○申込先・お問合せ先 いきもの多様性研究所 〒604-8862 京都市中京区壬生森町13-34 E-Mail
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日本外国特派員協会で行われた福島瑞穂消費者・少子化担当相の記者会見報告 2009年11月11日 Courtesy of Mr. Boyd Harnell
Environmental Defense Fund (環境防衛基金）によりますと、米国民全員が１週間に１回鶏肉の代わりに植物由来だけの食事をした場合、米国内の車を500,000台路上からなくす事と同じだけの二酸化炭素の排出量を防ぐことが出来るそうです。今年５月ベルギーのゲント公式政府は、気候変動の 解決策として毎週木曜日は肉食をしない「ベジィ・デー」を宣言しました。６月にはステラ・マッカートニーさんを含むポール・マッカートニーさんの家族がオノ・ヨーコさんと共に、「ミート・フリー・マンデー（肉食をしない月曜日）」のキャンペーンのスタートをロンドンにて宣言。肉食を減らすことによる環境保護を訴えました。この運動は他に、米国、香港、オーストラリア、カナダ、イスラエル、南米やヨーロッパの国々などでも行われています。そして「グローバル・ミート・フリー請願サイト」(15カ国語)では今月、日本語の請願サイトが追加されました。このサイトの立ち上げと共に、日本でも勢力的に「ミート・フリー・デー」キャンペーンが始められました。
ベジタリアンになって地球を守りましょう PETA's 'Lettuce Ladies' Bring Vegetarian Message to Tokyo Coutesy of PETA Asia-Pacific / August 3, 2009
* 下記は、People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA / 動物の倫理的扱いを求める人々の会)のプレス・リリースから転載翻訳です。
本物のレタスの葉を身にまとい、「守ろう地球！Go！ベジタリアン」と書かれたサインを掲げて、 People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA / 動物の倫理的扱いを求める人々の会) アジア – パシフィック支部の３名のレタス・レディーズが、渋谷駅スクランブル交差点前で通りかかる人々に、地球を守るためベジタリアンの食事に切り替えることを呼びかけました。
「家畜の長い影：環境問題とその選択肢 (Livestock's Long Shadow: Environmental Issues and Options)」と題した報告書によると、国連は、世界中の乗用車、トラック、SUV、航空機、船舶が排出する温室効果ガスをすべて合わせても、食用の家畜の飼育が排出する量はそれを上回ると結論づけています。 報告書はさらに、食肉は「各地域においても地球規模でも、最も深刻な環境問題の２番目あるいは３番目に当たる主要な原因である」と伝えています。また、家畜の給餌、輸送、屠殺、そしてその肉の包装、輸送、貯蔵は莫大なエネルギーを浪費します。
「つい最近では、私たちは IFAW (International Fund for Animal Welfare: 国際動物保護基金)と一体となって、研修会や会議を通じ、チャン・ジウェン教授と起草委員会の研究をバックアップしてきております。私たちは、法律の草案が２００９年の末までに準備されることを望んでおります」
映画「The End of the Line 」 A Film by Rupert Murray based on a book The End of the Line by Charles Clover June 19, 2009 魚の乱獲が海洋に与える破壊的な影響を描く世界初のドキュメンタリー映画「 The End of the Line 」が今年１月にサンダンス・フィルム・フェスティバルのワールド・シネマ・ドキュメンタリー・コンペティションでワールド・プレミアされ、６月１９日に ニューヨークを皮切りに一般に公開されました。
1990 年代はじめ、世界で最大のタラ生息数を誇ったニューファウンドランド沖（カナダ東部）で、どのようにタラが絶滅に至ったか、また最先端技術を備えた漁船が どのように魚が逃れる隙間さえ残さないか、またひとつの解決策とみなされている魚養殖がなぜ実は誤った通念なのかということについて、The End of the Line は歴史を追っていきます。
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までお願い致します。
Registration will start at 14:10. 1) 14:30 ~ 16:00 "The Cove" Screening
2) 16:20 ~ 17:10 Q & A Session and a talk by Professor Harukichi Onozuka about "Effect of the mercury contamination on our health and the provision"
3) 17:30 ~ 19:30 Panel discussion "Think the global environment through dolphins"
4) 20:00 ~ 21:30 "The Cove" Screening
To register - please email:
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, call: 0422-22-0311 or fax: 0422-22-0312 with your name, e-mail address, telephone number & which part of the event you would like to join. When you e-mail, please write "I would like to join the event on Feb. 11th." on the subject. The event is free of charge.
