Vegan Groups Pledge To Provide 2,000 Plant-Based Meals To Those In Need Amid COVID-19
Million Dollar Vegan and Viva! will distribute the vegan meals to charities and foodbanks across the city of Bristol
Million Dollar Vegan and Viva! have pledged to provide 2,000 vegan meals to those in need during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Campaigners from both groups say their generosity will also help ‘highlight the risks of animal agriculture to public health’.
Vegan meals
Hot vegan meals will be distributed to charities such as FareShare and Bristol Soup Run Trust, as well as food banks across Bristol, throughout November.Both organizations have been praised by local politicians including Kerry McCarthy, MP for Bristol East.
‘The impacts of climate change’
In a statement sent to PBN, McCarthy said: “Already, we’re seeing the impacts of climate change – forest fires, droughts, floods, storms, and heatwaves. These will only worsen over the coming years.
“Especially, if companies and governments continue with deforestation linked to the production of food and other commodities. “Thankfully, none of this is inevitable. But, to prevent it, we must make some changes in how we live – and eat – right now.
“I’m really pleased to see this support for Bristol organisations. [They] have done a brilliant job in responding to food poverty in the city, especially during the recent pandemic.”
She said: “What we choose to buy and eat has profound consequences. It goes way beyond our taste buds and waistlines.
“It affects our own health, the health of our planet, how long we will have workable antibiotics, when another pandemic will come and whether we will be able to slow down climate change. “
Will Sorflaten, Campaigner at Viva!, added:“Veganism is empowering. It’s the most beneficial change any individual can make on the climate crisis, food hunger, our health.”
Soflaten added that a vegan lifestyle can ‘massively reduce’ the risk of another pandemic.
How to revise the Broiler Directive: science and best corporate practices lead the way to improve the lives of broiler chickens
19 November 2020
Press Release
Today a groundbreaking new report was launched presenting the first comprehensive scientific overview on the welfare of broiler chickens. Science and best corporate practices show improvements are feasible, urgent and should inform future EU legislation.
Broiler chickens are the most numerous terrestrial farmed animals in the EU: 7.4 billion were slaughtered in 2018, of which the vast majority coming from intensive farming systems. While minimum standards for the protection of broiler chickens are laid down in various pieces of EU legislation, the current rules are clearly insufficient to guarantee broiler chicken welfare as they fail to address the main problems that are intrinsic to the industry.
The European Commission is going to propose a revision of the current animal welfare acquis as part of the EU Farm to Fork strategy, and this meeting presented the science and practices that can inspire new standards for higher-welfare broiler chicken rearing. We asked six independent researchers to present the available scientific evidence on the welfare issues experienced by broiler chickens, from breeding to slaughter: a comprehensive report, launched during the event, entitled The welfare of broiler chickens in the EU: from science to action.
The report co-authors also shared their ideas for the future of broiler chicken farming in a short publication entitled A vision for the future broiler farming.
Policy makers will need to have answers and see concrete solutions to propose new science-based legislation fit for purpose and for the future. What needs to change to give broiler chickens good lives? The report, first of its kind, presents concrete science-based solutions: using slower-growing higher-welfare breeds, providing the right rearing environment, protecting parent birds and newly hatched chicks, best practices around transport and slaughter, and including wider societal issues.
In the EU every year we rear billions of fast-growing broiler chickens. For the most part, these social, inquisitive and intelligent birds are deprived of the possibility to enjoy good welfare, let alone experience “good lives”. The science is clear, and this new report confirms that it is time to move to slower-growing breeds and higher welfare systems and to update relevant EU legislation. The coming years offer a very important window of opportunity for us MEPs to accelerate such change for broiler chickens and other farmed animals, thanks to the objectives of the Farm to Fork Strategy. I am personally committed to making this happen.
