On Tue, 4 Mar 2008 16:31:48 -0000, "Jill" >
wrote:

>Julie wrote:
>> On Tue, 4 Mar 2008 14:02:13 -0000, "Jill" >
>> wrote:
>>
>>> Julie wrote:
>>>> No Jim that's a blatant lie. When was the last time anyone saw
>>>> livestock grazing on a well managed arable farm?
>>>>
>>>
>>> So you agree with all artificial inputs to replenish the land?
>>
>> No. We have a choice?
>
>What would you choose to use to replenish the land?

Good question although I fear it was not a real question.

Still you can live and learn by reading the following.

The grass on the other side…

The future’s bright, the future’s green with the growing popularity of
vegan organic farming
Food scares, health concerns, pesticide problems, environmental
worries and animal welfare issues have brought farming methods into
the spotlight. Most farmers are dependent on chemicals and animal
by-products – and even those specialising in organic farming use
animal manures and slaughterhouse by-products. This presents a
difficult dilemma for vegans who refuse animal-derived food yet are
still linked to the meat industry by their seemingly innocent
groceries. However, despite popular beliefs, animals aren’t necessary
to agriculture.

The number of farmed animals in the world has quadrupled in the last
50 years, and food production no longer nurtures the land. Both
animals and soil are pushed to their limits to satisfy the West’s
demand for animal products and profits. At present modern agriculture
is far from sustainable and the meat industry directly contributes to
all the major environmental catastrophes:

Rainforests are still being chopped down at an alarming rate either
for grazing or to grow crops to feed to animals.
Crops (mostly grown for animal feed) are doused in pesticides and
fertilisers that leach into waterways and cause massive pollution.
The increased number of animals means more manure, which contributes
to acid rain and river and lake pollution – rendering drinking water
unsafe.

Soil is pushed beyond its fertility limits, is not replenished or
fallowed and becomes prone to erosion.
Oceans are being destroyed by over-fishing, which is devastating
entire marine ecosystems, while coastal fish farms are causing
extensive pollution and wildlife decline.
Growing feed for livestock requires intense use of synthetic
fertilisers and thus causes the release of nitrous oxide into the
atmosphere. Producing feed and heating buildings that house animals
uses fossil fuels, emitting CO2. And the decomposition of liquid
manure releases large amounts of methane as well as forming nitrous
oxide – all of which are contributing significantly to global warming.
Millions of consumers in the West are dying from diseases such as
heart attacks, strokes, diabetes and cancer, caused by eating animal
products, while the world’s poor are dying from diseases of poverty.
Children in the developing world starve next to fields of fodder
destined for export as animal feed, to support the rich, meat-hungry
cultures. Livestock farming is generally inefficient: an area of land
the size of five football pitches will grow enough meat to feed two
people; or maize to feed 10; or grain to feed 24; or soya to feed 61.
If everyone in the world ate the typical US meat-centred diet (where
35% of calories come from animal products), the world could support
only 2.5 billion people. On a vegetarian diet all 6 billion of us
could be fed healthily. The world can feed less than half its present
population on a meat-based diet. In order to feed the world it is
imperative that vegan organic farming becomes widespread.
But it’s not all bad news!

Recent years has seen a growth in awareness and popularity of vegan
organic farming. Vegan-organics is any system of cultivation that
avoids artificial chemicals and sprays, GMOs, livestock manures and
animal remains from slaughterhouses or fish processing etc. Fertility
is maintained by vegetable composts, green manures, crop rotation,
mulches, and any other method that is sustainable, ecologically viable
and not dependent upon animal exploitation. This ensures long-term
fertility, and wholesome food for our and future generations.
Organic growing involves treating the soil, the growing environment,
and the world environment as a resource to be husbanded for future
generations, rather than exploited in the short term. The maxim of
vegan organic growing is to feed the soil and the soil will feed the
plants.

Instead of scattering animal manures and slaughterhouse waste products
on the land the above time-honoured techniques can be used to grow
over 60 different vegetables in the UK climate. Perennial crops
including perennial vegetables like artichokes and asparagus,
perennial soft fruit like strawberries, raspberries and currants and
tree crops like apples, cherries and nuts can also be grown
successfully.

