PRESS RELEASE:
END THE SLAUGHTER AGE
On April 27, the European Commission approved the European Citizens’ Initiative
(ECI) End The Slaughter Age, written by activist Nicolas Micheletti, president of the
homonymous promoting organization.
The ECI will have to collect 1 million signatures across Europe (it is possible to sign
online) for one year, it started on June 5, 2022, on the occasion of the National
Animal Rights Day, and will end on June 5, 2023.
The initiative requires the transfer of subsidies from the livestock industry to the
sector of alternative products, both of plant origin and obtained with cellular
agriculture, such as cultured meat.
The initiative is supported by over 130 organizations throughout Europe (and
beyond like Kinder World) and by some Italian politicians such as regional councilor
Luigi Piccirillo and deputy Paolo Bernini.
The news was relaunched by various newspapers, including Fanpage.it, GreenMe,
L’Indipendente, Vegconomist, etc.
As of September 1, there are over 28,000 signatures.
The initiative was attacked by some politicians and lobbyists:
- Roberto López, spokesman for the Spanish meat lobby Agromuralla in this regard declared “it worries me a lot”.
- Former Deputy Prime Minister Janusz Piechociński said: “The time is coming when we
carnivores must introduce new initiatives so that even those who live next to us and who want to ban us from eating meat according to democratic procedures, are forced to make a greater effort. We will collect signatures and start a great European debate.” - Polish MP Jan Ardanowski said: “This is an exceptionally important threat to the production of food of animal origin. The European initiative under discussion wants to legally ban” the use of animals for human-defined purposes. Therefore, it is not just meat from farms, but also milk and other animal products such as skins and wool.”
- Esther Herranz, MEP from 2002 to 2019, said: “If this initiative is successful, which I
sincerely hope it is not, the price of European beef, pork, rabbit, chicken, turkey or eggs would be prohibitive. Many families would stop consuming animals.”
Statement by Nicolas Micheletti, activist and author of the ECI:
What we are asking is, basically, to change the way meat and animal derivatives are
produced in Europe. Moving from classic production through farms and slaughterhouses, to a more ethical, ecological and healthy production, based on plant alternatives and those obtained thanks to cellular agriculture, such as the increasingly famous cultivated meat.
How?
The ECI that we presented has two points: the first is to remove the subsidies of the
Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) to the livestock industry, the second is to give subsidies to alternative products. If cultured meat and vegetable meat cost less than traditional meat, the market will shift. The livestock industry cannot remain standing without subsidies, and for the good of all it is good that it steps aside and leaves room for innovation.
Is your battle not just animal rights?
No, our battle should be on everyone’s heart. As we have also written on our website and in the ECI, climate change is a serious problem and according to the IPCC we do not have
much time left to do something. We also know that animal husbandry is one of the main
culprits of this problem, but by switching to an alternative system as we propose, it would
allow us to guarantee survival. Vegetable meat and cultivated meat produce about 99% less greenhouse emissions for the same amount of meat produced, and use much fewer
resources.
Don’t you think people may be concerned about cultured meat from a health point of view?
I have been involved in dissemination on the subject since before 2015, and initially I saw a lot of reticence. Fortunately, over the years, more and more people understand the potential of cultured meat and cellular agriculture. This technology produces healthier foods than conventional ones, for three reasons. The first is that the creation of the product is carried out in a sterile laboratory and supervised in every single step, therefore without the risk of contamination. The second is that there is contamination from antibiotics, pesticides and many other things that unfortunately are found in traditional meat. The third is that, if desired, you can even replace harmful components, such as saturated fats, with other healthier ones, such as omega-3 fat. The benefits of this revolution would be infinite.
End the Slaughter Age ECI – EU site to sign.
End the Slaughter Age – Website.
More information here.
