Times article] says it’s from human behavior.
But it’s really not human behavior, it’s the spe-
cific human behavior that is animal agriculture.”
Many of the people at the event seemed to
share a common knowledge—the 70 or more
billion farm animals that are killed each year
for food and fur, the destruction of land, the
health dangers, the dangers to indigenous
cultures, the emissions, and the widespread
suffering it causes.
“For me,” says photographer Cindy
Landon, “it’s how do you take an animal and
torture it and keep it in these factory farms
and these crates and then slaughter them hor-
rifically, and then sit down and eat them? Just
spiritually and consciously. So I’m hopeful
that people will wake up more and do things
differently.”
Sej Saraiya, an award-winning photogra-
pher from India, documents indigenous and
vanishing cultures. “These are places where
there’s a direct connection between human
beings and animals.” She says, “That connec-
tion is something we need to bring back to our
planet in order to save it.”
Other fine art photographers at this exhibit
included Donna Dennison, Andrei Duman,
Sally Long, Carla Seidel, Todd Snyder, and
Kurt Weiss.
“Events like this one for START remind
people that there are more living beings on this
earth besides us,” says Saraiya. “You see these
people rescuing animals, and you see tears in
everyone’s eyes. It creates a little shift in us.”
Read a longer version of this story online
at layoga.com with more information about
START, the photographers, and their work.Jeffrey Ainis is a freelance writer and editor, and a
co-author of books on world music and composing.PHOTOGRAPHER SEJ SARAIYA, WITH SCOTT BRAMER (L) AND MICHAEL PETTED; WITH HER PHOTOS IN THE
BACKGROUND. PHOTO CREDIT: SARAH SINGER OF SARAH SINGER PHOTOGRAPHY.BILLY McNAMARA
The fine-art photography fundraiser was
hosted and MC’d by Billy McNamara, a
film and television actor, documentary
producer, and a longtime animal rights
activist. In the recent in Malibu fires,
McNamara stayed up for three days
straight avoiding flames, jumping fences,
breathing smoke, evading police, and
working with firefighters and others to
rescue two horses from Sky Dog Ranch
(among other animals), give them hourly
water, investigate the safety of the 250
safari animals at Saddlerock Ranch and
winery (they were safe), and put out
spot fires. The firefighters supported
what he was doing and answered his call
when he saw structures at risk. Above is
a cellphone picture McNamara took at
the Malibu Union 76 Station on PCH,
where he hid from police between forays
into the flaming hills.GIRL AND FREE-ROAMING COW IN RISHIKESH, INDIA.
PHOTO BY SEJ SARAIYA.BILLY MCNAMARA, MC, WITH EXHIBIT ORGAN-
IZER NATALIE FORD. PHOTO CREDIT: SARAH
SINGER OF SARAH SINGER PHOTOGRAPHY.