Didn't Gore take money from the farming industry?

He's just another political sellout

Posted by: kelly | May 29, 2008 03:21 PM

I totally agree with you. Gore should have mentioned it. It is the key to save ourselves. We should always strive to not allow ego to get in the way of what is right. He could always say "it's the right thing to do even if I am not doing it yet"! That would be tons better than what is happening now.

Posted by: Soliel | May 29, 2008 03:29 PM

It's time he was called out on that one, but I wouldn't expect a peep from him. Whether he goes veg or not, to totally ignore livestock's effect on the environment is criminally remiss. I wouldn't be surprised if the meat lobby was financing this silence.

Posted by: Mike Quinoa | May 29, 2008 04:08 PM

Al Gore does know but you're right he'd have to become veg and fast or he'd be contradicting himself! Keep the pressure on him!!! He'll have to break sometime!

Posted by: Carla | May 29, 2008 04:15 PM

I love Bruce, think he is amazing when it comes to campaigning and speaking out effectively for animal rights.

Posted by: John Carmody | May 29, 2008 04:15 PM

I do like Al Gore but he's wrong to be a carnivore. The beef, pork, poultry and fishing industries cause more pollution, global warming and environmental crises than all the harmful fumes emitted by planes, trains, cars, trucks and boats. The idyllic diet for humans was meatless (Genesis 1:29).

Posted by: Brien Comerford | May 29, 2008 04:25 PM

I couldn't agree with you more. In fact, I remember when I went to see "his" movie; I went to a special showing in my community and was treated to a vast array of various opinions by several persons after it was done. But the fact that came from me, and the one that I was surprised no one else had even any idea of what I was talking about, was the fact that he didn't include the point about the devestation of factory farming on our environment. I mean I waited and waited and waited for something to come forward by the credits roll and was very disappointed to have wasted my time. I think the truth is that he was somehow or another still pushing his political agenda and has less of a care for the environment than he would like us to believe.

PS ~ On a good note though, where I buy my soymilk from usually prices its soymilk around the same price as cow's juice but since the prices have gone sky high and Dow has announced a 20 % increase on the costs of all its products, this food store has lowered the price of its soymilk to far below the price of cow's juice. So even if Al Gore never puts two and two together, the rest of the public will get it eventually just by looking at the true costs of their food products.

Posted by: I'm Brian Luznak & There's No MD In Sight | May 29, 2008 05:29 PM

We have a bigger problem than this, acutally two bigger problems.

One is that many people think global warming is a liberal conspiracy or a liberal cult. Fox news backs up these people.

The other problem is that no, people don't think it's okay to dump motor oil in a river but we all turn a blind eye when oil companies dump oil into our oceans.

No one gives a crap that tens of thousands of birds and marine animals suffer horribly and die from toxic oil spills, we only cared when our own asses are on the line.

We should have ended methane and CO2 emissions 20 years ago when animals and the planet were suffering, but we only gave a hoot about ourselves. That's the most basic fundamental problem we have as a species, we only care about ourselves in the end.

Posted by: Maya, CVT | May 29, 2008 06:06 PM

Gore does not care about anything except aggrandizing himself. His little movie was about self-promotion more than anything else. He spent several minutes of the film talking about his dead sister, which had nothing to do with the subject and everything to do with directing sympathy toward himself.

His sister's death meant so little to him that for years after, he continued to support the tobacco industry that killed her. Only when Big Tobacco chose to put their money behind Bob Dole did Gore suddenly decide they were bad.

From his phoney crusade against youth culture in the 80's to his phoney crusade for the environment now, all he has ever wanted to do was promote himself.

Go get him, PETA!

Posted by: Bill | May 29, 2008 06:31 PM

dude, pick your battles wisely. youre wasting time dumping on gore when bush has killed millions of people, animals, habitats, etc. bush allows closed hunting grounds in texas where you kill trapped live game, even endangered ones. if you keep nitpicking what gore doesnt do you will never notice or help get anything good done. large commercial animal farms are not environmental but neither is monocropping, it kills off local wildlife and in some countries is used to support the drug trade. if gore had been president and done at least the minimal environmetalism he wanted to, thered be millions of less dead people and animals, support in alternative energy, and maybe then they of made strides in animal farming once they helped save all those others.

