The world isn’t simply
an aggregate of objects
out there, inanimate matter,
it’s living, it’s sacred.
As we see nature
having subjectivity, we
treat nature with respect.
Halo open-minded viewers,
and welcome to
Enlightening Entertainment
on Supreme Master
Television.
Today’s program features
an in-depth discussion
by Dr. Marti Kheel,
a modern American
philosopher and the author
of the insightful book,
“Nature Ethics: An
Ecofeminist Perspective.”
Dr. Kheel
draws connections
in modern society
among animal abuse,
environmental crisis,
inequality, and
escalating health costs,
to urge for a new way of
seeing our fellow human
and animal co-inhabitants
and the natural environment.
Her work encourages
an inclusive
and holistic way of life
driven by empathy
and care as the solution
for a harmonious world.
Dr. Marti Kheel received
her doctor’s degree
in religious studies from
the Theological Union.
A longtime vegan,
her love for animals
led her to found
the organization
Feminists for Animal Rights
in 1982.
Currently,
she is a visiting scholar
in the Department of
Environmental Science,
Policy, and Management
at University of California,
Berkeley, USA.
Her eloquent articles
have been widely published
in journals
and anthologies both
within the United States
and abroad.
Dr. Kheel begins by
explaining the meaning
of ecofeminism.
The term ecofeminism
was coined in 1974 by
a French woman named
Françoise d'Eaubonne,
although it seems to
have arisen independently
at a number of locations
at approximately
the same time.
And at the broadest level
it refers to the idea
that the devaluation
of women and nature
has gone hand in hand in
Western patriarchal society.
Ecofeminists connect
the devaluation of
women and nature with
other forms of abuse.
What they look at
is a series of dualisms,
between reason and
emotion; conscious,
unconscious; good, evil;
and male, female.
So the first half
of that dualism
is considered superior
and the second is
considered the inferior one.
And there is this idea
that the inferior exists
to serve the needs
of the superior part
of the dualism.
We see examples of this.
In terms of the treatment
of animals on factory farms,
where animals' bodies
are literally
living machines for
the reproduction of flesh
or the reproduction
of offspring.
And we see examples
of that in the way in which
wilderness is viewed
as something that
needs to be cleared to
give way to civilization.
In other examples,
our myths and literature
are bound with images
of the evil that needs to
be conquered by this hero.
Then we see examples
in modern-day society,
and the recreation
of this conquest
through hunting,
rodeos, bull fights.
Dr. Kheel’s realization
started with helping
a stray kitten
look for a home, through
which she was exposed
to the grief of animals
in all aspects of cruelty
inflicted on them every day.
I was driving down
a busy street and
I saw this young kitten
in the middle of the road.
It was an enclosed area
and I knew
the kitten was in danger.
So I stopped my car and
I was able to eventually
get the kitten in the car
and bring her home.
And in the course
of doing that,
I began looking for a home
for the kitten and
that led me in contact
to an organization that
addressed all the forms
of animal abuse,
not just rescuing animals.
And it was the first time
that I learned about the
treatment of the animals
on factory farms and
laboratories, fur farms;
all the other areas where
animals were being abused,
and I was shocked.
I had no idea
that this was going on.
And my heart went out
to all the suffering that
they were going through.
And I began to read
in the area
of animal liberation.
The first book I was given
was Peter Singer’s book
“Animal Liberation”
and overnight
that made me a vegan.
Just through learning,
my empathy was awakened,
and I’d always
had feelings for animals
and I realized
that those connections,
those feelings
had been suppressed.
As Dr. Kheel researched
deeper into veganism
and animal liberation,
she learned about
another major issue
that stemmed from
animal farming –
environmental devastation.
One of my main interests
has been in bringing
the animal liberation
and the environmental
movements together.
The data is overwhelming
that animal agriculture is
a major
environmental problem.
Whether you are looking
at soil depletion,
water pollution,
air pollution,
all the different forms
of energy consumption,
it's a major problem.
