To mark World Vegan Day, the German Animal Welfare Federation is encouraging people to get to know farm animals better. With the „Ein Herz für (Nutz)Tiere“ campaign, the association is drawing attention to the fact that pigs, cattle, chickens and the like are not just suppliers of food, but living beings with individual feelings and needs - and in no way less fascinating or lovable than any other animal. On the website www.einherzfürnutztiere.de, animal lovers can find out exciting details about the characteristics, abilities and peculiarities of these species, which many people only refer to and perceive as farm animals. There are also tips on vegan living and suggestions for vegan cuisine.
“There is no such thing as livestock. The supposed difference between certain animal species is man-made and cultural,” says Verena Jungbluth, Head of Veganism at the German Animal Welfare Federation. “All sentient beings deserve the same respect and appreciation! However, we usually only protect what we know. That's why it's high time we got to know the animals used almost exclusively for agriculture again, took off our ideological glasses - and allowed our natural compassion for them.”
AGAINST ALIENATION
Although hundreds of millions of animals are kept as supposed livestock in Germany alone, people hardly ever come into contact with them in everyday life. This is because the majority of these animals live - and die - in closed production systems that society only sees from the outside, if at all. Alienation from these particular animal species is a consequence, but also a prerequisite, of intensive animal farming in its current excessive form, which is contrary to animal welfare. The German Animal Welfare Federation invites you to approach animals as sensitive living beings and to learn more about them: For example, studies have shown that cows form deep and lasting friendships and soothe sick herd members by grooming them. Sheep recognize up to 50 conspecifics by their faces and hens talk to their chicks before they hatch and teach them sounds through the egg shell.
LOVE OF ANIMALS STARTS WITH FOOD
If you don't want to support the abuses in animal farming and want to contribute to a change towards a more compassionate society, you can set an example for animals by adopting a vegan diet and lifestyle. Every meal and every supermarket purchase counts. With a constantly growing collection of recipes on the website as well as the cookbook “Tierschutz genießen” and its sweet counterpart “Tierschutz genießen - Das Backbuch”, the German Animal Welfare Federation shows how tasty and easy a vegan diet can be without industrially manufactured substitute products. The books are available in bookshops and online for 24.95 euros each and their proceeds fund important animal welfare projects run by the German Animal Welfare Federation.
In addition to vegan recipes, the website www.weiljedemahlzeitzählt.de offers numerous other tips on a vegan lifestyle. More information about the cookbook “Tierschutz genießen” and “Tierschutz genießen - Das Backbuch” can be found at www.tierschutz-genießen.de.
