressed the purpose of education. We believe that education should engage youth in the restoration and success of democracy and produce citizens who pursue the truth so that they may become solutionaries themselves.

~ Zoe

Recently, I’ve been writing essays and speaking about this question: What is education for?. I’ve just read an essay, published almost two years ago, by British educator Susan Bassnett. It seems Britain, like the U.S., faces the same current challenges in schooling, and at least some are questioning the direction and approach of reform.

Bassnett writes:

“Education is about teaching children to grow up into adults who will take some responsibility for the world they inhabit, and who therefore will understand why they cast their votes in elections; why concern about climate change is essential; why preventivehealthcare matters; why history remains relevant in modern society; why it is important to learn about how other cultures operate in a globalised, computer-driven, but also divided world.

“Perhaps above all, education is about teaching people how to think and how to question what they see and hear. The Burmese monks willing to risk death to challenge a repressive government are educated enough to understand that collective action combined with courage can bring about change. The Taliban hardliners who throw acid on women teachers in Afghanistan because women should not have the right to be educated are the antithesis of those Burmese martyrs.

“Children in British schools need to hear about both those worldviews, need to be able to weigh them up, understand how they came to exist, debate the rights and wrongs of each and so discover the value of freedom of speech and the right of human beings of all sexes, races, religions and classes to dignity and to education. In short, they need to be educated to live fully in the world, not merely trained to perform a set of limited and limiting tasks.”

The debate is on. What should education be for? We must all participate in this conversation, as it holds the key to creating a better world for all. If we are neither parents nor students, we may not concern ourselves with this question, tackling instead what we consider to be more pressing issues. But education is perhaps the most pressing issue, as it offers a path toward creatively addressing everything else. It may not be sexy; it may not seem like the most important debate to have, but if we fail to address the purpose of schooling, we may fail at averting the mounting catastrophes that loom across the globe.

~ Zoe

I write and speak often about how humane education can infuse all core subjects in school. Most of the time I talk about social studies, math and science. In this article about efforts at a Costa Rican university to bring humane issues into the foreign language program (in this case, English), we see a wonderful example of how what at first glance might appear to be a subject thatdoesn ’t lend itself to humane education (learning a foreign language), can in fact become a vehicle for improving language skills, doing good, and connecting language acquisition to several other relevant and meaningful skills and contributions.

~ Zoe

In the world of business, profit is everything, so when a study reveals that doing good is more profitable, all of us who are trying to make a difference in the world should cheer.

From the recent article, “Sustainable Success”:

“But here’s a lesson many executives have yet to learn: A commitment to improving social and environmental conditions in the developing countries where a company operates is the key to maximizing the profits and growth of those operations. That’s the conclusion we drew after studying more than 200 companies. As a group, the companies most engaged in social and environmental sustainability are also the most profitable.”

You can read the whole article here.

~ Zoe

After running up our local mountain, my husband suggested we stop at our co-op to get some cereal. Since I didn’t know when we’d be back in town, I decided to stock up on other things as well, including two bottles of wine. The cashier was eighteen and legally can’t ring up wine so she called another employee to okay the purchase. I jokingly said I’d be happy to be carded since that would make me feel like I still looked young(ish). She turned to my husband instead and asked if he had an ID. He didn’t, because I was the one who was driving, so he hadn’t brought his wallet for our morning run; but he wasn’t buying the wine anyway. I was. So I pulled out my ID to show her (not that she asked me, mind you, but the whole thing seemed pretty funny, and I wanted to comply and feel younger at the same time — which could be the topic of another blog post). Just so you know I’m about to turn 48 and my husband is 51. Now he’s a very young looking 51, but there’s no way to mistake him for a twenty-year-old. The woman became somewhat agitated. She said that she was required to check his ID if we were together. This seemed crazy to us, given that I can buy wine when my 15-year-old son is with me, but she was pretty insistent. The cashier tried to be the voice of reason and suggested that they could use their common sense, but the woman was still uneasy and uncomfortable about me buying the wine. She did allow it, but reluctantly, and with the comment that she shouldn’t let me buy it, but she would this time. Our exchange about carding a middle-aged woman had suddenly turned surreal.

