Ph.D., professor, vegan, wife, dog mama, animal advocate and punk rocker only begins to describe Lisa Barca.
As the lead singer of Scarlet Rescue, an all-vegan punk rock band, Lisa can be found raising awareness about the vegan philosophy whether at the front of a room full of college students, caring for rescued pigs at a sanctuary or on the stage at a punk rock concert.
Lisa’s passion for writing songs and singing has spanned decades. She played in bands in Boston and New Haven on the East Coast. But her music was put on the back shelf when she attended graduate school and entered a career of academia.
Currently, Lisa is a professor at Arizona State University, in the Honors College.
Her passion for music was reignited in 2017 after watching a documentary about animal agriculture specific to calves being stripped away from their mothers shortly after being born.
Turning Point
Even though she had been vegetarian for years, the film woke Lisa up to the incredible exploitation of the female reproductive system, the separation of families and depraved violence within the dairy and egg industries.
“I went vegan on the spot, and never looked back. That’s when I started playing music again in earnest and started writing songs about becoming vegan,”
Soon after, Scarlet Rescue released their album Animals and Other People. Songs include their most popular song, Barbecue Protest which tells the story of how may feel when invited to gatherings where others minimize the fact they are vegan.
A unique aspect of the band is all members are vegan.
Definition of Veganism
Subscribing to the definition set down by Donald Watson in the 1940’s, Lisa says her commitment is about viewing animals as living, feeling, sentient beings who are not here for us to exploit.
Lisa’s veganism is compatible with her position as a professor. One of her favorite classes she teaches is about animal ethics. The class usually fills up with a cross section of students ranging from meat eaters curious about veganism to committed vegans who simply want to go deeper into their understanding of the vegan philosophy.
A focus is on educating people how the animal agriculture industry has been party to one of the biggest propaganda campaigns in history. From infancy, we are taught that we need meat and dairy to survive. Although not true, many people are so set in their ways, they refuse to believe they can survive without the foods in the S.A.D. (Standard American Diet).
The longer Lisa is vegan, the more committed she is to raising awareness about compassionate living whether on the stage, in front of room full of college students or hugging a rescued factory farmed sentient being.
Recommendations To Becoming Vegan
Find a good support network such as Challenge 22 https://challenge22.com/. Challenge 22 is the flagship project of Animals Now (formerly Anonymous for Animal Rights), an Israeli NGO established in 1994, promoting animal protection and cruelty-free living.
Challenge 22 offers participants a free, supportive online framework for trying veganism for 22 days. More than 400K people from all over the world have participated in the project since its launch in March 2014.
Next, go at a pace that works for you. If need be, start with one meal a day and grow from there. Some people will want to make the change all at once, while others need to do so over a period of weeks.
About Scarlet Rescue
Scarlet Rescue is an all-vegan punk/alternative band formed in 2020 in Phoenix, AZ. The group has been featured on the Jane Unchained Network, Vegan Nation Radio, and VegansVote Radio.
Scarlet Rescue features Lisa Barca on guitar, vocals, mandolin; Stepen P. Davis on keyboards and vocals; Dillon Euell Pape on bass and vocals; and Nathaniel J. Burns on drums, guitars, and vocals. The Revolution Relaunch magazine describes Lisa as a “neo-riot grrrl rocker” and “force in the feminist underground” who “transcends status-quo group-think” with her “raucous cry for liberation.”
The group delivers a message of all-species liberation through infectious grooves, catchy refrains, and razor-sharp lyrics fueled by righteous anger and a vision for revolutionary change.
Their “Barbecue Protest” music video, released July 4, 2020, has become a hit on YouTube and on social media platforms.
Scarlet Rescue Website http://www.scarletrescue.com
www.instagram.com/scarletrescue
https://www.facebook.com/scarlet.rescue.music/