Today I received the following email Cassie King at Direct Action Everywhere. Please share:
It’s been 5 days since Zoe was taken into jail, and while she is locked up in solitary confinement, something important is happening outside the jail walls.
This weekend, hundreds of people took to the streets across the U.S. to demand that CA Governor Gavin Newsom pardon Zoe and end her jail sentence. Free Zoe marches and rallies took place in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston, and New York City, with powerful outreach, speeches, and conversations with passersby. Some were learning about Zoe’s case for the first time and others recognized her story from the news or social media.
The marches continued that public discussion. We saw positive local press coverage, including from SF Gate and KRON4. People are paying attention. And not just in the U.S. People have protested in Mexico, Brazil, Canada, and England urging Governor Newsom to pardon Zoe. Around the world, people are calling out the injustice of punishing compassion while animal cruelty goes unchecked.
Yesterday, I was able to visit Zoe. We spoke through glass. So far, the jail is letting Zoe keep her medical equipment, likely due to all the attention on them, but they are restricting her access to glucose which she needs to treat blood sugar lows.
Zoe was so happy to hear about all the marches and growing attention on Perdue’s cruelty, and the fact that the fight is continuing even while she’s locked up. Your solidarity is reaching her. It’s helping her get through this. In complete isolation, with little to do, she is lonely and very bored. But she is inspired and resolute. And she thinks, always, of the animals. Here’s part of a recent update Zoe shared from jail:
“As I sit alone in my cell for hours, I think about life on the outside: the flowers I pass on my morning walks in Berkeley, the feeling of wind on my face, the whistles of songbirds. I think about the animals at my sanctuary, and also the animals who aren’t so lucky, who are suffering far worse than I am here.
My mattress would be an unheard-of luxury to them. They sleep on wire, cement, and feces. They need help far more than I do.
We live in a society where it’s normal to lock each other in cages. The United States incarcerates a larger percentage of its population than any civilization in human history, and that doesn’t even factor in animals. Billions of animals are locked up in factory farms at any given time.
These systems only exist because we let them. We give them power with our complacency. That fact is troubling, but it’s also empowering. We can take our power back.”
Like Zoe said, animal exploitation industries depend on silence and complacency. Let’s show them we will never be silenced. We’ll keep fighting until every animal is happy, safe, and free.
Zoe Rosenberg, a 23-year-old student and animal rights activist is being sent to prison for rescuing four chickens from slaughter. She has health problems and will be harshly treated in there. Please help her.
Zoe will soon be incarcerated in Sonoma County, CA for the “crime” of rescuing animals from abuse at a Perdue-owned slaughterhouse. All along, this was a political prosecution; instead of prosecuting Perdue for documented animal cruelty, the District Attorney punished Zoe for exposing it.
The District Attorney charged Zoe with a ramped-up felony conspiracy charge to increase her maximum sentence and forced her to wear a GPS ankle monitor for over 20 months while awaiting trial. When trial finally arrived, the court severely restricted Zoe’s ability to present evidence of the animal cruelty she had documented at Perdue and reported to authorities before the rescue. The jury only heard a small sliver of the story and Zoe was ultimately convicted and sentenced to jail.
Her imminent incarceration isn’t just unjust; it is life-threatening. Zoe has a serious chronic illness that requires constant medical attention. Being deprived of her freedom and medical care while in jail could kill her.
We demand her immediate release. Compassion should not be criminalized, and it certainly shouldn’t be a death sentence.
Please sign to fight for Zoe and everyone else who bravely makes compassion their first priority. Compassion is not a crime. Don’t let them make it one.
In the glow of Diwali, I am filled with gratitude to each of you for being on this journey of dharma. As we celebrate the triumph of light over darkness, I feel a deep responsibility to honour that light, not only within ourselves but in all beings. Today, I write to you with a heartfelt invitation to consider a path that brings our actions into harmony with ahimsa—the principle of non-violence that lies at the very heart of dharma. This means us lightening the violence we are causing to the animal kingdom and to nature. Go Dharmic distributes food and aid to people in need all over the world, and it is important that we extend the love we feel for other people to include animals and nature too.
