Christian Aid hostility at B`ham `Cut the Carbon` march
Midlands Vegan Campaigns | 28.08.2007 18:24 | Animal Liberation | Climate Chaos | Ecology | Birmingham
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/birmingham/2007/08/379470.html The reception we received from Christian Aid marshals could not have been more frosty if the march had taken place at the north pole!! As soon as we arrived, they insisted that we march in our own group behind them, with marshals separating us from them!!!
This attitude towards us was a little strange to say the least, since we were only responding to their call to support them!! The CA website is fairly clear - "Take part in a local event", "Join the march" and "Come to a rally". We called the Birmingham CA office weeks before the event to clarify the situation.
"We are not members of Christian Aid, many of us are not christians, but we would very much like to join your march against climate change".
The clarification we were looking for could not have been more definate. We were very welcome and we should bring our friends. So we did. MVC even booked a stall at the rally - again there were no problems!!
On the day however, everything changed!! Despite the marshals best efforts to demote us to second class citizens, we spread ourselves amongst the other marchers, we proudly displayed our banners, we talked to people, we handed out leaflets and we shared our compassion for the planet and ALL it`s inhabitants.
Marshals then insisted that if we were to march amongst the others, that we would have to carry their banners/placards and put ours away!!!!! It seemed that nothing other than red and white `Cut the Carbon` placards produced by Christian Aid were welcome on `their` march!! Not likely, again we stood our ground!
When we arrived at Millennium Point, our stall had already been set up. Our stall was under a large gazebo alongside the Christian Aid stall. However, we didn`t retain this position for long! CA decided that they didn`t want us underneath their gazebo, so we were kicked out!!! Shortly after this, 2 police officers arrived and stood chatting to marshals. The inspector and sergeant walked up to the MVC stall(and only our stall, not FoE, CAFOD etc) and looked at all our leaflets and posters! What on earth did they expect to find???!!!
The whole event was sadly tiny in comparison to the 5,000+ people that had been expected. MVC members gave a considerable boost to the 300 or so already there, it`s just a shame CA failed to recognise that we were there to support them.
MVC suspect we were not the only group that received this kind of hostility from Christian Aid. It seems highly likely that more groups and a far greater cross section of society, would have joined the march had they felt welcome. What is perfectly apparent to us, is that the threat of climate change can only be dealt with effectively, when those with differing beliefs stand together, share knowledge and learn from one another. We all want to beat climate change, but doing so will mean opening our eyes and minds to the truth and making a few simple changes to our daily lives. There`s no better place to start than the adoption of a vegan diet!!
Learn more here
http://www.viva.org.uk/guides/planetonaplate.htm
Midlands Vegan Campaigns
e-mail:
mvc94@yahoo.co.uk
Homepage:
http://www.veganmidlands.org.uk
Comments
Hide the following 16 comments
Not an isolated incident - this happened in Edinburgh too!
28.08.2007 19:51
My two friends talked to her about this, and then went off to talk to her boss who didn't (or couldn't) give a reason why the banners should be taken down - the rally was taking place in a public park after all. The whole thing was quite amusing, what with the surprise on the young lady's face when the guys from Faslane 365 didn't do what they were told - as one of them said to me afterwards, "I don't think she realises we do direct action".
The march arrived and I left shortly afterwards, only to see a group of students from Stirling Uni away form the main march - I thought at the time that they had been prevented from marching with everyone else, and reading this article has reinforced my suspicions.
There seems to be a split between "corporate" campaigns (this Christian Aid one, Make Poverty History, etc), and "grassroots" campaigns such as Faslane 365 and the Camp for Climate Action. One of the biggest differences between the two is the police presence at their events - I wonder if any of the Christian Aid marchers today got photographed by FIT?
Jim
Small-minded Hypocrites!
28.08.2007 20:14
Bazaar (very radical, I know!). However, when they realised what our group were about, the church committee cancelled the booking, and were very hostile when we tried to talk to them about it. I am firmly of the opinion that many 'christians' are actually small minded hypocrites with little real compassion in their souls.
Jackie Skipp
e-mail:
jackie_skipp@yahoo.co.uk
Yeah but..
28.08.2007 20:45
you have to give them credit though, some crafty so and so could have slipped in an anti-vivisection leaflet or two amongst the vegan/veggie leaflets, and that's illegal.
piper
Tell Them They Suck!
28.08.2007 22:56
Sam Nexter
Homepage:
http://www.climatecamp.org.uk
Christian Aid Contradictory Policies on Climate Change
28.08.2007 23:57
1.) Livestock contributes to 18% of green house gases.
2.) Christian Aid are promoting and providing livestock in Africa to provide an income for poor subsistence farmers.
3.) Climate Change will significantly increase poverty through drought and flooding.
I imagine that Christian Aid do not want people to know to what extent farm animals cause climate change because it would their mean that their policy of providing livestock to poor farmers would be questioned.
Is this really logical? Is this not counterproductive in the long term? Surely if a policy to reduce poverty is to be implemented it should not at the same time contribute to a significant cause of poverty? Is there another effective solution which does not involve using animals?
