Meat is Murder vs. Meat 2.0

The soundtrack of this blogpost is #ROFFEKEOFFICIALSELECTION2016 "Don't Eat the Cow", a tongue-in-cheek vegetarian anthem by Graham Perry.

Sacred cow, I want you now!
I need you in my casserole!
India, Australia,
The poison just-a keep affectin'

In her article titled "Meet Meat 2.0: the future food "farmed in labs" Amy Au writes: "Convincing the most committed carnivores to compromise is hard. No one wants to be finger-pointed at what's on one's own plate." Meat is not just a personal choice issue. It does also touch on a numbert of SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals):

SDG 2: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture.
SDG 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.
SDG 6: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.
SDG 8: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all.
SDG 9: Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation.
"remaking meat is one sector of the food industry that is ripe for innovation and growth." - Bill Gates.
SDG 12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns
SDG 13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts

Amy Au informs us that: "While the livestock sector supports livelihood of one billion of the world's poor, and its products provide one-third of our protein intake, it poses serious threat to our environment: it is responsible for 14.5 percent of GHG emissions, 29 percent of total water footprint of agriculture, and occupies 30 percent of the land surface of the planet."

Mooooove over! You gotta make room for the cow!
Mooooove over! You gotta make room for the cow!


Meat is Murder
Director(s): Elodie Desperes and Stephane Elmadjian
Duration: 9mins 32 secs
Country of Origin: France
Reviewer: Josephine Koima

When you first google search ‘Meat is Murder’, the first thing that pops up is the 1985 studio album by The Smiths, by the same name.This short film is a music video by rock star James D. Lee.
The beginning of the video features an off-screen conversation between two people (possibly women) who discuss their love for meat.’ Eating meat is like making love actually, it feels good. Especially when it’s all rare and bloody juicy Meat is awesome’. However, the music is nothing about loving meat. James D. Lee starts by chanting ‘Meat is murder’ followed by strumming on his electric guitar, a sound that reverberates over the lush field on which the simple video is set. One can feel his brokenness and distress as he shouts ‘Meat is murder’. Apart from the lyrics of the song, attention is turned to the beautiful visual elements e.g. the horses grazing, long paths, the vegetation which is made possible by wide angle shots. There is also a close up shot of the amplifier buttons.

Various rock stars and fans oppose any kind of animal killing, whether for meat, or sports. E.g. there was a 10,000 strong petition to ban the band Metallica from performing in Glastonbury (in 2014) due to frontman James Hetfield’s support for bear hunting. It is somewhat counter to the genre’s origins as an excuse for all-purpose carnage and desecration. As Paul Lester wrote ,’Is there an essential contradiction in rock’n’rollers – supposedly synonymous with destruction and teenage rampage – siding with things ethical, moral and good? And can a clean, pure, meat-averse friend of the furry make a credible rock noise? Rock should be savage – but can it embody the feral while denying its primal urges?’ From The Guardian.

Going back to the Smiths, there’s a line in their song that goes, ‘The flesh you so fancifully fry is not succulent, tasty or kind-it’s death for no reason, and death for no reason is murder.’ Perhaps, this 80’s rock band serves as an inspiration to James D. Lee in his own composition.

**
Going back to Amy Au's article, she writes: "Since the live animal is eliminated from the process, lab grown products are free of antibiotics and growth hormones and is, of course, cruelty free. They also use less land, water and energy, and emit less greenhouse gases."

Whatcha gonna do when the price goes up?
Whatcha gonna do when the meat runs out?

Graham Perry’s “Don’t Eat the Cow” has a dash of Red Hot Chili Peppers’ funk, a few blades of Bluegrass and a healthy dose of They Might Be Giants’ beautiful absurdness. Read a review of “Don’t Eat the Cow” and the other songs in Graham Perry’s album Jambon Gris, here.

ROFFEKE Screening: Sustainable Futures - Survivor Girls by Nicole Watson

I am so excited and honoured to screen the short documentary "Sustainable Futures: Survivor Girls" directed by Nicole Watson. Here is the link to the programme:

About the Speakers

Nicole Watson is originally from Vancouver, Canada and grew up in the small town of Castlegar B.C. to parents who both immigrated from the UK as children. She is now based in Los Angeles working in film and is interested in international stories and productions. She is the co-founder of the LA based production company 'Blak Dot Productions', and the Founder of the 'econic earth foundation' a 501c3 non profit focused on environmental and wildlife conservation around the world. Nicole speaks English, French and some Spanish and Thai.

Narissa Allibhai is a feminist, activist and creative who identifies as a modern Pan-Africanist. A Master’s graduate from the University of California, Berkeley, she now works for International Rivers leading their East Africa program. She has recently founded the #SaveLakeTurkana Movement and will be launching her documentary on the lake next month. Passionate about rights, nature, and positivity, Narissa is involved with several arts for social change and pan-Africanist movements. She blogs at peopleinthemargins.com and tweets from @NarissaAllibhai, AKA the “nature_pagan.” Her favourite activity is to meditate on rocks with beautiful views.

Wangari Kabiru is an Educationist specializing in Transformative Education & Education Design. “School-kids are powerful agents for any agenda and protectors - especially when they learn early. Introduce #green fingers now to schools.

Maryana Munyendo is the founder of Simba Safe Kenya.

Benedict Muyale is the founder of Green Sun Cities.

Alexander Nderitu was the first Kenyan to write a digital novel. Born on William Shakespeare's birthday, rock and rap music were the soundtrack to his life as he sought recognition as a writer. Since 2001, he has authored three e-books, six stage plays and three non-fiction papers. Some of his writings have been translated into Swedish, Japanese and Arabic. In 2014, his poem ‘Someone in Africa Loves You’ was picked to represent Kenyan literature at the Commonwealth Games in Scotland. He is currently the Deputy Secretary-General of PEN Kenya Centre and an arts promoter. Nderitu's works are available at www.AlexanderNderitu.com

Stella Ninah holds a Bachelor’s Degree in International Relations and Diplomacy with IT from Maseno University. She enjoys being part of nurturing startups and seeing them grow. She has worked with various Child Rights Advocacy NGOs in Kenya since this is her passion. Her life’s desire is not just to build a career in the field of Children’s Rights but to make a difference in the lives of the children she interacts with. She is the Kenya Program Manager for Art and Abolition.

Supreme Media is a Media& Communications Agency that offers services& Products in Photography & Video production, Event Planning ,Branding, PR, Outdoor Advertising, PA Sound systems& Marketing consulting we have been in Existence for the last three years.
SUPREME MEDIA VISION.
To be the next big wave in the Media industry in East Africa that will focus on social, economic, political, environmental issues and bring in innovative entertainment & informational packs for the whole family.
SUPREME MEDIA MISSION.
To maintain quality service to our clients through sustainable ways

Excerpt from "Carbon Diaries" by Saci Lloyd - page 25

…Stacey, the drummer, hurled her sticks at the garage door – but instead of bouncing off metal they bounced off Adisa’s mum’s chest….His mum is Nigerian and she’s got presence, if you know what I mean. She breathed deeply and muttered something about white people’s music.

At the end everyone made a vow to give up 10 points a week to power up the band. I felt dead emotional when I said my vow. This band’s my lifeline. I don’t know how we’re going to keep going, though – a screaming, Straight X punk band isn’t anybody’s idea of important right now.