Go Dharmic is not just a humanitarian charity. We are a movement and platform for compassion in action. As many esteemed global charitable organisations focus on treating the symptoms, we apply efforts to advocate for peace and address the systemic disease that causes them in the first place: violence. I was personally shocked and upset to see beef being served at important events like COP or even at some major humanitarian charity events. These are supposed to be the leaders of peace and compassion in the world and yet choose to ignore the harm of violence to animals.
Sanatana Dharma calls us to revere every form of life, to ease suffering, and to live in harmony with all beings. The Mahabharata reminds us,
“Ahimsa is the highest dharma. Ahimsa is the best of all teachings(Mahabharata 13.117.37)” We should live gently upon this Earth, to see ourselves in all creatures, and to recognise the interconnected web that binds us all. It is in this spirit that Go Dharmic is a vegan organisation—not just as a dietary choice, but as a profound expression of our values of compassion, non-harming, and respect for the Earth and all her beings. When we serve and receive meals through our distributions or during disasters, when guests visit one of our retreats or join us at one of our centres, it is important that we serve food that does not include animal products.
Krishna says, “Dharma is love for all beings”. And these words are always in my mind and are central for our work and remind me that each being holds within it the same divine spark and the same essence. By choosing veganism as individuals and as a community, we choose to extend our compassion to animals, respecting their inherent right to live free from harm. Our relationship with animals should be one of guardianship, not exploitation. The practice of ahimsa calls us to end the suffering we impose on sentient beings—beings who, like us, seek to live, love, and avoid suffering. By simply choosing to avoid animal products, we choose not to participate in a system that inflicts pain and fear, but to embody the principle of non-violence in a way that honours all life.
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The Rigveda speaks to the sanctity of all life, declaring, “May all beings look at me with a friendly eye, and may I do likewise; may all beings look at each other with a friendly eye” (Rigveda 10.191.4). Justice is not limited to human society alone but extends to all beings who share this Earth. When we choose compassion over consumption, we are not only upholding the rights of animals but affirming the justice that should guide all our relationships. Our ethical responsibility includes treating animals with dignity, acknowledging their suffering, and striving for a more just and kind world. Let us not argue about what people did in the past, whether they consumed meat, or dairy or any specific circumstances as examples but let us look at the tremendous evidence of the suffering of animals, violence to our planet and ourselves. If we apply and engage our ethical or dharmic compass with intelligence we will find that veganism is a very practical and simple solution to heal nature and reduce harm to nature whilst still living well.
Modern science has underscored the urgency of these choices. Research on planetary boundaries, particularly by the Stockholm Resilience Centre, has identified critical thresholds in areas like climate change, deforestation, and biodiversity loss. Animal agriculture, including the dairy industry, is one of the primary drivers pushing us beyond safe boundaries, fuelling deforestation, greenhouse gas emissions, and the depletion of our planet’s natural resources. Many will choose to do nothing about it, but the call to ‘Go Dharmic’, is one for us to take responsibility.
In the Mahabharata, there was a wise merchant Tuladhara who encountered the sage Jajali, who had spent years practising severe austerities, renouncing worldly attachments, and engaging in rigorous sacrifices. Jajali, proud of his accomplishments, believed he had attained the highest form of dharma and purity. Seeking validation, he asked Tuladhara about the merit of his practices. In response, Tuladhara shared a profound lesson on ahimsa and the path of least harm.
Tuladhara says:
“Ahimsa paramo dharmah”
“Non-violence is the highest dharma.”
Tuladhara adds that compassion and empathy are the roots of true spirituality, saying:
“One who truly understands dharma acts with kindness, not out of adherence to rules, but from a heartfelt desire to see all beings at peace. For such a person, all beings are part of their own family.”
He underscores that merely following strict austerities, as Jajali had done, does not embody true dharma. Instead, the essence of dharma lies in recognising the interconnectedness of all life and embodying ahimsa in every thought, word, and action.
This dialogue serves as a powerful reminder to us that the essence of dharma is compassion and non-harm, a teaching that has echoed through the centuries and I believe is one of the core teachings of Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and Jainism.
Tuladhara taught Jajali that living in harmony with others, showing compassion to all beings—whether human, animal, or nature—is a truer and higher form of dharma than any sacrifice.
