against factory farming

   In An article by tom, He talked about there being differences on ideas between vegans and omnivores on industrial agriculture. He argues that rather than collaborating these two groups rather argue about culinary preferences. In a reading he found,  99% of the meat we eat is from factory farms. This is more of a problem because they suck in about 40% of corn in these big industries and a majority of factory farming puts abuse on animals, environment, workers, and even public health.

   Also, Tom says "Why go after pasture-based dairy farming when gigantic industrial milk processors rule the market?".In "Brave new farm" by Mason and Finelli, He talks about the abuses of animals in the factory farming industry. Many animals are forced into small cages for their entire lives or are thrown away because they are not useful to producing goods.They connect to Toms article by saying that "virtually all poultry products and most milk and meat in the US come from animals mass-produced in huge factory-like systems". Most people think of animals as getting their meat from roaming on grass lands. They believe this produces people's daily milk supplies but many people dont realize it mainly comes from factories.Also in Masons article he says that "most of the milk produced in the US comes from cows in intensive confinement, most commonly kept tethered to a stall". Many of these animals that are forced into these factories are treated unfairly. To keep animals from harming themselves and others, the factories practice debeaking and castrating animals without anesthesia. Also because of the harsh environment, many of the conditions they live through cause them health problem. Tom say that factory farms are a cause of health problems and that is because factories need to keep alive the animals by feeding them antibiotics. Eventually some of the diseases become immune to the antibiotics and eventually transfer to humans and cause us sickness.  For those who do not know what kind of farm factory diseases that have spread to Humans, there is mad cow which "was caused by feeding cattle the rendered remains of sheep"(Mason).Another example is Avian influenza, which in chicken the disease mutated.Tom wants the vegans and omnivores to see that problems like these that dont just affect animals but it affects us too. By understand that these problems exist , they can help stop this system that causes problems in our health, environment, and right of animals for those who see it that way. Also the Use of 40% of all corn in factory farm or 10% worldwide use of corn goes into factories when it probably could be used else where. People see that many see animals as pasture feed by logos but that is only one percent. In Masons article he says that" logo[s are] misleading because the program did not ensure that animals were cared for".

   Another reason that the two groups should join together is because many laws do not protect animals against inhuman act. There are many laws like the "Humans slaughter act of 1958" and the "twenty eight hour law" but these laws dont help factory farm animals. Plus, the government doesnt try to enforce the laws onto the factory farms and Tom says that "the abject failure of government regulators to reckon honestly with the powerful meat industry". If the government cant do anything about factory farms, then the people can because they are the ones who buy and give the factories profit.

   Our thought of what is naturally produced on a pasture is not correct. Vegans and omnivores should work together to get a better food source that doesnt have many problems to it.  For all the reasons of misleading of logos and health problem we should work together to get rid of factory farms.

Links:

Toms article:   http://www.grist.org/article/2011-03-23-introducing-the-vegan-omnivore-alliance-against-animal-factories

mason's Article:   http://www.animal-rights-library.com/texts-m/mason01.htm

http://www.flickr.com/photos/calmaction/4943711033/sizes/m/in/photostream/

Avatar: Modern Though (Merchant)

