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Outstanding Activist!
On
Christmas Day 1970, when Joy Askew was a young artist/musician fresh out
of high school and living in the North of England, a group of older artist
friends urged her to become vegetarian. Like these university friends,
Joy became horrified at the prospect of eating meat and so was happy to
start a new tradition of eating baked beans on toast for Christmas dinner
instead of the usual English meal of roast turkey and pork with all the
trimmings. After that day, she always referred to herself as a "natural"
vegetarian when questioned about her diet, because forgoing flesh foods
came naturally to her. Since her "awakening" experience, Joy
has never missed the taste of meat. Instead, she mourns the loss of all
the innocents killed unnecessarily for food.
Eventually Joy moved to the United States, and in New York City in 2003, she began to get involved in animal activism. Shortly after taking part in Farm Sanctuary's Walk for Farm Animals, she met Farm Sanctuary's Humane Educator, Carol Moon, tabling on Broadway. Impressed by what Carol was doing, Joy asked if she could help. Carol happily granted her request and soon Joy was working Farm Sanctuary tabling booths across the city, often at Grand Central and Penn Stations. One of Joy's most memorable tabling experiences was at a teachers' conference at a high school in Brooklyn. After distributing Cultivating Compassion materials to interested teachers all day at the conference, Joy became interested in teaching children the importance of compassion for animals.
Soon enough,
Carol asked Joy if she would like to help give presentations at schools
in the area, and Joy was able to pursue her interest in teaching. Over
the past year and a half, she has helped inform students at several NYC
high schools and middle schools about the sad realities of factory farming,
and she says that many of the youth come away from the experience wanting
to change both conditions for animals and their own diets.
In an equally rewarding venture, Joy has also participated in a Brooklyn
College program to show the movie, Peaceable Kingdom, to kids on
probation or parole from Rikers Island.
In addition to these activities, Joy has pitched in with chores at the Woodstock Farm Animal Sanctuary in upstate New York. There she proved she wasn't afraid of dirty work, helping muck out the pig barn and clearing land for newly rescued chickens arriving at the shelter. Joy also does volunteer work for PETA and recently was lucky enough to combine her love for music and animals by tabling for the organization at the Paul McCartney concert at Madison Square Garden, where the response was very positive.
Even more deeply involved in animal concerns than her volunteer resume reveals, Joy is a singer and songwriter by trade and is committed to spreading compassion for animals through her music. Currently working on her sixth album, Joy has started to write songs about the plight of factory farmed animals and was recently invited by Air America Radio to go live on the Laura Flanders show, play her music, and talk about her activism. One of Joy's newest songs, "Poor Man's Greed," which will be released on her upcoming CD, speaks powerfully to the overwhelming problem of farm animal suffering (in this case "downed" animal suffering specifically) and offers us a glimpse of her intense commitment to giving comfort and making change:
Poor Man's Greed
In the dark I heard you cry helpless I was standing by
You were down and you had fallen in an alleyway forgottenWhere are the souls behind the faces of those who let these sad disgraces happen?
All my tears cry for forgiveness, In my heart I want no part of thisIf there's a reason for man's cruel side
Will we be released one day?
But out of sight and mind the blood red rain
Won't wash it all awayMuscle for muscle you are innocent and we are all souls beneath the skin together
How did we go wrong this way, surely there'll be hell to pay (for lettin' you suffer?)It's a poor man's greed gets so wicked blind
One day I dream we'll put this wrong to right
In your darkest hour there's gonna be a light
Will shine on you.....ooh ooh oohMuscle for muscle flesh and bone your last breath won't be alone
'Cause I will lift you up, carry you and give you love
Together, we ARE making a difference. If you would like to find out more about volunteering your time to educate others about factory farming and vegetarianism, please contact us at activist@farmsanctuary.org, or call 607-583-2225 ext. 229. Click here to find out what YOU can do to help!