Day 40: Compassion in World Farming
Day 40: Compassion in World Farming
Website: http://www.ciwf.org.uk
I was planning for quite a while to do a Vegetarian charity but when I started thinking about it I couldn't actually see much point in that - it doesn't cost anything or require specialist equipment to not eat meat (given you have to eat something anyway), it has been a very long time since I met anyone who doesn't know what a vegetarian is or I went to a restaurant without anything I could eat on the menu, and the point of the exercise is reduce the suffering of animals rather than stick labels on more people as being in the Vegetarian club.
I'm also not convinced that Vegetarianism is the thing to actively promote rather than Veganism in 2011 anyway - whilst I do honestly feel that being vegetarian is significantly more ethical than not being, it does have some rather gaping flaws around milk (spare bulls) and eggs (chicken farming) which have always been known but largely passed over in a 'well when a majority of people stop eating meat we can worry about that' kind of way (also honey is looking a lot more fail now bees are endangered). Whilst obviously omnivores are still the majority, Veganism (which is free from these hypocrisies) seems to now be at pretty much exactly the stage that Vegetarianism was at when I was a young child - it is now plausible to actually do based on what is easily available in mainstream shops, a couple of companies and eating places have started to include it and most people have heard of it, I am starting to meet occasional vegans and own a couple of mainstream vegan cookbooks, and most people seem to have forgotten that Vegetarians are pale and weak and leftwing and eat only lettuce and passed that mantle onto the Vegans instead. :p
So anyway, with this in mind and on the understanding that not everyone (me included) is actually a Vegan yet, I concluded that the best place to spend my money was actually on a charity that works to make the lives of the animals that are being farmed at present, better.
Compassion in World Farming is "the farm animal welfare charity". They believe factory farming is the biggest cause of animal cruelty on the planet, and are campaigning hard to bring it to an end - along with long-distance animal transportation, mega-dairies and so on. The charity is working strategically toward a whole food system that is truly kind, caring and honest - kind to animals; caring for the environment and consumer health; and honestly labelled.
Their website has kept me interested for several days now, but overall I think the best advert is to copy some of their recent achievements out here:
"We are immensely proud of what we have achieved so far:
Our award winning undercover investigations have exposed the reality of modern intensive farming systems and brought the plight of farm animals to the attention of the world's media
Our political lobbying and campaigning has resulted in the EU recognising animals as sentient beings, capable of feeling pain and suffering. We have also secured landmark agreements to outlaw the barren battery cage for egg-laying hens, narrow veal crates and sow stalls across Europe.
Our Good Farm Animal Welfare awards are already benefitting millions of animals each year. 25 million laying hens throughout Europe are set to benefit as a result of our Good Egg Award winners’ policies. Over 174 million meat chickens live in more humane environments as a result of our “Good Chicken” Award winners’ policies. Winners so far include Marks & Spencer, Waitrose, Sainsbury's, McDonald’s, Unilever (including Hellmann’s mayonnaise in the UK) and the National Trust - all of whom won a Good Egg Award for sourcing only barn or free-range eggs, instead of eggs from caged hens."
Donation Page: http://www.ciwf.org.uk/donate/default.aspx (contains a very high dose of especially cute baby farm animals)
Today my 5 pounds has contributed towards the general work of Compassion in World Farming - which they pointedly note "will literally help us improve the lives of billions".
Website: http://www.ciwf.org.uk
I was planning for quite a while to do a Vegetarian charity but when I started thinking about it I couldn't actually see much point in that - it doesn't cost anything or require specialist equipment to not eat meat (given you have to eat something anyway), it has been a very long time since I met anyone who doesn't know what a vegetarian is or I went to a restaurant without anything I could eat on the menu, and the point of the exercise is reduce the suffering of animals rather than stick labels on more people as being in the Vegetarian club.
I'm also not convinced that Vegetarianism is the thing to actively promote rather than Veganism in 2011 anyway - whilst I do honestly feel that being vegetarian is significantly more ethical than not being, it does have some rather gaping flaws around milk (spare bulls) and eggs (chicken farming) which have always been known but largely passed over in a 'well when a majority of people stop eating meat we can worry about that' kind of way (also honey is looking a lot more fail now bees are endangered). Whilst obviously omnivores are still the majority, Veganism (which is free from these hypocrisies) seems to now be at pretty much exactly the stage that Vegetarianism was at when I was a young child - it is now plausible to actually do based on what is easily available in mainstream shops, a couple of companies and eating places have started to include it and most people have heard of it, I am starting to meet occasional vegans and own a couple of mainstream vegan cookbooks, and most people seem to have forgotten that Vegetarians are pale and weak and leftwing and eat only lettuce and passed that mantle onto the Vegans instead. :p
So anyway, with this in mind and on the understanding that not everyone (me included) is actually a Vegan yet, I concluded that the best place to spend my money was actually on a charity that works to make the lives of the animals that are being farmed at present, better.
Compassion in World Farming is "the farm animal welfare charity". They believe factory farming is the biggest cause of animal cruelty on the planet, and are campaigning hard to bring it to an end - along with long-distance animal transportation, mega-dairies and so on. The charity is working strategically toward a whole food system that is truly kind, caring and honest - kind to animals; caring for the environment and consumer health; and honestly labelled.
Their website has kept me interested for several days now, but overall I think the best advert is to copy some of their recent achievements out here:
"We are immensely proud of what we have achieved so far:
Our award winning undercover investigations have exposed the reality of modern intensive farming systems and brought the plight of farm animals to the attention of the world's media
Our political lobbying and campaigning has resulted in the EU recognising animals as sentient beings, capable of feeling pain and suffering. We have also secured landmark agreements to outlaw the barren battery cage for egg-laying hens, narrow veal crates and sow stalls across Europe.
Our Good Farm Animal Welfare awards are already benefitting millions of animals each year. 25 million laying hens throughout Europe are set to benefit as a result of our Good Egg Award winners’ policies. Over 174 million meat chickens live in more humane environments as a result of our “Good Chicken” Award winners’ policies. Winners so far include Marks & Spencer, Waitrose, Sainsbury's, McDonald’s, Unilever (including Hellmann’s mayonnaise in the UK) and the National Trust - all of whom won a Good Egg Award for sourcing only barn or free-range eggs, instead of eggs from caged hens."
Donation Page: http://www.ciwf.org.uk/donate/default.aspx (contains a very high dose of especially cute baby farm animals)
Today my 5 pounds has contributed towards the general work of Compassion in World Farming - which they pointedly note "will literally help us improve the lives of billions".