International Vegetarian Union (IVU) | |
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IVU ONLINE NEWS - July 2005 NEWS FROM LATIN AMERICA Marly Winckler, Latin-American coordinator of IVU will be visiting Bolivia next 18-25th of July in view of the Latin-American Vegetarian Congress to be held in Cochabamba next February. News about it soon. Meanwhile contact Marly on latinam@ivu.org if you are interested in volunteering to help.
--------------------------------------------------------- AMERICAN VEGAN SOCIETY SUMMER CONFERENCE Taking place at The Farm, Summertown Tennessee: Wednesday August 10 to Sunday August 14 2005. Kids Vegan Summer Program,
Sunday August 7 to Sunday August 14 2005. Speakers from on and off The Farm will share their expertise on vegan nutrition, cooking, growing food, and peaceful living. They are well-known authors and respected vegan leaders. Relaxed program scheduling will allow for social time, music, hiking, and afternoons cooling off in the swimming hole. The Farm has been a pioneer in soy-foods production, midwifery, publishing, and ecologically sustainable living for 33 years. This community, set on ridges that capture summer breezes, is surrounded by beautiful land in conservation. Accommodation options are camping, dormitory, housing with Farm families, or off-site at a motel. Join us for an exceptional educational and social gathering. Reserve your place now. Tell your friends. For speakers list, rates, and more information go to: www.americanvegan.org Freya Dinshah, American Vegan Society, PO Box 369, Malaga NJ 08328, Phone: (856) 694-2887, fax: (856) 694-2288 --------------------------------------------------------- TEN STEPS TOWARD A VEGETARIAN
WORLD In spite of the increasing need for a shift toward vegetarianism to counteract the present epidemic of diseases and the many environmental threats caused by the production and consumption of animal products, progress has been relatively slow. it is time for a consideration of new strategies to promote vegetarianism more effectively. The ten ideas suggested below are designed to start a dialogue that will lead to positive changes. It is my hope that this article will elicit additional suggestions and effective initiatives. 1. Set a Goal and a Time Table Toward a Vegetarian Conscious World We should not be satisfied with the relatively slow progress currently being made toward vegetarianism, especially in the face of all the recent disturbing reports of environmental catastrophes ahead. One possibility is to declare a goal, such as "A Vegetarian-conscious world by 2010." This could inspire our efforts by providing something to work toward. Note the term "vegetarian conscious." We can't hope that every person will be a vegetarian by 2010, or any other time, and we should not argue that each person must be a vegetarian. However, we can work, with a heightened sense of urgency, to see that everyone is at least aware of the many reasons for becoming a vegetarian, with the hope that many will act based on that knowledge. 2. Make People Aware That a Shift Toward Vegetarianism is Beneficial for People as Well as Animals Many people resist vegetarian
arguments, asserting that they can't be concerned about animals when
people face so many problems. We should stress that a shift to vegetarianism
would be very beneficial to people as well as animals. Among the arguments
we should use are: 3. Make People Aware That a Shift Toward Vegetarianism is a Societal Imperative Today Humanity is arguably threatened as perhaps never before from global warming, widening water shortages, rapid species extinction, destruction of tropical rain forests and other valuable habitats, and many other problems. We should make people aware that all of these threats and many more are significantly worsened by the following: we are raising 50 billion farmed animals for slaughter annually worldwide; almost 40 percent of the world's grain is used to fatten farmed animals; it takes 14 times as much water, ten times as much energy, and over 20 times as much land for an animal-based diet than it does for a vegan diet; animal-based agriculture contributes significantly to emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, and other greenhouse gases; and much more. We should also stress that diseases caused by the consumption of animal product results in soaring medical expenditures which are contributing to record budget deficits and the perceived need to cut basic social services. 4. Inform People That a Shift Toward Vegetarianism is a Religious Imperative Today Most people profess to be religious today and many claim to base their lives on moral values related to their religions. We should respectfully discuss with such people how animal-based diets and agriculture contradict basic religious mandates to preserve our health, treat animals compassionately, preserve the environment, conserve natural resources, help hungry people, and seek and pursue peace. We should stress such biblical teachings as "God's mercies are over all of his creatures" (Psalms 145:9), "the righteous person considers the lives of his or her animals" (Proverbs 12:10), that animals as well as people are to be permitted to rest on the Sabbath day (part of the Ten Commandments), and similar teachings from other holy books and teachers. 