Worldlog Tjedan 47 – 2014

Kao što sam najavila u mom prethodnom Worldlogu, sada ću nešto više reći o našoj posjeti Beogradu. Bili smo tamo na međunarodnom sastanaku sa strankama za životinje (u formiranju) iz jedanaest različitih zemalja (Francuska, Njemačka, Portugal, Španjolska, Velika Britanija, Australija, Turska, Srbija, Švedska i Cipar). U Beogradu je ponovno postalo jasno koliko naš pokret raste. Bilo je dosta rasprave o izgradnji strukture za našu udrugu, o razvoju stranačkih programa kao i o vrbovanju i osposobljavanju volontera. Moja kolegica Esther Ouwehand održala je prezentaciju o ulozi stranka za životinje kao pokretačke snage u političkoj areni. Inspirirajuće je vidjeti da se diljem svijeta posvećuje sve više pažnje povećanju zastupljenosti interesa životinja u politici!

Prošli je tjedanu Nizozemskoj, što se tiče teme o dobrobiti životinja, bio buran. U emisiji jednog nizozemskog televizijskog programa zvanog Radar pokazano je kako telad pate u mlječnom stočarstvu. Telad se ubrzo nakon njihovog rođenja razdvajaju od svojih majka, kako u konvencionalnom tako i u organskom mlječnom stočarstvu. Ja sam nakon ove emisije pozvala državnu tajnicu Dijksma da potakne poljoprivrednike da omoguće teladi da odrastu sa svojim majkama. Odvajanje teladi od njihovih majka štetiti zdravlju životinja, a nije u skladu s održivim oblikom stočarske proizvodnje.

Za bolju opstojnost stočarskog sektora je u svakom slučaju vrlo značajno da konzumiramo manje životinjskih bjelančevina, kao što su mlijeko, meso, riba i jaja. Više biljnnih sastojaka u prehrani je, po definiciji, bolje za dobrobit životinja. Taj zaokret u našem konzumiranju hrane je također potreban kako bi se moglo nahraniti rastuće svjetsko stanovništvo i mogli suzbiti klimatski problemi. Proizvodnja životinjskih bjelančevina je vrlo neučinkovita a i košta previše vode, sirovina i energije. Na svu sreću je sve više dobrih alternativa koje su produciraju iz biljnih proteina, a na tom području se još mogu ostvariti mnoge inovacije. Prošlog četvrtka sam pričala sa Bill Gatesom o ovoj neophodnoj tranziciji. Ovaj video od Bill Gatesa,” Znanost Iza Biljnih Proteina”, objašnjava zašto je ta tranzicija neophodna!

U četvrtak sam postavila pitanja o šokantnom incidentu u kojem je gotovo utopljena lisica nemilosrdno ustrijeljena od strane lovca. Životinja se uspjela, nakon duge borbe protiv utapanja, dovući u sigurnost kod neke ograde. Umjesto da joj pomogne, lovac ju je upucao iz automobila. Nevjerojatno …

No,ima i dobrih vijesti! Od sada će se morati, zahvaljujući našem prijedlogu, učiniti više protiv ‘plastične juhe’ (plastični otpad) u moru. Plastični otpad uzrokuje ozbiljno zagađenje okoliša i šteti životinjama. Do sada se samo gledalo na mikro plastiku u kozmetici i na plastične vrećice u moru. Mi već duže vremena ukazujemo da i mnoge druge vrste otpada završavaju u moru. Zahvaljujući našem prijedlogu, sada će se u novoj politici za borbu protiv ‘plastične juhe’ morati gledati i na balone, vatromet i farbu. 🙂

I u nizozemskoj provinciji Gelderland je napravljen korak u dobrom smjeru. Naime, nizozemski biro za istraživanje “Alterra” je, kao odgovor na naša pitanja, utvrdio da uzgoj lukovica ima štetne posljedice za prirodu a samim tim je i protuzakonit. Lokalna vlast u Gelderlandu je nakon ovog otkrića odmah poduzela mjere. Mi smatramo da treba zaustaviti uzgoj lukovica u blizini prirodnih rezervata u Nizozemskoj, a sa parlamentarnim pitanjima mi probamo da državnog tajnika potaknemo da to omogući. Nastavlja se!

Želim vam ugodan tjedan!

As I said in my last Worldlog, I will tell more about our visit to Belgrade. We were there for an international meeting with parties for the animals (in formation) from 11 different countries (France, Germany, Portugal, Spain, United Kingdom, Australia, Turkey, Serbia, Sweden and Cyprus). In Belgrade, it became clear again how much our movement is growing. There was plenty of talk about building up association structures, developing party programmes and scouting and training of volunteers. My colleague, Esther Ouwehand, gave a presentation about the role of main driver in the political arena of a party for the animals. It is inspiring to see there is worldwide attention for increasing the representation of animals in politics!

In the Netherlands, it was an eventful week in the area of animal welfare. A broadcast of the Dutch TV programme Radar showed how much calves suffer in dairy farming. In both conventional and organic dairy farming, they are separated from their mothers shortly after their birth. Based on this, I urged State Secretary Dijksma to encourage farmers to let calves grow up with their mothers. Separating calves from their mothers harms the animals’ welfare and health and is not in line with sustainable cattle farming.

No matter what, it is important for us to consume less animal proteins such as milk, meat, fish and eggs to make cattle farming sustainable. A more plant-based diet is animal-friendly by definition. This change in our consumption pattern is also necessary to feed the growing world population and combat climate change. Producing animal protein is very inefficient, costs too much water, raw materials and energy. Thankfully, more and more good alternatives of plant-based proteins have been made and there is still a lot of innovation potential in that area. Last Thursday, I spoke with Bill Gates about this necessary transition. This video of Bill Gates, The Science Behind Plant-Based Proteins, explains why! https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=jjlVq5GiHbo

Last Thursday, I asked questions about a shocking incident of a fox that had almost drowned and was shot dead by a hunter. After a long struggle to save itself from drowning, the animal had managed to bring itself to safety near a gate. Instead of receiving help, the fox was shot dead by a hunter from his car. Unbelievable…

But there is good news, as well! Thanks to one of our motions, the plastic soup in the sea will have to be better addressed. Plastic waste causes serious environmental pollution and animal suffering. So far, the focus was primarily placed on micro-plastics in cosmetics and plastic bags in the sea. We have pointed out for some time that a lot of other waste eventually ends up in the sea, as well. Thanks to our motion, balloons, fireworks and paint will now also have to be included in the new policy to tackle the plastic soup. ☺

Another breakthrough was realised in the Dutch province of Gelderland. In response to questions from us, the Dutch research bureau Alterra has assessed that the bulb-growing industry has detrimental consequences for nature and is therefore illegal. The local government body in Gelderland has already followed up on this outcome. We believe that the poisonous bulb-growing industry in natural environments must stop across the Netherlands and insisted on this in Parliamentary questions to the State Secretary. To be continued!

Have a good week, regards Marianne