Compassionate World Blog Round Up – July 23
For all the animal, farming, food and environment news from June and July, please use this great update
From the farming of insects to animal welfare in world religion, and from lab grown chicken to chalk streams, plus a whole lot more…
Opinion Articles
- Will England allow its iconic and rare chalk stream habitats to be trashed by pollution?Like the Scottish uplands, England’s chalk streams have become an iconic destination for many countryside lovers
- Insect Farming Isn’t Going to Save the PlanetRaising animals intensively for food is the biggest source of animal cruelty on the planet. It also happens to be a major emitter of greenhouse gases, responsible for up to 37 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.
- Gardens can become sanctuaries for wildlife and help reverse the decline of naturePesticides and the ripping up of hedgerows and flower meadows has turned much of our countryside into a wildlife desert in recent decades
- US approval of ‘lab-grown chicken’ could be game-changer for efforts to halt decline of natureMeat grown from stem cells promises to emit fewer greenhouse gases than traditional agriculture
- The deep joy of getting up early and watching the natural world unfoldGetting up early is full of rewards as the natural world activates and clear thoughts are unlocked
- Live animal exports: UK Government just dropped its planned ban on practices that belong in the Dark AgesThe Conservatives had promised in their manifesto to stop the barbaric practice of sending young calves and other animals on horrific, over-long journeys abroad
Blogs
- From Faraway Forest to Doorstep: The Extraordinary Beauty of Nature has no EqualTreshnish on the isle of Mull, Inner Hebrides and sweeping meadows dance with colour. Backed by mountainous green hills punctured by jagged rock, carpets of flower-rich meadows stretch to the sea. Whilst peering at orchids on my hands and knees, a shadow strokes past.
- WHY FOOD POVERTY HAS NEVER BEEN HIGH ENOUGH ON GOVERNMENT LIST OF PRIORITIES AND WHAT TO DO ABOUT ITFood inflation has made getting enough food a growing struggle. According to The Trussell Trust, who operate more than 1,300 food banks across the UK, the past year has seen demand for emergency food surge by over a third.
- A Tribute To Our Faithful Companion, Duke – December 2011 – 20th August 2023Duke came to us as a tiny rescue pup of ten weeks old. He’d been abandoned in a park with his sister on a cold winter’s day. The heroic folks at South East Dog Rescue in Kent took them in
- Why Government Must Act to Stop the Ticking Timebomb That Is Bird FluHighly pathogenic Bird flu continues to rage through poultry farms and wild birds alike. The virus has already proved adept at jumping the species barrier, spilling over from birds into mammals such as otters, foxes, sea lions, and even domestic dogs and cats.
- Fixing Our Broken Food System Will Take Urgent Action, Not Least In Ending Industrial Animal AgricultureWhy We Should All Get Behind the UN’s Call for Food System Transformation
- Why Rome Burning In The Summer Heat Means Fiddling With Food Has To StopBoy, was it hot in Rome! In July, front-page news was the weather: ‘Rome hits record high in European heatwave’, was one such headline. In sharp contrast to the exceptionally wet July in Britain where Scotland’s rain was 50 per cent heavier than average, records for the hottest day in Rome were tumbling.
- Have a heart for hard-pressed chalk streamsSome of the best things in nature are understated – take the chalk streams of England, for example. These fragile river systems meander quietly through undulating countryside before disappearing into the sea.
Social Media Top Tweets – 637,000 tweet impressions in July
Latest Speaker Events for 2023
- 16th Jan: 5 x 15 online ‘Earth Convention’
- 9th Feb: Toppings, Edinburgh
- 15th Feb: Toppings, Bath
- 21st Feb: Romney Street Group, Pall Mall
- 23rd Feb: Probus, Petersfield
- 22nd March: NYC Bar Association Animal Law Committee
- 25th March: Peter Roberts Lecture, Oxford Lit Festival
- 26th April: Alt Protein Project, Jesus College Cambridge
- 11/12th May: Extinction Conference, London
- 29th May: Hay Festival, Wales
- 4th June: Peter Singer, Hackney Empire
- 24th June: Wealden Lit Festival
- 24-26th July: UNFSS+2 Stocktake, Rome
- 6th August: Wilderness Festival
- 13th Sept: Mi-CAN, Midhurst
- 19th Sept: European Vegan Summit (online)
- 30th Sept: Ferrara internazionale Festival, Italy
- 3rd Oct: Food Systems Conference, Turkey
- 10th Oct: Kindfest
- 13th Nov: Ark Global Summit
- 23rd Nov: Animal Welfare Intergroup Meeting, Strasbourg