Anja Hazekamp MEP (GUE/NGL, NL), Vice-Chair of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, and President of the Intergroup on the Welfare and Conservation of Animals
The economic and animal welfare benefits of adopting higher welfare rearing systems using slower-growing breeds are clear. This will require designing a successful supply chain and involving consumers in the transition, while also taking into account sustainability. The audience had the opportunity to virtually visit Nijkamp Farm, a state of the art facility for higher-welfare broiler rearing, and heard from its owner Robert Nijkamp how animal welfare can meet sustainability.
What we need is a paradigm shift, currently chicken is marketed as a cheap and ever-present commodity. As the report highlights, science and market opportunities make it possible to change the lives for broiler chickens. The Broiler Directive is not fit for purpose to make this happen, that’s why it should be revised to include breeding objectives for health and welfare, introduce animal welfare rules for broiler breeders, and improve rearing conditions for all broiler chickens.
MOD Pizza—a company with no meaningful animal welfare policies in place—has opened its first location in Canada. In response, 20 passionate Canadian celebrities have taken a stand against animal cruelty and added their names to a public letter addressed to the company’s CEO, Scott Svenson.
MOD Pizza has over 400 locations across the United States and allows horrific abuse of chickens in its supply chain. At factory farms, chickens are packed into dark, waste-filled warehouses. They are commonly bred to grow so large so quickly that many suffer organ failure, heart attacks, and crippling leg deformities, often becoming immobilized in their own waste. Many even die before they reach slaughter weight.
Mercy For Animals has repeatedly urged MOD Pizza to join competitors Blaze Pizza, Chipotle, Starbucks, Tim Hortons, Burger King, and Papa John’s in adopting the Better Chicken Commitment, a set of standards that will meaningfully improve chicken welfare in each company’s supply chain. So far, MOD Pizza has failed to do so.
The 20 celebrities who have added their names to the public letter are
Jason Priestley, Sarah Jeffery, Brett Dier, Tricia Helfer, Jake Epstein, Cassie Steele, Serinda Swan, Cody Kearsley, Tara Strong, Nick Bateman, Sarah Grey, Nolan Gerard Funk, Katherine Ramdeen, Jayde Nicole, André Dae Kim, Lyle Lettau, Nikki Gould, Shanice Banton, Craig Arnold, and Georges Laraque.
A recently released undercover investigation by animal protection group SEED reveals cows being kicked, shocked with electric prods, and left to die at a live animal auction. On top of the abuse, according to SEED, the investigator uncovered the possibly illegal removal of cow’s ID tags—which could disrupt the tracking of dangerous diseases.
Read the rest of the article; with video footage, by clicking on the following:
New report presents key opportunities for the EU and China to partner up in driving animal welfare and prevent future pandemics
18 November 2020
Press Release
EU and Chinese experts meet to discuss sustainability, food systems and resilience. Animal welfare could be the key to prevent future pandemics, as explained in a new report.
For immediate release: Brussels 18/11/2020
On November 18th Eurogroup for Animals organised an event entitled What could the EU and China do for animal welfare?, hosted by MEP and member of the EP delegation for relations with the People’s Republic of China Niels Fuglsang (S&D, DK). The first of its kind gathering was the opportunity for European and Chinese experts to discuss sustainability, a key topic for both partners, and its link with animal welfare.
COVID-19 demonstrated the human and economic costs of a zoonose pandemic and, while it emerged from wildlife, it has also reminded the world of the role played by intensive farming in spreading zoonoses. How we produce and consume food has an impact not only on animals but also on public health, the environment, people and climate. Working together on improving animal welfare can play a key role in finding solutions to many of the current global challenges we are facing: climate change, antimicrobial resistance, as well as the spread of pandemics. With all the developments in the EU, such as the Farm to Fork Strategy, which should see the improvement of our animal welfare standards, there has never been a better time for us to discuss this topic with China.
Stated Janusz Wojciechowski, EU Commissioner for Agriculture, in its opening speech.