"The Cove", nominated for this year's Oscar for Documentary Feature, will be screened in Kyoto, Japan on January 31st. Organized by Institute of Biodiversity in Japan.
To register - please email:
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or fax: 020-4666-309 with your name, your contact info & screening time that you would like to see, before January 28th. They will send you back for the confirmation. Donation will be welcomed at the screening.
Report on FCCJ press conference with Japan's Food Safety Minister, Mizuho Fukushima November 11, 2009 Courtesy of Mr. Boyd Harnell
The Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan (FCCJ) held a press conference Wednesday, November 11, to welcome Japanese politician Mizuho Fukishima, the new minister of food safety and general affairs, social affairs, and gender equality. Mainstream Japanese and foreign journalists with the print and broadcast media fielded questions related to her new position, including an interview by investigative reporter Boyd Harnell related to the serious health issues revolving around the ongoing sale of highly toxic, mercury-tainted dolphin meat at selected retail outlets in Japan.
Harnell told Fukushima that the health ministry failed to mandate warnings on the labels of small cetacean meat adding that mislabeling of dolphin meat as being whale meat was endemic throughout Japan. He also told Fukushima two Taiji government officials condemned dolphin meat as toxic waste after they had conducted certified lab tests showing Taiji dolphin meat to be extremely high in mercury and methylmercury and said it had been formerly served at Taiji school whale lunches.
Harnell also said top Japanese medical researchers, Dr. Shigeo Ekino and Dr. Tetsuya Endo, also condemned the sale of dolphin meat for human consumption. He also mentioned the high levels of mercury found in 50 Taiji residents which tested at ten times the national average for this toxic substance. The Japan Times contributing correspondent also turned over ten certified lab reports of dolphin meat showing ballistic levels of mercury along with indepth studies made by the EIA , Japan Consumers Union, Elsa Nature Conservancy and scientific reports detailing the various toxins found in Japan's coastal dolphins sold for food to Japanese consumers.
Harnell asked if she would ban the sale of dolphin meat forever. Fukushima said she was aware of the high levels of mercury in Japan's dolphins and said she would address the issue and investigate studies made by scientists and environmental groups. ＊Mr. Boyd Harnell is a Japan-based investigative journalist who was given 2006 and 2008 Genesis Awards by The Humane Society of the Uinted States. Please click here to see the reports for The Japan Times.
An interview by Sky-TV's Italian journalist, Mr. Pio D'emilia, with Mr. Boyd Harnell
From the conversation with Mr. Boyd Harnell on November 16, 2009. November 18, 2009 by Masami Mizuguchi (CFT) I had the wonderful opportunity to speak by skype with Mr. Boyd Harnell yesterday.
In our conversation, Mr. Harnell said, "The highest mercury level that was found in one of many tests on dolphin meat was 5,000 times higher than the interim standard of 0.4PPM. Please imagine. Over the last 20 years, 400,000 dolphins were killed and have been traded as meat consumption. Whether the meat has been consumed as food, pet food, food filler, or just been discarded as garbage, all the mercury and other toxic waste were scattered all over the country then accumulated, and will never be disappeared. Some studies even assert there is some risk that the mercury might trigger autism and Asperger syndrome in some children as well as to increase testosterone levels (and aggressiveness) also to damage central nerve system. As a consequence, it could cause arteriosclerosis, immune suppression, high-blood pressure, and Minamata Disease."