There's something
we can be doing every day
in our lives
that will make an important
environmental impact.
It’s very important that
we make that connection.
Besides animal raising
for meat, animal abuse
is evident in the confinement
and torture of animals
in laboratories,
in the name of “science.”
The whole issue of
animal experimentation
illustrates
the dualistic mindset that
I was referring to before,
and it’s this idea
that somehow it’s okay
to use animals as objects,
if a greater good
comes out of that.
When they kill an animal,
they say the animal
was sacrificed.
And I think behind it
lies this religious belief
that somehow if animals
are killed, human beings
will be allowed to live.
And I think
we need to get away
from that way of thinking,
because in fact,
animal experimentation
has not helped humans by
and large,
and to the extent it has,
there are other ways
we could have obtained
the knowledge,
that would not
have harmed the animals
in my opinion.
I think much of
Western medicine is based
on this heroic model,
that you come in and
you develop this weapon
of war that’s going to
conquer disease.
And so,
a drug is something
you’re going to trust
more than a natural
substance such as an herb,
because it’s been
developed in a laboratory
and it’s more potent,
supposedly.
We need to understand
why diseases develop,
instead of just coming in
and saying,
here’s the solution
through this drug that
was developed on animals.
So, understand
and prevent illnesses.
Our interview with
Dr. Kheel will continue
after these messages.
Please stay tuned
to Supreme Master
Television.
Caring viewers,
welcome back to
Enlightening Entertainment
as distinguished
American author
and philosopher
Dr. Marti Kheel continues
her discussion on the
ecofeminist perspective.
Through this new worldview,
she offers
an inclusive approach for
solving some of today’s
most important social
and environmental issues.
I think that one of
the most important
contributions of
the ecofeminist movement
is the idea that nature
is not just out there
in the wild, and it’s not
just on factory farms,
in laboratories,
but it’s inside ourselves,
it’s our own human nature.
And it’s here that
environmental abuse
begins, it’s here that
cruelty to animals begins.
Ecofeminists aren’t
talking about an abstract,
universal sense of nature,
there’s this awareness
that our natures are
always socially constructed,
but there’s this idea that
this is our connection
with the natural world.
And these are feelings that
should not be suppressed,
they should be validated.
The denial of
our own natural feeling
and empathy
causes the disconnection
between us and nature
and our co-inhabitants.
Dr. Kheel emphasizes
the importance of knowing
in order to evoke
and validate our instinct.
Here is the solution to
many of our social issues.
I think it’s important
that we show films
and take people
to some of the places
where some of these things
are happening, so that
they understand where
their food comes from,
because
people don’t have the facts.
If we just give people
factual information,
then they will change.
Dr. Kheel elaborates on
what changes are needed
for reestablishing
our inner connection
with other beings.
She believes
that one place to begin
is the education
of our children.
I think one of the things
that happens all the time
is that we treat animals
as objects.
So we teach kids
to study nature
by bringing animals
into classrooms and
dissecting them, sometimes
doing experiments on them,
taking young children
to zoos, and saying that
this is somehow educational.
And I would argue
that the real education
that goes on
in those instances
is one of detachment;
It’s one that says,
“These are lesser beings,”
and that they are there
to do some service for us,
whether it’s entertainment
or education.
So I think we need to
change those practices,
and I’d like to see people
going out in nature more,
you know
classroom teachers
taking their classes out
into the woods, and
learning about animals
in their natural habitat.
And just observing
the animals that are
in our everyday world,
looking in our yards
and seeing the animals
that are there.
One of the things
I’d like to see
done in schools and
throughout our culture
is a focus on empathy.
I think
it’s a natural capacity
that we all have,
but it’s been so devalued
in our culture,
so suppressed,
that we have to relearn it.
So I think
that some of our work is,
it’s a form of reclaiming
our capacity to care.
To our worldwide audience,
Dr. Kheel has
the following message,
a call for caring and peace
among all beings.