As analysed in the new Eurogroup for Animals Report What could the European Union and China achieve for animals?improving animal welfare standards can contribute to achieving several Sustainable Development Goals which are at the heart of EU and China’s future growth:
Building more resilience in the food production sector, SDG 2 – Zero Hunger
Improving human health by helping to reduce the risk of zoonoses and lessen the use of antibiotics in animal productions, SDG 3 – Healthy Lives
Contribute to fighting the climate crisis, SDG 13 – Climate Action
Generate concrete economic benefits, SDG 8 – Decent Work and Economic Growth
More positive effects could be achieved with moving towards more sustainable production and consumption systems, specifically reducing the production and consumption of meat and dairy products.
This could benefit public health, lowering cases of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases (SDG 3 – Healthy Lives), but also climate and environment, since the dairy and meat sector represents around 14.5% of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions (SDG 13 – Climate Action) and it is a massive source of water pollution (SDG 6 – Water Quality, SDG 15 – Live on land; SDG 14 – Live under water).
Animal welfare can play a key role in finding solutions to many of the current global challenges we are facing such as zoonoses and climate change. At the heart of many of these challenges lies an unsustainable food production system that lacks resilience. Improving animal welfare, as well as moving towards more sustainable production and consumption patterns that rely less on meat and dairy products, can help prevent these situations in the future.
Reineke Hameleers, CEO, Eurogroup for Animals
In the future, [China] will proactively promote animal welfare to meet the needs of sustainable socio-economic development. Firstly, [it] will carry out in-depth science-based animal welfare research with Chinese characteristics, to promote the safe, high-yielding, resource-saving and environment-friendly development of animal production in China. Secondly, [China] will participate proactively in the development of international standards on animal welfare, to coordinate and cooperate for a just and fair international trade in animal and animal products.
Dr. Xiao Xiao, OIE animal welfare China liaison, Associate Researcher of China Animal Health and Epidemiology Center of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs
The innovative agricultural and technological practices developed in China and in the EU could serve as a basis to a fruitful cooperation. Eurogroup for Animals recommendations for this cooperation are the following:
The European Union could improve its animal welfare standards, relying on the most recent animal welfare science. It could also develop standards for species which are currently left unprotected. China could also build up on the work led by authoritative organisations such as ICCAW and CAS to establish mandatory animal welfare standards.
The EU and China could explicitly refer to animal welfare in the coming EU-China 2025 Cooperation Agenda, notably in the section related to cooperation around public health.
Animal Welfare could be explicitly mentioned in the EU-China agricultural dialogue, as a dimension of sustainable farming.
The EU and China could establish a joint expert working group on future food policies including sustainable and higher welfare livestock production as well as animal welfare and humane and sustainable protein innovation.
In the future EU-China investment agreement, the Parties could require EU businesses to respect EU-equivalent standards when investing in animal agriculture in China.
The EU and China could aim at establishing a Memorandum of Understanding between DG SANTE and its counterparts in China, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs and the National Health and Family Planning Commission, to develop a more structured cooperation on animal welfare, possibly in the context of the fight against antimicrobial resistance.
Help End the Sadistic ‘Fire Bull’ Festival in Soria
In Medinaceli, a picturesque town in the province of Soria, a “tradition” called Toro Júbilo brings shame upon Spain.
It’s the silver lining for animals amid Spain’s latest COVID-19 restrictions: Toro Júbilo, the sadistic “Fire Bull” festival, has been cancelled this year.
Normally – On the second weekend in November, balls of pitch (a sticky, black substance made from coal tar or petroleum) are stuck onto the horns of a bull and set on fire.
The bull is then released onto the streets and can do nothing but run around in pain, often smashing into walls in an attempt to douse the fire. The agony he must endure is unimaginable.
These fiery balls can remain alight for hours, burning his horns, eyes, and body and causing him tremendous stress – all while spectators cheer and run around him.
This sadistic ritual is called Toro de Fuego (literally “bull of fire”).
This distressing video from PACMA (Spain’s animal protection party) shows the full horror:
This year’s edition of the barbaric festival has been cancelled because of COVID-19 restrictions. Let’s take action to make sure it never takes place again.
