Guest guest Posted January 29, 2007 Report Share Posted January 29, 2007 By Adrienne Bulger / Staff Writer MONDAY, JANUARY 29, 2007 Photo by MCT One topic of the forum was vegan and vegetarian diets. Campus Life, student government, Students for Animal Right and Southeastern Michigan Animal Rights Team (S.M.A.R.T.) were the hosts of a forum on Tuesday in the auditorium of Eastern Michigan's Student Center. The guest speaker, farmer Harold Brown, invited the audience into the world of industrial farming explaining its affects on the environment, public health and ethics on animal treatment. The presentation also focused on what it means to be vegan and vegetarian and to be conscious of the treatment animals receive on industrialized farms. Many of the attendees were vegan or thought about becoming vegans, because of the unfair treatment of animals. Thomas Progar, president of Students for Animal Rights said, "I grew up a meet eater and my brother was a vegetarian. Over the years I was exposed to literature and videos understanding that pigs and cows feel pain, suffering and enjoyment. I was perplexed to see that people spend money to take care of house pets but didn't care about farm animals." Brown grew up a fifth generation farmer in Central Michigan with three years experience in the dairy industry. Harold, once a meat-eater, later became vegan. He has been an animal activist for six years. Brown is the outreach coordinator for Farm Sanctuary, and was featured in the documentary "Peaceable Kingdom," a short film produced by Farm Sanctuary exposed the inhumane treatment of chickens, cows and other farm animals. The film was shown before Brown spoke. "After tonight's presentation I'm going to cut down on eating meat as much as I can," Emily Mayberry, an EMU student, said. According to Brown, industrialized farming has a direct negative impact on the environment. The amount of water it takes to run an industrialized farm is a key point he focused on. "Only 30 percent of the cow is used whole, the other 70 percent is used for ground meat and leather," Brown said. "Factory faming is the biggest problem. The best thing people should do is go vegan. It helps animals, the environment and your health," Kelly Marshall, founder of S.M.A.R.T., said. Marshall became vegan in 1989 after she learned the truth about animal testing. EMU student Stephanie Matthews said, "Knowing what I know, I now feel obligated to do something.Support local independent farms; it's the Hundred-Mile Movement," Brown said. "We need to step out of line and educate ourselves," he added. According to http://100milediet.org/, there is a diet called the 100-Mile Diet that requires people following the diet to only eat food that comes within a 100-mile radius from where they live. "Just because I'm not killing the animal doesn't mean they aren't still living in a torturous condition," Jennifer Jary, vice president of Students for Animal Rights, said. Peter H New Mail is the ultimate force in competitive emailing. Find out more at the Mail Championships. Plus: play games and win prizes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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