Erik Ewing
Weitzenfeld
TU-TH 12:20-1:50
Avatar: Modern Though (Merchant)
The movie “Avatar” relates to many of the readings on modern thought that we have been studying throughout the semester, such as the Merchant readings on “Science and Worldviews.” The word mechanistic worldview is described as; “nature is dead,” composed of inert, substitutable, discreet parts that operate like cogs in a machine.” This word helps relate to Avatar since all of the nature on the planet was actually very alive. The trees and the earth were connected like the neurons of a brain, and were striving with energy and power. This is why the locals thought their ancestor’s spirits would all disappear and everything would be destroyed for them on their planet if the Army came in to cut down their home tree. All of the locals had special bonds by being literally connected to nature and even the animals. In Merchants reading on “Science and Worldviews” he explains that “the native peoples of America saw the earth as a mother, alive, active, and responsive to human action (Merchant 41).” Merchant’s ideals on nature relate exactly how the Na’vi tribe feels about nature and surroundings. Reductionism is defined as “the practice of analyzing and describing a complex phenomenon that are held to represent a simpler or more fundamental level.” Reductionism describes the concept of the movie since its premises was that this company just came in and invaded these locals territory to drill them for all their resources. This is a very complex phenomenon and this company is representing it on a smaller level. These contractors are just here to make billions of dollars and do not care at all that it is literally killing these people and there mysterious ways of life. Merchant’s article contains a quote that states “the removal of animalistic, organic assumptions about the cosmos constituted the death of nature.” One of the messages in the movie, just as Merchant states, was that removing these natives’ resources would come about a death of nature and their way of life. Another definition of the word reduction is to reduce complexity. All of the natives in the film were respecting the earth and using it for nurture. They hunted and used only the simplest resources such as horse aliens and bow and arrows. Their technology was far surpassed by the Army with their plasma guns and flying machines. Atomism is a “theoretical approach that regards something as interpretable through analysis into distinct, separable, and independent elementary components.” In other words, it is a theory that is reduced to a simpler element that has a complex idea. This relates to some of the scenes where all of the Na’vi were connected with the trees through the Eywa spirit. This physical bond helped them become connected with nature and even the animals. The process was simple for Na’vi, yet the actual bond they were feeling with nature meant a lot more than anyone could know. This is especially true when Neytiri and Jake bonded under the “tree of voices” to sexually express themselves through “tsaheylu.” Finally, an individual is a “single human being as distinct from a group, class or family. This definitely relates to Jake Sully since he goes from being in a wheelchair to become an avatar. He was ordered to go single handedly to help move the natives off the land so the contracting company could mine. Next, Jake was completely singled out at first by the Na’vi tribe since they knew he was not one of them and did not trust him or any of his people. Jake was very distinct from this group and in the end he became closer with the tribe then he could have ever imagined. The general could also be classified as an individual in the story since he was the complete opposite of Jake and would stop at nothing to finish his job. In some ways the quote by Merchant saying that “the need for a new social and intellectual order and new values of human and machine power, combined with older intellectual traditions, went into the restructuring reality around the machine.” This quote by Merchant is perfect for Jake since he is trying to stop the Army and their technology. He learns about the tribe and all of their old “intellectual traditions.” Jake believes that with the help of all the tribes and their knowledge they could work with the humans and combine customs, traditions, and technologies. “Avatar” is a complex movie with many metaphors on real life and especially on modern thought.

A Cultural Blueprint

Now that you’ve been provided with a foundational background concerning the context of the story; i.e. characters, storyline/ plot, as well as the various other ways to view and perceive the movie, an important piece of this puzzle is waiting to be analyzed, the cultural interaction between humans and the Omaticaya tribe.

Though his initial meeting with the member was by accident, his interest and curiosity led him to training and an education to begin understanding a different culture unlike his own. Jake’s initiation into the tribe meant assimilating to its culture, and as he began to learn the culture and its language, attentively watching his peers to better understand proper emotional responses, adapting survival techniques and inherently becoming one of the Omaticayas in and out of the Avatar. This attachment led him to losing sight of his original purpose, rebelling against his commanders to fight for the very traditions and culture he had become apart of, altering his role of spy to hero.

The tree is essentially the quintessential core foundation of the tribe, comparable to the Christians and The Bible, Muslims and the Quran, etc., and without this valuable structure in tact, their culture would nearly cease to exist, which was Colonel Miles primary mission, eliminating an entire culture for the sole purpose of manipulating and exploiting the land for financial gains. He completely disregarded the Tree of Souls and all its glory, disturbing the current equilibrium to rip apart the relationship between the environment and its inhabitants, which would entail wiping out the tribe that believed in its mystical powers, as well as creating a dynamic conflict between the humans and the defenseless tribe, all because of the valuable soil underneath it all. This idea can best be related to the Gaard article discussing the dismissal of the oceanic traditions that existed amongst the Makah’s, “the Makah point to their tribe’s over two thousand –year-old tradition of whale hunting” (Gaard, 6). Environmentalists attempted to reason with the Makah tribe to preserve the whales that were being slaughtered, but to the Makahs it was not about the destruction of the breed but rather the necessity to maintain their identity. The entire whale hunting process was said to have provided “….a deeper understanding of the relationship between people, the mammals of the sea and the land” (Gaard, 7), much like the Omaticaya tribe who merely wanted to continue practicing their culture in peace without interruption from “eco-colonialists” or those wanting to control the weak.

