Ruth Harrison (; 24 June 1920 – 13 June 2000) was an English

animal welfare Animal welfare is the well-being of non-human animals. Formal standards of animal welfare vary between contexts, but are debated mostly by animal welfare groups, legislators, and academics. Animal welfare science uses measures such as longevit ...

activist and writer.

Biography

Harrison was born in London, the daughter of the author

Stephen Winsten Stephen Winsten (1893–1991) was the name adopted by Samuel Weinstein, one of the 'Whitechapel Boys' group of young Jewish men and future writers in London's East End in the years before World War I (the others included Isaac Rosenberg, John Ro ...

and the artist

Clara Birnberg Clara Birnberg (1892 or 1894–1989) was a British artist, illustrator, portraitist and sculptor. After her marriage to the artist Stephen Weinstein, they changed their surname to Winsten (with her becoming Clare Winsten) and both became Quaker ...

. She was educated at

Bedford College, London Bedford College was in York Place after 1874 Bedford College was founded in London in 1849 as the first higher education college for women in the United Kingdom. In 1900, it became a constituent of the University of London. Having played a lead ...

.Harrison nee Winsten

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

. Subscription or UK public library membership required As a

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

and as a

conscientious objector A conscientious objector (often shortened to conchie) is an "individual who has claimed the right to refuse to perform military service" on the grounds of freedom of thought, conscience, or religion. The term has also been extended to obje ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

(thereby following the stand of her father in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

), she served in the

Friends Ambulance Unit The Friends' Ambulance Unit (FAU) was a volunteer ambulance service, founded by individual members of the British Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), in line with their Peace Testimony. The FAU operated from 1914–1919, 1939–1946 and 1946 ...

, first in Hackney, London, and then with displaced persons in

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sc ...

and Bochum in Germany. Ruth married architect Dex Harrison in 1954. She served on the Farm Animal Welfare Committee. In 1964, Harrison published ''Animal Machines'', which describes intensive poultry and livestock farming. The book was said to have exposed the suffering inflicted on farm animals by industrialised agriculture. The book prompted the British government to appoint a committee chaired by Francis Brambell to investigate the welfare of farm animals. In 1965, the "Brambell Report" was published which outlined five freedoms. Harrison's book was published in seven countries and was the inspiration for the ''European Convention for the Protection of Animals Kept for Farming Purposes''. In 1986 she was awarded an

OBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

. Harrison died of cancer in 2000, shortly before her eightieth birthday.

Legacy

The Australian ethicist

Peter Singer Peter Albert David Singer (born 6 July 1946) is an Australian moral philosopher, currently the Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University. He specialises in applied ethics and approaches ethical issues from a secular, ...

has said that reading ''Animal Machines'' was important in his becoming a vegetarian and adopting the views that he sets out in '' Animal Liberation''.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA; , stylized as PeTA) is an American animal rights nonprofit organization based in Norfolk, Virginia, and led by Ingrid Newkirk, its international president. PETA reports that PETA entities have ...

(PETA) president and co-founder

Ingrid Newkirk Ingrid Elizabeth Newkirk (née Ward; born June 11, 1949) is a British-American animal activist and the president of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), the world's largest animal rights organization. She is the author of several ...

, also credits Harrison's book, ''Animal Machines'', with changing her life. Ingrid Newkirk commentary
''What Does 'Turkey Day' Mean to You?''
Tribune News Service, Nov. 24, 2022

Selected publications

*''Animal Machines: the New Factory Farming Industry''. Vincent Stuart Publishers. (1964) *''Case Study: Farm Animals''. In R. J. Berry. (1992). ''Environmental Dilemmas: Ethics and Decisions''. Chapman & Hall.

References

External links

Animal Welfare Quarterly - ''A Tribute to Ruth Harrison
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Harrison, Ruth 1920 births 2000 deaths 20th-century Quakers 20th-century English women writers Alumni of Bedford College, London British animal welfare scholars British animal welfare workers Deaths from cancer in England English conscientious objectors English people of Ukrainian-Jewish descent English Quakers English women non-fiction writers Members of the Order of the British Empire People associated with the Friends' Ambulance Unit People associated with the Oxford Group (animal rights) Writers from London

Biography

Legacy

Selected publications

References

Further reading

External links