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At last the tiny, constricting cages where battery hens lived out their short, painful lives,  are banned here in the UK.

Is this a step forward for humans to see all other beings as worthy of  ethical treatment? I’d like to hope it is.

However, when it comes to meat animals the factory farms become ever bigger, the space the animals have to live out their short, painful lives ever smaller and most humans turn a blind eye.

Here in the UK we’re doing a reasonable job of keeping Mega Dairies at bay! At least with the smaller farms, especially those that produce organic milk, the cows are spared the daily regime of chemicals and antibiotics to keep them alive. They are free to graze some of the time and their living space is generally cleaner and bigger than non-organic farms.

We still have difficulty persuading the rest of the EU to ditch the cruel, tiny cages in favour of some semblance of a “normal” life for chickens. It would be wonderful if pressure from concerned people in those communities, made the ban possible. But, we’ll have to wait and see.

It’s strange that when people think of Animal Rights Advocates, they immediately picture eco-warriors in bandanas breaking into laboratores and freeing 2000 rats about to be injected with purple hair dye.

As those who care about cows and other animals we need to come out of the closet. We can do so gradually and quietly. We don’t need to shoot the lock off and come out guns blazing, but we do need to come out. Many people just don’t think about the wear and tear to our planet that meat-eating causes. They see the pre-packaged “joints” of meat and don’t think of the slaughter-houses. Who would want to?

Shock tactics don’t work as well as positive reaffirmations that there is a better way.

For people who enjoy an omelet, they no longer need to see the shocking footage of bald, scabby hens with cut beaks and nails wrapped around the bars. The nasty, too small cages are no more.

We can gently remind people of the cost, on so many levels to meat-eating. But we can win people over to a delicious veggie lifestyle by cooking and sharing.

We may be far from celebrating the end of slaughter-houses and Mega Dairies, where all Dairy Farms are slaughter-free, but we can slowly move towards that day. Order our Ahimsa Milk today. You won’t be sorry and you’ll bring us one more step forward to animal “rights” for all.

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The organic advocate group The Soil Association says Organic Farming adopts a practical model for producing climate friendly food.

“This is because it is less dependent on oil-based fertilizers and pesticides and confers resilience in the face of climatic extremes. It also stores higher levels of carbon in the soil, and as a result if organic farming was common practise in the UK, we could offset at least 23% of agriculture’s greenhouse emissions.”

Using all organic products, a small UK company is paving the way for small businesses to not only come back, but succeed.

In these unstable economic times,  this small company “What on Earth” appears to be flourishing.

Company Co-Founder and sales director Jeremy Jaffe puts the success down to the fact that the firm supplies smaller independent stores, rather than large, chain supermarkets.

The small London based company reports a very successful year, with an almost 50% increase in revenue from just below 3 million to 5 million last year.

Indeed, in 2011 it delivered more than half a million organic-based products to it’s customers. All organic, the company began 13 years ago with a humble organic pizza.

It has grown, grounded by an ethical and environmentally concious culture.

In the workplace, company director Jaffe says “We have very simple principles and always look for the simplest and most uncomplicated options-and they are often the best and most ethically-minded.”

In these sad days of Mega Dairies, Factory Farms and massive super-scale supermarkets, who complain bitterly of financial losses, this small, independent ethically minded company is a breath of fresh air.

Let us hope that this bodes well for the future.

Smaller, ethically and environmentally minded companies can exist alongside the giants. In fact it seems, they can thrive!

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Here are some of our beautiful ladies peacefully grazing at our farm in Kent.

Universally Cows are seen as an emblem or symbol of peace. The word “bucolic” which refers to a pastoral scene, comes from the Greek word “boukolos”, which translates to cowherd.

Unlike most mammals, Cows do not fight over food, they are not generally agressive and even when being herded into slaughterhouses, to be killed for food, they simply look sad and don’t try to fight back.

They are often sociable, and form lasting friendships, prefering to spend more time with some Cows than others. They are known to be very affectionate to their caretakers, and those who take care of Cows seem to take on this quality too.

An afternoon spent watching the graceful, unhurrying grazing of a herd of Cows almost leaves us sleepy with peace and contentment. Feeding them some lettuce, apples and other tidbits can be addictive, as is their gracious company.

Our herd, live peaceful and safe lives. The threat of being sent to slaughter does not hang over them and they are not just a number. I sponsor a Cow named Tilly. Being part of a slaughter-free herd means that Tilly will live out her life naturally. She will not be pregnant most of her life, with babies torn from her shortly after birth. Her calves will join the dairy herd if female and be trained as oxen if male. Don’t tell me her milk does not get it’s sweetness from her life of contentment.

And then there’s the cultivation of friends. Tilly has one or two best girlfriends to chew the cud with. Her life is ordered, with purpose and the pace is slow.

Sometimes I envy her.

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Press Release

4th December 2011

The Ahimsa Dairy Foundation launches cow and calf sponsorship scheme

The Ahimsa Dairy Foundation (ADF), which supplies entirely slaughter-free milk from its herd of organic cows in Kent, has now launched a sponsorship scheme for people to help support its cows and calves.

The Ahimsa herd are mostly named after Indian or English flowers and supporters can currently choose one of nine cows, or three calves to sponsor – although with several new calves on the way that figure will soon change.

