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Handsworth student wins award for Meatless Monday efforts

Handsworth Secondary student, Meghan Little, was recently presented with a Student Recognition Award for her efforts to bring Meatless Monday to her school. Meghan’s peers and teachers nominated her for the award and even put together a video highlighting her work. The Vancouver Humane Society (VHS) was honoured to be in attendance at the awards ceremony to celebrate Meghan’s success.

VHS Program Coordinator, Emily Pickett, first met Meghan at Handsworth’s Be Aware Fair, where VHS was tabling and talking to students about our Meatless Monday program. Meghan was keen to bring the initiative to Handsworth and so she worked with VHS, the school’s Environmental Club (of which she was a member) and the food service provider to get more veg options on the menu.

Handsworth’s Meatless Monday initiative was successfully launched on November 20, 2017 and Meghan and fellow Environmental Club members have been raising awareness of the benefits of going meatless and encouraging students and staff to opt for the Meatless Monday special ever since!

Meghan’s leadership and dedication to protecting animal welfare, the environment and public health were instrumental in improving student access to plant-based foods at multiple North Vancouver secondary schools. Meghan’s efforts inspired students at other schools to get involved and ultimately helped contribute to the recent commitment by local food service provider, Amaga Food, to expand on Meatless Monday by transitioning 20 per cent of the regular menu to plant-based at five North Vancouver secondary schools (Handsworth, Sutherland, Argyle, Windsor and Seycove secondary), starting this fall. This means students and staff will have access to humane, healthy and sustainable plant-based options every day!

“It’s exciting to see all the positive changes at Handsworth,” said Meghan. “The 20 per cent increase in plant-based options shows how open our community is to change and progress. I’m hoping our efforts for Meatless Monday will inspire other students to follow their passions and to make positive changes as well.”

This achievement would not have been possible without the help of Meghan, Handsworth’s Environmental Club and the incredibly dedicated students involved at the other participating North Vancouver secondary schools. As a grade 12 graduate, Meghan leaves behind a meaningful and inspirational legacy at Handsworth and is excited to attend the University of British Columbia in the fall, where we look forward to continuing to support her efforts to spread the “go veg” message!

Learn more about Meatless Monday and donate today to help us improve access to plant-based options at more schools and institutions.

You can also check out a recent feature on Meghan’s efforts in the North Shore News!

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What the Chilliwack Fair could learn from other country fairs


Facts show country fairs are successful without cruel rodeo events

The Chilliwack Fair refuses to eliminate cruel rodeo events, stubbornly ignoring all the moral arguments and photographic evidence showing that its annual rodeo causes animal suffering.

The fair, operated by the Chilliwack Agricultural Society, has ignored pleas from VHS, the BC SPCA, the Canadian Federation of Humane Societies (Humane Canada) and Animal Justice.  They have ignored polls showing that 66 per cent of B.C. residents are opposed to rodeos. 

The fair doesn’t seem to care about animal welfare, but are they interested in being successful?  Here’s what happened to some other B.C. country fairs when they agreed to drop or curtail rodeo events.

After a campaign by VHS and Victoria Citizens Against Rodeo Events, the Luxton Fair on Vancouver Island cancelled its rodeo in 2015.  Fears were expressed at the time that the fair would not survive without the rodeo.  But that’s not what happened. The fair not only survived – it thrived. In 2017, a local newspaper quoted a fair organizer saying that despite the lack of a rodeo, “we’re still getting good crowds.”

The same thing happened when the Abbotsford Agrifair cancelled its rodeo in 2016. (also after a VHS campaign).  The Abbotsford News reported that attendance went up after the rodeo was cancelled.

After a long campaign by VHS, the Cloverdale Rodeo and Country Fair dropped four of the worst rodeo events (calf-roping, steer-wrestling, team-roping and wild cow-milking) in 2007.  Again, there were predictions that the fair would suffer. Instead, attendance at the fair has gone from 81,000 in 2004 to 110,000 in 2018 (36%). During the same period, attendance at the remaining rodeo portion of the fair has only increased from19,500 to 21,000 (8%).

The message is clear: Country fairs don’t need cruel rodeo events to be successful.  It’s a message the Chilliwack Fair would be foolish to ignore. 

TAKE ACTION: If you haven’t already done so, please join our effort to convince the Chilliwack Fair’s sponsors to take a stand against rodeo cruelty.

