Category: Advocacy

Changing the world, one opinion piece at a time

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Johns Hopkins Magazine: Alternate Viewpoint

Posted on by Laura Lee Cascada

This letter to the editor was published in Johns Hopkins Magazine’s spring 2022 issue.

In response to American Humane’s “No Animals Were Harmed” catchphrase, I’d offer another: There are two sides to every story. American Humane touts heartwarming tales about dogs being reunited with their guardians or movie-star tigers gallivanting into the sunset as the core of their work. In reality, however, their Hollywood and farmed animal certification programs are marketing efforts that belie the extent of suffering or illness behind the products they certify.

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Independent Media Institute: We Just Can’t Wait for World Leaders to Fix Our Broken Food System

Posted on by Laura Lee Cascada

When global leaders won’t save our food system, cities take the lead.

This piece I co-wrote with Anita Krajnc of Plant Based Treaty and Nital Jethalal of VegTO was published by the Independent Media Institute in December 2022 and syndicated in Countercurrents, CounterPunch, AlterNet, Independent Australia, and others.

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Chatham News + Record: Beware of Mountaire’s Humanewashing

Posted on by Laura Lee Cascada

This letter to the editor was published in the Chatham News + Record in September 2021. To the Editor: It was concerning to learn that La Voz de Chatham, a critical resource for the Latinx community, is now accepting support from the nation’s fourth largest poultry producer, Mountaire Farms. Rather than earnestly giving back to Read More

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It’s Freezing in LA: Big Meat Is the New Big Oil

Posted on by Laura Lee Cascada

While oil and gas corporations are notorious for campaigns to hinder climate action, are other industries escaping under the radar? Laura Lee Cascada investigates the impact and obfuscations of the meat industry, and a worrying pattern of green organisations in their pay. Sponsored by the Better Food Foundation.

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The Sandpaper: Destined to Die

Posted on by Laura Lee Cascada

My letter to the editor was published by The SandPaper. July 24, 2019 To the Editor: We’ve all seen the colorful shells, painted with football team logos and cartoon characters. Thousands of kids will head home from their summer vacations at the beach with one in tow, a tiny trinket reminding them of sunny days and Read More

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Sentient Media: Climate Groups Finally Recognize the Link Between Factory Farming and Climate Change

Posted on by Laura Lee Cascada

We’re celebrating our second Earth Day in the midst of a global pandemic, which, in just one year, has redefined the word “normal” for us all. Yet COVID-19’s disruption has also afforded us an opportunity to hit the reset button and establish a resilient, sustainable new normal. We’ve long counted on environmental groups to model what this sustainable future looks like—one where single-use plastics are rare and electric vehicles are business as usual. But what about our fragile food system, which has all but crumbled under the pandemic’s weight? Does the way the climate movement eats line up with its own sustainable values?

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Royal Examiner: This Thanksgiving, let’s embrace a resilient new tradition

Posted on by Laura Lee Cascada

(This piece was published by the Royal Examiner on November 25, 2020.) For a holiday grounded in tradition, this Thanksgiving is going to feel unsettling: face masks, socially distanced gatherings around an outdoor fire pit, and even Zoom calls with relatives from afar. In the midst of such a shakeup, perhaps the most grounding step Read More

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Royal Examiner: Don’t just ask about us

Posted on by Laura Lee Cascada

(This Letter to the Editor was published by the Royal Examiner on October 16, 2020.) The Examiner’s decision to scrutinize the cost of police presence at Front Royal Unites’ recent racial justice events begs the question: Why now, and why not for any other rallies or parades? And, more importantly, why aren’t we talking instead about the Read More

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Northern Virginia Daily: Past time to relocate statue

Posted on by Laura Lee Cascada

(This Letter to the Editor was published in the Northern Virginia Daily on November 5, 2020.) Editor: Charles Mills’ letter reflects the most dangerous aspect of our town’s Confederate monument: in its more than 100 years of existence, it has only obfuscated the reality that the Civil War was fought for the South’s quest to Read More

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Happy Eco News: A Resilient New Normal

Posted on by Laura Lee Cascada

(This piece was originally featured on Happy Eco News on September 14, 2020.) Hello, Happy Eco News readers! My name is Laura, and I’m writing to you from the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, where I’ve recently made a home for my pitbull mix, potbellied big, and myself, nestled between the trees and the Read More

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Tenderly: Dear Burger King: Tofu, not Lemongrass, Will Curb Cow Farts

Posted on by Laura Lee Cascada

Originally published by Tenderly on Medium. Let’s get to the meat of Burger King’s new singalong: the absurd stunt of announcing a diet change for “some” of your cows isn’t a sudden departure from the company’s dismal environmental record. It’s a thinly veiled marketing campaign to help the burger giant to get back to what it Read More