Posted by: mammal bob | May 29, 2008 08:40 PM

Gore bragged about the cattle his family raised.

But he was ashamed of the tobacco crops they farmed.

The contribution of cattle, and livestock in general, to global warming is just another one of his inconvenient truths that he CONVENIENTLY omitted from his movie.

Easier to point the finger at cars than to look at the face in his mirror.

What a hypocrite.

Posted by: Barbara | May 29, 2008 08:41 PM

“All ancient philosophy was oriented toward the simplicity of life and taught a certain kind of modesty in one’s need. In light of this, the few philosophic vegetarians have done more for mankind than all new philosophers, and as long as philosophers do not take courage to seek out a totally changed way of life and to demonstrate it by their example, they are worth nothing.”
Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900), German philosopher

Lets bring back Nietzsche, gather a few more friends,
find Al Gore's barbeque hideaway, TP his house
and take away his "no tell please prize"
Unless Gore didn’t read the United Nation’s LongShadow Report regarding Factory Farming.
In which case, I would have to forgive him for he knows not what he does not want to face.
GIVE ME A BREAK!
”There is no moral precept that does not
have something inconvenient about it” Denis Diderot

Al Gore, who is your master?

Posted by: Warwak | May 30, 2008 10:15 AM

Maya,
I don't know why you think FOX news is horrible. But here is an interesting piece of information you may or may not have heard about! This is hard to ignore!

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=64734

Posted by: Kurt K | May 30, 2008 11:25 AM

AL GORE NEEDS TO COME CLEAN!!!!!

Posted by: Judith, Freedom Fighter for Animals | May 30, 2008 12:47 PM

Meat production is an inconvenient truth for Mr. Gore. Has he ever been asked about it in public? It would be revealing to see how he would try to justify leaving such an important climate change factor out.

Posted by: Maureen | May 30, 2008 01:13 PM

Nietzsche also said "A diet that consists predominantly of rice leads to the use of opium and narcotics, just as a diet that consists predominantly of potatoes leads to the use of liquor. But it also has subtler effects that include ways of thinking that have narcotic effects. This agrees with the fact that those who promote narcotic ways of thinking and feelings, like some Indian gurus, praise a diet that is entirely vegetarian and would like to impose that as a law upon the masses. In this way they want to create and increase the need that they are in a position to satisfy." He also said "Women, they make the highs higher and the lows more frequent". Just cause you have a name, doesnt mean you know what you're talking about.

Posted by: jay | May 30, 2008 01:28 PM

Nietzsche was a vegetarian for a short period and then changed his mind becoming opposed to the "dangers of vegetarianism". So if we return to Nietzsche we must return to an omniverous diet; also probably to solitary living and depression.

Posted by: jay | May 30, 2008 01:47 PM

Kurt,

Keep in mind your link is to World Net Daily, which is an extreme right-wing organization that says eating soy makes kids gay. They also just recently paid an out-of-court settlement for fabricating a story about a key Gore 2000 fundraiser.

Here's a link that suggests plants and animals may know something we don't:

http://www.livescience.com/environment/050621_warming_list.html

Jay,

A good vegetarian diet consists predominantly of variety—not slavish addiction to any one food.

Posted by: Mike Quinoa | May 30, 2008 03:36 PM

Mike,

My point was that Nietzsche was misqouted. He was not a vegetarian and infact was quite opposed to it. This says nothing about vegetarianism but it does mean you cant qoute him as an ally. I think Nietzsche had it all wrong and that is why he lead a miserable existence, but we seem to easily dislocate our intellect the moment we hear a qoute from one of the "greats" - even though we know little about them - and the older the qoute the truer somehow.

Posted by: jay | May 30, 2008 07:31 PM

Like other posters have said, ignoring the effects of factory farming is a glaring inconvenient truth.

