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Ben Kutschied: Our New Director of Volunteer Programs

Ben Kutschied is the new Director of Volunteer Programs for Compassionate Action for Animals.

Ben volunteered briefly with CAA before taking the job. In 2006, he helped co-organize the Twin Cities Turkey-Free Thanksgiving Potluck and volunteered at Veg Week. He was first introduced to CAA by a former co-worker, who was also one of his first vegan friends.

So far, Ben's favorite thing about working with CAA is getting to meet inspiring people who are working to make changes in the world to benefit the lives of animals.

Ben is also a founding member of the Upright Egg Theater Company, a green theater company. He has been working with Upright and other local theaters as a director, stage manager, actor, and designer. He also found veg-friendly work in the natural foods industry.

In addition to theater and animal rights, Ben is interested in gardening, preparing delicious vegan foods, reading, and being out in the wilderness.

Ben says, "To me, the suffering of an animal is no easier to ignore than the suffering of a human being" and "I am very grateful for this opportunity and am looking forward to getting started!"

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Article: Hog Heaven?

Life is no picnic for free-range pigs

By James E. McWilliams, as printed in Slate
June 29, 2009

The horrible fates of factory-farmed pigs are relatively well-known: They live crammed in drab confinement. Their tails are docked, they're castrated to reduce aggression, and they're stuffed with growth promoters and antibiotic-laden feed. In the minds of most, the humane alternative is the free-range cultivation of pigs, an arrangement that affords access to open space and the chance to behave like pigs. As a system of swine management, however, free-range-even though it mercifully allows ample pig mobility-is in many ways far from the ideal that most people imagine it to be.

Take the case of Jamon Iberico de bellota, a cured Spanish ham that enjoys the distinction of costing around $200 per pound. These elite swine-a privileged fraction of all Iberico pigs raised by Spanish farmers-are often heralded as living in bucolic bliss as they munch on a steady and plentiful diet of acorns. According to the popular image, they do nothing but "live, sleep, and forage in the open," are "pampered," and live "a leisurely, free-range life." The raising of Iberico pigs, to be sure, is manifestly more ethical than conventional factory pork production. But the measures taken to cultivate these pigs- which includes their mutilation through ringing, castration, and spaying-have significant animal welfare implications and deserve their fair share of scrutiny...

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Recipe: Mock Tuna Salad

Sink your teeth into an amazing vegan tuna sandwich. This tuna-friendly version is better than the real thing!

Read the full recipe.