VEGGIE PRIDE 2003

[Guest guest]

You are a vegetarian or a vegan because you refuse to make animals suffer?

 

VEGGIE PRIDE will be held in Paris on May 17th 2003.

 

COME AND MARCH WITH US!

 

www.veggiepride.org

 

 

 

Our aims:

 

To declare that we are here.

 

We refuse to rob sentient beings of their sole possessions, of their very flesh,

their very lives; we refuse to take part in a concentration camp system which

turns their short lives into a perpetual torment.

 

But when do you hear about it ?

 

It is not necessary to kill in order to live and be healthy. We are living proof

of this.

 

Our demonstration is meant to make it impossible for anyone to deny it.

 

To denounce vegephobia

 

Vegetarianism is ignored, marginalized and defamed.

 

 

First we are laughed at. Caring about chickens and cows is deemed to be

ridiculous. Mirth represses disturbing ideas without the need for logical

discussion.

 

But if we do not give in, the laughter turns sour. At first we are the butts of

jokes, suddenly we become monsters. Traitors to our species since we do not

grant people the right to do whatever they want. Unworthy parents since we do

not introduce our children to the pleasures of dead flesh. Nazi sympathizers

because Hitler loved dogs. An intolerant cult since we do not think like

everyone else.

 

We are accused of worshipping nature; of breaking its laws. No argument is too

farfetched when it comes to misrepresenting our ideas.

 

To defend our rights

 

We have the right to receive decent meals at school, at work and wherever meals

are served to groups of people.

We have the same right as everyone else to impartial and appropriate medical

information.

We have the right to raise our children without forcing upon them the products

of slaughter and without our children being told that their parents are freaks.

We are no longer willing to be accomplices to carnage through the taxes we pay,

huge amounts of which are used to support the raising and killing of animals.

We demand the right to refuse any work that involves taking part in the

exploitation of animals.

We are no longer willing for our actions and our ideas to be systematically

silenced.

We demand the same platform as those who attack us. We demand an open debate.

 

To act on behalf of our fellow-creatures whose rights have been taken away

 

No rights are granted to animals raised and killed for food, but we - who stand

side by side with them - do have rights, at least in principle. We are

determined to exercise our rights in full, because they are our rights, and

because they are theirs too - the only rights that they may today, indirectly,

enjoy.

 

 

We shall keep on speaking out on their behalf until the massacre ceases.

 

For further information, go to www.veggiepride.org

 

At this time, the route we will take has not yet been determined. As soon as we

have, it will appear on our website.

 

 

 

We appreciate your assistance in passing on the information about Veggie Pride

to others, and we hope we will see you on May 17th !

 

Emmanuelle Barraud, for the organizers of Veggie Pride