Austrian animal rights activists imprisoned without charge!

Around 6 a.m. on 21st May 2008, a total of 23 houses, flats and offices in Austria were raided by special branch police officers storming in like something out of a bad Hollywood gangster movie. The occupants were threatened by the intruders and shoved up against the wall and/or handcuffed. The police then searched the premises for hours without a warrant.

Ten people were arrested and are still in custody without any charges having been brought. All mobile phones, computers and documents have been seized, making campaign work impossible. Four organisations have been virtually destroyed by the police as even backup versions of address files have been seized.

One of these organisations, the Vegane Gesellschaft Österreichs (Austrian Vegan Society), is an EVU member. They educate people about the vegan lifestyle and are never involved in any criminal acts. The leader of the society, who organised the EVU talks in 2007, is still in prison.

The official pretext for this action is legislation against terrorism and Mafia-type conspiracy to form a criminal organisation, but absolutely no evidence has been produced against any of the accused.

The behaviour of the police has been utterly appalling and even Austrian politicians are now asking whether the real reason is not a political one, as the Austrian animal protection movement has been so successful in recent years.

As of today, all ten activists are still in prison and five are on hunger strike in protest as no charges have been brought against them.

None of the four organisations has been accused of any illegal act, but they have been virtually destroyed for no reason by the police removing all the resources necessary for them to continue working.

The EVU demands the immediate release of the prisoners and the return of the address files and other material so that these important and law-abiding organisations can continue their vital work.

http://www.euroveg.eu/lang/en/news/news.php?id=34119

 

see also:

Dawn raids against anti-fur activists in Austria

http://www.euroveg.eu/lang/en/news/news.php?id=34060

 

Content:

 

Obituary

India: Jashu Shah passed away on 9 May 2008

It is with great sadness that we have to inform our readers about the death of Mr. Jashu Shah who has been a very important pillar in the international vegetarian movement in India and in the world.
This compassionate and gentle man and tireless campaigner for a better future will be sorely missed.
Our sincere condolences go to his family.

http://www.euroveg.eu/lang/fr/news/news.php?id=33661

 

World hunger crisis

FAO: Food prices remain high despite higher output

Increased hunger likely in some poor countries

http://www.euroveg.eu/lang/en/news/news.php?id=34024

 

FAO: Biodiversity to curb world's food insecurity

Global conference on biological diversity in Bonn
19 May 2008, Rome - “Our planet abounds with biological richness and this great diversity is key to face the worst food crisis in modern history,” FAO Assistant Director-General Alexander Müller said.

http://www.euroveg.eu/lang/en/news/news.php?id=33979

 

World Hunger: Why Animal Agriculture Doesn't Add Up

The more meat we eat, the fewer people we can feed

http://www.euroveg.eu/lang/en/news/news.php?id=33933

 

FAO sees energy, biofuel keeping world food costly

World food prices should stay high because of rising energy costs and the use of biofuels, but they may ease after stocks are replenished, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said on Thursday.

http://www.euroveg.eu/lang/en/news/news.php?id=33856

 

India: PETA preaches veg diet to Bush

One way to beat the worldwide grain shortage is for meat-eaters to turn vegetarian, and the movement should start with US President George Bush, the Indian affiliate of the animal rights organization PETA has said.

http://www.euroveg.eu/lang/en/news/news.php?id=33741

 

Humans are hungry - farm animals are not! The cars of the rich also keep running ... partly on food

.... About two-thirds of global coarse grain production is used as animal feed.....

http://www.euroveg.eu/lang/en/news/news.php?id=33323

 

Subsidy

EU: Food and farming:

Health Check will modernise the CAP and free farmers to respond to growing demand

http://www.euroveg.eu/lang/en/news/news.php?id=33966

 

Petition: Abolition of the European Union’s economic support of livestock and fishing industries

Promoted by:
Nutrition Ecology
International Center (NEIC)
www.nutritionecology.org
· To the European Commission - which created the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)
· To the National Ministries of Agriculture EU Council - responsible for the allocation of CAP payments
· To the European Parliament - responsible for the Community’s total budget

http://www.euroveg.eu/lang/en/news/news.php?id=33859

 

EU: 'The livestock sector - a major culprit in destruction of the environment'

Question no 69 by Jens Holm (H-0198/07):

http://www.euroveg.eu/lang/en/news/news.php?id=33604

 

Protection of our seas

FAO: Intact mangroves could have reduced Nargis damage

Destruction of mangroves has exposed coastal communities to cyclone

http://www.euroveg.eu/lang/en/news/news.php?id=33771

 

see also:

Burma's man-made disaster? - How Nargis Devastated an Already Vulnerable Land

http://www.euroveg.eu/lang/en/news/news.php?id=33644

and: see also: Mangrove loss 'put Burma at risk'

http://www.euroveg.eu/lang/en/news/news.php?id=33476

 

How the world's oceans are running out of fish

The future of our seas has never been more precarious
Ninety years of industrial-scale overfishing has brought us to the brink of an ecological catastrophe.....

http://www.euroveg.eu/lang/en/news/news.php?id=33676

 

Climate: Global Warming Could Starve Oceans Of Oxygen

Global warming could gradually starve parts of the tropical oceans of oxygen, damaging fisheries and coastal economies, a study showed on Thursday.

