AIA Patron, Nitin Mehta MBE, in Independent on Meat Eating & Climate Change

Nitin MehtaOn 29th December 2015, The Independent published the following letter from AIA Patron, Nitin Mehta MBE, about the effects of meat-eating on climate change.

Dear Sir,

The article by Tom Bawden (24 Dec), regarding the potential of mass migration and human suffering due to global warming makes sobering reading. What is often overlooked is that  the biggest causes of global warming is the methane gas produced by billions of farm animals raised for meat. Almost 40% of world’s fresh water resources is used up in raising these animals. Animals are voracious consumers of water. Over grazing is turning huge swathes of the Earth into deserts. Almost 40% of worlds cereals are fed to these animals rather then feeding the poor. The billions of tones of waste produced by these animals seep into our waterways causing massive pollution and acid rain which destroy trees. Unless human beings turn away from a meat based diet to a plant based diet, a catastrophe awaits us. 

The solution to solving the global warming crisis is not with international treaties but with each one of us.

Let us be the change we want.

Nitin Mehta MBE

Croydon

 

Seasons Greetings and Thank You!

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Dear Supporter,
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SEASONS GREETINGS AND THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT DURING 2015
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Thank you for supporting the Animal Interfaith Alliance (AIA) during 2015.  Thanks to you AIA has achieved the following:
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– In December 2015 AIA launched its Cooler Eating Campaign to raise awareness of the effects of meat eating on global warming, in the wake of the Paris conference on climate change. Further details here:- https://animal-interfaith-alliance.com/campaigns/cooler-eating-campaign/
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– In February 2015 AIA drew up an Animal Manifesto and sent it to the leaders of all main political parties before the UK general election and received responses and commitments from them. Further details here:- https://animal-interfaith-alliance.com/campaigns/aia-manifesto-for-2015-general-elections-in-uk/
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– In July 2015 AIA lobbied MPs, particularly the SNP MPs, to stop the proposed amendment to The Hunting Act which the government tried to sneak through the back door with a statutory instrument. Further details here:- https://animal-interfaith-alliance.com/2015/07/10/please-ask-snp-mps-to-vote-against-amendment-to-the-hunting-act/
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– In July 2015 AIA celebrated Pope Francis’ new encyclical Laudato Si’ at its Interfaith Celebration for Animals at Golders Green Unitarians with keynote speaker Dr Deborah Jones. Further details here:- https://animal-interfaith-alliance.com/2015/07/13/interfaith-celebration-for-animals-agm-2015/
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– AIA launched its Dr Schweitzer Universal Kinship Fund to fund humane non-animal research into cancer and diabetes, which helps both humans and animals.  Further details here:- https://animal-interfaith-alliance.com/campaigns/universal-kinship-fund/
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– AIA has relentlessly written to key individuals and organisations petitioning them to end every form of animal cruelty.  Details of AIA’s letter writing campaigns can be read here:- https://animal-interfaith-alliance.com/campaigns/2107-2/
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– AIA issued its 2nd and 3rd edition of its magazine Animal Spirit, which can be read online here:- https://animal-interfaith-alliance.com/magazine-2/
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If you want to see more about the work of the Animal Interfaith Alliance and its member organisations go to:- https://animal-interfaith-alliance.com/
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Thank you so much for your support during 2015.  We couldn’t have done it without you!  Please feel free to forward this on to your friends and colleagues.
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Have a very merry Christmas and a happy New Year!
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Barbara Gardner
Animal Interfaith Alliance
Faiths Working Together for Animals
 
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We receive no funding to help with our campaigning work for animals and interfaith co-operation.  Please help us by donating here
 
 
President – Satish Kumar.  Vice President – Dr Deborah Jones.
Patrons – Kay, Duchess of Hamilton, Joyce D’Silva, Nitin Mehta MBE, Dr Alpesh Patel, Matthieu Ricard, Dr Richard D. Ryder, Anant Shah, Ajit Singh MBE, Charanjit Singh, Mohammad Safa.

CIWF’s Religious Views on Factory Farming

Joyce's Article.pngBriefing by Joyce D’Silva

We thoroughly recommend Religious Views on Factory Farming by AIA Patron and CIWF Ambassador, Joyce D’Silva D. Litt (Hon), a briefing that examines the teachings of the main faiths on the human attitude towards animals.  This can be viewed here:

Religious Views on Factory Farming

 

AIA Launches its ‘Cooler Eating’ Campaign

Cooler Eating Logo

In the wake of the Paris Conference on Climate Change, the Animal Interfaith Alliance (AIA) is launching its Cooler Eating campaign to raise awareness of the effects of meat-eating on global warming. AIA is encouraging people to embrace a plant-based diet which is less harmful to the climate, the environment, human health, the billions of factory-farmed and slaughtered animals around the world and which also helps to tackle world hunger.

Aware of the interconnectedness of all life, AIA is concerned for the care of our common home, its biodiversity and the creatures that share that home with us and make up the inter-related web of life.

AIA supports the report produced by the influential think-tank, Chatham House, on 24th November, entitled Changing Climate, Changing Diets: Pathways to Lower Meat Consumption, which states that almost 15% of global emissions are caused by the livestock sector and a reduction in meat consumption could drastically reduce emissions. Its findings were that:

  • Our appetite for meat is a major driver of climate change.
  • Reducing global meat consumption will be critical to keeping global warming below the ‘danger level’ of a two degrees Celsius rise.
  • Public awareness of the issue is low, and meat remains off the policy agenda.
  • Governments must lead in shifting attitudes and behaviours.

The report can be read at https://www.chathamhouse.org/publication/changing-climate-changing-diets and comes on top of a decision by the World Health Organisation (WHO) to classify meat as carcinogenic.

AIA CEO, Barbara Gardner, said, ‘AIA greatly welcomes the Chatham House report. People of all faiths and none must come together to help to tackle the effects of global warming which pose a terrible risk to our common home and to future generations. The issues surrounding meat-eating must be put on the political agenda. We can also make a difference as individuals by changing our eating habits and supporting the many farmers who produce all the wonderful plant-based products available’.

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Meatless Pledge Day

SAKThe 25th November is Meatless Pledge Day, also the birthday of Sadhu Vaswani.

AIA Hindu member organisation, the Sadhu Vaswani Centre UK, is taking part in the international Sadhu Vaswani Mission’s meatless pledge day.  Join people from all over the globe in signing the pledge form and sending it in.  The form and details of where to send it are here