Political Activism
Although seeds of my activist self were there earlier, I took my first step into to the activist community in my first year at Middle Tennessee State University. As a member of MTSU's Students for Environmental Action, I learned about various environmental problems, networked with other activists in the region, and learned about organizing and direct action. Working with the Student Environmental Action Coalition, Greenpeace, and Katuah Earth First!, my attention focused on ozone depletion, water pollution, and nuclear waste.
DuPont chemical plant
Old Hickory, TN, April 1992
Champion International paper mill
Canton, NC, March 1993
Watts Bar nuclear power plant
Spring City, TN, July 1994
I also entered the feminist, antiracist, and LGBT movements to raise awareness about sexual assault, abortion rights, police brutality, environmental justice, and gay rights. At MTSU, I co-founded the Student Coalition for Animal Rights, participated in numerous Take Back the Night rallies, and helped lobby for including sexual orientation in our campus non-discrimination policy.
Planned Parenthood clinic defense
Chattanooga, TN, January 1993
march against racism and police brutality
Chattanooga, TN, September 1993
Food Not Bombs demonstration
San Francisco, CA, June 1995
The idea of integrating my activism and academic scholarship came from reading the contributions of ecofeminist philosophers who published articles in a newsletter produced by Feminists for Animal Rights. In my final year at MTSU, I wrote my honors thesis, "Empathy and Empiricism: Towards a Reconstruction of Science" (1995), on the use of animals in science.
Empathy and Empiricism: Towards a Reconstruction of Science
Contrasting the work of psychologist Harry Harlow to that of anthropologist Birute Galdikas, I argue that the humane treatment of animals in science is not only morally prescribed, it also produces better scientific knowledge. In an effort to understand the role of care-giving on social and cognitive development, Harlow placed infant rhesus monkeys in a variety of abusive environments and found that long-term social isolation caused severe psychological trauma. In contrast, Galidkas's conservation work in Borneo led her to become a surrogate mother for many infant orangutans who had become orphaned due to poaching. While rehabilitating these animals, Galdikas garnered significant expertise about the lives of orangutans as well as Indonesia's biodiversity as a whole.
While in graduate school at Purdue University, I volunteered at the Wildcat Wildlife Rehabilitation Center. Although most of my contributions consisted in feeding animals and cleaning cages, I did get to help out on a few rescues and an owl release. By the time I completed my Ph.D., my scholarly focus had shifted from environmental and animal rights to women's rights, but I did publish one essay arguing for GMO food labels, "Labeling Products of Biotechnology: Toward Communication and Consent," in the Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics 12 (3): 319-330.
"Labeling Products of Biotechnology: Toward Communication and Consent"
Both consumers and producers of biotechnology products have insisted that communication between the two be improved. The former demand more democratic participation in the risk assessment process of biotechnology products. The latter seek to correct misinformation regarding alleged risks from these products. One way to resolve these concerns, I argue, is through the use of biotechnology labels. Such labeling fosters consumer autonomy and moves toward more participatory decisionmaking, in addition to ensuring that informed consent from consumers is maintained. Furthermore, although voluntary biotech-free labeling in lieu of biotechlabels may uphold consumer sovereignty, the latter remains a more effective strategy for achieving ethical communication between consumers and producers of biotechnology products.