We may think we won't be affected if we don't eat dolphins and whales. But that is simply not the case. The toxic waste from 400,000 dolphins (including pilot whales) have been contaminating the environment where we live. Yet dolphin hunting still occurs in 8 prefectures in Japan and the meat is sold legally. The government even permits schools and hospitals to serve the dolphin meat, risking health and safety of children and pregnant women.
To this day, this critical environmental contamination continues to harm our health and the health of our children that come into contact with these foods tainted with mercury.
We will continue to inform you on information related to dolphin hunting, focusing on updated reports from where the hunting is taking place. Since "The Cove" was screened at the Tokyo International Film Festival, dolphin hunting in Japan has been receiving tremendous attention, more than ever, both at home and overseas.
There are many shades of opinions including: high mercury levels in dolphins, dolphin hunting as a Japanese tradition, the practice of eating dolphins as part of Japanese culture - as well as political and emotional reactions that criticize the advocacy against dolphin or whale hunting as "Japan-bashing". Above all these debates, it is very important to question ourselves: how much we are learning about other sentient beings, how we can create a paradigm shift - in a world that supports the consumption of fellow sentient beings - towards a society where we can live sustainably, as a shared-earth species, how we can co-exist without further destroying our environment. And importantly, our grasping the impact from this lifestyle that has selfishly benefitted only us humans. Don't we need to consider these questions very deeply?
October 28th, 2009: Conversation on the phone at 4pm (Japan Time)
"Last week there was a day when about 10-15 pilot whales were herded in the cove and were all killed. I was walking around, went out on the cliff overlooked. From where I was standing, it was difficult to see and the boats were trying to push the whales deeper into the cove. So I could not see well when the whales were being killed.
And there was one whale that I saw, at the end. It was a 'fighter' -- it took the fishermen 10 minutes to kill it. There were 3 little motor boats there and they could not catch it. The animal was swimming everywhere and holding its breath for awhile [staying submerged] -- they need to come to the surface of the water to breath. When it surfaced, I could hear its breath from where I was standing. It was pushed and cornered into the deeper cove where I could no longer see it. Then all of sudden, I heard a big sound like ‘zagg’ [sic]. I was trying to go out to the cliff but the fishermen were blocking my view -- obviously they were trying to hide all the blood in the cove.
Atmosphere in Taiji village: People are very guarded. Any foreigners in town – and people automatically react like with a "why-are-you-here?" - kind of look. I thought there would be many media or advocates here but, actually, there have been none since I came here. I'm alone (to check the situation) - which I was not expecting.
Communication with the people of Taiji is difficult as I don't speak Japanese, and so I can't tell if they still sell any whale meat. People in general, in the village, don’t, but people who are involved to in the dolphin hunting give me the razor-beam stare. The morning when the pilot whales were killed, the angry fishermen were following me. It was scary because you see their faces have lost compassion.
I videotaped and photographed as much as possible even from a far distance. The fishermen were surrounding me but didn't physically try to stop me.
Right now, 15 - 20 pilot whales are in the cove. There might be a few bottlenose dolphins but it seemed like they are all pilot whales. Those pilot whales will be killed tomorrow at dawn."
October 29th, 2009: Conversation on the phone at 3pm (Japan Time)
"By the time I went to the cove in the early morning, the slaughter was already close to the end. I couldn't see anything from where I was but there were about 20 fishermen there. (As there were much fewer fishermen to kill 15-20 pilot whales last time, so there must have been more dolphins or pilot whales this time.)
From up on the cliff where I could see the cove, there were fishermen guarding and blocking. That's the cliff where there are barbwires and today they put more barbwires. When I went there today; I got tangled with my foot and shoe. They have now tied the barbwires on the trees so if people walk fast, they could cut their neck. It's very dangerous place.
This afternoon, I went to the cove and it was empty. I was looking out the shore and I saw this thing sticking out the water. I thought it was a baby pilot whale. As I got closer, it turned out that it's just a very sharp rock. It's so heart breaking. I'm leaving this town and going home tomorrow. It's very quiet today. But it makes me wonder what's going to happen tomorrow. Or the next day. I wish I could just end this cruel hunting.”
