Bangalore, August 2009 Workshop on Farmed Animals

Last Updated on Saturday, 24 April 2010 16:47 Written by FIAPO Wednesday, 04 November 2009 08:31

Action Highlights - Action Highlights

Bangalore, Workshop, Held 29th and 30th August, 2009

Animals Used in Food and Fiber, Workshop Report

Organised by the Federation (FIAPO) and Humane Society International (HSI) and hosted by Blue Cross of India

In March of 2009 a monumental meeting was organised by FIAPO and HSI in Bombay, bringing together, for to our knowledge the first time in India, representatives from animal welfare organisations across the country to focus on the plight of animals used for food and fiber in India.

Six months later a similar workshop was held in Bangalore, attended by about 40 (almost double the attendance of the Bombay meet) AWO representatives, animal lovers and volunteers. Following is the summary of this workshop:

In his opening speech, Arpan Sharma (FIAPO) explained the importance of animal welfare organisations joining as a unified body to focus on farmed animals in India, whose numbers far exceed every other cause of animal death and suffering. He explained that along with gathering important statistics and an understanding of the under-pinning of the Indian meat, leather, egg, and dairy industries in India, an important goal of the workshop was for participants to leave with a concrete plan of action, which would be developed on Day 2 of the workshop.

This meeting was facilitated by communications professional Nirupama Sarma.

Day 1:

Participants introduced themselves and the issues they were particularly interested in, which included:
• farm animal legislation,
• habitat protection,
• undercover investigations,
• law enforcement,
• humane education for animal rights, and
• finding other activists to protest and demonstrate with in
Bangalore.

Presenters Arpan Sharma (FIAPO), Chetana Mirle (HSI), Nandita Shah (SHARAN) and Adolfo Sansolini (WSPA) gave an over-view of the:
• status of animals used for food and fiber in India,
• current campaigns against the meat and leather industry,
• health benefits of a vegan diet,
• meat, leather, and dairy industries’ impact on the environment,
• status of farmed animal welfare and campaigns in Europe for comparison.

Session 1 – ANIMALS USED IN FOOD AND FIBRE: AN OVERVIEW (FIAPO, Arpan Sharma)

In this session Arpan detailed trends in the meat, leather, dairy and egg industries describing how once back-yard farmers are fading out and much larger industrialized factories are taking their place, especially in the case of the poultry industry.

Some of the Facts:

• The Government of India estimates that the annual growth rate of egg production is 5% and that of
broiler production is 12%
• Chicken consumption is ALL domestic (in India).
• Unorganised sector of egg and chicken production is NOT sold in market but consumed locally.
• India has the world’s largest cattle population and 2nd largest dairy production.
• Buffaloes are preferred milch animals to avoid slaughter laws
• Milk production is growing at 3% but demand is growing at 6%.. this will rapidly lead to intensification
and factory farming.
• Law does not prohibit cow slaughter but regulates as far as age and health etc.
• Buffalo slaughter is legal all over India
• pig slaughter is completely unregulated, but intensification does not seem likely

Arpan explained that unlike India’s poultry industry which has used intensive factory farming techniques for some 25 years, he believes that because the dairy industry has not yet industrialised there may be a chance to stop some of the extreme cruelty that is inherent in all intensive animal farming.

Participants comments and discussions-

A wide range of issues emerged during the discussion session that followed. The group acknowledged the industry’s strength, noting the industry’s advertising power to convince consumers of various health “benefits” connected with egg and milk consumption, and also through changes in consumer behaviour due to greater access to refrigeration.

>> Please see this sessions PowerPoint presentation here: animalsinfoodandfibre.ppt

Session 2 – POULTRY FARMING IN INDIA (HSI, Chetana Mirle)

Some of the facts:

• Animal Agriculture is the #1 cause of global warming and produces 1/5th of all green house gases.
• Salmonella is on the rise in Asia because of eggs from battery hens.
• 6 companies control all egg production in India

Chetana made clear several pro-egg/chicken consumption arguments, explaining that rather than the poultry meat and egg industry providing jobs to poor Indians, the industry is taking their jobs away as the industry intensifies. Also, the working conditions for employees working in the ammonia and faeces ridden factories where often times 10,000-50,000 birds are kept in cages in a single building is hazardous to their health.