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Ditch dairy for these great alternatives

In an effort to promote the consumption of dairy products, the dairy industry has dubbed June “National Dairy Month”. But with milk consumption steadily declining in Canada and more people embracing healthier, humane and less resource-intensive dairy alternatives, we prefer to celebrate June as “National Dairy-Free Month”.

In the last few years the variety of dairy-free products on grocery store shelves has grown significantly, including almond, soy, coconut, pea and oat milks and creamers and dairy-free butters, sour cream, cheeses, ice creams and yogurts.

A number of factors have contributed to the growing demand for dairy alternatives, including increased public awareness of both animal welfare and environmental issues related to the dairy industry, as well as a growing body of scientific evidence that questions the industry’s health claims.

Take the Chilliwack Cattle Sales cruelty case as an example. Chilliwack Cattle Sales is one of Canada’s largest dairy farms and a major supplier to Dairyland. In 2014 an undercover investigation revealed horrendous acts of animal cruelty taking place on the farm. While the farm’s owners claimed to have no knowledge of the abuse and suggested it was not reflective of their company’s standards, the undercover investigator repeatedly reported concerns to the owners and no corrective action was taken. In addition, a lawyer for one of the workers charged painted a picture of a “toxic” work culture at Chilliwack Cattle Sales and the same farm had also previously been investigated for animal welfare issues back in 2008.

Time and again, undercover investigations have shed light on what is a systemic culture of cruelty within today’s animal agriculture industry.  Meanwhile, animal welfare is routinely compromised through standard practices in dairy farming. B.C. Milk Marketing Board inspection documents over an 18-month period revealed that one in four farms in the province failed to comply with the provincial animal-welfare Code of Practice. Starting in January, 2015, the inspections revealed cases of overcrowding, lame or soiled cattle, tails torn off by machinery, branding and dehorning of calves without pain medication, and cows lying on concrete. 20 of 73 farms, or 27 per cent, required “corrective action” after on-site inspections. About 10 per cent were still not compliant on a follow-up inspection. Another inherent issue with this industry is the separation of dairy calves from their mothers in order to collect the milk for human consumption.

It’s no wonder that consumers are increasingly dropping dairy and instead opting for alternatives. So, in honour of “National Dairy-Free Month”, we’d like to highlight just a few of our favourite dairy alternatives:

Milks & Creamers

Cheese

Ice Cream

Yogurt

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New bus ad reminds us that animals are friends, not food

VHS’s new Translink bus ad highlighting our Go Veg campaign recently hit the streets of Vancouver. The ad, which features a young girl petting a pig, aims to remind us that when we were children we instinctively saw animals as friends and not food.

VHS’s Go Veg campaign works to help people rediscover that innate love for animals and to raise awareness of the power behind what we put on our plate.
In 2017, over 800 million land animals were killed for food in Canada. They are crammed, shackled and caged in filthy conditions that don’t permit them to perform the most basic natural behaviours. Most will never feel the sun on their backs or grass under their feet and their transport and slaughter conditions are equally horrific.

Every time we sit down to eat, we have an opportunity to stand up for a kinder world for animals. By choosing to leave animal products off our plates we’re helping to reduce the demand for meat that drives factory farming and we’re setting a positive example for others. You can download our Live Well booklet to learn more and get free vegan recipes.

French Toast Coffee Cake, Mac & Cheese Onion Rings, and Stuffed Crust Pizza – sound delicious?! These are just a few of the 101 recipes featured in Lauren Toyota’s new “Vegan Comfort Classics” cookbook. Help us spread the “go veg” message and you’ll be entered for a chance to win Lauren’s new cookbook! Keep an eye out for our bus ad, take a photo and post it to Facebook, Instagram or Twitter and tag VHS. Use the hashtag #govegvancouver and we’ll select a winner at random.

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Earth Day: Go plant-based for the planet

Today marks the 48th annual Earth Day celebration and around the world events and efforts will be taking place to draw attention to the need for stronger environmental protections.

As the global community reflects today on the increasingly sensitive state of the planet and what role we as individuals can play in tackling what can sometimes feel like an overwhelming issue, it’s important to remember that every time we sit down to eat, we have an opportunity to stand up for a better world.

Animal agriculture has been identified as a leading contributor not only to climate change, but to air and water pollution, water use, land degradation, deforestation and biodiversity decline.

