The June 8 edition of Time Magazine has a brief piece about a city's weekly veggie day, and the Time website has a much more in-depth story on the same issue.
In "The World" section, on page 14, the magazine tells us:
"What They're NOT Eating in Belgium: A U.N. expert suggested last year that one way to combat climate change is to go vegetarian. The Flemish city of Ghent has responded by calling for schools to serve meat-free meals on Thursdays, which it has designated as noncompulsory 'veggie days.' Activist Tobias Leenaert hopes the campaign will inspire 'a critical mass of enlightened citizens.'"
On the website, the story is a Time Magazine "postcard," a Postcard from Ghent. It is headed, "Where's the Beef? Ghent Goes Vegetarian: The Flemish city of Ghent, which has collectively decided to try vegetarianism one day a week." It is written by Eben Harrell Wednesday, May. 27, 2009
It opens with:
"Last year, Rajendra Pachauri, chairman of the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, suggested that the most useful step ordinary citizens could take to help combat climate change would be to stop eating meat. In Belgium, an entire town is taking his advice to heart. The Flemish city of Ghent has designated every Thursday as 'Veggiedag' — Veggie Day — calling for meat-free meals to be served in schools and public buildings, and encouraging vegetarianism among citizens by promoting vegetarian eateries and offering advice on how to follow a herbivorous diet."
The city's vice-mayor says that it isn't compulsory but "If you give people the correct information about meat, it becomes an easy ethical decision."
While the article has fun information about Ghent in particular, it is notable for the superb information it provides about the vegetarian diet in general. We read:
"According to the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization, meat production accounts for 18% of annual greenhouse-gas emissions — more than transportation, which accounts for roughly 14%. Each year, millions of acres of rain forest are cleared for cattle ranchers and suppliers of animal feed, further accelerating climate change. Then there are the urgent human-health issues: the world feeds much of its grain to cattle and other animals even as millions of people starve. Those wealthy enough to consume fatty animal products are themselves at higher risk of certain health problems, including heart disease and some cancers."
Please check out this terrific story on line. Time Magazine counts hits for each story and we would love to push it into the "most read" category, and also the "most emailed" category, so please send it along to all your friends. You'll find it on line at:
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1900958,00.html
The brief piece in the hard copy of the magazine also opens the door for letters to the editor, so why not write about the joys of plant based diets if you are on one, or about the horror of factory farming? Time Magazine takes letters at letters@time.com
Always include your full name, address, and daytime phone number when sending a letter to the editor. Remember that shorter letters are more likely to be published.
I send thanks to Karen Caesar for making sure we saw this story.
Yours and the animals',
Karen Dawn
(DawnWatch is an animal advocacy media watch that looks at animal issues in the media and facilitates one-click responses to the relevant media outlets. You can learn more about it, and sign up for alerts at http://www.DawnWatch.com. You may forward or reprint DawnWatch alerts if you do so unedited -- leave DawnWatch in the title and include this parenthesized tag line. )
Please go to www.ThankingtheMonkey.com for a fun celeb-studded promo video and information on Karen Dawn's book, "Thanking the Monkey: Rethinking the Way we Treat Animals," which was chosen by the Washington Post as one of the "Best Books of 2008." And check out Karen's new blog at www.ThankingtheMonkey.com/blog !
To discontinue DawnWatch alerts go to http://www.DawnWatch.com/nothanks.php
----------------------------------------
You are subscribed to DawnWatch using the following address:
example@example.com
Date: Fri May 29 16:51:31 2009