Chetana urged participants to keep the climate change vegan argument memorized, which you can do by downloading the research reports and PowerPoint presentations from the workshop below.

Comments and discussions:

Participants continued to share environmental facts such as that 800 million people go hungry every day because of the food going to feed farmed animals that if given directly to feed starving people would stretch much further. This led to the question as to whether there are environmental laws that animal protectors could use to regulate factory farming.

>> Please see this sessions PowerPoint presentation here: EnvironmentandHumanHealth.pdf

Session 3 – HOW CONSUMPTION OF FARM ANIMAL PRODUCTS IS AFFECTING OUR SOCIETY (SHARAN, Nandita Shah)

Nandita Shah, a vegan homeopathic doctor, presented her detailed vegan argument covering bases from an anti-cruelty, health, and environmental point of view. Nandita explained the ill-effects dairy and meat consumption have on human health, and the positive effects of eating a plant-based diet, such as more energy, and a greater sense of personal surroundings, including a reverence for other life forms. Other information included:
• Negative effects of dairy consumption such as diabetes, obesity, acne, iron deficiency
• Milk contains hormones, antibiotics, pesticides and more…
• There are more than enough non-animal products that give us plenty of calcium like sesame seeds,
chickpeas and hazelnuts.
• Vegans need B-12
• 56 Billion land animals are slaughtered each year
• Every non-vegetarian causes the death of 70 land animals per year
• Zoos as children’s entertainment teaches total desensitization
• Humans are vegetarians biologically

Comments and Questions:

This session raised frustration among participants as to why doctors neglect to promote veganism and the way in which even professionals who are supposed to have an un-biased opinion are highly influenced by the meat and dairy industries advertisements and misinformation.

>> Please see this sessions PowerPoint presentation here: nanditashah-whyvegan.ppt

Session 4 – FARM ANIMAL WELFARE IN THE EUROPEAN UNION (WSPA, Adolfo Sansolini)

Drawing parallels between the EU and India in the growth of animal welfare and animal rights activity are subtle, and this presentation gave examples of what can be done with coordinated effort and applying smart pressure in the right quarters of government at strategic moments.

• Switzerland got rid of battery cages
sale of Swiss produced eggs increased because of humane choice, though the eggs were more
expensive.
• 1997 – E.U. Treaty“…community and member states shall pay full regard to the welfare requirements
of animals…”
• New Treaty 2010(?)
Animal Welfare will be recognized as one of the fundamental rights, like child rights or human rights.
• 2001 Amendment – New sow stalls prohibited since 2003
• Sow Stalls prohibited from 2013
• Dutch farmers banned all sow stalls, tail dockings & other mutilations
• De-beaking is still legal

Comments and Discussion:

The group focused mainly on strategies, questioning whether or not it is harder to motivate ultimate change (i.e. truly widespread veganism, abolition of animal slavery) when reforms have perhaps eased the conditions of suffering animals, and considering the strategy used by WSPA to spend great amounts of money to effect relatively minor legal changes with industry standards when campaigning aimed at consumer behavior might be more effective. The speaker shared a personal anecdote about the value of pragmatism, and the need to vary the response in different circumstances.

Session 5 – CAMPAIGN AGAINST BATTERY CAGES IN INDIA (HSI, Chetana Mirle)

The Humane Society International has launched a campaign in India against the battery cages used in intensive poultry farms. The campaign is trying to end the use of battery cages, adopt a cage-free system, and reduce the demand for eggs and chicken meat throughout India.

Basic facts:
• 230 million hens in India
• 90% are in battery cages
• Living space/hen in a battery cage is an A4 size sheet of paper.

Goals of HSI's campaign:
• convince egg producers to go cage-free
• Reduce demand

Target Audience:
• Food Retail and Hospitality Industry
• Egg Producers
• Consumers

Challenges:
• 90% of food retail still conducted in small stalls, vendors
• eggs sold loose
• labeling is falsified, fake
• No control of labeling. (Eg. “Bird Flu Free”) Total misinformation.

