Dana Ellyn
“Man is evil and irrational
The malignancy is – besides the stupidity – the more fundamental property: the irrationality often serves to cover up the malevolence”
(Helmut F. Kaplan, animal ethicist)
good night, Venus
Day: March 29, 2021
Mexico proceeds with plan to replace 16mn tonnes of GM corn with homegrown variety
Deputy minister describes GM corn and glyphosate, which is also being banned, as ‘undesirable and unnecessary’
The federal government will go ahead with its plan to stop importing genetically modified (GM) corn and replace it with homegrown maize, according to Deputy Agriculture Minister Víctor Suárez.
Suárez: Sustainable “agro-ecological” practices must take priority.
The official also told the news agency Reuters that the government is sticking to its plan to ban glyphosate, a controversial herbicide.
The government announced by executive order on the final day of 2020 that it aims to replace approximately 16 million tonnes of yellow corn imports – most of which comes from the United States and almost all of which is GM corn – with new, local production by 2024, the final year of the current administration’s six-year term.
The imports account for more than a third of Mexican demand for corn and are mostly used as livestock fodder.
Replacing the imports by 2024 with homegrown corn would require an almost 60% increase over current domestic production levels.
Suárez, an agronomist, a long-term ally of President López Obrador, and a key architect of the executive order, told Reuters that GM corn and glyphosate, the active ingredient in the Monsanto herbicide Roundup, are too dangerous to be permitted long term in Mexico.
He said that Mexican agricultural production and sustainable “agro-ecological” practices must take priority.
“We are moving in this direction, and this must be clear: no one should think that they can bet that this decree will not be implemented,” Suárez said.
The deputy minister cited studies that have linked glyphosate to cancer and found that it is harmful to bees and other pollinators. He also claimed that GM corn contaminates native strains of the grain that have long been cultivated in Mexico.
Continue reading “Mexico: “GM corn, and glyphosate, are undesirable and unnecessary”-Great!”
WAV Comment – Brilliant as always – ‘The Guardian’, London. They have recently undertaken so much work on live animal exports – well done them !
Now they help to expose the trade in live horses to Japan from Canada and France for human (meat) consumption.
Live animal exports are a major issue at the moment; we will continue to support the campaigns and to expose all issues whenever we can.
Regards Mark
Protests at ‘inhumane’ export of live horses to Japan for food
Activists seek ban on flying horses to Japan with thousands sent every year from Canada and France
Protests at ‘inhumane’ export of live horses to Japan for food | Animal welfare | The Guardian
Tens of thousands of horses are being subjected to long-haul flights, confined in crates with no food or water, to meet demand for horsemeat in Japan.
Since 2013, about 40,000 live horses have been flown to Japan from airports in western Canada. Under Canadian regulations, the journey can stretch up to 28 hours, during which the animals are allowed to go without food, water or rest.
The multimillion-pound global trade in fresh horsemeat to Japan is dominated by Canada and France. The little-known sector has burst into public view in Canada in recent years, fuelled by footage captured by campaigners of the near-weekly flights.
The footage prompted one vet, Judith Samson-French, to travel to the Calgary airport three times to see for herself what was happening. “As a veterinarian, I did not like what I saw,” she said. “These horses have not been trained nor conditioned for this kind of transport.”
She watched as the horses were loaded, in groups of three or four, into wooden crates that leave just the top of the animal visible. “You hear them in the crates,” said Samson-French. “There’s a lot of kicking going on there.”
At times, the horses appeared to be too tall to comfortably fit into the crates, she said. “These are big horses,” she added. “It’s absolutely impossible for a horse to lay down in those crates.”
She worried that the crating of horses, combined with the animals’ high centre of gravity, could prove dangerous on a plane.
Once they land in Japan, the horses are taken to a government quarantine facility for 10 days. From there, they are moved to feedlots to be fattened up for up to a year before being slaughtered to meet demand for popular delicacies such as basashi, a dish of raw, thinly sliced pieces of horsemeat dipped in soy sauce and served with ginger.
Between 25% and 40% of Japan’s horsemeat comes from imported animals, often in an attempt to save on the high cost of feeding horses, according to research carried out by the consultancy Williams & Marshall Strategy.