The vegan organic system finally rejects the long-standing reliance on
animal products. It offers a different quality of food that stands
apart from the industrially produced, money-led foodstuffs available
now. Even small scale ‘grow your own’ farming can help promote
awareness of self-sufficiency and give something back to nature –
whether it’s a multi-functional allotment, a small vegetable patch in
your back garden or just a window box containing a few herbs! It’s
easier than you think!


A vision for the future

“If it was up to you there’d be no animals in the fields anymore!”
Vegans often hear this ignorant argument from meat-eaters who like to
see their food as well as eat it. True, farmed animals are bred for
people to eat and as the demand for meat falls, less animals will be
bred. But instead of being the end of the countryside as we know it,
like many imagine, in fact a huge toll of suffering would be
eliminated and wildlife allowed to recover from the pressures of the
animal industry.

The vast majority of farmed animals are kept in indoor units where
they never see the light of day. Those that are outside are only kept
alive for a fraction of their natural lifespans before being
slaughtered for meat – often in the most barbaric manner imaginable.
Modern farmed animals have been bred and mutated over generations to
produce as much meat as possible, and have become a far cry from their
wild ancestors. For example birds are often so obese they can barely
walk and suffer from crippling leg disorders. Dairy cows are bred to
produce so much milk that their udders can become painfully swollen
and infected. Sheep have been genetically manipulated to give birth
earlier in the year, and as a result each year 20 per cent of new born
lambs die within days of birth from sickness, exposure, malnutrition
and disease.

If people ate crops directly we would need far less land for food
production. In the UK, birds, butterflies and wild flowers would even
start to appear. And around the world the ancestors of today’s farm
animals could begin to thrive, as they would once again have space.
For example:

Wild turkeys live in North and Central America. They roost in trees
and roam in woodlands, eating vegetation and insects. An adult bird
can fly up to 50mph.
Chickens are decended from the red jungle fowl (gallus gallus) in
Asia. Wild hens like to move around almost ceaselessly in daylight
hours. Also they lay only 20 eggs a year and need a safe, private
place for laying.
It is believed cattle originally descended from the wild auroch, of
Eurasia and North Africa, a species that did not become extinct until
the 17th century. Banteng are a shy species of wild South East Asian
cattle found in hill forests.
The European Wild Boar is the ancestor of the farmed pig. They live in
forested areas, eating a wide variety of plants and occasionally small
animals and insects. They lived wild in Britain’s woodlands until
hunted to extinction in the 17th century. They can still be found in
countries such as Germany and France.
Most wild sheep and goats live in mountains but some inhabit desert
grasslands, tropical forests or Arctic tundra. Habitat loss, hunting
and resource competition from farmed animals have resulted in most
species being classed by the IUCN (World Conservation Union) as
threatened, endangered or critical.
Going veggie is a big step, going vegan is huge, and going vegan
organic is even larger than that. Although the option of completely
cruelty free food is available to very few of us at the moment, the
ethos of animal free farming is spreading. And, due to the number of
support groups setting up, anyone who wants to try it themselves will
not be alone.

Support Viva! and help us spread the vegan word. Click here to join.

Another organisation that helps is the Vegan Organic Network: “Our
commitment is to peace and justice for people, animals and the
environment in a sustainable balance. To achieve this we must change
our lifestyles and introduce a philosophy which will continue to
maintain our unique planet. VON attempts to come to grips with
politics and ethics in everyday living.”
They provide practical advice on how to start growing your own food,
details of the issues surrounding vegan organic farming and links to
other useful groups. Have a look at their website…
www.veganorganic.net

For more information on the issues raised above see Viva!’s Planet on
a Plate and Feed the World guides. Also read The Silent Ark.


Viva! Vegetarians International Voice for Animals
8 York Court, Wilder Street, Bristol BS2 8QH, UK
T: 0117 944 1000 F: 0117 924 4646 E: