Encourage Green Groups to Promote Plant Based Diets
Reddiveggie | 30.12.2006 19:51 | Animal Liberation | Ecology | Birmingham
Despite the increasingly overwhelming evidence of the impact that meat & dairy farming has on the planet, none of the national environmental campaigning organisations currently promote plant based diets. Wouldn`t it be great if we could influence groups like Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace to encourage their supporters and the general public to adopt a veggie/vegan diet for the benefit of the planet?!! Well, now we have an opportunity to do just that.
Friends of the Earth are currently developing their next Five Year Plan for 2008-2013 and they are seeking help from their members/supporters across the country. This plan will dictate the overall approach that Friends of the Earth takes as an organisation and the types of campaigns they are likely to run from 2008 onwards. FOE want all local group members to tell them what campaigns they should work on and how.
NOT CURRENTLY A MEMBER?
If you`re not currently a member of your local FOE group, it`s easy to sign up! Joining doesn`t mean that you`re obliged to attend meetings & other events(although that`s a great way of networking!), it simply means you`ll be able to contribute your thoughts about FOE`s future campaigns. There are over 200 local FOE groups across the UK, so there`s bound to be a group near you, and you can become a member for as little as £2-3 a year. You can find your local group here
http://www.foe.co.uk/campaigns/local_groups_and_campaigns/#locate
HOW YOU CAN INPUT YOUR THOUGHTS
JANUARY 2007 - Regional Five Year Plan Consultation Meetings
During January 2007, every region across the country will host a Five Year Plan Consultation Meeting. Local group members are being encouraged to attend their regional meeting. The West Midlands meeting takes place on Sat 13 Jan in Birmingham City Centre. You can find details of your regional meeting here http://community.foe.co.uk/resource/events/index.html or you can give your opinions in an online strategic consultation here http://community.foe.co.uk/strategic_plan/consultation/index.html
APRIL - MAY 2007 - More Online/Written Consultation
More communication and small scale consultation on the key strategic decisions so far.
AUTUMN 2007 - Developing and Deciding on Specific Campaigns
This will be about specific campaigns, resulting in the `campaigns package` that Friends of the Earth will take forward over the first period of the next plan. There will be more online/written consultation, possibly further regional face-to-face discussions and finally, there`ll be more consultation at the FOE Conference 2007, to be held at Reading University from 7th - 9th September.
For further details and for updates throughout 2007, bookmark this page http://community.foe.co.uk/fiveyearplan
WHY SHOULD FOE PROMOTE PLANT BASED DIETS?
Ditching animal products in favour of vegetarian/vegan diets is the single most effective action that any individual can take to reduce their personal impact on the planet. The evidence for this is indisputable, so much so that organisations whom you may not expect to speak out, are beginning to do so. For instance, take a look at this quote:
"The livestock sector accounts for 18% of global greenhouse gas emissions - more than transport, which emits 13.5%."
This quote is taken from a report titled - Livestock’s Long Shadow, by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
The report goes on to say that livestock production is at the heart of almost every other environmental catastrophe confronting the planet - rainforest destruction, spreading deserts, loss of fresh water, air and water pollution, acid rain and soil erosion. You can read the report in full here http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2006/1000448/index.html
We would urge you to read this report and familiarise yourself with the facts before attending one of the consultation meetings or filling in the online forms. Much more information can be found in Viva!`s excellent and fully referenced report Planet on a Plate http://www.viva.org.uk/guides/planetonaplate.htm
With enough pressure from compassionate, environmentally minded people, we have no doubt that FOE can be persuaded to include the promotion of plant based diets in their five year plan. And other organisations will then surely follow suit!
# Please Note # - The above article can also be found on Redditch Vegetarians & Vegans website here http://www.redditchveggies.makessense.co.uk/news/699.html
NOT CURRENTLY A MEMBER?
If you`re not currently a member of your local FOE group, it`s easy to sign up! Joining doesn`t mean that you`re obliged to attend meetings & other events(although that`s a great way of networking!), it simply means you`ll be able to contribute your thoughts about FOE`s future campaigns. There are over 200 local FOE groups across the UK, so there`s bound to be a group near you, and you can become a member for as little as £2-3 a year. You can find your local group here
http://www.foe.co.uk/campaigns/local_groups_and_campaigns/#locate HOW YOU CAN INPUT YOUR THOUGHTS
JANUARY 2007 - Regional Five Year Plan Consultation Meetings
During January 2007, every region across the country will host a Five Year Plan Consultation Meeting. Local group members are being encouraged to attend their regional meeting. The West Midlands meeting takes place on Sat 13 Jan in Birmingham City Centre. You can find details of your regional meeting here
http://community.foe.co.uk/resource/events/index.html or you can give your opinions in an online strategic consultation here http://community.foe.co.uk/strategic_plan/consultation/index.html APRIL - MAY 2007 - More Online/Written Consultation
More communication and small scale consultation on the key strategic decisions so far.
