Worldlog Week 27 – 2012

Yesterday, our members approved the election programme presented last week at the conference. We also determined the candidate list at the conference and officially gave our campaign the green light. How wonderful! See below for a short photo report on the day's events.

I came across a great speech by Philip Wollen on the Internet. View the 'Animals Should Be Off The Menu' speech here, it's an absolute must see.

I also came across a shocking clip about the pork industry in England. This kind of abuse must be dealt with immediately. Agriculture is not an industry and animals are not machines. Healthy agriculture is free of poisons, is regional, respects animals and supplies the farmer with a proper income.

A more plant-based eating pattern is the most important step towards a sustainable world in which no one goes hungry. The knife and fork are after all the most important weapons in the battle against animal suffering, climate change, hunger, and loss of biodiversity. We additionally need to shrink the livestock herd to lower the risk to public health. Thanks to intensive cattle farming, healthy animals are stuffed full of antibiotics as a preventative measure, meaning people who eat their meat are becoming resistant to certain antibiotics. Take a look at this clip.

Happily we've seen some positive developments. The Netherlands is playing host to the 'Minding Animals Conference' to be held from 3 through 6 July. This is where other scientists, animal activists and ethicists will meet to discuss animal welfare and animal rights. This is the second time the conference is being held, and although I unfortunately cannot make it, but I think this is a fantastic initiative. Click here for further information on the conference.

Today, Professor Peter Singer will give our members a talk about Animal Politics in the gorgeous, historical Upper House. Peter Singer is a world famous Australian Bio Ethics professor at Princeton University, a philosopher and one of the founders of the ethics assessment framework surrounding animal rights. Next week I'll tell you more about his lecture!

See you then!

Marianne