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We will work to continue to provide reports on the potential for local eco-tourism and ocean conservation in Taiji and its surrounding areas. We will also introduce scientific reports that examine the potential impacts from the decline of higher-level food-chain predators on the marine ecosystem and its resources.
What kind of marine mammals are pilot whales?
The length of the body is similar to the bottlenose dolphins’ and the head is rounded; in Japanese it is often called "gondo iruka" It is reported that the methyl mercury concentration of the body is the highest among marine mammals and the meat is distributed within Japan as "whale meat". Pilot whales and dolphins are small cetaceans and, thus, they are out of the regulation structure of the International Whaling Commission (IWC). According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), there is the risk for some small cetaceans becoming extinct. Under Japanese law, dolphins and whales are designated as exempted species from the Wildlife Protection and Hunting Law, and they are not under the jurisdiction of the Environment Ministry but rather under the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.
Oceanic Defense and CFT would like to thank everybody who is devoted to the cause and helped us to acquire the information, compile, and to send out this report.
Oceanic Defense is a global organization with members in more than 60 countries spanning 6 continents with 1 mission: Healthy aquatic ecosystems free of human abuse & neglect. The amazing amount of information about marine eco-system that they have been providing everyday through their facebook and website has been great help for us to understand our problems on earth and clarify how to solve them. Please click here for links to websites related the ocean ecosystem and the environment. (Please enjoy some wonderful videos of pilot whales.)
"VegefoodFesta" in Tokyo is coming up on October 17 and 18 October 11, 2009
"VegefoodFesta" is an annual event held at Yoyogi Park since 2003. It is one of the largest vegetarian festivals in Japan. The VFF features a wide variety of vegetarian food, and hosts 100 vendors and exhibitors, including vegetarian, macrobiotic and raw food restaurants, selected organic vegetable vendors and shops handling organic goods.
This Year's Feature: ・Everything will be vegan (no meat, fish, eggs, dairies or honey) ・Veggy Book Fair ・New gathering section "MEETOUT!" for socialization with others ・Artistic decorations ・Kid's Section with picture coloring and others ・Musics and Dances
Date: 2009 Oct 17(Sat) and 18(Sun) Time: 10:00～17:00 Place: Yoyogi Park Keyaki Street(in front of NHK hall) Access 10 mins walk from Shibuya Station 6 mins walk from Harajuku Station 6 mins walk from Meiji-Jingu Mae Station or Yoyogi Koen Station, Tokyo Metro 6 mins walk from Yoyogihachiman Station, Odakyu line
"Meat Free Day" campaign launched in Japan August 23, 2009
According to EDF (Environmental Defense Fund), "If every American skipped one meal of chicken per week and substituted vegetables and grains, for example, the carbon dioxide savings would be the same as taking more than half a million cars off of U.S. roads." This May in Belgium, the city of Ghent has declared Thursdays "Veggie Day" in effort to highlight the environmental and health costs of eating meat. In June, in London, Paul McCartney and his family including Stella McCartney, were joined by Yoko Ono to start the "Meat-Free Mondays" campaign to promote environmental protection. Around the globe including, the United States, Hong Kong, Australia, Canada, Israel, countries in South America and Europe have been promoting the "Meat-Free Day" as a solution to addressing the climate change. Japan has recently joined the "Global Meat Free Petiton" campaign and launched the Japanese petition website.
PETA'S SEXY 'LETTUCE LADIES' BRING VEGETARIAN MESSAGE TO TOKYO Beauties Ask People to 'Save the Planet' by Choosing a Plant-Based Diet Coutesy of PETA Asia-Pacific / August 3, 2009
* Reprinted from PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) News Release
Tokyo — Wearing outfits made from real lettuce leaves and holding signs that read, "Save the Planet. Go Vegetarian," three Lettuce Ladies from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) Asia-Pacific greeted passersby in Shibuya, Tokyo.
