Jamie Oliver Asked To Save Kiwi Pigs

Feb 272009
 

25 February 2009

British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver will soon learn about how pigs are being made to suffer on New Zealand farms. Animal advocates say standards on New Zealand pig farms will no doubt shock the pig-friendly celebrity chef. Footage obtained from inside New Zealand pig farms is being sent to Jamie Oliver this week in an effort to add international pressure to a campaign to improve pig welfare in New Zealand.

National animal advocacy organisation SAFE says New Zealand pig farms fall well below standards in the United Kingdom, particularly since kiwi farmers continue to use cruel sow stalls in which to keep pregnant sows. The group says New Zealand must follow the UK by banning the use of sow stalls.

“New Zealanders watching last night’s 90-minute programme, Jamie Saves Our Bacon, will be shocked to learn that those abhorrent farming systems are also commonplace in New Zealand,” says Hans Kriek, campaign director of SAFE.

This year the New Zealand government is expected to review pig farming standards because sow stalls and farrowing crates have been found to be in breach of the Animal Welfare Act 1999.

“New Zealand cruelly confines over 20,000 pregnant sows in stalls so small they can’t even turn around. Because sow stalls are banned in the UK we are calling on Jamie Oliver to support SAFE’s call to ban sow stalls to improve pig farming standards in New Zealand. The government is unlikely to act without such international pressure,” says Mr Kriek.

SAFE’s campaign to end the factory farming of pigs in New Zealand is gaining momentum. Over 35 MPs, actors, musicians and well-known personalities such as Auckland mayor John Banks, actor Robyn Malcolm and television personality Jaquie Brown have added their support to help pigs in New Zealand.

ACTION: SAFE LovePigs campaigners will be travelling on busy Auckland city buses during peak hours tomorrow to remind tightly-packed commuters that pigs endure similar conditions for their entire lives.

For more information contact SAFE campaign director Hans Kriek on 027 446 2711, or visit Love Pigs for facts on pig farming in New Zealand and a full list of celebrities and personalities who support SAFE’s campaign.

Consumption of Smoked and Cured Meat Linked to Leukaemia

Feb 232009
 

PCRM Breaking Medical News

A new study shows that consumption of cured and smoked meat and fish is correlated to the risk of leukemia, the most common form of cancer in children, while higher consumption of vegetables and bean-curd is associated with reduced risk. This population-based study in Taiwan compared 145 acute leukemia cases to 370 matched controls, ages 2 to 20 years old. A suggested reason for the increased risk is the formation of carcinogenic N-nitroso compounds in the stomach upon consumption of smoked and cured meats.

Liu C, Hsu Y, Wu M, et al. Cured meat, vegetables, and bean-curd foods in relation to childhood acute leukemia risk: A population based case-control study. BMC Cancer 2009;9:15. doi:10.1186/1471-2407-9-15.

Hamburgers are the Hummers of Food in Global Warming: Scientists

Feb 232009
 

When it comes to global warming, hamburgers are the Hummers of food, scientists say.

Simply switching from steak to salad could cut as much carbon as leaving the car at home a couple days a week. If meat consumption in the developed world was cut from the current level of about 90 kilograms a year to the recommended level of 53 kilograms a year, livestock related emissions would fall by 44 percent.

“Given the projected doubling of (global) meat production by 2050, we’re going to have to cut our emissions by half just to maintain current levels,” says Nathan Pelletier, environmental scientist of Dalhousie University in Canada.

“Technical improvements are not going to get us there.”

“Food is of particular importance to a consumer’s impact because it’s a daily choice that is, at least in theory, easy to change.”

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