EVU Talks 2007 Manifesto

- Statement from the European Vegetarian Union (EVU)

Following a debate about the problem of global hunger, it is declared that vegetarianism offers the possibility of considerably alleviating the growing threat.

Feeding large percentages of available human food crops to farm animals is unethical and represents a blatant lack of solidarity with the hungry.

The existing water shortage is aggravated by ever-larger quantities of water being used for animal husbandry, leaving less for crops.

The present high production of meat is uneconomical and can only be maintained with huge financial subsidies, leading to harsh social injustice.

The FAO report "Livestock's long shadow" states that livestock farming already generates almost a fifth of greenhouse gases, which are expected to raise the average temperature. Global warming leads to droughts, failing harvests and even more hardship for the poor.

The artificial extension of the food chain due to the transformation of grain into meat causes a huge waste of resources.

The European Vegetarian Union demands that:

--national and international decision makers stop subsidizing the production of meat and invest instead in sustainable aid programmes;

--meat packages carry warnings informing about the hazard which animal husbandry represents to the environment and food security;

--international organizations and agencies incorporate the benefits of a vegetarian lifestyle into future strategies for the fight against global hunger.

A healthy life without meat is possible, beneficial for the environment and allows a fairer distribution of natural riches.

Any policy pretending that the consumption of meat has to be the social norm is rejected.


Renato Pichler.