Vegan News – Are We Headed Towards A Kinder World?

With all that’s been happening, it’s easy to feel hopeless in the fight against animal cruelty. However, this week the world has seen some really massive positive steps being taken by politicians, celebrities and individuals alike to help steer us towards a vegan world. Here’s a wrap up of some of the most important stories.
Possible US Factory farming reform
Life has changed substantially in the USA over a mere period of weeks. Unsurprisingly, this change has lead to many Americans rethinking their way of life, and how their society could be changed for the better.
On May 7th, United States Senator Elizabeth Warren and House Representative Ro Khanna announced that they would be supporting a bill that would help to slow down the growth of factory farms. The bill, entitled the Farm System Reform Act (FSRA), aims to ‘place a moratorium on large concentrated animal feeding operations, to strengthen the Packers and Stockyards Act, 1921, to require country of origin labeling on beef, pork, and dairy products, and for other purposes’ according to 116th Congress on January 1st, 2020. This essentially means that the bill will cease to support the opening of more large scale factory farms, and limiting the expansion of existing operations.
Unfortunately, the FSRA (if passed) will not be the end of factory farming in the United States, and much more work is needed in order to shut down animal industries. But we cannot deny the importance of this first step in gradually moving the focus of agricultural industries towards more sustainable and ethical practises. This bill, introduced by vegan Senator Cory Booker, is also a reminder of the importance of having vegans in positions of power, where they have the opportunity to make change.
If this bill is passed, the results would be incredible. Not only would it help to prevent animal cruelty in the US, but since the country is somewhat of a trendsetter – we could potentially see other countries following suit in years to come. We commend all involved for their forethought and bravery in pushing such a controversial bill – their reward is, obviously, being on the right side of history.
You can read the bill here.
Pamela Anderson says ‘cruelty free fashion’ with vegan leather handbags
Celebrity Pamela Anderson has recently launched a new line of vegan leather bags in collaboration with Ashoka Paris. Anderson was seen modelling the bags on her Instagram this morning.
Certainly, the photoshoot makes vegan leather look just as good as the real deal. We’re not surprised. Ashoka Paris, who have over 10 thousand Instagram followers, are known for their elegant designs that showcase vegan leather products. We’re glad that more celebrities are choosing to collaborate with brands with good ethical practises – and are helping to popularise vegan alternatives.
Comedian Ricky Gervais speaks out against wet markets
Controversial comedian Ricky Gervais is no stranger to boldness – coming back into headlines recently over his divisive Golden Globes Speech and new series ‘Afterlife’ which was recently released onto Australian Netflix.
This week, Gervais is in the news for his comments during a Facebook live event. ‘Pandemics come from eating things you f*cking shouldn’t’ he stated, referring to the dominant theory that Covid – 19 originated in a wet market. Whilst this is the statement Gervais is receiving the most attention for, his qualifying remarks are far more chilling: ‘People keep asking will life ever return to normal. Yes, of course it will. I mean, it will happen again. This will happen again’. Most likely, he is right.
A widely quoted line of Albert Einstein is that the definition of insanity is repeating something over and over and expecting a different result. We need to consider this in regards to animal industries and the spread of zoonotic diseases. We need to change our way of life and re-examine our societal values to stop future harm being done.
Gervais should be commended for his stance on wet markets and against animal cruelty. It takes bravery to use your voice to champion important, but unpopular, causes.
Main image: Ashoka Vegan Bags / Instagram
If you missed our round up from last week then now is your chance to catch up!
About the Author
Lucy Bailey is 18 years old and has been vegan for 9 months. Lucy is an award winning public speaker and passionate writer on animal issues. For her vegan activism, Lucy has been awarded the Sydney University Leadership Award and a Sydney Scholars Award in 2019.
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