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Draft:Ed Winters

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Ed Winters
NationalityBritish
Other namesEarthling Ed
Years active2016 – present
Known forAnimal Rights Advocacy & Viral Speeches
MovementAnimal Rights & Veganism
Websitewww.earthlinged.org

Ed Winters is a British animal rights activist, filmmaker and lecturer. He has a large social media presence on platforms such as YouTube and Instagram, where he goes by the username Earthling Ed. He gave two TEDx talks in early 2019.[1] He has co-taught classes (I THINK JUST ONE CLASS - FALL SEMESTER) on animal rights activism as a Media and Design Fellow at Harvard University.[2][3]

Animal rights advocacy

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Winters started his YouTube channel in 2016, alongside co-founding the animal rights group Surge.[4][5][6] He specifically focuses on education as means by which to advocate, with a focus on philosophical and ethical arguments regarding accepting animals into "our circle of moral consideration."[citation needed] His online teachings are based on effective communication and positive community building. As of May 2024, his YouTube channel had more than 450,000 subscribers.[7]

USE THE CORNELL SOURCE FOR SOMETHING ELSE[8]

Animal liberation marches

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In 2016, through Surge, Winters co-founded The Official Animal Rights March,[9] which grew from 2,500 participants in London in 2016 to 10,000 in 2017.[10][11] The events also took place in New York, Los Angeles, Miami and Bucharest[12] in what the activists described as "a consolidated global effort to make the vegan voice heard."[10] In 2019, the number of activists rose to tens of thousands, who marched in 42 cities around the world, including Cologne and Berlin in Germany.[13] In Cologne, around 1,000 activists conducted the event, marching 6 kilometers[13] and conducting 'die-ins' and fake blood protests.[14] In London, around 12,000 activists participated in the march, up from 10,000 in 2017 and 2018.[11]

Anti-fur campaigns

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Under Winter's co-directorship, Surge conducted anti-fur demonstrations at the London catwalk events attracting more than 250 people in September 2017, a rise from 120 the previous catwalk season and 25 in September 2016.[15] The protest included petitions and a video with Lucy Watson calling on the BFC to ban fur.[16] In 2018, Winters gathered anti-fur campaigners and protested at the Burberry, Mary Katrantzou, and Christopher Kane shows, besides 180 The Strand, the official home of the event.[17] Protests included animal rights activists covering in fake blood, wearing costume, and bearing signs outside of 180 Strand.[16][18] Winters and fellow activists called upon the British Fashion Council (BFC) to ban all fur from London Fashion Week.[16] The London Fashion Week eventually went fur-free in 2018.[19][20]

Other activism

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Surge brought to light cruelties in United Kingdom's dairy farms after taking footage of them, which according to Winters "shows not only a flagrant violation of the safety of these animals, but points to the wider systemic issues found throughout the whole dairy industry."[21][22] In 2017 he also produced the documentary Land of Hope and Glory,[23] which contained this footage,[21] to which the RSPCA was forced to respond.[24] Winters was also among those who petitioned Priestlands School in Lymington, Hampshire, to prevent the slaughter of their Tamworth and Gloucester Old Spots pigs.[25] The school presented its students with the piglets to teach them how to "fatten up pigs for slaughter", and Winters launched a campaign after the school dismissed a parent's initial concerns. His campaign reached 37,000 signatures within days of its launch.[26] Winter has given speeches in one-third of U.K. universities[27] and across college campuses in America.[28] Winters has appeared on live television[29] numerous times debating the ethical and environmental arguments for veganism. In September 2018 he opened an non-profit vegan restaurant in London called Unity Diner.[30][31][32][33] (ALL FOUR SOURCES FOR RESTAURANT VERIFIED) Portions of Unity Diner's profits benefit animal rights work, such as the funding of Surge Sanctuary, an English animal sanctuary Winters co-founded in late 2020.[34][35] (SURGE SANCTUARY REFS VERIFIED) In 2021, Winters co-founded another vegan restaurant, the No Catch Co., in Brighton.[36][37] (NO CATCH CO SOURCES VERIFIED)

Winters was also one of the guests at the 2018 Montreal Vegan Festival.[38]

On 14 February 2018, Winters was attacked by an apparently aggressive farmer when Winters and his team of animal liberation volunteers were laying roses for animals being sent to slaughter in the Thame Livestock Market, Oxfordshire, on Valentine's Day.[citation needed] In November 2018, when Winters was questioned by This Morning presenter Phillip Schofield whether he was a militant vegan, Winters said he "stands up for what [he] believes in" and that "violence is never on the table", adding that "I'm personally offended by people who exploit animals... pigs are in gas chambers screaming." In reply, Schofield shocked the viewers by saying "the more militant you are, the more I’ll back away... if you make me that angry and frighten me that much–I will eat a sausage!"[39]