>> Please see this sessions PowerPoint presentation here: HSIcampaignpresentation.ppt

Day 2:

The second day of the workshop was designed to produce practical action by splitting the participants off into three groups to formally create an achievable 3 month action plan on behalf of farmed animals specifically in Bangalore.

The three target audiences agreed upon for the workshop participants to reach out to:
1. Media
2. Kids
3. College students

The 3 month action plans, followed by comments and suggestions offered after each group presented their plan to all the workshop participants.

Media:

1. Newspaper press-releases/articles to be submitted by three selected Media group members, 5 stories each over the three month period on topics of the meat industries effect on 1) Human Health 2) Environment 3)Cruelty to Animals.

2. Press Meeting on Global Warming scheduled for September 29th.

3. Gandhi Jayanthi Fast on October 2nd to protest against abuse of farm animals.

4. Vegan Table on 25th November, Sindhi Vegetarian Day

5. 'Letters to Editor' section of newspapers will carry letters protesting abuse of farm animals.

6. ARF Newsletter (circulation of 5000+ people) will include articles on farm animal welfare throughout the three month period.

7. Pet Care Column that appears on Tuesdays in The Hindu will feature farm animal issues (featuring farm animals that have been adopted as pets)

Feedback from whole group:
Suggestions were shared for various points to bring up in the media response including issues such as the need to highlight Gandhi’s vegetarianism at the proposed fasting demo for poultry. Strategies were suggested for effectively petitioning the press—specifically, to keep goals concrete, to measure the outputs in the press, keep the focus on educating the press about environmental, health and animal cruelty impacts of factory farmers and how best to educate them, paying particular attention to editors and journalists who are already known to us.

College Student Outreach:

Objective:
- Identify two or three colleges to demonstrate and spread awareness.

Strategy:
• Approach Principal and Councillors using “global warming” and “animal welfare” intro.
• Interactive Session with students. Hear from them, what do they know, do they care?
• Use videos: Earthlings, Meatrix, India Dairy Industry
• posters and flyers with FAQs. Describe comparisons that they can relate to
• Request feedback
• Go under the ARF name with introduction to school on letterhead.

-Barriers : College students are still living with their parents causing health misconceptions and cultural attitude defined by the parents.

Feedback:

Group feedback focused again on strategies and refinements of strategies, suggesting disciplining ourselves to keep goals explicit and achievable. Using natural gathering places like colleges, cafes and malls is important, choosing public spaces carefully so that audiences can gather comfortably and speak easily.

Young Children- Humane Education:

Current Situation: There are nature clubs that are dysfunctional. There is a lack of awareness due to a hole in the curriculum. Health misconceptions/ misguides.

Desired Situation: Compassionate learning. Create an active Kindness club. Curriculum, at least 1 hour a week that focuses on animals

- Activities :
• Train the trainers.
• Give schools the tools they need to teach about animals.
• 1 hours program each week per school
• 26 schools.
• Each group member will address one school per week for 3 months.
• Get data base of all schools in Bangalore for future reference.
• 19th September will be the main event/program. About 60 teachers will be expected to participate.
• We will keep in touch with all the teachers.
• Perhaps could split the compassionate citizens video into 4 pieces
• make sure at least 1 teacher per school takes the responsibility to share the videos with other classes
• children’s day: art competition

Feedback:

The group offered suggestions about specific activities they thought would be helpful—nature treks, specific reading material, advice to keep activities specific to age groups, preparing health food charts, etc.

An emotional conclusion:

The workshop’s conclusion captured the intensity of feeling that sparkled throughout the 2-day session. Participants were each given a candle, the lights were turned off, and, one by one, each of the 40 members in the group took a few minutes to reflect on what the workshop had meant to him or her. When each speaker’s few minutes was concluded, he or she would light the candle of the person next to him. The room was utterly silent while each of the speakers shared feelings of having come out of a metaphoric darkness, feeling alone in animal compassion, being often made to feel “radical” among family and friends, marginalized, isolated, and here in the workshop meeting others of like-mind was for everyone tremendous encouragement to keep going, deepen and intensify the struggle, because we are not, we are not alone, and this workshop is living proof of it.