David Ashby, a 14-year-old boy from Orlando, Florida, is walking from his home to Washington, D.C. to raise awareness about homeless children. You can read about this remarkable young man here. Then read the comments. They begin with such venom and vitriol, it’s hard to imagine that the authors of these criticisms read the same article I did — about a boy who cares enough to dedicate his summer to walking 1,100 (southern!) miles, without knowing where he’ll sleep or what he’ll eat each day. When I read such comments I always feel so sad and frustrated, but I am not surprised by them. Unfortunately, finding fault with good deeds is all too common. People who work to protect animals are often criticized by others for “not caring about people” or “wasting time on animals.” People who give money, rather than food, to those who are homeless are criticized for aiding and abetting their potential cigarette, alcohol or drug habits. Recently, brilliant and inspiring humane educator Christopher Greenslate , who has changed the lives of his high school students and helped them to become effective and engaged change agents, was criticized for sending his students a ‘bad message’ because of his tattoos and piercings.

Sometimes our critiques are important, as in the case with the well thought-out commentary on cause marketing I mentioned in a previous post. They help us make wiser, more efficacious choices about how to make a difference. But too often they are just mean-spirited, as in these few comments about David Ashby. One of the criticisms of David is that he could do more for homeless children by getting a summer job and donating his earnings directly to them. But I don’t believe this is true. Were he to work all summer and donate his earnings to the homeless he would do something good, certainly, but the contribution would be minor compared to what might ensue from his walk. Gaining media attention for the travesty of child homelessness in the richest nation on earth has the potential to do so much more than a summer job ever could. It has the potential to influence changes in systems that perpetuate homelessness among children. Thank goodness for kids like David. Thank goodness that they think of creative ways to draw attention to pervasive problems so that we can solve them at their roots.

How much easier to criticize others than to plunge into good work ourselves. If ever you find yourself ready to criticize a good deed, go do a good deed instead. Take that energy and make a positive difference.

~ Zoe

Recently, a couple new reviews of two of Zoe’s books have been published.

The July/August 2009 issue of VegNews was just published, and they include a great review of Zoe’s newest book, Most Good, Least Harm: A Simple Principle for a Better World and Meaningful Life. Here’s an excerpt:

“Most Good, Least Harm is a self-reflective read, one that will leave you empowered, educated, and hopeful. It conveys a wealth of information, and excellent resource list, and is a welcome complement to the growing library of books that offer hope of healing the world — one individual, and one decision, at a time.”
~ VegNews, July/August 2009, p. 76.

And, Beth H., from the blog Smart Family Tips just posted a great review of Zoe’s Book Above All, Be Kind: Raising a Humane Child in Challenging Times. Here are a couple of excerpts:

“Chapter 3 encourages parents to focus on their own lives for a bit and the extent to which we teach by example. One of the most resounding ideas from this book, for me, comes from this chapter. Weil mentions that a reporter once asked Mahatma Gandhi what his message was and he responded, ‘My life is my message,’ which is the title of this chapter. I find myself thinking over and over about the extent to which my life is (or is not) reflective of the message I wish to convey.”

“I came away from reading Above All, Be Kind: Raising a Humane Child in Challenging Times feeling like I had useful tools to help my children (and myself) become people who think about the consequences of their actions and who are more fully aware of the world around us. There’s no question that we live in ‘challenging times,’ but Zoe Weil makes that journey a little easier.”

Read the complete review.

(Posted by Marsha Rakestraw, IHE’s Web Content/Community Manager)

The University of California at Irvine has launched a new undergraduate minor in Civics and Community Engagement. Students will participate in changemaking within their community for environmental sustainability, global citizenship, service to others and more. Students will be able to combine volunteer work with academic study and receive credit for making a difference. Read more here.

~ Zoe

Image courtesy of stevendamron via Creative Commons.