Hi Mark,
They poison us – with the meat that we eat. Because big business swamps the market with cheap meat, we consume more and more of it, produced by abusing antibiotics, and cramming animals in horrible conditions. Hundreds of thousands of people sick from antimicrobial-resistant diseases is just one of the consequences.
And we are paying for this!
As Europeans, we pay 51 billion pounds each year to promote harmful industrial farming: no other sector gets more money from the EU budget! [1]
On Thursday a series of votes in the European Parliament will kick off.
A handful of MEPs will state whether industrial farming should be funded with our taxpayers’ money. The first of this row of votes and negotiations, this very Thursday, is critical – because it’ll scope and give direction: it’ll be the basis for following negotiations…
Our partners offered insider information that there are 41 MEPs we could convince to vote for a farming model that doesn’t create meat that poisons us – but only if they feel the pressure from their electorate right before the vote! With their vote, we could swing the result in our favour! Sign the petition and, if you have a Twitter account, send them a message that will burden their conscience while voting!
The meat we consume today is not always what our body needs. As the use of antibiotics in meat production is projected to grow by almost 70%, antibiotic resistance is a major threat to global health. In fact, 700,000 people die from antimicrobial-resistant diseases each year. [2]
Why do we continue to use 40% of the European budget to subsidise these practices? [3] Because big businesses that sell the poison this farming model feeds on (think pesticides, animal fodder, etc) are at work. They don’t want to go out of business – even if that means persuading us to eat more and more meat, of lesser and lesser quality.
As the new EU budget cycle starts soon, politicians are having discussions to shape the next one. Each EU budget lasts 7 years, which is why it’s important to ensure it spends our money wisely! We cannot leave a bunch of MEPs to decide alone, without hearing our opinion, to spend our money, yet again, on a farming model that makes us sick.
Now, thanks to insider information offered by partners, we’ve identified a bunch of MEPs who could possibly listen to our demand, let’s make their conscience shake! Use your power as their future electorate in the May EU elections! We only have 48 hours before the vote!
Together for a healthy farming model,
Mika (Bordeaux), Alex (Marseille), Virginia (Madrid) and the rest of the WeMove.EU team
PS: You are not alone. Thousands of small farmers are on your side – and mobilised! Many small farmers don’t agree with this farming model either, and they’ve come together to say so. Last November they demonstrated in the streets of Brussels, and they are asking for citizens to support their cause. Here’s your chance – sign to support small farmers calling for healthy farming!
References:
[1] https://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/sites/agriculture/files/cap-post-2013/graphs/graph1_en.pdf
[2] https://openletteranimalfarming.com
[3] https://epthinktank.eu/2016/07/20/how-the-eu-budget-is-spent-common-agricultural-policy/
