Eat Like There Is A Tomorrow.

 

'We all need to look at ourselves and what we are eating and doing and ask am I doing the right thing for the planet?'

 

These words were spoken by Vicky, an activist for Stoke-on-Trent Animal Rights (STAR) when she gave an online talk to members of North Staffs Green Party recently.

 

She made a powerful point, there are few subjects more controversial than what we eat and how it should be produced.

 

The figures are stark something close.to 70 billion animals are killed for human consumption worldwide every year, the majority of these raised in the bleak conditions of the factory farming system.

 

For members of STAR, most of whom have chosen to adopt a vegan lifestyle this is both morally wrong and environmentally unsustainable.

 

They also resonate powerfully with a wider green movement that recognises climate change as the greatest threat to human survival decades ago. Industrial agriculture, particularly in relation to meat production, plays a major part in this.

 

We have all, Vicky went on to say, benefited this year from clearer skies and a more visible presence of nature in our lives this year during the two lockdowns.

 

Most people have also seen the important and previously ignored role compassion and empathy between humans during 'this awful year '.

 

The time has come she said, for the same compassion and empathy to be extended to animals and the environment. Not least because many pandemics are caused to a greater or lesser extent by our lack of care for nature.

 

The facts are her colleague Emily said, 'shocking and depressing' but, she added, we can ' all change things round and make a difference '

 

This, STAR advocate can be done by moving away from the current unsustainable system of food production towards a plant-based diet. Those who do so, she said, are choosing 'compassion and not to be part of a way of living that harms the planet'.

 

Taking part in the annual post-Christmas Veganuary campaign is Emily said, a good way for someone to start their 'vegan journey'.

 

STAR actively support local people embarking on this journey and both Vicky and Emily advised that is one people should take at their own pace without feeling they have to do too much too soon.

 

Ultimately it is for most people, as Vicky said, ' a big change; but a worthwhile one'.

 

The talk certainly exploded many of the inaccurate representations of vegans portrayed in the mass media. Far from being an austere and judgemental position, it is one rooted in compassion and positivity.

 

Veganism may not be for everyone, but its core message of thinking harder about what we consume and making more ethical choices will certainly ring true for anyone who is concerned about the future of our planet.