In 2019 Canada provided 71% of the live horse imports to Japan, in statistics that exclude purebred horses for breeding, followed by France at 21%
Canadian government figures show exports to Japan of live horses for slaughter began picking up in 2000 with the sale of 96 animals, worth C$231,000. A year later, the value of these exports had risen more than fivefold; by 2018 it was worth more than C$20m (£11.5m).
WAV Comment: The ‘Mirror’ is a daily nation newspaper in the UK. The scandal of the ‘Elbeik’ now calls on the EU to BAN live animal exports.
Now that the UK is free from the dragknuckles who run the EU, it is moving forward with legislation to ban live animal exports from the UK. There was recently a consultation on the issue, of which we contributed over 46 A4 pages of evidence in relation to getting the ban. The responses from all contributors (pro and anti export) are currently being revied at Defra; but we are very confident that a UK live animal export ban is now really starting to take initial steps.
Sadly for the animals, the EU has always attempted to avoid the subject like the plague; inventing investigations, reports and a lot more as delaying tactics to really addressing the issue. The EU talks the talk but does nothing when it comes to changes even though it is provided with untold evidence.
Now with the experiences of the Karim Allah, the Elbeik, and more than 20 livestock carrying ships stuck in the Suez Canal; the EU has to follow the go it alone UK and start to address this issue with priority.
EU citizens have been calling for a ban for decades; it is only self opinionated politicians who ignore the issue; now this is a prime issue and they can ignore yet again, but it will be at their peril.
Regards Mark
UK Cross-Party Politicians Call For Urgency Over Foie Gras Import Ban
‘While I remain cautiously optimistic about this historic legislation finally coming into place, it is critical that the Government now specifies a date and its concrete plans for a ban. This needs to be written into law urgently – these animals have suffered long enough’
Politicians from varying political parties today released an open letter urging UK government secretaries of state to outline a ‘concrete roadmap’ over the importation ban of foie gras.
It comes after thousands signed a petition to end it – as thousands of tonnes of it cross British shores each year.
Foie gras import ban
The letter urged Environment Secretary George Eustice and Animal Welfare Minister Lord Zac Goldsmith to outline exactly when and how the government plans to implement the ban.
Goldsmith has already deplored foie gras ‘unbearably barbaric’ via his Twitter account.
Moreover, the letter includes details of the ‘extreme suffering’ involved in the force-feeding production. Additionally, it outlined the ‘severe threat’ the intensive production poses to human health.
This follows the outbreaks of bird flu on foie gras farms across France. As a result, thousands of ducks were culled this year alone.
The Department For Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) announced the ban would be enacted over the next few months. But this led to skepticism among some politicians as the body hadn’t outlined a specific time frame.
As a result, a number of cross-party MPs joined forces with animal protection organization, Animal Equality, to pen the open letter and create a ‘concrete roadmap’.
Among the politicians who signed the call are Green Party MP Caroline Lucas, and Conservatives Henry Smith, David Amess, and Mike Penning.
Liberal Democrat Wera Hobhouse and Labour MP Hilary Benn are also part of the group. Additionally, SNP’s Lisa Cameron signed it, as well as others.
Cameron said: “Foie gras is an immensely cruel product which causes a huge amount of animal suffering. We cannot rightly think of ourselves as a nation of animal lovers whilst still selling foie gras. I am joining Animal Equality’s call to implement a ban on foie gras imports and sales as soon as possible.”
Is foie gras legal in the UK?
Force-feeding is currently illegal in the UK under the Animal Welfare Act. Despite this, around 200 tonnes of foie gras is imported each year.
Jenny Canham, of Animal Equality, says it has ‘no place in our society’.
She added: “While I remain cautiously optimistic about this historic legislation finally coming into place, it is critical that the government now specifies a date and its concrete plans for a ban. This needs to be written into law urgently – these animals have suffered long enough.”
Earlier this year, thousands signed a petition to ban sales of imported foie gras. Production and importation has been banned across several countries and cities on animal cruelty grounds – including in India and New York City.
You can sign the petition to ban force-feeding here
Additionally, you can read the full open letter here
UK Politicians Call For Urgency Over Foie Gras Import Ban (plantbasednews.org)
Regards Mark
World Animals Voice 