Appreciate Your Planet

Meat free COP16 pushes for UN to act on the impact of livestock agriculture on climate

andrescortez — Wed, 08 Dec 2010 05:59:51 +0000

NEWS
A campaign to spread the vegan message to delegates at the international talks in Cancun is anticipated to highlight the impact emissions from animal farming have on the planet.

Meat Free COP16 is the name given to the movement, which encourages global leaders at the 16th Conference of Parties (COP16) to make what campaigners call an ethical lifestyle choice for world health, for the environment and for animals.

The view from campaigners is that emissions from animal farming are not sufficiently taken into account in international climate talks, even though the United Nations has produced reports that suggest that animal agribusiness is detrimental to the environment and promotes global warming.

According to a recent report from the UN, Assessing the Environmental Impacts of Production and Consumption: Priority Products and Materials from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), shifting to a meat and dairy free diet could be an effective approach to dealing with climate change and its consequences.

“Both meat and dairy, in general require more resources and cause higher emissions than plant-based alternatives,” states the UN report. According to the report, agriculture contributes 14 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions.

There is no question that to stop global warming, CO2 emissions need to be cut, however according to a 2009 New Scientist article written by Kirk Smith, only about half the warming that has occurred up to now is due to CO2. Methane and nitrous oxide are widely considered to be the most significant GHGs. According to the article, livestock agriculture is a major source of methane and nitrous oxide.

Smith writes that methane is an attractive target for manipulation because “methane is removed from the atmosphere much more rapidly than CO2, with a half-life of 8.5 years compared with many decades for CO2″. Therefore tackling methane could have an earlier impact on the pressing issue of global warming, he suggests.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations, as well as being a main emitter of methane, the animal agriculture industry is one of the largest users of land and water, and a major cause of deforestation and biodiversity loss. It also leads to wide-scale land degradation, and is a major polluter of our rivers, oceans and drinking supplies, states the UN department.

“Livestock’s contribution to environmental problems is on a massive scale and its potential contribution to their solution is equally large. The impact is so significant that it needs to be addressed with urgency,” stated the FAO, in 2006.

The Meat Free COP16 organisation states that it hopes delegates in the conference will set a good example by making a stand against animal agriculture. Furthermore they will push for COP16 organisers to provide only plant based meals during the conference, to show their complete resolve to tackle climate change as well as other environmental issues.

In addition, the organisation invites all members of the public to adopt what they call an “environmental, healthy and compassionate choice”.

Although the UN makes statements regarding the detrimental effects of animal agriculture, the issue is not high on the agenda for discussions in COP16. Campaigners of Meat Free COP16 anticipate that highlighting the issue will raise its standing in international talks, so that policies and regulations could be put in place if a collective agreement is reached.

Author: Marianna Keen | Climate Action

COP16

andrescortez — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 19:46:39 +0000

AS you may be aware the climate change conference COP16 is weeks away and it is necessary for our delegates to reflect in their actions the findings of various official reports on how livestock and animal products are detrimental to the planet and how by switching to a vegan would be the first sustainable approach for a solution to climate change. I kindly ask that you c We sincerely appreciate your time and consideration to this matter.
Please sign ,send and share with others . http://meatfreecop16.org The success of this campaign relies on people like you, and your friends and family. We sincerely thank you again for your interest, together we can have a huge impact!

For further information on the science , the reports and more please visit www.MeatFreeCOP16.org
http://meatfreecop16.org English
http://meatfreecop16.org/espanol Español
http://meatfreecop16.org/chinese/ 中文

Whaling No More

andrescortez — Sat, 15 May 2010 05:34:50 +0000

Please join us in taking action in supporting & encouraging anti whaling
nations in phasing out whaling. Banning all forms of whale hunting is true conservation!

There are just a few days left to make our voices heard. Delegates from around the world will be joining to determine the future of the whales. A number of pro whaling nations are seeking to lift the ban and hunt openly, help save the whales !!!

The Most Important Solution To Global Warming

andrescortez — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 08:03:04 +0000

To all concerned citizens,

In the run up to the Copenhagen climate change conference, it is vital the following information be disseminated to the public as well as to our political leaders.

