2008 Animal Rights Web Site or Nonprofit of the Year

This year's honor goes to HumaneMyth.org, which launched in June. Its Humane Declaration begins,

The public deserves to be told the full truth of who animals are and what is being done to them behind closed doors, as well as the catastrophic impact that the continuing consumption of meat, eggs, and dairy products will have on human health, wildlife and the environment. We will do all we can to uphold this public trust.

As animal advocates committed to compassion and justice, we will refuse to take part in the exploitation of others or to collaborate with those caught up in such injustice. We will do our best to present a clear and uncompromised message to the public, a sincere and respectful message that is free of cynicism and manipulation.

Recognizing that progress toward social justice is gradual and depends on more and more people becoming aware of the truth, we will do all we can to insure that each of the steps our culture takes is toward an accurate understanding of the ways animals are being harmed, and away from the false and misleading idea that the production of meat, eggs, and dairy products can be carried out without cruelty, violence, or injustice.

The Animals & Society Institute described the Web site this way:

Their mission has the far more serious goal of exploding the myths behind so-called "humanely produced" animal products, such as cage-free and free-range eggs or meat that is "certified humane." They have joined with others in the animal rights movement to counter the marketing of food products that supposedly cause less harm to the animals used to produce them – foods that are meant to assauge the guilt of people who are concerned about animals but stop short of not eating them.

The voices on HumaneMyth.org include those of former ranchers and farmers such as Harold Brown, Howard Lyman, and Cheri Ezell-Vandersluis. Follow those links and read (part of) their stories. Animal advocates such as Harold, Howard, and Cheri are some of the most powerful because they, more than any of us, know what this battle is about, and they are among the greatest examples of proof that anyone can change the way they live (and eat and think and feel), and they are among those I point to when animal rights advocates are accused of not really understanding animal agriculture, of all being arrogant, judgmental city dwellers with not a clue.

HumaneMyth.org is full of thought-provoking material, and I encourage readers who are not yet familiar with the resource to explore it all. Check out, specifically, the "MythWatch: Deconstructing the Humane Myth in the Media" section for analysis of various media pieces in easily navigable categories (e.g., "Global Warming & Sustainability," "Cage-Free Eggs," "Happy Meat," and "Advocacy-Industry Collaboration").

And when you're finished checking out HumaneMyth.org, spend some time browsing FARM's impressive Humane Facts site too. Its "Labels" section defines the many confusing labels attached to animal products and offers Loophole Alerts for each one. And do you want to know how animals' natural life spans compare to the age at which they're killed? Are you curious about what pigs, chickens, cows, and turkeys are really like, contrary to stereotypes? Then be sure to visit Humane Facts' "Meet the Animals" section too.