Posted by: lynda downie | May 30, 2008 11:52 PM

I think Al Gore is on the right side of good, and PETA's quite fierce rebuke of him in the form it has taken is a sad waste of energy. It risks giving people on the wrong side of the fence grounds to discard his ideas along with the rest of us who are concerned about global issues including animals rights.
Why does it always seem to come down to 'eat meat and we're against you' with PETA?
Can't PETA recognise that this just makes the organisation look unbalanced and extremist?
Can't PETA recognise that the last thing the dedicated do-gooders of this world need is disunity and an image of 'in-house bickering.'
People who care must get their priorities in order, identify common ground and work together, for there are too few of us in the world.
Again, I ask PETA to see that taking the extremist position threatens their most fundamental attainable objective - to end INCONTROVERTIBLE NEEDLESS animal suffering.
Certainly ask people to EAT LESS MEAT, but not demand that everyone give up meat altogether.
Ask Al Gore to ratify eating LESS meat and he may give you his support. Ask him to ratify HUMANE livestock farming and he may also give you his support.
It is unreasonable to condemn Al Gore and all he has to say, for faiing to convert to vegetarianism and refusing to publicly condemn all consumption of meat and livestock farming.
As for the Nietzsche quote, and bearing in mind I am a fan, please remember Nietzsche, like all the great philosophers didn't always phrase his insights as well as he could have to eliminate misinterpretation, and like all philosophers some of his ideas on things changed over time. He is not the first greater philosopher to contradict himself at one time or another. But I think he would turn in his grave if he knew people were taking it that he was saying that anyone who is not an all-out vegetarian is 'worth nothing'. Noone is worth nothing! Nietzsche was pointing to the need for people to 'walk the talk' at a time he supported vegetarianism.
Please PETA put your main energy into ending incontovertible needless animal suffering. The majority of medical experts still hold that we humans need to eat SOME meat as part of a balanced diet. But according to PETA philosophy I should be condemned for eating 100g of lean beef once a week, and so too Al Gore if that be the case with him!
There is no question that animals are not ours to abuse, and there is no doubt millions of people across this globe who deplore the horrific suffering imposed by factory farms and inhumane slaughter, or practises such as mulesing in the wool industry, or live-skinning in the fur industry, right through to everyday chronic neglect of pets in western homes. The work PETA does to end this sort of suffering is wonderful and admirable, and I fully support it.
But I cannot support PETA continuing to alienate would-be allies in this cause by the extremist black and white line the organisation officially takes on meat-eating, and furthermore in their opposition to even the most humane animal medical experimentation - research that enhances the lives of human and animals alike.
How many millions would join PETA today if they took or more reasoning stance?

Posted by: julesdownunder | May 31, 2008 12:44 AM

Global Warming is caused by THE SUN!! Temperatures on Jupiter and Mars are also going up. And there are no SUVs on these planets. I am all for protecting our environment and ending cruelty though. I, myself, am a Vegan. So, beware of those screamin Global Warming. It is an anti-capitalist movement designed to weaken America!

Posted by: Horton | May 31, 2008 08:32 AM

Jay,

Thanks for the clarification.

Julesdownunder,

Gore not mentioning meat (either the reduction or elimination of it) is a gross, and probably calculated, omission. PETA is certainly not adopting an "extremist" stance by taking him to task over it.

Most medical experts understand you do not need to eat meat to pursue a healthy diet—protein yes, meat no.

"Protein has many important functions in the body and is essential for growth and maintenance. Protein needs can easily be met by eating a variety of plant-based foods." (USDA)

"It is the position of the American Dietetic Association (the A.D.A. paper cited more than 250 studies—my comment) and Dietitians of Canada that appropriately planned vegetarian diets are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases....Well-planned vegan and other types of vegetarian diets are appropriate for all stages of the life-cycle including during pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence."
(As published in PubMed)

Posted by: Mike Quinoa | June 1, 2008 02:35 PM

“He that prefers the beautiful to the useful in life will, undoubtedly, like children who prefer sweetmeats to bread, destroy his digestion and acquire a very fretful outlook on the world.” Friedrich Nietzsche

Gore needs to abandon his lavish lifestyle and go vegan to realize his outlook on the world just as each one of us plays a role

Posted by: Warwak | June 1, 2008 02:59 PM

It's so hard...what will bring such an important and critical topic like global warming into the forefront of mainstream media? Celebrity... in this case, a political celebrity... But then you have to deal with the fact that these people are hypocrites, and may not practice what they preach...but was the way they used their fame worth it? Millions of people saw that movie, and know about the problems because of him...it's a start I guess. He does suck, but it's a start.

