Wearing Animals: now what?

"While many people think  it is cruel to kill animals for their fur, leather
remains a popular  consumer item, even though both products require the
killing of animals.
Most consumers mistakenly assume that leather is merely a by-product of  the
meat industry, and that buying leather clothing does not increase  the number
of animals slaughtered. However, this belief ignores the  economic interdepe-
ndence of factory farming and the leather trade. In reality, leather is a
co-product of the meat industry, generating  significant profits for both
factory farms and the leather trade itself.  In fact, without the lucrative
sale of animal skins for leather,  factory farms would not even be able to
turn a profit by selling meat alone. Ultimately, buying leather products
subsidizes factory farms  while providing financial incentive for them to
produce more leather. " 

On idausa.org you could read a little more about it and try to figure out that we do not simply exploit animals by eating them but in a variety
of different ways. This is a nice complement of information for those who had just finished the book of J.S. Foer.

Eating Animals: If Nothing Matters, There’s Nothing To Save.

When a Novelist starts to write essays on what we should and what should not eat this is a warning sign. And the book, even if it doesn’t say anything new about this subject -though it says it in a brilliant way- well it’s worth to read it. But those who will read this book are in part already vegetarians if not vegans and/or eat reasonable quantity of meat.

Meat industry, even if maybe more regulated here in EU, is just another industry acting with absolute no care about the future. Even its own future: in which business school do they teach to sell products that kill your customers? Is this what we call a good business plan?

Jonathan Safran Foer could have been written a book simply called “EATING”. Of course meat industry acts badly AND it causes huge pain to animals. But should we forget about how and where our vegetables and fruits are cultivated? Isn’t agriculture a huge cause of pollution too with its billions of tons of chemicals that seep from ground into fresh water, rivers and seas?

Shouldn’t we stop eating? Of course we can’t. And what about the “BIO” labels?  Of course those fruits and products are better, but is this a viable solution for everyone? Or are we just creating a niche product for rich and Bobo addicted to this last trend?

We’re growing too fast and developing too bad, without any care and any plan. AT ALL.

We’re facing extinction with the smile on our faces and the unconsciousness of idiots. We could keep reading books like this and for those who are vegetarians, we could still talk to our friends and families and people around us. This would not change things but it will be important for and to all of them who at least tried to do something.

Concrete Island

Credits: Patrick Cornillet – ANTRES – 1. Voies Aériennes 164X121 et 164x93cm Susan Nielsen Gallery.

It has been a while that rumors about an adaptation of Concrete Island of J.G. BALLARD is on its way. Brad Anderson and Christian Bale have confirmed that they’re working on a project on this plot. I’ve read this novel years ago and I was thinking to an adaptation too. I was wondering which way would have been the best to reproduce the atmosphere, the sense of claustrophobia generated by an open space, the sense of decadence right into the heart of the civilization.

I’ve made sketches and written a plot but still I was looking for the right transposition. And then, walking in Paris, I’ve passed in front of Susan Nielsen gallery, in the Marais area. And there, hanged on the walls, there were those magnificent paintings of Patrick Cornillet. As you can see they create the perfect environment into which imagine the characters crawl and run and fight. I like to imaging a collaboration between Patrick Cornillet and some studios in order to produce a version of Concrete Island using his artistic imprint to drive the creation of a CGI world as background for the characters.

I don’t know which reading will Brad Anderson give to the novel. For sure he has the competences and resources to make a good movie, but I would be very very intrigued of seeing Christian Bale morphed into Maitland and playing his role into a synthetic world. Why not using techniques such as those developed by James Cameron for Avatar? Can you imagine the results?

HS