Why were PETA's Lettuce Ladies dressing in vegetables? The group wanted to bring a serious issue to the public's attention in a lighthearted way. Besides causing the daily suffering of billions of animals raised and killed for food, consumption of meat and other animal products is the number one cause of climate change and a major contributor to resource depletion, pollution, and even world hunger.
In its report Livestock's Long Shadow: Environmental Issues and Options, the U.N. concluded that raising animals for food generates more greenhouse-gas emissions than all the cars, trucks, SUVs, planes, and boats in the world combined. The report goes on to say that meat is "one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global." Also, feeding, transporting, and slaughtering farmed animals and packaging, transporting, and storing their flesh wastes enormous amounts of energy.
Cows, pigs, chickens, and other animals raised for their flesh are dehorned and debeaked and have their teeth, tails, and testicles cut off—all without painkillers. They are kept in extremely crowded, filthy enclosures and are denied everything that is natural and important to them. At the slaughterhouse, animals are routinely hung upside down, have their throats cut, are skinned, and are scalded to death while still conscious. Half the fish from Japan's coastal waters come from aquafarms, where they are crammed by the thousands into ponds, tanks, or mesh cages that are so small and filthy that they're forced to swim in their own excrement. These crowded, dirty conditions have led to deadly outbreaks of parasites, herpes, and other diseases.
"Meat production has a devastating impact on the environment," says PETA Lettuce Lady Ashley Fruno. "With so many delicious alternatives to meat now available, it's easier than ever to enjoy great food while saving animals and the planet."
For more information, please visit PETAAsiaPacific.com Reference material & photograph by PETA Asia-Pacific
The first Vegan Film Festival in Japan ! "Vegan Film Festival 2009" will be held in Kyoto Interview with Vegan Society of Japan July 8, 2009
The very first vegan film festival in Japan, "Vegan Film Festival 2009", will be held on July 19th in Kyoto. Three important films will be shown including "Devour the Earth" (narrated by Paul McCartney) which has been screened for over a decade as the leading short documentay for people to learn about veganism or vegetarianism. As the film festival is now soon approaching, the Vegan Film Festival 2009 organizer, the Vegan Society of Japan, kindly took a moment to respond to our questions. (The details of the Vegan Film Festival 2009 will follow after the interview.)
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CFT：Could you briefly tell us about your organization?
The Vegan Society of Japan (VSJ)：The Vegan Society of Japan is based on closely the model of the original Vegan Society in the UK which was established in 1944 by conscientious objectors pacifists Donald Watson and Elsie Shrigley.
It is run by vegans in Japan to promote vegan lifestyles. That is, "a way of living that seek to exclude, as far as is possible and practical, all forms of exploitation of animals for food, clothing or any other purpose".
We want to help people become vegans, make life easier for vegans (both Japanese and those foreigners traveling to Japan) and bring together all vegans in Japan to work together.
CFT：Could you briefly tell us the background of how your organization decided to hold Vegan Film Festival?
VSJ：The Vegan Film Festival is a continuation of the work of members in Kyoto who have previously organised the annual vegetarian festival that happens every October. This is our first big public education event.
In japan, the truth is hidden deliberately. We just wanted to give people impartial information and the opportunity to think again about our diet. Of course, if people change toward vegan, we would be so happy but, primarily, it is just so that people know the facts.
A festival style event seemed the most effective way to attract people.
CFT： What kind of messages would you like to convey through Vegan Film Festival?
VSJ：Becoming a vegan is not just about sentimental feelings towards animal.
Japan's diet not only effects the world's environment but is re-shaping it. Our modern, Westernized diet is literally destroying it. For example, overfishing has killed 95 to 99% of some fish species. As 95% of Japan's fish in imported from elsewhere.
Promoting meat and fish industries wastes vast amounts of energy and other scarce resources. They creates equal amounts of pollution which cause further problems. It even means that other human beings are not able to eat their own local foods. We are literally eating our planet, and other human beings, to death. Our own species death.