Posted by: Allison | June 1, 2008 07:12 PM

Julesdownunder, did you read Bruce's letter on the link provided? There's none of the 'fiercely rebuking' Al Gore or calling meat eaters 'worth nothing'. It's an urgent call to recognize the central role factory farms play in global warming. Anyone truly concerned about the environment (read Al Gore) would not ignore this message.
BTW Great letter Bruce!

Posted by: lynda downie | June 2, 2008 01:01 AM

Al Gore is a big, fat, blow-hard! He's trying to make a name for himself with his global warming crapola while all the while he lives in a huge energy guzzling house, drives big gas eating cars and is not animal-friendly! George Bush, on the other hand has his house in Texas 100% energy-efficient. Now go figure. Maybe you wouldn't look like such a big fat slob, Al if you didn't eat animals.

Posted by: Rosemary | June 2, 2008 01:38 AM

Anyone who knows how to verify information will know full well that factory farming, even agriculture period, is not the no.1 cause of GW.
Let's not even bring the fact that agricultural emissions of methane and CO2 are largely turning over carbon already in the system- not fossil fuel derived(ag uses 1.4% of world energy) from sequestered carbon deposits of millenia past.

http://www.wri.org/stories/2006/10/greenhouse-gases-and-where-they-come#

Posted by: rojo | June 2, 2008 06:15 AM

Hi Rojo!

I think you misunderstood the article you posted (which was a good one) - They are not saying that greenhouse gasses are mostly natural and harmless. Good article, though.

I'm back, by the way - I had to come home from school for a few days because my cat is having seizures - they can't figure out why! ;(

Posted by: Maya, CVT | June 4, 2008 03:13 PM

Mike Q
I didn't know that World Daily was a far right website, if I had I would have picked one of the other 40,000 websites that had the article! The 31,000 and change is not a right-wing conspiracy to deny "global warming"! It is a huge group of professionals that are stating thier research says something else besides the doom and gloom shit we have been hearing for the past two or three years!
Besides, I'm sure the websites you get all your information from lean far to the left! So lets be fair here!

Posted by: Kurt K | June 6, 2008 11:50 AM

Hi again Kurt!

You make a good point - far right or far left views are not scientific! And I agree about the doom and gloom problem.

What we all need to understand is it's the MEDIA'S fault that global warming is posed as doom and gloom.

It's to sell newspapers.

Read any peer reviewed global warming article, and I guarantee you, far from doom and gloom, the real scientific journal articles will have you napping soundly in no time. They're boring as watching paint dry.

The reality is that scientists are STILL LEARNING about global warming, and some prefer to call it "global climate change".

Far from the neat, tidy picture of the Earth warming steadily, the real picture is one of the Earth's climate varying throughout the world, just as it does natrually.

Except now it's affected by more pollution than ever, causing some places to have unusual weather patterns. This causes problems for migrating animals and predators.

Many far right wingers are refusing to read real journal articles on it, and thereby refusing to educate themselves.

It's exactly like how the creationists are trying to deny evolution and promote intelligent design. Hopefully people will start reading real science journals with real proof instead.

;)

Posted by: Maya, CVT | June 9, 2008 02:20 PM

Interesting set of remarks, but there's a critical omission. According to well-placed sources, Mr. Gore was paid off by Buddhist nuns back in the 1990s to not mention factory farm-related greenhouse gases. Also, Bill Clinton threatened to beat up Al if he made an issue of it. And Al was always deathly afraid of Hillary.

Posted by: Ernst | August 1, 2008 06:39 AM