In fact, animal agriculture is responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions than the entire global transportation sector. This is because animal-based foods are incredibly inefficient to produce and are very resource-intensive. The processes involved when it comes to raising, transporting and slaughtering animals for food are responsible for potent greenhouse gas emissions including carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. To put this in perspective, beef production requires 20 times more land and emits 20 times more greenhouse gas emissions per unit of edible protein than common plant-based protein sources such as beans, peas and lentils.[1]

The production of animal-based foods also requires and pollutes large amounts of water. Agriculture accounts for 92% of our global freshwater footprint; approximately one third relates to animal products.[2] The water footprint per gram of protein for milk, eggs and chicken is approximately 1.5 times larger than for pulses (beans, lentils, peas). For beef, it is six times larger than for pulses.[3] The sheer volume of animal waste, along with fertilizers and pesticides used for feed crops, as well as hormones and antibiotics used on livestock create major water pollution issues. These pollutants seep into waterways, threatening water quality, ecosystems and animal and human health.[4]

Meanwhile, animal agriculture is a key contributor to land degradation and deforestation, with one-quarter of the earth’s land surface (excluding Antarctica) being used as pastureland. [5] The conversion of natural habitat to accommodate livestock and feed crops puts immense pressure on wildlife that struggle to survive in increasingly fragmented and degraded environments. Ineffective and ill-informed cull programs put additional pressure on predator populations, due to the perceived threat they pose to livestock profits.

While our diet can be a major part of the problem when it comes to protecting the planet, that also means it is a crucial part of the solution. A 2016 Oxford Martin School study found that the adoption of global dietary guidelines would cut food-related emissions by 29%, vegetarian diets by 63%, and vegan diets by 70%.[6] By reducing and eliminating resource-intensive animal products from our diet and supporting efforts to make more sustainable plant-based foods widely accessible, we can drastically decrease our individual and societal environmental footprints.

This Earth Day, join the growing number of people around the world who are recognizing the power behind what we put on our plate. Take our Meatless Monday pledge for recipe ideas and download our Live Well booklet to learn more about a plant-based diet. You can also support VHS’s efforts to introduce more healthy, humane and sustainable plant-based menu options in schools and other institutions.

[1] http://www.wri.org/blog/2016/04/sustainable-diets-what-you-need-know-12-charts

[2] http://waterfootprint.org/media/downloads/Gerbens-et-al-2013-waterfootprint-poultry-pork-beef_1.pdf

[3] http://waterfootprint.org/en/water-footprint/product-water-footprint/water-footprint-crop-and-animal-products/

[4] http://www.fao.org/3/a-i7754e.pdf

[5] http://www.wri.org/blog/2016/04/sustainable-diets-what-you-need-know-12-charts

[6] https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/news/201603_Plant_based_diets

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Meatless Monday is on the menu at Kwantlen Polytechnic

Kwantlen Polytechnic University’s food service provider, Sodexo, and the school’s “Let’s Be Compassionate” club recently joined forces to raise awareness of the University’s involvement in the increasingly popular Meatless Monday movement.

The two groups organized a Meatless Monday outreach event at the Surrey campus, where they distributed information about the benefits of a plant-based diet and samples of the cafeteria’s Meatless Monday options. Students who stopped by the table were able to sample wraps, chili, 3-bean soup and hummus with pita chips and learn about how a plant-based diet helps tackle factory farming and climate change, while also protecting against preventable health conditions like heart disease, stroke, cancer, and diabetes.

“Being able to educate and share information about veganism, plant-based eating and animal welfare with the students at Kwantlen has been a really positive experience so far,” said club member, Sasha. “One of the greatest parts of promoting a plant-based diet is the satisfied and surprised look on people’s faces when they try the samples. We’re helping show them that meals without meat can taste even better and that eliminating meat from their diet one day a week can easily turn into seven days a week!”

A recent survey by Dalhousie University revealed similar enthusiasm for meat reduction, with nearly 40% of British Columbians 35 and under indicating they follow a vegetarian or vegan diet. The national survey also suggested that British Columbia is leading the way when it comes to eating meatless.

“Skipping meat one day a week is good for you and better for the planet,” said Sodexo Marketing Coordinator, Colleen Dang-Wong. “Together with the Let’s Be Compassionate Club, we can educate our campus community on the benefits of plant-based eating and what we offer on campus to support this global initiative.”

Kwantlen joins 16 other Metro Vancouver secondary and post-secondary schools that are participating in Meatless Monday. In addition to the items sampled during the outreach event, other meatless menu options include a veggie burger (which can be made vegan), as well as grab and go vegan salad options.