One of the biggest, most important scenes is when Jake returns to reunite and empower the Omaticaya tribe “It’s time to send a message to the sky people that this itheir, the Navi’s land, but to do so, they first must go to each of the Navi clans to ask them to come fight as one”, reestablishing the element of faith to progress them towards freedom from the human disturbances. Meanwhile, the Colonel was suiting and booting up his troops for a battle he felt was already won against a ‘defenseless’ army, similar to the Environmentalist’s feelings towards the Makah tribe. Regardless of how the Makah and Omaticaya felt the battle would end, at the end of the day, they wouldn’t go without a fully armed assault to fight for their beliefs, traditions, and rituals united as one. Solid.

Ethics & the Other of Avatar

Jake Sully, a paraplegic, takes the spot of his brother, who recently died, in a project placed in Pandora, a distant planet. Colonel Miles Quaritch promises Jake a pair of legs if he assumes the position as an Avatar and falsely gathers information on the Na’vi land of where the resources they need are located. The Colonel is planning to take over the Na’vi (those who live in Pandora) and take over their land to use for needed resources on Earth. Jake agrees and begins his mission. However, Jake soon falls in love with the Princess of Pandora, Neytiri, and establishes himself as one of them. As a result, instead of fulfilling his mission for the Colonel, Jake transfers to the Na’vi side and Battles against his own people to protect the Na’vi land from take over.

Paradigm is abundant in the film due to the (or our) worldview of not being able to live without oil. Scientifically, humans believe a world without oil isn’t a habitable world. The first scene in which Jake and Neytiri meet shows the assumptions each culture has of the other. Because the Na’vi are close to nature and take pride in everything living, the Humans believe they are not fit to live among them because they lack the wisdom of knowing how to be civilized. Where as the Na’vi believe Humans are the one’s who lack wisdom. For they have no understanding that they themselves are part of nature and lack the honor, nobility and wisdom it takes to be a man. The dualism of human and nature are 2 key elements presented in the movie. Humans believe they are not part of nature and are, therefore, hierarchy above all things that are not Human. The Na’vi see themselves as part of nature, because they are - as are Humans -, and take pride in everything living. The Na’vi believe land is sacred and should be treated as so. Therefore, both the Na’vi and Humans see the dualism of human/nature as complete opposites. The difference in their beliefs distinguishes much of how and why the Na’vi and Humans interact with each other like they do. Humans are very anthropocentric, in that they believe they are more important than anything or anyone else in the universe. The narrative of each, Neytiri and Jake, makes one understand them and who they are as individuals and how they are different but also how they might be the same. It distinguishes them from being unlike any other. Going back to the part of the movie where Colonel Miles is talking of taking the resources that belong to the Na’vi, you begin to see part of the masculinity in the movie. You can also link the idea of humans taking over Na’vi with a quote from a reading, “In random tyrannies, beings may be selected for oppression in arbitrary and random ways” (Plumwood, Ch 2, pg 42). He talks of how he wants to take over the Na’vi land and take over the Na’vi themselves as well. The randomness of the selection of Na’vi is due to their abundance of resources that the Earth is running out of. Therefore, the men - the strength of our society - plot against the Na’vi to retain those resources. The Colonel’s aggressiveness shines through his strong personality and suggests his strength as well. In contrary, femininity is prevalent as well in one of the first scenes Dr. Grace Augustine is in. She is angered over the fact Jake is taking over his brothers place when he has had no training what so ever. Selfridge, the greedy corporate figurehead who firsted came up with the plan to drive off and take over the Na’vi land and people, could care less what Dr. Grace thinks and disregards her anger while telling her to deal with it. This shows the dominance in male over female. When looking back at the Na’vi tribe, there’s not much difference in this aspect of male vs. female. The Na’vi is led by a man, also the idea of patriarchy, and men are the strength of the tribe. They are the hunters, the food gathers, and the strong stability of their people. Women are chosen by them and have no say, ultimately, in who they marry. Women are seen as being below the men, just as they are on Earth. The mapping of male and female within both societies can be defined as one, out of many, linking postulates within those societies. The master narrative becomes clearly apparent towards the end of the movie when every event comes together as one. The Na’vi are seen as the worthy opponents that deserve, more than anyone, to live among the universe. The way the Na’vi live is in itself a unifying society. You see the history of the world - the loss of resources; the present structure - panic and aggressiveness; and due to the war among the Humans and Na’vi, you see the ultimate purpose of the world and all of it’s abundance - that we are to live among nature and cherish each living organism as if it were part of our own bodies. The Master narrative brings together the idea of oneness, instead of individualism.