Jajali, who was humbled realised that while he had lived with great austerity, he had missed the essence of dharma: living with compassion and walking a path of gentleness, choosing actions that brought peace rather than harm. Through his story, Tuladhara shows us that the greatest spiritual strength lies not in conquering oneself through rigid discipline or rituals, but in nurturing a heart that is gentle, kind, and mindful of the well-being of all creation.He says:
“One should walk the path that causes the least harm to all beings, for in sparing others, one preserves their own purity and the world’s balance.”
Penelope Pitstop-esque story Marvellous Mildred #4 continues from yesterday:
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Thank goodness the girls have nearly caught up and Sindy is practically within reach 😮 Come back tomorrow to see what happens next, or if you don’t want to wait you can see now 😀
😮 Typical – assuming she’s a he! Come back tomorrow to see if Venus can give them the slip. Or if you’d rather not wait, you can read the whole story now 😀
Penelope Pitstop-esque story Marvellous Mildred #4 begins today:
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Oh no! Someone’s sawing the very spot that Sindy’s standing on! Move Sindy, MOVE! Come back tomorrow to see if she moves in time, or if you don’t want to wait you can find out now 😀
Penelope Pitstop-esque story Marvellous Mildred #3 continues from yesterday:
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Seems like the end doesn’t it? But it’s not 😀 Come back tomorrow to find out what happens next, unless you don’t want to wait, in which case, you can find out now 😀
Penelope Pitstop-esque story Marvellous Mildred #3 continues from yesterday:
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What a ridiculous menace he is! 😀 Come back tomorrow to find out what happens next, unless you don’t want to wait, in which case, you can find out now 😀
Penelope Pitstop-esque story Marvellous Mildred #3 continues from yesterday:
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Ha! Take that you Flat-Capped Fiend! Come back tomorrow to find out what happens next, unless you don’t want to wait, in which case, you can find out now 😀
Penelope Pitstop-esque story Marvellous Mildred #3 continues from yesterday:
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Come back tomorrow to find out if the girls can get away before the Flat-Capped Menace returns, unless you don’t want to wait, in which case, you can find out now 😀
Penelope Pitstop-esque story Marvellous Mildred #3 continues from yesterday:
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Ok, that’s off. But what about Gerty? How’s she going to get that gate out of the water by herself? Come back tomorrow to find out, unless you don’t want to wait, in which case, you can find out now 😀
Penelope Pitstop-esque story Marvellous Mildred #3 continues from yesterday:
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Oh no – poor Mildred! Will the girl scouts be able to help her to stop that abominable machine? Come back tomorrow to find out, unless you don’t want to wait, in which case, you can find out now 😀
What a nightmare – no wonder the girls are feeling hopeless. Come back tomorrow to see if they come up with a plan, or if you don’t want to wait, you can read the whole story now 😀
ps in case you’re confused by Adi and Venus’s conversation as they exit the building – they’re quoting from Kelly’s Heroes (1970 adventure/comedy movie with Clint Eastwood, Telly Savalas and Donald Sutherland). 😀
Penelope Pitstop-esque story Marvellous Mildred #3 continues from yesterday:
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Oh no! Will the girls be able to stop the moving fence? Will Trevor and Toby be able to outrun the moving fence? Come back tomorrow to find out, unless you don’t want to wait, in which case, you can find out now 😀
Penelope Pitstop-esque story Marvellous Mildred #3 continues from yesterday:
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Hurry girls – the FCM might come back! You should come back tomorrow to find out if he does, unless you don’t want to wait, in which case, you can find out now 😀
Penelope Pitstop-esque story Marvellous Mildred #3 continues from yesterday:
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Thank goodness for Mildred and the girl scouts! That problem’s solved. Isn’t it? Come back tomorrow to find out, unless you don’t want to wait, in which case, you can find out now 😀
Penelope Pitstop-esque story Marvellous Mildred #3 continues from yesterday:
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Oh no! The fiendish, nefarious, downright unpleasant Flat-Capped Menace strikes again! Come back tomorrow to see what happens next, unless you don’t want to wait, in which case, you can see now 😀
Venus Aqueous #4 continues from yesterday: STORY SOURCES
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Scroll to the bottom of the Venus Aqueous #4 page to see detailed information about the huge amount of harm done by conventional wind turbines and plenty of alternatives which prove that they’re not even necessary 😀
Violet's Vegan Comics 