This pattern, which other countries are also following, is also creating international instability, food, water and energy wars. Following a Westernized diet, Japan has become reliant on imported food causing Westernized illnesses, cancer, allergies, obesity and making it dependent on other countries.
No experts would pretend this can last forever but which experts are offering any sustainable alternatives? Every one is acting if our diet is unconnected to the environment.
We hope to show people how our diet is deeply interconnected to not just animals but the environment, politics even and war. A vegan diet is about coming back into harmony with our environment, creating peace with it and sustainability. This is especially true for Japan as it lacks the land resources of other nations.
People need to know that vegans exists, what it is, why it is important to Japan, and that it is entirely possible to live a happy, healthy life with exploiting animals and the environment.
CFT：Could you tell us your vision for the Film Festival in the future?
VSJ：Our greatest hope is that this inspires young Japanese film and documentary makers to make independent movies about related Japanese issues. And, of course, that makes people think about their diet and become vegetarian or vegan.
Many television companies will not speak the whole truth because they are afraid of losing income from advertisers, many of whom are in the food, and especially junk food, industry; McDonalds etc.
This is our future. Japanese people need to start a serious discussion about these issues now. We are not just talking about an alternative, we are living an alternative. And it is good.
CFT：Could you give a brief message, for CFT users, about your organization and Vegan Film Festival?
VSJ：Will everyone that comes, bring along at least one non-vegetarian or vegan to make them think? Even if they do not become a 100% vegetarian or vegan, that is OK. 95% is good enough for just now! We cannot eat to suit ourselves any more. We have to eat to suit our environment. The dream is over. It has been a nightmare for the other species of life on this planet.
The Vegan Society of Japan is about showing others that there is another way of life that can save our environment. It is the ultimate peace movement.
You cannot hope for peace if you are at war with the environment. You are not at peace, if you are ignoring the war on the environment and other animals.
Future Peace starts on your dinner plate. Start today and join us.
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Vegan Film Festival 2009 Films: "Devour the Earth", "The Story of Livestock" and "The Meatrix" Sunday, July 19, 2009 @Kyoto Shimogyo-ku HITOMACHI Koryu Kaikan Hall Venue open at 1:30pm ~ finishes at 4pm Organiser: Vegan Society of Japan Admission 500 yen Ticket may be available at the door, but reservations are recommended. * Ther will be a discussion: "25 years as a Vegan in the West. Living and Changig for the Animals and Environment" Speaker from London, UK. *For more information and the map of the location, please go toVegan Society of Japan Website.
The End of the Line A Film by Rupert Murray based on a book The End of the Line by Charles Clover June 19, 2009
Excerpt from the Official Website:
The End of the Line, the first major feature documentary film revealing the impact of overfishing on our oceans, had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in the World Cinema Documentary Competition.
~ Imagine a world without fish ~
Scientists predict that if we continue fishing as we are now, we will see the end of most seafood by 2048.
The End of the Line chronicles how demand for cod off the coast of Newfoundland in the early 1990s led to the decimation of the most abundant cod population in the world, how hi-tech fishing vessels leave no escape routes for fish populations and how farmed fish as a solution is a myth.
The film lays the responsibility squarely on consumers who innocently buy endangered fish, politicians who ignore the advice and pleas of scientists, fishermen who break quotas and fish illegally, and the global fishing industry that is slow to react to an impending disaster.
The End of the Line points to solutions that are simple and doable, but political will and activism are crucial to solve this international problem.
Filmed across the world – from the Straits of Gibraltar to the coasts of Senegal and Alaska to the Tokyo fish market – featuring top scientists, indigenous fishermen and fisheries enforcement officials, The End of the Line is a wake-up call to the world.
To find out more about The End of the Line, please go to the official website. For screenings in US and UK please go to the schedule.
(**CFT was honored to interview Ms. Claire Lewis, the producer for the film, while she was visiting New York for the screening. The interview article will be featured on our section People soon.)
We must decide the future of our oceans.