I just want to be clear
that I’m not blaming men,
I don’t think
that’s helpful to anybody.
But I do think
we need to identify
that there is this problem,
and that it’s not only
harmful to women
but it’s harmful to men too.
My message is really
one of emphasizing
the importance of
compassion, of empathy.
Being vegan is
one of the best ways
we can embody those values
of empathy and care.
And so,
by becoming a vegan
we do something
for animals,
we do something
for the planet,
we do something
for our own health.
It’s a wonderfully
positive thing.
We have to end this war
against the natural world,
we have to call an amnesty.
It’s time to practice
the values of peace and
non-violence and make this
a better world for all.
Our deep appreciation
goes to Dr. Marti Kheel
for sharing with us
her inspiring and
constructive philosophy.
We wish you
ever more success
in your endeavor
to make our world
a place of greater harmony
and freedom
among all beings.
Dr. Marti Kheel’s book,
“Nature Ethics: An
Ecofeminist Perspective,”
is available at
martikheel.com
and Amazon.com
Dr. Marti Kheel’s book,
“Nature Ethics:
An Ecofeminist Perspective,”
is available at
and
Kind-hearted viewers,
thank you for
your gracious presence
on today’s episode of
Enlightening Entertainment.
Up next is
Words of Wisdom,
after Noteworthy News.
May the day soon come
when our planet becomes
a paradise
of loving kindness.
Dr. Marti Kheel (f): The world isn’t simply an aggregate of objects out there, inanimate matter,
it’s living, it’s sacred. As we see nature having subjectivity, we treat nature with respect.
HOST: Halo open-minded viewers, and welcome to Enlightening Entertainment on Supreme Master
Television. Today’s program features an in-depth discussion by Dr. Marti Kheel, a modern American
philosopher and the author of the insightful book, “Nature Ethics: An Ecofeminist Perspective.”
Dr. Kheel draws connections in modern society among animal abuse, environmental crisis, inequality, and escalating health costs, to urge for a new way of seeing our fellow human and animal co-inhabitants and the natural environment.
Her work encourages an inclusive and holistic way of life driven by empathy and care as the solution for a harmonious world.
Dr. Marti Kheel received her doctor’s degree in religious studies from the Theological Union.
A longtime vegan, her love for animals led her to found the organization Feminists for Animal Rights in 1982.
Currently, she is a visiting scholar in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy, and Management at University of California, Berkeley, USA.
Her eloquent articles have been widely published in journals and anthologies both within the United States and abroad. Dr. Kheel begins by explaining the meaning of ecofeminism.
Marti Kheel(f): The term ecofeminism was coined in 1974 by a French woman named Françoise d'Eaubonne, although it seems to have arisen independently at a number of locations at approximately the same time.
And at the broadest level it refers to the idea that the devaluation of women and nature has gone hand in hand in Western patriarchal society.
Ecofeminists connect the devaluation of women and nature with other forms of abuse.
What they look at is a series of dualisms, between reason and emotion; conscious, unconscious; good, evil; and male, female. So the first half of that dualism is considered superior and the second is considered the inferior one.
And there is this idea that the inferior exists to serve the needs of the superior part of the dualism. We see examples of this. In terms of the treatment of animals on factory farms, where animals' bodies are literally living machines for the reproduction of flesh or the reproduction of offspring.
And we see examples of that in the way in which wilderness is viewed as something that needs to be cleared to give way to civilization.
In other examples, our myths and literature are bound with images of the evil that needs to be conquered by this hero. Then we see examples in modern-day society, and the recreation of this conquest through hunting, rodeos, bull fights.
HOST: Dr. Kheel’s realization started with helping a stray kitten look for a home, through which she was exposed to the grief of animals in all aspects of cruelty inflicted on them every day.
Dr. Marti Kheel’s book, “Nature Ethics:
An Ecofeminist Perspective,” is available at
martikheel.com and
Amazon.com