Biocultural Conservation and Avatar

An analysis of the movie Avatar, by James Cameron, offers several examples of biocultural conservation. In the film, humanity has ravaged Earth’s resources and succumbed to the extinction of experience, causing them to seek a solution to their new energy problems. On a distant moon called Pandora lives a native population called the Na’vi, who unknowingly harbor a rare mineral called unobtanium, which could solve humanities problems. In an attempt to befriend the Na’vi and obtain the unobtanium, the humans created a living vessel, called an avatar, that a human can link to and control. To negotiate with the Na’vi for the minerals, a marine named Jake Sully was chosen to control the main avatar which had originally been created for his brother, who was killed. During Jake’s first time in the avatar he gets separated from the group and is saved by one the female Na’vi, Neytiri. After the Na’vi decide not to kill Jake they agree to show him their way of life. Once he’s spent a few days learning with them the marine colonel, in an attempt to learn the best way to strike at the Na’vi, asks Jake to provide him with information that he would later use against the natives. Eventually Jake regrets providing him with information that can hurt the Na’vi. Jake starts to understand that the Na’vi are biologically connected with the planet and develops an attitude of biocultural conservation. When Neytiri is showing Jake their culture is when he begins to realize how connected they are to the environment. After he has learned the ways of the Na’vi , Jake is accepted into their culture and also fell in love with Neytiri. Their love causes unrest with both the Na’vi and the human population and is an indirect driver to Jake’s loyalties later on. This is seen when he switches sides and fights for the Na’vi instead of his own race. At this point Jake attempts to explain to the military why the Na’vi are unwilling to let them destroy their environment for the unobtanium. Jake is unable to cause a paradigm shift by showing what the Na’vi see in their environment versus how humans see the environment. This is when humanity shows their anthropocentristic, selfish views by using military force to try and gain the minerals. Due to their differences Jake essentially switches sides and goes against the usual master narrative, by going against his own race and siding with the Na’vi. This is seen when he smashes the camera on a bulldozer that is destroying the Na’vi’s wilderness and threatening their home. After this display of violence against his own race, Jake is forcefully taken out of his avatar and brought before the director of the operation, Parker. The lead scientist on Pandora, Grace, tries to explain to Parker that the trees they just bulldozed were sacred to the Na’vi tribe. Parker shows how ethnocentric he is by saying they are just trees and that it isn’t a big deal or shouldn’t be a big deal because there are many trees on Pandora. Parker proves Luisa Maffi’s point that people need to

“open up to the kind of intent listening to indigenous and other local peoples that alone can bring about genuine mutual understanding and true collaboration in facing the common threats to the world’s linguistic, cultural, and biological diversity” (Maffi pg 37 para. 1).

