Meat Free Week is going global
When it comes to meat, people in Australia and the UK eat well above the world average. With a devastating impact on the planet and the suffering of billions of animals, Elise Burgess encourages us to support the Meat Free Week initiative.
Australia’s highly successful Meat Free Week initiative is making its message of compassion global, launching for the first time in the UK in 2015.
Between 23-29 March, compassionate people from Australia and the UK will pledge to go veg to raise awareness of the amount of meat we consume and the impact it has on the welfare of animals, human health and the environment.
This message has never been so relevant.
When it comes to meat, Australians and Britons both eat well above the world average. Australians are one of the biggest consumers of animal products on the planet, with the average Australian consuming around 111kg of meat each year.
This massive consumption has plenty of negative consequences. For instance, global demand for meat has had a devastating impact on the planet. According to the United Nations, at least 18% of global greenhouse gas emissions are caused by livestock farming (just 13% being caused by the transport sector worldwide), with factory farming a big contributor to these emissions.
But for Voiceless, it is the innate suffering of billions of sentient creatures as a result of our dietary choices that needs to end.
Today in Australia, it is estimated that around 13 million hens are confined in battery cages. The vast majority of chicken and pig meat comes from factory farms and, alarmingly, there is a small but growing percentage of dairy farms moving towards feedlot-style systems.
With factory farming comes legalised cruelty. Mutilation practices – like de-beaking, tail docking, dehorning, castration – are prevalent on factory farms, and all can legally be performed on certain animals without pain relief.
There also comes confinement – battery cages for hens, sow stalls and farrowing crates for pigs, and barns housing up to 60,000 ducks and birds. These animals will never feel the earth under their feet, the sun on their backs, or for ducks, much needed water to survive.
The answer is relatively simple: consumers need to consume less, and industry must be forced to care more.
This is why Voiceless is calling on Australians to support Meat Free Week.
And we are not alone in this campaign. High profile ambassadors, including international names such as Jamie Oliver and Paul McCartney, have come on board to support the Meat Free Week initiative in the UK. In Australia, leading chef Simon Bryant and neurosurgeon Dr Charlie Teo, as well as respected experts in the areas of health, the environment and animal welfare, are all speaking out in support of the cause.
There is still time to sign up for Meat Free Week, or to support one of the thousands of Australians who have pledged to go without meat until Sunday. To find out more go to http://www.meatfreeweek.org/ and #GetYourVegOut
Elise Burgess is Head of Communications at Voiceless, the animal protection institute. Prior to joining Voiceless, Elise worked as a journalist and editor of financial industry publications for six years within Australia’s financial management sector. With a strong professional background in media, Elise joined Voiceless to fulfil a lifelong passion for animal protection. Elise graduated from Avondale College in 2006 with a degree in Communications with experience in both broadcast and print media.
