Mink - the inside story

Have you ever wondered what happens to a mink once it's fur has gone to make something fashionable?

This job posting (May 11, 2007 - the link may expire) for an "Environmental Researcher" may give you a clue:

"Spec Environmental Solutions Inc. (SPEC) belongs to the Spectacle Lake group of companies located in Concession, Digby Co., NS. SPEC operates a commercial composting site serving the local mink farming industry by processing organic waste by-products from approx. 1,000,000 mink per year."

Three things strike me about this. First is the huge number of animals. Second is the fact that Spectacle Lake seem to make no mention of this side of their business on their website. Third, they use their construction company to 'hide' the trucking of the carcases:

"Spectacle Lake Concrete & Excavating Limited does all the trucking and marketing for the composting facility."

I guess it's not something they are not proud of?


technorati tags: animal rights, fur, fur farming, Nova Scotia

Our Earth as Art

When Google Maps created their new feature, My Maps, I wonder if they were expecting the creativity people would have in finding applications for it. One good example is Our Earth as Art, a selection of satellite photographs of our planet. Each one is beautiful in its own right, often in a very abstract sense, and is accompanied by text explaining what we are seeing. In many cases it tells a horror story of the suffering we are causing our planet.

Dining vegetarian

Jane Tomlinson blogs about the difficulty of dining out in the UK if you are vegetarian. As a vegetarian myself and being married to a vegan, I can sympathise totally with her situation. And apparently the situation has gotten worse in the eleven years since I left the UK.

I remember being told in one pub in Yorkshire to try such and such, "it doesn't have much cheese in it". They obviously just don't get it do they? For some people, being vegetarian is on a par with having a religion. It is not something that can be waived for special ocassions.

We have had so many bad experiences here in Nova Scotia trying to get a meal that we no longer even bother trying to eat out, except at a few places where we know we can get something to eat. One is Subway (hardly a fine dining experience, but at least one option when we are out for the day) where they do a vegetarian sub, but even then we have been disappointed because they are out of the few types of bread that Pat can eat. Ponderosa has a salad bar which is always a safe bet. And when Pat had to spend a few days in hospital she ended up eating fruit - the 'dietician' didn't even know that Jello is not vegetarian.

Now, the point is that there may well be some fine restaurants that would cater to our diets, but we have run out of energy trying to find them. We don't want to have to pour through menus and interrogate the staff about the ingredients. Would it be so hard for each establishment to have at least one vegetarian and one vegan option clearly identified on the menu with some comforting words to show that they haven't sneeked in something with gelatin, honey or whey in the recipe?

 


Technorati Tags: vegetarian, vegan, catering, food, restaurants, customer service , Nova Scotia

PEI Artist's Retreat

Celtic and Jazz singer tereas Doyle is appearing at the deCoste centre in Picto this week, and while checking out her website I discovered that she runs an artist's retreat on Prince Edward Island. Rock Barra currently only offers day time workshops but Teresa hopes one day to be able to offer accommodation. There is a nice studio there, built for the filming of The Ballad of Jack and Rose in 2003.

BBC Radio on the Art World

Alvin Hall debunks the myths of the art world, as he takes a journey from the artist to the gallery, the collector and the critic.

Follow the links to listen to each episode. The first is online now (skip the first minute which is the end of the previous program), and looks at how the London art scene has changed in the last few years. "Now it is all sales and no ideas"

The next program is on Tuesday 01 August 2006, and I think there are five episodes in total.

Technorati tags: art, art world, Alvin Hall

Bluenose II comes to Pictou

The Bluenose is in Pictou this weekend. Read more in the Evening News. Come visit Pictou this weekend and see this historic replica of the original race winning schooner.


Technorati Tags: Bluenose, Pictou, schooner, Nova Scotia