Invitation to endorse the EVU Manifesto

[Guest guest]

Dear friends,

 

following the EVU Talks 2007, which were attended by up to hundred

people from 11 nations, we are sending you our statement 'The veggie

answer to global hunger' and invite you to endorse it by sending the

name of the responsible person, name of the organisation and website

and/or e-mail to president until 9 May. On 10 May we want

to forward the statement to the United Nations with copies to FAO and

WHO.

 

The EVU Talks 2008 'Vegetarianism, the ultimate animal welfare' are

going to take place in Switzerland probably also at the end of

April/beginning May.

 

All further details will be published on the EVU website in due time.

 

Thanks for your cooperation and

best regards

 

Renato Pichler

President EVU

 

www.euroveg.eu

president

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EVU Talks 2007: The veggie answer to global hunger

 

Statement by the European Vegetarian Union

 

Following a debate about the problem of global hunger, it is declared

that vegetarianism offers the possibility of considerably alleviating

the growing threat.

 

Feeding large percentages of available human food crops to farm

animals is unethical and represents a blatant lack of solidarity with

the hungry.

 

The existing water shortage is aggravated by ever-larger quantities

of water being used for animal husbandry, leaving less for crops.

 

The production of meat is uneconomical and can only be maintained

with huge financial subsidies, leading to harsh social injustice.

 

The FAO report " Livestock's long shadow " states that livestock

farming already generates almost a fifth of greenhouse gases, which

are expected to raise the average temperature. Global warming leads

to droughts, failing harvests and even more hardship for the poor.

 

The artificial extension of the food chain due to the transformation

of grain into meat causes a huge waste of resources.

 

The European Vegetarian Union demands that:

 

--national and international decision makers stop subsidizing the

production of meat and invest instead in sustainable aid programmes;

 

--meat packages carry warnings informing about the hazard which

animal husbandry represents to the environment and food security;

 

--international organizations and agencies incorporate the benefits

of a vegetarian lifestyle into future strategies for the fight

against global hunger.

 

A healthy life without meat is possible, beneficial for the

environment and allows a fairer distribution of natural riches.

 

Any policy pretending that the consumption of meat has to be the

social norm is rejected.

 

Vienna, 1 May 2007

 

Renato Pichler

President

European Vegetarian Union (EVU)

www.euroveg.eu