A widely cited 2006 report by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, Livestock’s Long Shadow, estimates that 18 percent of annual worldwide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are attributable to livestock….however recent analysis by Goodland and Anhang co-authors of “Livestock and Climate Change” in the latest issue of World Watch magazine found that livestock and their byproducts actually account for at least 32.6 billion tons of carbon dioxide per year, or 51 percent of annual worldwide GHG emissions!

http://www.worldwatch.org/files/pdf/Livestock%20and%20Climate%20Change.pdf

Based on their research, Goodland and Anhang conclude that replacing livestock products with soy-based and other alternatives would be the best strategy for reversing climate change. They say “This approach would have far more rapid effects on GHG emissions and their atmospheric concentrations-and thus on the rate the climate is warming-than actions to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy.”

The fact is that we are being informed of the dangerous path we are on by depending greatly on animal flesh for human consumption.

The information has been provided to us, therefore citizens like you and I, need to take the lead moving in the direction necessary so that those in power, governments and other unaware individuals realize that we are currently facing a planetary crisis .

We still have the opportunity to make the most effective steps in saving ourselves an this planet. By simply choosing a plant based diet as well as changing light bulbs, shutting off lights , riding bicycles and recycling we can reduce our carbon foot print by a huge amount.

We are gambling with our lives and with those of our future generations to come. It’s madness to know we are fully aware of the possible consequences but yet are failing to act. Climate change is not an issue for a community or of one nation, it is the challenge that humanity and all life on this planet faces.

Please make a truly environmental, healthy and compassionate choice, choose to drastically reduce your meat intake or simply go vegetarian or vegan.

Thank you for your consideration.

Yours Sincerely

Society for the Advancement of Animal Wellbeing

www.SAAWinternational.org

Nueva forma de combatir el cambio climático: convertirse en vegetariano

andrescortez — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 09:26:30 +0000

La ganadería representa un despilfarro de agua y contribuye poderosamente al efecto invernadero. ¿Usted dejaría de consumir carnes?

Londres (EFE). El mundo debería hacerse vegetariano si quiere combatir con éxito el cambio climático, ya que el metano procedente de vacas y cerdos es veintitrés veces más poderoso que el dióxido de carbono como gas de efecto invernadero, según una de las máximas autoridades en el tema.

En unas declaraciones al diario “The Times”, Lord Stern, autor de un informe del Gobierno británico en torno a la economía del cambio climático, afirma que la ganadería destinada al consumo de carne representa “un despilfarro de agua y contribuye poderosamente al efecto invernadero”.

Según cifras de la ONU, la producción de carne es responsable de al menos un 18% de las emisiones globales de CO2 por culpa tanto de la destrucción de bosques para la ganadería hasta la producción de soja como pienso para los animales.

La ONU ha advertido de que, de seguir las cosas como hasta ahora, el consumo mundial de carne podría duplicarse de aquí a mitad de siglo.

¿SE PODRÁ?
Según Stern, un eventual acuerdo en la próxima cumbre sobre el clima de Copenhague debería resultar en un fuerte incremento del precio de la carne y otros productos que generan grandes cantidades de ese tipo de gases.

El experto británico, que es vegetariano, predice que la actitud de la gente hacia el tipo de alimentos que consume irá evolucionando hasta que comer carne se considere inaceptable.

“Creo que es importante que la gente reflexione sobre sus acciones y esto se refiere también a lo que come”, explica lord Stern, ex economista del Banco Mundial y actual profesor de la London School of Economics.

Where’s the beef?

andrescortez — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 09:18:28 +0000

Click below for a full size view:

Taipei350

andrescortez — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 09:05:56 +0000

As part of a global movement called 350.org a march has been organized to call upon the Taiwan government to do something about global warming and climate change.

The march will take place:
WHEN: Saturday the 24th of October from 4-5pm.
WHERE: South entrance of building A8 of the Mitsukoshi department store.(Less than a 5 minute walk from Taipei City Hall MRT station.)

Please take a minute to watch this video made by the organizers of Taipei350. By the way 350 ppm is the safe limit of CO2 in the air, we are already way past that number!

