FARM campaign urges trying out meatless menu for just one day
by Sharael Feist
Ka leo Staff Writer
March 20, 1995
The first day of spring is the day to “kick the meat habit.”
Today is the 11th annual “Great American Meatout” sponsored by the Farm Animals Reform Movement (FARM). People are encouraged to not eat meat – at least for the day – and “explore a more wholesome, less violent diet.”
The purpose of the Meatout is to alert American consumers to the devasting impacts of meat production and consumption on consumer health, agricultural resources, environmental quality and animal welfare.
The University of Hawaii Vegi-Club also supports the effort and encourages students to take part.
“The Meatout provides an opportunity for people who would not otherwise consider eliminating meat from their diet,” said Hedy Hager, president of the Vegi-Club. “It gives the opportunity to experiment with the concept of vegetarianism. In turn, this may encourage the concept of vegetarianism.”
The Great American Meatout has become the nation’s largest grass-roots public interest campaign. Events are planned throughout the United States and Canada, one of which is a Congressional reception.
According to FARM members major problems associated with eating meat are:
- Chronic Disease – Excessive consumption of meat can cause various diseases because of the saturated fat, cholesterol, hormones, pesticides and nitrites in the meat.
- World Hunger – Animals are fed grains and legumes that could save the lives of starving people.
- Environmental Devastation – Gazing is depleting millions of acres of forestland. Runoff from those lands carries suspended and dissolved solids, organic matter, nutrients and pesticides into our water, lakes and streams. This accounts for more water pollution than all other human activities combined.
- Animal Suffering – Animals are abused , caged, crowded, deprived, medicated, mutilated and manhandled before they are finally killed.
FARM hopes to carry the Meatout’s message to millions of consumers.
Eating meat costs us all:
- Consumption of animal fat and meat has been linked conclusively with elevated incidents of heart failure, stroke, cancer and other chronic diseases that cripple and kill.
- Raising of animals for food wastes foodstuffs that should be used to feed the world’s hungry people and depletes drastically our irreplaceable food production resources, such as topsoil and groundwater.
- Raising of animals food devastates forests other wildlife inhabitants and dumps more pollutants into our lakes and streams than all other human activities combined.
- Raising of animals for food today’s “factory farms” involves the confinement, crowding, deprivation, mutilation and other gross abuses and slaughter of nearly six billion feeling, innocent animals.
Therefore, “I pledge to kick the meat habit on March 20 (the first day of Spring) and to explore a less violent, more wholesome diet.”