Animal advocates have united for the launch of the Vegan India Movement, a PAN-India awareness campaign focusing on the ethical, environmental and health impacts of using animals for food, clothing, entertainment, experimentation and other purposes.
The group hosted its inaugural event this past Sunday in 38 cities across India by numerous grassroots animal rights groups through various non-violent and innovative methods of animal advocacy.
While local animal advocacy groups have been working to raise awareness across many cities, this marked the first time that these groups have collaborated to organize an event on such a large scale.
Held in the city Udaipur, which is located in the Indian state of Rajasthan, the event included an activity known as the “Earthlings Experience” in which participants dressed in black uniforms and stood motionless in a straight line while holding signs and electronic devices that showed actual footage from inside Indian slaughterhouses, hatcheries and dairy farms.
Images of the torture suffered by animals in the fashion, animal sport, and animal testing industries were also displayed.
According to the Udaipur Kiran news outlet, many of the activists also interacted with the public watching the videos, explaining the cruelty inherent to these industries and encouraging them to make kinder choices.
“Even though we share our planet with millions of other species, each with their own interests and possessing the capacity to feel happiness, fear, pleasure, and pain, we continue to act as if we are the only species that matter. Animals are here with us, not for us, and to say otherwise is a form of prejudice and oppression like any other, and cannot be justified,” stated Chintam Matta, one of the coordinators of the Vegan India Movement. “Social norms are constantly evolving. There are many things that were considered acceptable in the past that we do not find acceptable today. As a society, we must be open to accepting new information and changing our behavior for the greater good of all sentient beings.”
“If you view animals as property, as something rather than someone, why would you bother treating them with dignity,” noted a member of Mumbai Animal Liberation League (MALL) who attended the event.
Tragically, an estimated 56 billion land animals and 90 billion marine animals are reportedly exploited and slaughtered each year just for food.
Fortunately, veganism is gaining accelerated traction after a re-evaluation of the supposed nutritional benefits of consuming animal products, with numerous international nutritional organizations, including “the American Dietetic Association having certified that vegan diets are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases, and the World Health Organization classifying processed meat as a Group 1 carcinogen.”
WAN is proud that so many people throughout the world are adopting a plant-based diet while promoting its many health benefits to people worldwide.
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