In March 2019, Winters, along with 200 other activists of the animal rights campaign group Meat the Victims, stormed a pig farm in Laughterton, Lincolnshire and videotaped the happenings. The owner of the farm accused the activists of causing two piglets to die. Winters refused the accusation, pointing that many of the animals were already dead and that the owner is "twisting it to present herself as the victim." He added, "The footage shows there were already dead piglets on the floor and scattered around the farm. When you see the footage it is obvious these animals were suffering. We have nothing against her apart from the system she is a part of." The videos were later posted on social media by the activists.[40]

In 2019, he toured the United States and gave vegan lectures at Cornell, Harvard, Brown, Columbia, Yale, and Rutgers Universities.[8] In his talk at the Cornell University on "The Ethics of Pet Ownership", he argued that the concept of having animals as pets is unnatural because viewing animals as "pets" and ourselves as "owners" instills a sense of propriety and devalues the lives of the pet animal.[41] In his October 2019 speech, Winters tried to convince footballer Jermaine Jenas to adapt veganism,[42] which made the latter explore more about the lifestyle by interacting with nutritionist Rhiannon Lambert, chef Miguel Barclay, and vegan footballer Chris Smalling on a BBC documentary.[43]

FIND A WAY TO THROW THIS BOOK REVIEW IN THERE, it seems to be independent of Ed and it criticizes parts of it so clearly not glowing: https://www.newstatesman.com/culture/books/2022/02/why-are-vegans-so-reviled[44]

Winters wrote and co-produced the 2022 animated short film Milk, which focused on the dairy industry. The film was the 2023 People's Voice Winner in the Video—Animation category at the 2023 Webby Awards.[45]

Coronavirus controversy

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In March 2020, Winters posted an image on his Instagram account stating that "COVID-19 started because we eat animals" and "would not exist if the world was vegan".[46] PolitiFact identified this as misinformation,[47] and a journalist for USA Today concurred, causing the post to be censored as "partly false".[46] The Guardian published an article on 28 March 2020 titled "Is factory farming to blame for coronavirus?" which mentioned the censorship of Winter's post and concluded, "But the claims are also partly true. Though the links they draw are too simplistic, the evidence is now strong that the way meat is produced – and not just in China – contributed to Covid-19."[48]

Personal life

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Winters turned vegetarian in May 2014 after coming across a news article about a chicken truck crashing near Manchester.[49][50] Upon reading that many of the birds had died, he realized "the animals we eat have the capacity to suffer, and therefore they wish to live a life free from suffering."[4] He then became vegan in 2015[5] after watching the documentary Earthlings.[51] (VERIFIED THIS)

