PETA to Charlie McConalogue: Support Organic Vegan Agriculture
PETA to Charlie McConalogue: Support Organic Vegan Agriculture
Dublin – Since the EU’s goals in reforming the common agricultural policy (CAP) this year include counteracting environmental destruction and climate change, PETA has sent a letter to Charlie McConalogue TD, the Irish minister for agriculture, food, and the marine, urging him to prioritise eco- and animal-friendly vegan agriculture.
In the letter, PETA points out that the production of animal-derived food requires much more water, land, and other resources and causes more harmful emissions than the production of vegan food – and it puts humans and other animals at risk. Animal markets, agricultural operations, and abattoirs – where animals are kept in filthy, crowded conditions and are violently killed on blood-soaked floors – are breeding grounds for potentially deadly zoonotic pathogens. SARS, swine flu, bird flu, and COVID-19 all stemmed from confining and killing animals for food.
“The key to stopping climate change and future pandemics in their tracks lies in sustainable vegan agriculture,” says PETA Senior Campaigns Manager Kate Werner. “PETA is calling on officials to give animals and the planet a lifeline by reorienting our food systems towards vibrant and varied vegan fare.”
According to the United Nations, a global shift towards vegan eating is necessary to combat the worst effects of climate change, and research shows that widespread adoption of vegan eating could cut global greenhouse-gas emissions from food by 70% by 2050. Each person who goes vegan saves nearly 200 animals every year, dramatically shrinks their carbon footprint, and reduces their risk of suffering from cancer, heart disease, strokes, diabetes, and obesity.
PETA – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat” – opposes speciesism, which is a human-supremacist worldview. The group’s letter to McConalogue is available upon request. For more information, please visit PETA.org.uk or follow the group on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.
Contact:
Sascha Camilli +44 (0) 20 7923 6244; [email protected]
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