The cost of the herd’s retirement plan is built into the price of the milk, but the not-for-profit company wants to ensure it has a little aside to ensure their future as well as moving cows to their sanctuary and training young bulls. The company also want to involve supporters with the daily lives of the herd.

Sponsorship starts from £3, £5 or £10 a month and for this people will receive regular updates about their cow or calf and the Ahimsa Dairy project, which is dedicated to sustainable and ethical farming.

Singer and advocate for animal welfare Chrisse Hynde said of the Ahimsa Slaughter-free Milk project: “Most animal rights minded vegans share the opinion that cows’ milk is only for the consumption of calves and of course, when buying milk from the meat/dairy industry, no milk is cruelty free. However, if cows are treated according to the high ethical principles of cow protection, as in the Vedic tradition of ancient Indian culture, where no cows are slaughtered, their milk provides unlimited benefits for human health and I am delighted to support Ahimsa Milk and welcome this latest initiative."

ADF Director, Sanjay Tanna said : “ We were looking for ways to involve our supporters more deeply with the lives of our herd and the challenges of bringing slaughter-free milk to the breakfast table. We very much hope people will be keen to sponsor our cows and bulls and help us secure their future and expand our project.”

Notes to Editors

• Ahimsa Slaughter-free Milk comes from a farm in Kent. It is available in the London and Hertfordshire areas for £2.25 a litre with a 15p charge for doorstep delivery. In some areas it can be collected from drop-off points. Please see the website for details
• For sponsorship details go to the website at: http://www.ahimsamilk.org/sponsor-a-cow/
• For more information, contact 07723 354 527
  

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In a recent National Geographic article, Charles Mann announced:   ”Soil degradation is putting the future of the global population at risk.”

Civil unrest in Latin America, Asia and Africa have now been attributed to a lack of food and/or affordable food, as a result of poor soil.

In other countries such as Australia, and the nations of Africa on the southern edge of the Sahara, cattle grazing and feed-crop production on marginal lands; contribute substancially to desertification. Basically we’re adding chemicals to soil to mass produce feed for meat animals, and systematically killing the soil for future generations.

“Overgrazing and the intensive production of feed grain for cattle, and other meat animals results in high levels of soil erosion” according to Alan B. Durning of the World Watch Institute 1986.

So I’ve just said it, Alan Durning was saying it in 1986 and many other people have warned us since. Why does it feel that no one is listening? Perhaps we’re not speaking loud enough. Perhaps we’re being drowned out by the noise of the latest “must have” electronic gizmo or advertisements for “stuff” and recipes that more often than not, include meat to stuff ourselves with.

Right now the ads are everywhere for Turkey orders for the upcoming xmas holidays. These poor birds, days numbered are painfully hobbling about packed, often filthy holding cells. They limp on broken legs, because they’ve been bred to be plump and “juicy” and their spindly legs simply cannot support the weight needed for the dinner table. The grain they’re fed cripples not only these sad birds, but the future of our planet.

By 2030, the Earth’s population will reach 8.3 billion. But in what will we be growing food?

Over the past few centuries, mainly due to meat production, the USA has lost about 2/3 of it’s topsoil. And they consider themselves a super power? What of the rest of the world?

I wonder how many people would enjoy tucking into their Sunday roast beef quite as much, if a tag came with it announcing:

“One pound of beef from cattle raised on feedlots, represents the loss of 35lbs worth of topsoil. But hey, it’s traditional right, don’t worry about it. Enjoy!”

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       ”Viral Storm: the dawn of a new Pandemic Age.”  written by Nathan Wolfe is a true wakeup call.

Little do many of us realise that our modern way of living with it’s emphasis on factory farming, constant long-distance travel and over-used antibiotics, is creating a powder keg of destruction for our future.

The new movie “Contagion” starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Kate Winslett is actually loosely based on the research in Nathan’s book.  Modern life has certainly made us more, not less vulnerable to a global pandemic.

Wolfe recounts the story of the first “bird flu” in 2003. A young boy brings home a sick chicken and dies 11 days later, drowning in his own fluids, beginning a global pandemic of epic proportions. Transmission of animal to human microbes, is the source of most global pandemics.

Although in his role as “Director of Global Forecasting” Wolfe goes all over the world hunting possible contagions; however despite that he says factory farms are actually a closer, more dangerous threat.

Since 2000 global meat production has risen by 20%. Using massive doses of antibiotics diseases to livestock have lessened, but new, more deadly viruses have emerged such as bird-flu, foot and mouth, and mad cow disease. Worldwatch state that, “cramped filthy conditions, in factory farms contribute to antibiotic resistance, making it more difficult to treat human as well as animal diseases.” Terrifyingly 80% of all antibiotics used, in 2009 were administered to animals, leaving just 20% to humans.

Industrial killing farms for meat animals contain over one billion cattle, one billion pigs and shockingly 20 billion chickens at any one time. Is it really a surprise that these factory farms have been described, by experts in their fields as “incubators” for infectious agents that can easily move to human populations, causing a deadly pandemic at any given time.

Perhaps a pandemic of global proportions has to be the only way humans come to their senses and stop slaughtering sentient beings for food? If that is the case, then we as a sentient species are certainly not as intelligent and superior as we believe.

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