References

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  1. ^ "Earthling Ed Gives TEDx Talk On Veganism In Sweden", VeganLife Magazine, 29 January 2019, retrieved 29 March 2020[dead link‍]
  2. ^ "Vegan Activist Earthling Ed to Teach Animal Rights Class at Harvard University". Vegan News. 9 April 2019. Retrieved 20 April 2019.[dead link‍]
  3. ^ Brennan, Maeve; Parker, Adelaide (20 October 2022). "Meet Earthling Ed, That Vegan Educator | Magazine | The Harvard Crimson". www.thecrimson.com. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
  4. ^ a b "About Ed Winters". Ed Winters. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
  5. ^ a b Bronnert, Rachel (12 March 2024). "'Veganism is about challenging our normality': In conversation with Ed Winters". Epigram. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
  6. ^ Chappet, Marie-Claire (27 February 2020), "The 50 most empowering Nu-Gen activists you need to know about right now", Glamour Magazine, retrieved 3 April 2020
  7. ^ "Earthling Ed - YouTube". www.youtube.com. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
  8. ^ a b Lu, Grace (11 April 2019). "Speaker Asks: Why Do We Love Dogs, Eat Cows, and Wear Sheep?". The Cornell Daily Sun. Cornellsun.com. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
  9. ^ "Thousands of vegan activists march through London to end animal cruelty". Metro. 2 September 2017. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  10. ^ a b Simpson, Fiona (2 September 2017). "Thousands of vegans stage animal rights march in central London". Evening Standard. London: Standard.co.uk. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  11. ^ a b Hockaday, James (18 August 2019). "Record 12,000 vegan activists take part in London Animal Rights March". Metro. London: Metro.co.uk. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  12. ^ Woolfe, Sam (4 September 2017). "Crowds have gathered around the world in defence of animals". The Canary. London: TheCanary.co. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  13. ^ a b Winter, Chase (17 August 2019). "Vegans march in Germany to 'give animals a voice'". DW. Cologne: DW.com. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  14. ^ Winter, Chase (17 August 2019). "'Die-ins' and fake blood at animal rights protests". DW. Cologne: DW.com. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  15. ^ Cartner-Morley, Jess (16 February 2018). "Anti-fur protests set to fly as activists target London fashion week". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  16. ^ a b c Hendriksz, Vivian (19 September 2017). "Anti-fur protesters take London Fashion Week by storm". Fashion United. London: Fashionunited.uk. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  17. ^ "Anti-fur protesters cause mayhem at London Fashion Week show". RT. London: RT.com. 19 February 2018. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  18. ^ Cook, Grace (19 September 2017). "Making Sense of the Anti-Fur Protests at London Fashion Week". Business of Fashion. London. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  19. ^ Conlon, Scarlett (7 September 2018). "London fashion week vows to be fur-free". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  20. ^ "London Fashion Week to go fur-free for the first time". BBC News. London: BBC. 7 September 2018. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  21. ^ a b King, David (26 February 2019). "Undercover footage of violence at dairy farm prompts RSPCA investigation". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  22. ^ Dalton, Jane (29 November 2019). "Cows sexually abused, hit and punched at company owned by NFU deputy president, footage shows". Independent. Independent.co.uk. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  23. ^ "If you think that British meat is more humane than American, you're deluded". Metro. 19 December 2017. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  24. ^ "Land of Hope and Glory film". www.rspcaassured.org.uk. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  25. ^ Ward, Victoria (22 January 2018). "School targeted by animal rights activists after vegan parents criticise decade-long pig rearing project". The Telegraph. Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  26. ^ Richards, Alexandra (22 January 2018). "School faces backlash after students raise pigs to send to slaughter". Evening Standard. Standard.co.uk. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  27. ^ "Earthling Ed Will Make You Vegan in 30 Minutes or Less". Metiza. 18 September 2018. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  28. ^ "Inaugural 'Dairy Alternative Day' Features Vegan Activist Earthling Ed and Dairy-Free Food". The Cornell Daily Sun. 9 April 2019. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  29. ^ Hill, Rose (6 November 2018). "Phil's 'sausage' remark during militant vegan debate shocks This Morning fans". mirror. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  30. ^ "Earthling Ed's Unity Diner moves to a bigger Spitalfields site". Hot Dinners. 9 October 2019. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
  31. ^ "Activist Earthling Ed to Open Non-Profit Vegan Diner in London". VegNews.com. Retrieved 20 April 2019.
  32. ^ "London's 11 yummiest vegan comfort foods". Metro. 26 October 2019. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  33. ^ "Unity Diner | Vegan Restaurant". Unity Diner | Vegan Restaurant. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
  34. ^ "Surge Sanctuary | Vegan Animal Sanctuary". Surge Sanctuary | Vegan Animal Sanctuary. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
  35. ^ "Surge Sanctuary". For A Vegan. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
  36. ^ "Our story". The No Catch Co.
  37. ^ "The No Catch Co: "Our Mission is to Take On the Fish and Chip Shop Industry" - vegconomist - the vegan business magazine". vegconomist.com. 2 December 2021.
  38. ^ Maret, Elsa (1 September 2018). "2018 Montreal Vegan Festival: What to Expect". Montreal Times. Montreal, Canada: MTLTimes.ca. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  39. ^ Hill, Rose (6 November 2018). "Phillip Schofield shocks This Morning fans with 'sausage' remark during vegan debate". Mirror. Mirror.co.uk. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  40. ^ Duggan, Joe (6 March 2019). "VEGAN FURY: Farmer accuses militant mob of killing piglets after STORMING her farm". Express. Express.co.uk. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  41. ^ Campbell, Maeve (21 January 2020). "Animals – Can you eat one and cuddle the other? The owners spoiling their pets". Euro News. Euronews.com. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  42. ^ Nott, George (25 October 2019). "Football Going Vegan: sports stars fail to convince Jermaine Jenas". The Grocer. TheGrocer.co.uk. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  43. ^ "Football Going Vegan: Jermaine Jenas Investigates". RadioTimes. n.d. Retrieved 4 April 2020.
  44. ^ Hayward, Freddie (9 February 2022). "Why are vegans so reviled?". New Statesman. Retrieved 25 July 2024.
  45. ^ "NEW Webby Gallery + Index". NEW Webby Gallery + Index. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
  46. ^ a b Brown, Matthew (18 March 2020). "Fact check: Is COVID-19 caused by human consumption of animals?". USA Today. USA Today. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  47. ^ "Vegan Instagram accounts spread misinformation about COVID-19". PolitiFact. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  48. ^ Spinney, Laura (28 March 2020). "Is factory farming to blame for coronavirus?". The Guardian. TheGuardian.com. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  49. ^ "Hundreds of chickens killed in M62 lorry crash". BBC News. 14 May 2014. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
  50. ^ "Ed Winters Instagram". www.instagram.com. 14 May 2024. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
  51. ^ Are Militant Vegans Going Too Far? This Morning (YouTube). This Morning. 6 November 2018. Event occurs at 0:12. Retrieved 13 October 2019.
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