The Internet Haters and Fan

The internet evolved drastically in the past decades, and the perception of it changed with it. The internet is a medium, something through which information is delivered to different users. According to McLuhan, the medium is the message. That means that the content is not so important, but the medium is the main influence of our perception of the information given. In the book Digital Society, the author talks about the media as an environment, a medium that defines human interaction. The author explains that every media has its type of perception and its symbols.

For examples, on Instagram and Snapchat, two similar social media applications, people take selfies in very different ways. The selfie, the content, is the same: a picture of our face posted on social media. The medium, however, is different. Instagram is a social media where the user creates their own profile and build their identity through the pictures they post. Snapchat is a social media where the user creates their own identity through the type of content they published. On is very much focused on the esthetic aspect of an individual; the other on their attitude, on the character they show in the stories.

According to McLuhan the message, indeed, is the social changes that a medium generates, and, in this example, while the content remains almost the same, the social changes generated are very different.

In the book Cyber Debates, the author explains how the perception of the Internet as new technology changes through the years. In the beginning, it was overestimated, and after the bubble burst in 2000, the perception of the Internet changed. The new revolt of nerds decided to fight against Internet closure and started creating open-source software. Those platforms changed the web definitely (e.g. Wikipedia in 2001, Facebook in 2004, and YouTube in 2005). After those changes, the polarization of philosophy around this subject started to grow. More people, like Postman were obsessed with the idea that technology was overthrowing society, and that culture was surrendering to it. Others, like Negroponte, though that technology was only giving people new solutions and possibility that before were impossible. In the end, the middle ground would be, according to Morozov, considering the Internet within all its implications without considering it as a mythical entity. Technology is society, and society cannot be read or understood with its technological tools.

When analyzing the Technological development, we should also take into considerations the public spheres, which are, according to Allison Cavanagh, a place in between the private and the public world. A context where, in private, things can be discussed within public opinion. Those little contexts can shape the way ideas around the developments of new technologies grew and change.

LAV: A Little Big Organization

LAV, also known as Anti-Vivisection League, is a non-profit organization proclaiming the rights of all animals to life, dignity, and liberty.

LAV has been officially recognized as an association pursuing the protection of the interests adversely affected by crimes against animals in 1998 with operating headquarters in Rome, Italy, under the name of LAV (Lega Anti Vivisezione).

The purposes of the Association range from the preservation of the environment to the abolition of vivisection, fishing, hunting, livestock production, animal farming, animal trade, and animal shows.

The exploitation and deprivation of freedom of animals for entertainment in circuses is an evident issue in Italy even though 68.3% of the citizens are against circuses. For this reason, LAV every day supports the liberation of the animals held captive in such structures, prepares a plan for the phasing out of exhibitions and performances, and places the animals in rescue centers in Italy and abroad.

The Association condemns the manipulations perpetrated by men against nature and appeals to each one of us to set their sight on the protection of the environment and the ecosystems.

LAV views the vegan choice as one of its founding principles, in fact, the Association gives endless importance to the imperative “do not kill.”

To achieve its goals, LAV takes action in various activities:

1) It organizes conferences, events, debates where they talk about animal cruelty related issue and show film and videos about the current topic.

2) It establishes collaborations with other Italian and foreign organizations that have a similar mission and purposes for a mutual exchange of experiences.

3) It distributes books and magazines with the aim of informing and sensitizing as many citizens as possible on animal cruelty issues.

The main financial resource of LAV are contributions: they can come from members, private individuals, public entities, international organizations and more. Annual membership fees are also a major resource.

LAV is a social organization where the word “social” means that each individual develops their personality with the aim to fulfill and accomplish the goals of the Association.

Donate now to make your contribution! If you think that LAV is doing an amazing Job, donate, even a little, to their cause. As Mahatma Gandhi said,

“Be the change you want to see in the world.”

You Won’t Be The Same After Having Watched This Documentary

Cowspiracy is a powerful and provocative documentary movie on Netflix directed by Kip Anderson and Keegan Kuhn in 2014.

The movie focuses on the environmental impact of livestock approaching the topic from a unique perspective explaining how what we eat heavily determines the destruction of earth’s environment. The movie is not just about cows, farms, and meat; it’s about humans, our planet and the environment.

The documentary is full of very powerful statistics (some of them are mentioned and analyzed in my post about the environment) divided into 7 main parts:

Climate change: 51% of global greenhouse gas emissions are due to livestock and their byproducts, while the sector of transportation (road, rail, air & marine) are responsible for only 13% of emissions. Livestock is, then, responsible for 65% nitrous oxide emissions, more destructive than C02.
Water use: to produce 1 hamburger are needed 660 gallons of water, equivalent to showering for 2 months. The meat & dairy industry use 1/3 of earth fresh water.

Waste: the waste from a farm of 2500 dairy cows is equivalent to the waste from a city of 411,000 people. Every minute 7 million pounds of excrement is produced by animals raised for food in the Us.

Land use: livestock covers 45% of the earth’s total land. 1,5 acres of land can produce either 37,000 LBS of plant-based food or just 375 LBS of meat. To feed one vegan for a year is needed 1/6^TH of an acre; to feed one meat eater for a year, in comparison, it takes 18 times the quantity of land needed for a vegan.

Fisheries: from the ocean, each year are pulled 90 million tons of fish, and for every 1 pound of fish caught 5 pounds of unintended marine species are caught and discarded as by-kill.

Species extinction: for the enormous quantity of land used by livestock, as I mentioned before, 110 animal and insect species are lost every day from rainforest destruction.

Deforestation: from one to two acres of rainforest are cleared every second; animal agriculture is, indeed, responsible for 91% of Amazon destruction

Cowspiracy, in my opinion, is one of the most powerful documentaries of the latest years. More and more people each year are taking action to save the planet, and I think that this documentary could be an eye-opening for most of the people who still don’t believe in climate change.

As Louie Psihoyos, Oscar-winning Director of “The Cove,” stated:

“Cowspiracy may be the most important film made to inspire saving the planet. “

Cowspiracy cites hundreds of research and studies making its claims solid and credible, making it an incredible source of reliable information.

Watch Cowspiracy now on Netflix!