http://www.euroveg.eu/lang/en/news/news.php?id=33325

 

Health

Diet, exercise can delay diabetes for years-study

Drinking less alcohol, eating more vegetables and exercising can prevent or delay the onset of diabetes, researchers said on Friday in a study showing that lifestyle changes can make a big difference......

http://www.euroveg.eu/lang/en/news/news.php?id=34049

 

Stop cancer: Humans are herbivores

The health risks of eating meat

http://www.euroveg.eu/lang/en/news/news.php?id=33598

 

New health woes as China moves from famine to feast

Rates of breast cancer used to be five times lower in China than in the United States, but already in Chinese cities the gap is narrowing, as consumption of fatty foods rises

http://www.euroveg.eu/lang/en/news/news.php?id=33537

 

More Evidence Links Cow’s Milk to Type 1 Diabetes

A new study adds more evidence that cow’s milk proteins trigger type 1 diabetes. Marcia Goldfarb of Anatek-EP, a protein research laboratory in Portland, Maine, reports having found antibodies to bovine beta-lactoglobulin in the serum of children with diabetes. Individuals without diabetes did not have the antibody.

http://www.euroveg.eu/lang/en/news/news.php?id=33937

 

see also:

In her lifetime, a dairy cow experiences many lifestyle changes

.....Cows live a lifetime of stress so long as they produce enough milk to be profitable to the farmer.

http://www.euroveg.eu/lang/en/news/news.php?id=33805

 

 

Genetically modified

Global agriculture report says GM crops not a solution

A landmark assessment of global agriculture says industrial agriculture has failed and that genetically modified (GM) crops are not a solution for poverty, hunger, or climate change.

http://www.euroveg.eu/lang/en/news/news.php?id=33759

 

French Activists Say 'Non' To GMO Law

Hundreds of activists marched in Paris on Tuesday ahead of the expected approval of a law they say blurs the line between natural and genetically modified (GM) foods.

http://www.euroveg.eu/lang/en/news/news.php?id=33723

 

Is in vitro meat the future?

Chicken, beef and pork that has never been a living animal could be better for people and the planet. But will it catch on?

http://www.euroveg.eu/lang/en/news/news.php?id=33621

 

 

Meat consumption

U.S. chicken looks like it'll be let back in to the E.U. Could U.S. beef be next?

Perhaps now the hormone ban, which a variety of trade organizations, including the International Trade Commission, have judged to be unscientific and in violation of international trade rules

http://www.euroveg.eu/lang/en/news/news.php?id=33925

 

Meat: worldwide 250 billion US $ every year !!

Information: Future Food
That is approximately the worldwide annual turnover reached by using animal derived meat as raw material. With a product that is better, i.e. healthier, cheaper, less resource intensive, without animal suffering, without endless amounts of liquid manure, without animal epidemics and so on, than animal derived meat a huge market is just waiting to be seized!

http://www.euroveg.eu/lang/en/news/news.php?id=33670

 

South Korea: All poultry in Seoul have been culled

All poultry in Seoul have been culled, South Korean animal health officials said May 12, to curb the spread of avian influenza following a new outbreak of the disease in the city.

http://www.euroveg.eu/lang/en/news/news.php?id=33656

 

Go veggie

UK: Why we decided we could live without meat

‘Abattoir film was a real shock’

http://www.euroveg.eu/lang/en/news/news.php?id=34053

 

Meet Troy: A Body-builder goes vegan

Troy Loferski first got interested in body-building during his college years.

http://www.euroveg.eu/lang/en/news/news.php?id=33329

 

The end of easy meat?

Would you consider eating less meat for the greater global good? And if you did, what would you miss most?

http://www.euroveg.eu/lang/en/news/news.php?id=34016

 

Oprah to Go Vegan for Three Weeks!

Which is, quite possibly, the best news in the history of news. It’s close, anyway. Inspired by the book Quantum Wellness, by Kathy Freston, Oprah’s going to be cutting all the meat, dairy, and eggs out of her diet in an effort to live a healthy, cruelty-free lifestyle.

http://www.euroveg.eu/lang/en/news/news.php?id=33982

 

Korea: Carnivore culture vexes local veggies

The need to conform is one reason why being a vegetarian is tough in Korea

http://www.euroveg.eu/lang/en/news/news.php?id=33877

 

Maneka Gandhi: Excuses and more excuses

Being a vegetarian is fun. If you do not harm, you will not be harmed, is my philosophy. But there are some people that really make me ill

http://www.euroveg.eu/lang/en/news/news.php?id=33515

 

Films

Videos - Veggie Pride May 2008

in France, Italy and USA

http://www.euroveg.eu/lang/en/news/news.php?id=33983

 

USA: What do pigs eat?

A Video explains

http://www.euroveg.eu/lang/en/news/news.php?id=33659

 

USA: Humane Society releases new video of mistreated livestock

The Humane Society of the United States released video footage Wednesday of sick and injured livestock the group says were mistreated at auction sites and stockyards where cattle are sold for slaughter.

http://www.euroveg.eu/lang/en/news/news.php?id=33505

 

Film/documentary: 'Meat the Truth'

About the film
The documentary Meat the Truth is the first major project undertaken by the Nicolaas G. Pierson Foundation.

http://www.euroveg.eu/lang/en/news/news.php?id=33587