AUTUMN 2007 - Developing and Deciding on Specific Campaigns
This will be about specific campaigns, resulting in the `campaigns package` that Friends of the Earth will take forward over the first period of the next plan. There will be more online/written consultation, possibly further regional face-to-face discussions and finally, there`ll be more consultation at the FOE Conference 2007, to be held at Reading University from 7th - 9th September.
For further details and for updates throughout 2007, bookmark this page
http://community.foe.co.uk/fiveyearplan WHY SHOULD FOE PROMOTE PLANT BASED DIETS?
Ditching animal products in favour of vegetarian/vegan diets is the single most effective action that any individual can take to reduce their personal impact on the planet. The evidence for this is indisputable, so much so that organisations whom you may not expect to speak out, are beginning to do so. For instance, take a look at this quote:
"The livestock sector accounts for 18% of global greenhouse gas emissions - more than transport, which emits 13.5%."
This quote is taken from a report titled - Livestock’s Long Shadow, by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
The report goes on to say that livestock production is at the heart of almost every other environmental catastrophe confronting the planet - rainforest destruction, spreading deserts, loss of fresh water, air and water pollution, acid rain and soil erosion. You can read the report in full here
http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2006/1000448/index.html We would urge you to read this report and familiarise yourself with the facts before attending one of the consultation meetings or filling in the online forms. Much more information can be found in Viva!`s excellent and fully referenced report Planet on a Plate
http://www.viva.org.uk/guides/planetonaplate.htm With enough pressure from compassionate, environmentally minded people, we have no doubt that FOE can be persuaded to include the promotion of plant based diets in their five year plan. And other organisations will then surely follow suit!
# Please Note # - The above article can also be found on Redditch Vegetarians & Vegans website here
http://www.redditchveggies.makessense.co.uk/news/699.html
Reddiveggie
e-mail:
reddiveggie@lycos.com
Homepage:
http://www.redditchveggies.makessense.co.uk
Additions
Marginal lands
03.01.2007 19:21
It is rather simplistic to use the marginal lands argument. Sure there are a few cases where sheep can graze naturally on marginal lands but these are rare. In the New Zealand high country for example, the land is not suitable for crops but nor is it suitable for sheep, which endanger native flora. If the sheep were removed, the natural vegetation, and the natural fauna would be allowed to recover, and this would result in more animals on the land, not less, so the argument that meat eating actually creates more animal lives is false.
And sheep and cows are also grazing on areas that once held native forest. Cows grow on very productive lowland. The lowland kahikatea forests of New Zealand have been almost totally destroyed by settlers for cows. If everyone adoped a plant based diet, then a proportion of the lowland could be used to grow crops to feed the same number of people the cows fed, and the rest could be reverted to lowland forest.
The New Zealand Green Party is in the process of drafting its new animal welfare policy, and for the first time this may include reference to a plant based diet as the most environmentally friendly alternative.
As for population, environmental destruction depends on population and impact. So if we really want to reduce population we should start by reducing it in the "developed" world. One American has about the same impact on the world as about 35 Bangladshis, and a meat eater with a Prius has the same impact as a vegan with a SUV, just on global warming alone. Perhaps we should reduce the population of meat eaters.
And sheep and cows are also grazing on areas that once held native forest. Cows grow on very productive lowland. The lowland kahikatea forests of New Zealand have been almost totally destroyed by settlers for cows. If everyone adoped a plant based diet, then a proportion of the lowland could be used to grow crops to feed the same number of people the cows fed, and the rest could be reverted to lowland forest.
The New Zealand Green Party is in the process of drafting its new animal welfare policy, and for the first time this may include reference to a plant based diet as the most environmentally friendly alternative.
As for population, environmental destruction depends on population and impact. So if we really want to reduce population we should start by reducing it in the "developed" world. One American has about the same impact on the world as about 35 Bangladshis, and a meat eater with a Prius has the same impact as a vegan with a SUV, just on global warming alone. Perhaps we should reduce the population of meat eaters.
Michael Morris
e-mail:
michael.morris@slingshot.co.nz
Homepage:
http://www.epf.org.nz
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