As another week begins, I’d like to thank everyone who sent such a resounding message to the UK Government over the news that 30 or so British egg producers were failing to comply with the ban on battery cages. This is despite repeated assurances from the UK egg industry that it was ready for the long-awaited barren cage ban that came in on New Year’s Day. Over 11,000 people took action in just two days! Thank you so much.
Last week seemed like a whirl! It came off the back of a planning trip to New York. It started with a catch up with the Tubney Charitable Trust, the wonderful organization that has given game-changing support to Compassion’s work with food companies and our European campaigning. Then it was deep into budget meetings with my senior team ahead of our next trustee’s meeting.
Mid-week saw me writing for my book on the future of food before brainstorming with Roland Bonney, director of the Food Animal Initiative (FAI) in Oxford. FAI is dedicated to developing practical and economic farming systems that treat animals better.
Thursday, a five-year planning session with my home team was followed by a highly engaging two hour session in Devon. I was at the Duchy College rural leadership course at Dartington Hall. I led a two-hour session with about twenty future leaders of the farming community on how to feed a growing population humanely and sustainably. I made the case for why factory farming and so-called ‘sustainable intensification’ were far from sustainable. That returning farm animals to the land and cutting down on the huge food waste inherent in intensive livestock rearing were the ways forward. That we needed effective food production, rather than the current scenario worldwide, where nearly half the food produced never reaches a human mouth. More in future posts…
Friday saw me on a permanently housed dairy in Somerset talking about the future of dairying. It was a great opportunity to share perspectives and learn more. There is much we still need to do to ensure that, during the grazing season, cows are kept in fields where they belong.
A brief stop for coffee, cake and conversation with one of our major supporters rounded off a week on the road. On Saturday, I was delighted to collect Helen, my wife, from hospital after a ten-day stay. Today, we’ll be with our adopted hens before the next week begins.
I have a tee shirt in Australia that reads If a robin redbreast in a cage,Puts all heaven in a rage,How feels heaven when,Dies the millionth battery hen?-Spike Milligan.
“Cage Eggs Are A Life Sentence.” I have this on my Animals Australia tee shirt.