After talking to Parker, Jake is given one hour to try and get the Na’vi to vacate the area holding the minerals or else they will be under attack. He fails to convince the Na’vi to leave, again, and hometree is destroyed. This devastates the Na’vi. Jake rallies the Na’vi ,along with the other tribes on Pandora, to wage an all out war on the human population. Anticipating the Na’vi attack, the humans prepare for war and meet the Na’vi force head on. The war between the two reveals the dualism between good versus evil, right versus wrong, and humans versus nature. In the end the Na’vi overcome the humans and force them to leave Pandora. A select few are allowed to stay, with Jake being one of them. The Na’vi perform a ritual which allows Jake to be transferred from his human body to the Na’vi avatar. Jake now begins his new life as a Na’vi and thus creates a new narrative self.

How The Avatar relates to "The Trrouble with Wilderness"

   In the movie, The Avatar, the humans want to make the Na'vi move from their land so that they can collect Unobtanium from underneath their home. The humans are the master narrative, because they believe they are the dominant culture which is better than the Na'vi culture, who they consider to be savages due to their lack of technology and their way of life. There is a dualistic viewpoint of the Na'vi compared to the humans in the movie. The Na'vi are seen as emotional, natural, ignorant, and wild. The humans value themselves as rational, human, knowledgeable, and civilized. The Paradigm both cultures value clash when the Na'vi don't want to give up their home to the humans because to them it is sacred. Using William Cronon's article on "The Trouble with Wilderness", there is a difference in views of nature and the best way to live with it relating to the movie The Avatar.
   There are different views of nature between the Na'vi and humans. Humans view nature as mechanistic, where nature is dead. They believe that nature is for their use. A clip from the movie that shows this is the talk between Parker and Grace about Jake joining her group of researchers of the Na'vi. Parker wants the Na'vi to become more humanistic by giving them schools and teaching them language so that they can easily integrate with human cultures when they are moved of their land; so humans can dig up the Unobtanium. A very Anthropocentric view of the world because He thinks everything revolves around human interest and humans are the most important species. Colonel just wants Jake to get information on the Na'vi to either "force their cooperation or hammer them hard" off their land. On Pandora, the humans just see it as the next frontier to expand to and use for their own good, regardeless of the natives that already live on the land. On the other hand, the Na'vi possess an holistic/organic worldview. Their world is interconnected through the trees and plants. After Jake first meets Neytiri the Seeds of the sacred tree save him from being killed because it is telling her that he is needed and should not be killed for he has some purpose to the Na'vi and to nature in the future . Another example of the holistic view is when Grace is trying to persuade Parker not to destroy more trees in the Na'vi's home. She explains that the wealth of the land is not just in the dirt but all around. The trees communicate like the nervous system but more advanced. The nature of the land inspires awe and admiration or is sublime through this connection of communication through the trees and the Na'vi. It is nothing like the humans have seen before and Grace wants to help preserve this sublime land. The land is a place of romanticism. To the Na'vi it is a place away from human ethic and they use their feeling and intution to live their life. They follow the ways of the nature around them to live not the socially constructed ideas of the humans like listening to and worshiping the tree of souls. The Na'vi's (narrative) self is distinguished through their interaction and harmony with nature and that is what defines them as different from humans.

   The reason the Na'vi fight back to protect their land is because it is precious and irreplaceable.  Their way of life is surrounded by the interaction between the land and them.  They are able to coexist with the land and not destroy it due to their way of living. In Cronon's article he says that the only way for humans to "live naturally on earth is to follow the hunter-gathers back into the wilderness Eden and abandon virtually everything that civilization has given us"(19). To live like this we would stop hurting the environment and be able to coexist with nature much like the Na'vi. 

    The views of the world differ for the Na'vi and the humans based on their environment and ideas of nature. The Humans see nature to be used and the Na'vi see nature as precious and coexist with nature. The only way to not harm nature as seen by Cronon is to live as hunter-gathers and not destroy the forests. In his view the Na'vi is what humans should aim to become more like or to follow their example.