Take action for the bulls – click on the following link:
This is the letter you can add your name to via the above link:
To Whom It May Concern:
I was relieved to hear that Toro Júbilo is not taking place this year in Medinaceli. I urge you to seize this moment to ensure no more bulls suffer during this cruel event by replacing the Toro de Fuego with a new form of celebration that does not involve animals.
While different cultures might not understand each other’s customs, all rational humans comprehend cruelty. Attaching balls of burning pitch to a live animal is barbaric by any decent person’s standards. It is time for Spain to put these violent festivities, which are a stain on its reputation around the world, behind it.
EC study find outs the livestock sector is responsible for 81-86% of the agricultural greenhouse gas emission
October 2020
In mid October 2020, the European Commission published a report examining the environmental, economic and social consequences of EU livestock production and how this sector can contribute to sustainable agriculture.
While recognising the important economic role played by livestock production in the EU economy, the report stresses the significant environmental impacts associated with industrial animal production. Such impacts can affect biodiversity, human health, and the functioning of ecosystems.
In particular, by including in calculations the environmental impacts of the production, processing, and transport of feed, the report concludes that the livestock sector is responsible for 86-88% of the EU’s agricultural GHG emissions. Additionally, more than 80% of nitrogen of agricultural origin present in all EU aquatic environments is linked to livestock farming, and livestock farms are the main sources of ammonia.
On animal welfare, the report recalls the results of the last special Eurobarometer on animal welfare showing that 94% of European citizens attach importance to animal welfare, with 82% agreeing that farm animals should be better protected. Three key areas need to be addressed to respond to citizens expectations, and namely the intensification of farming, transportation of animals and slaughter.
The report notes that the specialisation and intensification of livestock farming systems has had negative implications for animal welfare, leading to stress and pain due to artificial living conditions in industrial type buildings, damage to animal integrity (e.g., painful husbandry procedures), separation from familiar conspecifics and unnatural levels of mixing. Citizens expect animals to be spared fear and anxiety and to be offered the possibility to experience positive emotions. Such an approach can also have positive knock-on effects on the reduction in the use of antimicrobials in farmed animals, which should be halved by 2030 compared to current levels according to the Farm to Fork strategy.
Dyrenes Beskyttelse reports the cruel killing of minks to police in Denmark, as shown in a viral video circulating social media. They call on authorities to ensure that minks are killed in a humane way.
A video that circulated heavily on social media last week, shows how the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration’s employees fail in their attempt to kill minks.
Subsequently, they try to fix this by killing the minks with incorrect and brutal methods. The result is nothing less than animal cruelty. Eurogroup for Animals member Dyrenes Beskyttelse condemns the methods used, as they are in violation of the Animal Welfare Act, and has therefore reported the case to the police.
Yvonne Johansen, head of animal welfare at Dyrenes Beskyttelse, says: “The scenes we are witnessing here are completely unacceptable. It’s heart-breaking, and it simply cannot happen. The Animal Welfare Act states that anyone who wants to kill an animal must ensure that the animal is killed as quickly and as painlessly as possible. That’s not what I see here. I am deeply shaken”. She also emphasizes that despite the many killings that need to happen in Denmark now in a short time, consideration for the individual animal must never step into the background. “To the individual animal, it does not matter whether it is killed by corona or to become a fur coat. But it does matter how it happens, even when authorities are occupied with reaching the goal of the killings.”
The minks are killed by gassing, just as they normally would have been if the animals had been furred. But with the way this method works, it takes time to kill the minks and this cannot be rushed, Dyrenes Beskyttelse points out. “If you hurry through the process, you end up with mink that are not dead, as we see in the pictures.
The mink is an animal that naturally lives in and by water; it even has webbed feet. This also means that it is really good at holding its breath. Therefore, killing minks by gassing them is already problematic, and it only becomes more disconcerting by rushing the process” says Yvonne Johansen.
Since the circulation of the video, Dyrenes Beskyttelse received many inquiries from concerned citizens who also reported the video to the police. Dyrenes Beskyttelse is now contacting the Danish Veterinary and Food Administration to ensure that the rules on humane killing are complied with.
World Animals Voice 