JAVA Campaigning wiith Advocacy Ad in Major Japanese Newspaper
"Save The Rabbits!" (the campaign has been run in English as well)June 5th, 2009, Asahi Newspaper, one of the major Japanese national newspapers, published a paid announcement, in its Tokyo and Osaka editions, requested from an animal protection group, JAVA (NPO Japan Anti-Vivisection Association). The 'advocacy ad' was to explain about tests conducted on animals by major cosmetic companies in Japan, and to ask readers not to purchase products from such companies. In March of this year (2009) the EU banned such animal tests on cosmetics as well as sales of products which contain ingredients that are tested on animals. Many readers responded to JAVA's announcement, which came on the heels of the historic EU ban. According to JAVA, the majority of those who contacted the organization had only just been made aware of such animal testing by reading about it in Asahi. From now on Japanese consumers may start to ask for more information from manufacturers regarding animal testing before purchasing cosmetics.
HOME A Film By Yann Arthus-Bertrand June 5, 2009 The film "Home" can have an impact on the choices we make for tomorrow. Please watch the film by clicking here.
Excerpt:
It is too late to be pessimistic.
Home Is... A hymn for the planet.
HOME is an ode to the planet's beauty and its delicate harmony. Through the landscapes of 54 countries captured from above, Yann Arthus-Bertrand takes us on an unique journey all around the planet, to contemplate it and to understand it. But HOME is more than a documentary with a message, it is a magnificent movie in its own right. Every breathtaking shot shows the Earth - our Earth - as we have never seen it before. Every image shows the Earth's treasures we are destroying and all the wonders we can still preserve. "From the sky, there's less need for explanations". Our vision becomes more immediate, intuitive and emotional. HOME has an impact on anyone who sees it. It awakens in us the awareness that is needed to change the way we see the world. (HOME embraces the major ecological issues that confront us and shows how everything on our planet is interconnected.)
In 200,000 years on Earth, humanity has upset the balance of the planet, established by nearly four billion years of evolution. The price to pay is high, but it is too late to be a pessimist: humanity has barely ten years to reverse the trend, become aware of the full extent of its spoliation of the Earth's riches and change its patterns of consumption.
June 5th 2009, World Environment Day has been chosen as the highly symbolic date for this simultaneous, and free of charge, release on every format: movie theatre, TV, DVD and Internet. The aim of director Yann Arthus-Bertrand, distributor Luc Besson and François-Henri Pinault, chairman and CEO of PPR, the film's official sponsor, is to reach the widest possible audience, and to convince us all of our individual and collective responsibility towards the planet.
If we want to restore the balance to earth, it starts with a greater understanding of our planet.
It is humans that destroyed the harmony of the earth, yet we are the only one who can restore it. Watch it from the air, understand it, and change the pattern of your consumption and those around you.
The music by Armand Amar
To find out more about HOME project, please go to the website of GoodPlanet.org by clicking here.
Turning the Page for Farm Animals By Wayne Pacelle, President and CEO of HSUS Wayne Pacelle A Humane Nation / May 15, 2009 Courtesy of The Humane Society of the United States
Excerpt from PETA News Release:
Yesterday, we had major votes on farm animal welfare issues in California—and with great results, thanks in part to the political message sent by the landslide passage of Prop 2. The California Senate, by a vote of 27-12, approved a bill to ban the painful mutilation procedure of tail docking of dairy cattle—and that’s especially significant because California is the largest dairy state in the nation, with 1.8 million of the nation’s 9 million dairy cows. And the California Assembly passed A.B. 1437, a bill to ban the sale of eggs from battery cage operations, for both humane and health reasons.
Both bills have a ways to go, needing approval by the other legislative chamber and then the governor, but these are exciting advances.
＜Postscript by CFT>
Hello. Thank you for visiting CFT's Changes Around The World.
The places where animals are treated poorly are also where people don't seem to be well and healthy. In the same way that we need to feed clean food with sufficient nutrition to our body to maintain health, our society's health needs to be taken care of as well.
The next Changes Around The World will feature our guide to the petitions that we consider to be the most worthy of your signature. See you again!
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