Mike
push them around a bit then demand they forgive you
29.08.2007 01:05
He was a stuck up prig who didn't appear to have a public spirited bone in his body.
Probably a freemason!
Tony Gosling
Bad attitude by big organisations
29.08.2007 11:08
The Stop the War Coalition found it difficult to get space at the Make Poverty History event in the Meadows in Edinburgh. Eventually they were provided with a space as far away as possible from other groups, presumably so not many people were "contaminated".
When the speeches were about to start the police appeared in some numbers and stood in a semi-circle, spaced 2-3 metres apart, around the edge of the gathering. This was blatantly political policing, no doubt designed to deter people from listening to the speeches and intimidate those who were listening. George Galloway mentioned the police activity in his speech. Whether make Poverty History had anything to do with this political action by the police is unknown.
A N Other
No need for police
29.08.2007 17:50
Crusty Camper
PETA
30.08.2007 08:15
The Humane Society and PETA are highlighting that raising animals for food generates more greenhouse gases than all the cars, trucks, planes and ships in the world combined, according to the Independent today. Their summary of the UN report is damning.
Resources
While 40 million tonnes of food would eliminate the most extreme cases of world hunger, 540 million tonnes are fed to animals in Western countries every year. The world's cattle alone consume the same amount of calories as it takes to nourish 8.7 billion people - more than the entire human population on Earth.
Water
It takes 2,500 gallons of water to produce a pound of meat, but only 25 gallons to produce a pound of wheat. A totally vegetarian diet requires 300 gallons of water per day, whilst a meat-eating diet requires more than 4,000 gallons of water per day.
Land
Of all agricultural land in the UK, 90 per cent is used to raise animals for food, and we still need more food, so we import it from developing countries which often cannot even feed themselves. Using precious land to raise animals for food is wasteful. On 10 hectares, you can produce meat to feed just two people, maize to feed 10 people, grain to feed 24 people or soya to feed 61 people. Overgrazing of livestock has led to desertification around the globe.
Pollution
Raising animals for food causes water pollution as slurry leaches into the waterways. In some parts of Europe, slurry is the single greatest cause of acid rain. The methane produced by the world's cows is a major contributor to global warming.
Deforestation
Since 1950, half of all the world's rain forests have been destroyed to make way for grazing animals. After just six or seven years, the soil is so damaged that it can no longer support grass. It turns to dust. Tribal people are forced to move on as their habitat is sold off to the meat industry. In the UK, hedgerows are being cut down for the same reason, and 98 per cent of the forests that once covered most of the British Isles have been cut down.
dan
More vegan awareness in Bromsgrove
30.08.2007 21:51
Vegans join `Cut the Carbon` picnic in Bromsgrove
Armed with 2 `Fight Climate Change, Go Vegan` posters and a bundle of leaflets, we joined the march for the last mile into Bromsgrove. Thankfully, the frosty reception encountered by members of Midlands Vegan Campaigns in Birmingham, had thawed in Bromsgrove as we were treated to a warm welcome by several march organisers. All supporters readily accepted our leaflets and hundreds of passing motorists/local residents saw our posters.
The march ended up at a Bromsgrove park where we joined a picnic with the others. During the march and the picnic, we entered into several lengthy conversations regarding green issues, veganism and animal gift schemes, with organisers, supporters and the marchers themselves.
It was a very effective 2 hours, well worth doing!
Redditch Vegetarians & Vegans
e-mail:
reddiveggie@lycos.com
Homepage:
http://www.redditchveggies.org.uk
if only...
31.08.2007 20:10
vegan
I think Brum FNB...
01.09.2007 18:01
Crusty Camper
FACT
02.09.2007 17:34
I also noticed you had a meat based dish that you served at the refugee sleepout.
Crusty camper perhaps you're not involved with actually cooking anything, but these facts stand...
vegan
No Meat In FNB
02.09.2007 21:22
As for the dairy stuff, i have been involved with many of the sessions contributing to preparation and cooking of food and we did not use dairy. If this did happen it's not a regular thing. FNB always strives to avoid animal products in the food we serve.
Crusty Camper
that's hardly unequivocal, is it?
03.09.2007 21:07
I was under the impression that Food not Bombs was a vegan movement raising awareness about food waste, homelessness and anti-militarism.
Can you tell us why you made the decision collectively to cook food with dairy products in? I've been on your mailing list for some time and I can't see where you discussed this or for that matter in the archives there seems to be no sign of any debate around this. According to the posts on Indy, it was started as a vegan initiative, so you should be aware of this change.
And as for the meat dish at the sleepout, you say it was "dumped" on you, but from all accounts you continued to serve it. That's not on really is it if you want to claim your vegan is it?
vegan and proud
facts
06.09.2007 00:17
The meat dish donated at the refugee sleepout was kindly given by a restaurant to the refugee event as Crusty Camper has said.
Why is someone hijacking the Midlands Vegan Campaign article to have a go at Food Not Bombs with utterly false information?
Anyway. Good work Midlands Vegan Campaign.
another vegan
another vegan