World Food Day 2008: Vegetarianism against global hunger

[Guest guest]

World Food Day 2008: Vegetarianism against global hunger

 

COMMOM PRESS RELEASE

 

16 October 2008

 

On 7-8 October 2008, the European Commission, the European Parliament

and the United Nations marked the anniversary of the Declaration of

Human Rights which assures everyone's entitlement `to a standard of

living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his

family, including food'.

 

Sixty years after signing that declaration of good will, the Food and

Agricultural Organization (FAO) is planning the celebration of 'World

Food Day 2008' set to `highlight the plight of 923 million

undernourished people in the world'.

 

 

What went wrong?

 

Why are almost one billion people still excluded from the most basic

of Human Rights in the 21st century?

 

" Every child who dies of hunger in today's world has been murdered, "

accused Jean Ziegler, former United Nations Special Rapporteur on the

Right to Food. Indeed, how can any society calling itself civilized

accept that while worldwide every five seconds a child dies because

she or he is hungry, around 1.5 billion cows and bulls and an

astronomical number of other farm animals are being fed with a huge

share of available crops?

 

 

More than the populations of USA, Canada and the EU do not have

enough to eat

 

National and international decision makers have initiated a multitude

of projects and campaigns in their fight against hunger;

unfortunately, nothing has improved the situation. The non-stop

misery caused by hunger calls urgently for fresh strategies, of which

vegetarianism must be one!

 

In the interest of justice and humanity the present wasting of 7-16

kg of grain or soy beans, up to 15,500 liters of water, and 323 m2 of

grazing land that yields just one kilo of beef cannot be allowed to

continue.

 

 

23 September 2008 was `Overshoot Day' - milestone when humanity will

have used all the resources nature will generate this year

 

Considering that globally, we now require the equivalent of 1.4

planets to support our lifestyles, `Overshoot Day' should be a wake-

up call for politicians and individuals alike. With the aim of

helping people in need, saving the environment and boosting public

health, the reduction or the end of eating meat is the easiest and

most beneficial way ahead.

 

The fact that we do have more than enough resources to feed everyone

must no longer be compromised by the greed for meat.

 

 

European Vegetarian and Animal News Alliance (EVANA)

www.evana.org

contact: info

 

Association Végétarienne de France

http://www.vegetarisme.fr/

 

BunnyHuggers, UK

www.bunnyhuggers.org.uk

 

Centro Vegetariano, Portugal

http://www.centrovegetariano.org/

 

EVA vzw - Ethisch Vegetarisch Alternatief, Belgium

www.vegetarisme.be

 

Globetransformer

http://www.globetransformer.org/

 

Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA), USA

www.JewishVeg.com

 

Romanian Vegetarian Society

http://www.svr.ro/

 

Swiss Union for Vegetarianism

www.vegetarismus.ch

 

Vegan Society Austria

http://www.vegan.at/

 

Yoga in Daily Life International

http://www.yoga-in-daily-life.org/

 

The Press Release is online: http://www.evana.org/index.php?

id=38147 & lang=en

 

=============

Petition to the UN `Food vs Feed' – `appeal to the United Nations and

its agencies to stop ignoring vegetarianism and instead study its

multi-faceted benefits, with the aim of incorporating them into

future strategies for a world without hunger http://un.evana.org/ -

(23 languages)

 

The Press Release online: http://www.evana.org/index.php?

id=38147 & lang=en