5. Relate Vegetarianism to Current News Items Vegetarianism touches on almost all phases of life - health, nutrition, animals, the environment, energy, water and other resources, economics, politics, family life, and many more - and we should make people aware of connections. When there are news reports re global warming and its effects, we should point out that animal-based diets contribute significantly to emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, and other greenhouse gases. When there are articles re taxes, budget deficits, and other economic issues, we should indicate that health costs are soaring in efforts to cure the many diseases that have been conclusively connected to animal-centered diets. When there are articles about water shortages and droughts, we should help make people aware that animal-based agriculture requires far more water and other resources than plant-based agriculture. Many additional examples can be given. 6. Start a Letter Writing Campaign As a follow-up to the discussion in item #5, there should be a major campaign to get letters to editors on connections between various issues and vegetarianism. If only a small percentage of the people concerned about vegetarianism and related issues wrote a letter just once a month, it could have a major impact. A web site should be set up that gives talking points daily for letters based on current issues as well as sample letters. As a related approach, since many people listen daily to talk radio shows, there should also be a concerted effort to get people to call such shows with vegetarian messages. While radio talk show hosts are generally very well informed on a wide variety of issues, I have found that many have major misconceptions re health, nutrition, and other vegetarian-related issues. 7. Make a Shift to Vegetarianism a Priority for the Animal Rights Movement The vast majority of cases of animal abuses occur on factory farms. Yet, many, perhaps most, animal rights activists are working on other issues, such as circuses, rodeos, fur, pets, and animal experimentation. These are all important issues and it is essential to end all cases of animal abuse. But, animal-based diets and agriculture threaten most individuals' personal health and the well being of humanity. If most animal rights advocates worked on promoting vegetarianism and veganism, even for a limited time, in addition to their other animal rights efforts, it could have a very powerful impact. 8. Challenge the Medical Establishment Every person is concerned about his or her health and the health of loved ones. There is very strong evidence that incidents of heart disease, various types of cancer, strokes, and other chronic degenerative diseases can be sharply reduced by a shift to vegetarian and vegan diets, along with other positive lifestyle changes. Yet, the medical establishment, including most nutritionists, are ignoring this information, and are not making patients and the general public aware that many diseases can be prevented, and sometimes reversed, through dietary changes. It might even be called medical malpractice. I recently visited a cousin in a rehabilitation center, and was astounded at reading the daily menus, which had animal products at every meal. It is essential that we challenge medical practitioners and respectfully urge them to help educate people about healthy diets. As indicated in point #10, others, such as educators, politicians, religious leaders, and reporters, should also be challenged to increase awareness of the health and many other benefits of vegetarian and vegan diets. 9. Form Alliances With Other Groups Since vegetarianism has connections with many societal issues, we should try to build strong alliances with many other groups that are working for positive changes. For example, we should seek alliances with environmental groups, and inform them that the raising of 50 billion animals for slaughter annually, primarily on "factory farms," contributes to many environmental threats; we should seek alliances with groups concerned about hunger, poverty, water and energy shortages, global warming, and related issues, and inform them about how the production of animal products contributes to many environmental threats and is extremely wasteful of resources. 10. Challenge the Media, Politicians, Educators, and Other Members of the Establishment Since, as indicated above humanity is threatened as perhaps never before, and a switch toward vegetarianism is a societal imperative, and there are vegetarian connections to many current issues, we should try to meet with influential members of society and urge them to take a stand re vegetarianism, or at least to put the issues on their agendas. We should urge educators to see that children learn about proper nutrition and are provided with tasty, nutritious options at every meal. We should exhort reporters and editors to make people aware of the many negative effects of animal-based diets and the many benefits of vegetarian and vegan diets. This is just an outline of some steps that I think would be helpful in moving toward a vegetarian world. I am sure that the many dedicated people in the vegetarian and related movements can add to my points and come up with additional suggestions. The important thing is that we become increasingly involved, for our sakes, for the animals, and for our precious, but imperiled, planet. Richard H. Schwartz, Ph.D.;
Professor Emeritus, College of Staten Island --------------------------------------------------------- NEW IVU MEMBERS AND SUPPORTERS AND INTERNET PARTNERS VeganOfLight.com - www.veganoflight.com - VeganOfLight.com offers fair labor verified vegan shirts and vegetarian shirts as well as spiritual shirts for the Ahimsa life. RSN - Sri Lanka - ransalussbc@yahoo.com Vegjetarianizmi - Albanian language - www.freewebs.com/vegjetarianizmi ---------------------------------------------------------
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