Celebrate Animal Freedom Day Worldwide

Do you think you can’t possibly give up eating meat?  Nadia Masoudi, a dedicated animal activist would like to challenge your thoughts about going vegan/vegetarian.

The founder of Animal Freedom Day asks you pledge going vegetarian for at least one day of the three day event.  “This day is not just for vegans, vegetarians or animal activists” says Masoudi.  “It is a worldwide celebration; encapsulating people from all walks of life to come together and help our world.”

It’s not just about the inherent animal cruelty involved with factory farming that Masoudi wants you to understand. It is also the negative environmental impact and the effect eating an animal based diet has on human health.  Animal agriculture is so resource-demanding that it will not sustain the earth’s ever-growing human population.  And those who will starve are the people in third world countries.

This year Animal Freedom Day will take place on Saturday, Sunday and Monday July 28-30.  People are encouraged to attend through the live web cam and to pledge to go meat-free for at least one of the three days.

Animal Freedom Day is a global event that aims to raise awareness towards the environmental crisis, human health and animal welfare. It is a day in which people from all walks of life cease to consume animal or animal by-products. It is our goal to gain support to put an end to the slaughtering of animals, animal abuse and the creation of alternative food sources. This event is organized by Hamilton, Ontario, Canada’s Nadia Masoudi, a 19 year old with a passion for the protection of animals everywhere; so much so that she is now directing and producing a major documentary, “Don’t Eat Me”.  Nadia was 18 years old when she founded Animal Freedom Day and continues to work hard to fight for her cause.

Celebrity supporters include Woody Harrelson, Nigel Barker, U.S. Congressman Dennis Kucinich, David Suzuki, George Laraque, No Age rock band and Animal Voices Vancouver radio show.  Some sobering facts about the effect of going vegetarian for just one day are listed on her website, Animal Freedom Day.com:

If everyone went vegetarian just for one day, the U.S. would save:

• 100 billion gallons of water, enough to supply all the homes in New England for almost 4 months;
• 1.5 billion pounds of crops otherwise fed to livestock, enough to feed the state of New Mexico for more than a year;
• 70 million gallons of gas — enough to fuel all the cars of Canada and Mexico combined with plenty to spare;
• 3 million acres of land, an area more than twice the size of Delaware;
• 33 tons of antibiotics.

If everyone went vegetarian just for one day, the U.S. would prevent:

• Greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to 1.2 million tons of CO2, as much as produced by all of France;
• Million tons of soil erosion and $70 million in resulting economic damages;
• 4.5 million tons of animal excrement;
• Almost 7 tons of ammonia emissions, a major air pollutant.

Fueled by her concern about animal welfare, Masoudi is making a documentary film aptly titled “Don’t Eat Me.”  The film is now in post-production with an expected release date coming this year.  Watch a sneak peek of Don’t Eat Me.

Is Your Interest Piqued?

The following list is Nadia’s ten recommendations for participating in Animal Freedom Day:

• No Eating Meat – No red meat, poultry, fish/seafood, milk, eggs or animal bi-products.
  (Minimum) 1 Million Participants
• No Animal Slaughter
  (Minimum) 10 Slaughterhouses
• No Animal Hunting
  (Minimum) 10 Sport Hunt Zones
• No Animal Clothing – No suede, leather, fur, wool or silks should be worn.
  (Minimum) 1 Million Participants
• Animal Adoption – Visit a local shelter to adopt an animal and provide them with a loving home.
  (Minimum) 100,000 Participants
• No Animal testing – Refrain from using animals for testing and use products that are not tested on animals.
  (Minimum) 1 Million Participants
• Animal Spay/Neuter – Spay and neuter your pets.
  (Minimum) 50,000 Participants
• No Fishing
  (Minimum) 1 Million Participants
• No Animal Entertainment – Don’t support events/shows/programs that involve using animals for entertainment.
  (Minimum) 1 Million Participants
• To create and ensure the passage of legislation for world governments of all levels to halt the advertisements of raw flesh/meat as marketing images for commercial producers

What You Can Do

• Sign up for Animal Freedom Day
• Bookmark the live web stream and join in
• Sign the Care2 petition pledging to go meat free for one day
• Like on Facebook
• Follow on Twitter
• Spread the word to all your friends and family

Related Reading:

Young Activist Creates Animal Freedom Day

The Importance of Being Vegan

Is Meat the World’s Most Inefficient Food?

To be a Feminist is to be a Vegan