May Day actions and the state of the labor, immigrants’ rights and Occupy movements. California’s foie gras ban sees new challenge. Reforming special education: Time for a change in the law? How loud is too loud for your dining pleasure?
May Day actions and the state of the labor, immigrants’ rights and Occupy movements
Today is International Workers’ Day, better known as May Day, and it serves as a celebration of international organized labor, immigration rights activists and left-wing movements.
Occupy Wall Street, undoubtedly the most prominent left-wing movement that arose this past year in the United States, is using the day to hold a nationwide general strike. And they are not alone. Labor groups and immigration activists are joining up with Occupy to encourage workers and students not to show up at work or school. By doing so, the groups hope to show the 1% what life without the 99% would really be like.
Events are taking place in major cities all across the country, including New York, San Francisco, Oakland, Chicago, Los Angeles and many others. On AirTalk, Larry Mantle talks to representatives from the three distinct parts of this coalition: Occupy, immigration and labor.
What is the status of these three movements and how have they advanced their goals in the present political landscape? Will today’s demonstrations lead to positive attention and reform? Or does the disruption create negative press?
Guests:
Peter Dreier, Professor of Politics, Occidental College; Author of the forthcoming book “The Hundred Greatest Americans of the 20th Century: A Social Justice Hall of Fame”
Angelica Salas, Executive Director, The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA)
María Elena Durazo, Executive Secretary–Treasurer Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO (American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations)
Leslie Berestein-Rojas, KPCC immigration reporter; writes the Multi-American blog
Lauren Steiner, activist with Occupy Venice and Occupy LA. She’s also a stay-at-home mom, community activist and former media professional.
Todd Gitlin, Professor of Journalism and Sociology at Columbia University; Author of the new e-book “Occupy Nation”
California’s foie gras ban sees new challenge
On July 1st of this year the sale of foie gras officially becomes illegal in California and the unrest within the culinary community is growing.
More than 100 chefs have joined a coalition to overturn or amend the ban called The Coalition for Humane and Ethical Farming Standards, or CHEFS. The coalition, headed by the Golden Gate Restaurant Association (GGRA), has developed a charter that, they say, ensures that the production of foie gras is safe, humane and ethical.
Among the recommendations are that farms keep animals in comfortable and stress-free environments and they’re fed by hand by well-trained professionals. CHEFS also wants farms to have regular check-ins with animal health care professionals.
“We want to make sure that when this product is produced that its done in the most ethical way possible,” said GGRA Executive Director Rob Black.
In addition, Black says that none of the chefs who have signed onto the coalition want to support the abuse of animals. He says fowl are built with certain physical characteristics that make gavage (the feeding method used to create foie gras) possible and far from abusive.
"What we’re talking about is a condition called Hepatic steatosis, and it is a pathological and damaging condition in mammals, but that’s just not the case in waterfowl,” explained Black. “To equate the two is to disregard physiological differences.”
Black says the ban will create an instant black market for foie gras and will have many unintended consequences because there are several ancillary products created from the production of foie gras that will also be affected.
Animal rights activists strongly disagree with CHEFS position. They say there’s no such thing as cruelty-free foie gras, the process by which the product is created is harmful no matter how many safeguards are put in place.
“The way the producers make foie gras is by shoving a pipe down a duck’s throat and forcing him to consume far more than he would ever normally eat,” said Paul Shapiro, vice president of Farm Animal Protection of the Humane Society. “It’s cruel, it’s inhumane and California, frankly, was very right to ban this form of animal abuse 7 ½ years ago.”
One important caveat of the law is that it doesn’t necessarily ban the sale of foie gras, but it bans the method producers use to force feed geese and ducks to create the fatty liver delicacy. In the view of the Humane Society, consumers of the product are actually eating the diseased liver of maltreated animals.
“The force-feeding causes their livers to become diseased and swell up to ten times their normal size,” said Shapiro. “Most people probably wouldn’t want to eat any part of a diseased animal, yet in the case of foie gras, it’s the diseased organ itself on which consumers dine.”
Tasty, right? But, is there any way to stop the July 1st ban from going into effect? Is the method of creating foie gras inherently cruel? Or are ducks and geese physically capable of enduring the process without pain? If you couldn’t legally get your foie, would you consider buying it on the black market?
Guests:
Rob Black, Executive Director, Golden Gate Restaurant Association, the group spearheading the Coalition for Humane and Ethical Farming Standards (CHEFS)
Paul Shapiro, Vice President, Farm Animal Protection, The Humane Society of the United States
Reforming special education: time for a change in the law?
The effectiveness of a 1975 law designed to provide "free, appropriate public education" to students with certain disabilities is being called into question.
The Individuals with Disabilities Improvement Act covers over 6 million children with special educational needs due to physical, mental or emotional disabilities. In a recent article, Special Education reformer, Miriam Freedman argues that the 37-year-old act should be changed, as it fails to serve the purposes of special education students, pits parents against schools in lengthy lawsuits and is costly; up to 20 percent of school budgets.
Are you the parent of a child with special educational needs? What are your feelings about significant revisions to the Individuals with Disabilities Improvement Act? Are there other ways to get the education your child needs without resorting to lawsuits? Perhaps you are a teacher: do you hold back on advocating on behalf of your students for fear of legal action?
Guest:
Miriam Freedman, author of “Fixing Special Education: 12 Steps to Fixing a Broken System.” She wrote a recent article in The Atlantic on Special Education Reform
Richard Peterson, Assistant Professor of Law and Director of the Special Education Advocacy Clinic at Pepperdine Law School
How loud is too loud for your restaurant pleasure?
The valet is free and fast. The hostess seats you right away. The server is tuned in to your mood. And most important, the chef has crafted an inspired menu.
But the acoustics? Can you even hear yourself chew?
Off-Ramp producer Kevin Ferguson took a decibel reader to downtown restaurant Bottega Louie and says, “It was as loud as a working factory.”
Does that make for a fun atmosphere? Are quiet restaurants a bore? What's your ideal decibel reading for dining?