Follow Kwantlen’s lead by pledging to go meatless on Mondays and we’ll send you a weekly recipe to help you along! Check out meatlessmonday.ca to learn more and to support our effort to bring the initiative to more classrooms, cafeterias and communities. Interested in bringing Meatless Monday to your school, workplace or community? Get in touch with Program Coordinator, Emily Pickett, to learn more.

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This is a happy ending that will warm your heart!

Ozzie recovering at home

Ozzie is a sweet young ginger boy who stole Trasi’s heart when she met him at a shelter. She adopted him on the spot and couldn’t wait to get him home!

The two-year-old cat loved his new home. After a few months, Trasi decided to let him enjoy the outdoors by taking him out on a harness. One day while out for a stroll, he was startled by a loud noise – causing him to suddenly back out of the harness and disappear!

Trasi was devastated. She did everything she could – checked shelters, put up posters, put lost notices on every single website she could think of. Finally, after he’d been missing for a month, she started getting calls from people in the neighbourhood who thought they had seen him. She knew she’d have to set a humane trap, so she called VHS.

VHS lent her a trap, but more importantly, we contacted our cat expert, June, a former VHS director who still manages our emergency veterinary care fund (the McVitie Fund). I have known June for over twenty years, and I don’t know anyone who has a store of knowledge about such things as her.

Trasi diligently followed June’s advice by setting the trap, monitoring it from a short distance whenever it was set, and being prepared to release any other creature that may inadvertently be caught. She soon realized that the sightings had been a neighbourhood ginger cat and Ozzie was nowhere in the area. She was heartbroken, and reluctantly decided to abandon her vigil.

Then her luck changed!  She received a call from someone in Marpole who had found a ginger cat whose microchip traced back to Trasi’s contact information!!! Ozzie had wandered into someone’s back yard weak and starving, and desperate for food, had followed his rescuer right into the house.

Trasi was overjoyed! Ozzie had lost 60% of his body weight and was famished, and his claws were worn down to nubs, indicating he had been trapped somewhere at some point.  But otherwise he seemed unharmed. She immediately took him to the vet, where he underwent a thorough exam, including blood work. He’s anemic and will need follow-up testing, but day by day he is gradually resuming his previous mischievous behaviour!

Although VHS’s trap didn’t prove successful in helping Ozzie get back to his home, his guardian cited June with keeping her positive with support and encouragement through the entire process. Ozzie had wandered from Kerrisdale all the way to 68th Ave. in Marpole, a truly incredible distance.

Needless to say, the microchip was key in reuniting Trasi and Ozzie. Cats and dogs should always have this form of ID! VHS also recommends a collar and tag with, most importantly, a phone number, as well as a clear ear tattoo, as close as possible to the top of the ear. This increases the chances three-fold that a lost companion animal can be reunited with their guardian. As well, people should be aware that harnesses are not escape-proof. We (and Trasi) think that they’re risky and there are safer ways to enrich a cat’s environment.

This has been a wonderful Christmas for Ozzie and Trasi. They ask that in honour of Ozzie, VHS donors support the McVitie Fund for needy animals. Right now, your donation will be doubled by a generous anonymous supporter who has issued a $20,000 challenge!! We have already reached nearly $15,000 – only another $5,000 to go and the amount will be doubled to $40,000! Ozzie doesn’t need it, but many other animals do – we’ve already had three calls for help this week, including one about a beautiful nine-year-old dog who was hit by a car. Please help us if you can!!

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Helping animals on Giving Tuesday

Garth is one of the newest (and youngest!) animals at The Happy Herd Farm Sancturary. He’s someone, not something. That’s why VHS promotes a plant-based diet and cruelty-free living.

 

Making life better for animals now and in the future

On November 28, the Vancouver Humane Society (VHS) and The Happy Herd partnered for Giving Tuesday to raise $10,000 to help rescued farmed animals and to fight factory farming by promoting cruelty-free living. 

Thank you to everyone who donated toward our campaign, to our generous matching gift sponsors, Lisa Kramer and Mark Kamstra, and for each of the partner businesses who supported us by raising funds for this campaign. Be sure to check out our complete list of Giving Tuesday partners and show your support for these compassionate businesses that give back to our community!

At The Happy Herd Farm Sanctuary in Aldergrove, B.C., animals are treated with compassion, not as the exploitable commodities we see on industrialized farms.  When animals are seen as valued, sentient beings it’s clear each one is  “someone, not something.” So shouldn’t we treat them accordingly?