Learn more at:
http://350taipei.blogspot.com/
http://www.350.org/

Finished? Bluefins In Trouble

andrescortez — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 02:05:13 +0000

martin hickman LONDON, 5 SEPT:
The last chance to save one of the most majestic fish in the sea is on the verge of collapse because of political jockeying in Europe. A proposal to ban the sale of bluefin tuna is being fiercely opposed by Malta, the capital of the lucrative global business, and by its representative in Brussels, the fisheries commissioner, Mr Joe Borg. Spain and Italy are also believed to be resisting the move, which would end exports to Japan for sushi. Conservationists fear…

Animal Rights Group Accusing IA Company of Grinding Up Live Chicks

andrescortez — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 01:56:06 +0000

September 2, 2009 at 1:18pm

Across the border: An animal rights group is accusing an Iowa company of grinding up live male chicks. A warning: the video you’re about to see may be unsettling to some of our viewers. Undercover video released Tuesday by Mercy for Animals shows live male chicks being fed into a grinder at a hatchery in Spencer, Iowa. The owners of the hatchery Hy – Line International say that the video appears to show an inappropriate action and violation of our animal welfare policies. But a company spokesperson would not specify exactly what the violations are. The company says they are investigating the situation and will discipline employees if any violations are found. We’ll have much more on this story tonight at six.

Foie Gras Protest Tomorrow at Christopher’s Restaurant and Crush Lounge

andrescortez — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 01:54:14 +0000

Aug. 14 2009
Foie gras is on menus at some of the best restaurants in the Valley.
But tomorrow, a group of protesters will do their best to shed a different light on the culinary delicacy — and they’ll do it in front of a well-respected Phoenix restaurant, James Beard Award-winning chef Christopher Gross’ Christopher’s Restaurant and Crush Lounge.
From 6 to 7 p.m. on Saturday night, a group of people led by activist Dani Thumma will hold up signs and pass out literature in protest of the restaurant’s use of foie gras on its French bistro-style menu.
Thumma, a 49-year-old grandmother who lives in Peoria, wrote Gross a letter, informing him about the production of foie gras, and later spoke to him on the phone. “They’re going to keep foie gras on the menu,” she says, “so we decided to protest.”
When Thumma informed Gross that they would be protesting, “He said he couldn’t wait to meet me,” Thumma says.
She has just begun to put together a small group of concerned citizens in Arizona who are working to educate the public on foie gras production — and to get chefs to remove the dish from their menus. She says that her group, which is so far made up of about 10 people, gets a lot of help from the Animal Protection and Rescue League as well as an organization called In Defense of Animals. This will be their very first protest.
“Why me?” Gross asked one of the protesters in an on-going email conversation. He says it’s mostly because of location.
When confronted with this issue, as he has been before, Gross says his first question is always, “Are you a vegetarian?” They usually say yes. Then, he asks, “Do you eat eggs?” If they say yes, as they often do, Gross tells them, “You should maybe look at an egg farm.”
He says, considering the number of people who actually eat foie gras, and the amount of money and time that goes into fighting it, the resources could be better spent elsewhere.
“Sometimes I think it’s funny,” Gross says, “that so much money is being spent on something that affects so few.”
Gross also says that he buys his foie gras from Hudson Valley Foie Gras, where the ducks are not kept in cages (one of the complaints of anti-foie gras activists) but in corrals.
Though Thumma has had no luck with Gross, she was successful once before. After writing a letter to Louis Germain, the chef and owner of Le Sans Souci in Cave Creek, Thumma says that he replied with a note saying that he would indeed stop serving the dish as of December 24, 2008. When she checked back on the due date, she found that he had done it.
“I was really surprised,” she says. She was ready to take action.
So, why all the fuss?
Male ducks and geese are force-fed grain through pipes that are put down their throats, in order to make their livers enlarge. The enlarged livers are what you eat when you order “fat liver,” or foie gras, at a restaurant.
Foie gras production has been banned in Denmark, Finland, Germany, Isreal, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the Czech Republic because it is considered inhumane.
In the United States, foie gras has only been banned in California, a law that will be implemented in 2012. The city of Chicago overturned their ban on it last year. But there is no national ban in the U.S, and, here, it’s up to the chefs whether or not to serve the dish. In any case, animal rights groups are fighting hard against it — and they’ll be out this weekend at the Biltmore in Phoenix.
Thumma says they are expecting 17 to 20 people at the protest, which will be repeated at the same time next Saturday.
It may be a small group, but, according to Thumma, “Someone has to say something.”
Gross is taking it all in stride.
“I might go out and bring them water,” he tells us, adding, “I was contemplating having an employee dress up as a duck.”