That’s the question that underpins VHS’s campaigns for cruelty-free living. VHS volunteers are out on the streets and at events distributing our Go Veg booklet to thousands of people who want to live more compassionately.  More people are joining our Go Veg Campaign and our Meatless Monday program every day and we’re helping schools, hospitals and businesses increase their offering of humane, sustainable and healthy plant-based dishes. Every year our bus ads prod the consciences of Vancouverites, asking why we treat some animals as friends and others as food.  Together we are changing hearts and minds. Thank you for your support!

 

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Call for a complete ban on BC’s grizzly bear hunt

Have your say on trophy hunting of B.C.’s grizzly bears

On August 14, 2017, the B.C. government announced that effective Nov. 30, 2017, it will end the trophy hunting of grizzly bears province-wide and stop all hunting of grizzly bears in the Great Bear Rainforest.

While VHS welcomes the effort to end B.C.’s notorious trophy hunt, we have serious concerns about a proposed regulation that would allow grizzlies to be hunted for meat throughout the rest of the province. This would create a loophole that would allow the trophy hunt to continue under the guise of a meat hunt.  

Grizzlies are considered a vulnerable species and a new report from B.C.’s auditor general found that the provincial government has not fulfilled long-standing commitments for managing grizzly bears. This report underscores the importance that now, more than ever, we need to end the grizzly bear hunt in its entirety if we want to help alleviate the pressures facing this keystone species. 

The province is seeking feedback from the public regarding the proposed grizzly bear hunting regulations. Comments can be sent to grizzly.bear@gov.bc.ca and the deadline is Nov. 2, 2017.

VHS is calling for a complete ban on all grizzly hunting across the province, as outlined in our submission to the Fish and Wildlife Branch. Please feel free to use our submission to guide your own.

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Meatless Monday is on the move

Meatless Monday at Langara College.

Mark May 15th in your calendars! In an effort to raise awareness of the links between diet, the environment, health and animal welfare, Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson has proclaimed Monday May 15th, 2017 to be Meatless Monday.

The globally popular movement, aimed at increasing awareness about the impact of our food choices and improving access to humane, healthy and sustainable food options, has been gaining popularity in Metro Vancouver. To date, ten schools have embraced the “once a week, cut the meat” message, with the most recent being Sutherland Secondary in North Vancouver. Sutherland launched their cafeteria campaign with the leadership of their new Meatless Monday club, comprising students who are passionate about the impact eating meatless has on pressing issues like factory farming, climate change and individual and public health.

Sutherland’s Meatless Monday club got its start after students learned that Capilano University was implementing the meat reduction initiative with support from VHS. Program Coordinator, Emily Pickett, was thrilled to help Sutherland’s Meatless Monday club bring the campaign to their cafeteria. Just a couple of months in and the club has worked closely with food service provider, Amaga Foods, to add and promote delicious menu items like Mexican bean burritos, Mediterranean chickpea salad, tofu fried rice and lentil vegetable curry with rice.

Sutherland Secondary launches Meatless Monday

“Our club does regular outreach in our school’s cafeteria to help raise awareness of Meatless Monday, the benefits of participating and what meatless options are on the menu, “ says club organizers Naiara Peruchena and Shiqi Xu. “We are thrilled to see sales of the meatless Monday special steadily increase and we think this initiative is important for helping students become more aware of what’s on their plate and the impact that has beyond their plate.”

But it’s not just schools who are getting on board, Cabrito, a Spanish tapas restaurant on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive, also recently embraced Meatless Monday. Jamie Stolar, Cabrito’s general manager, says the idea emerged from a mix of reasons. “We love the idea of being able to encourage people that aren’t vegan or vegetarian that even choosing one day a week to eat meet free can make a difference.”

Cabrito’s Meatless Monday offer includes a sampler of the three items for $19, allowing diners to try a few different items for a great value and still leave full. Currently, both vegetarian and vegan options are available, but Stolar say the focus will be “100 per cent vegan going forward.”

Cabrito’s Roasted vegetable sliders

Stolar thinks Meatless Monday has lots of potential, given Vancouver’s veg-friendly nature. “It would be really cool to see more restaurants join the movement as it’s such a great way to educate people and get them to start thinking about what they are consuming. It leaves them with ideas that they can incorporate into their daily lives.”

The Mayor’s May 15th Meatless Monday proclamation is not only a great show of support for the local schools, businesses and individuals who have already embraced Meatless Monday, but it may be just the type of encouragement needed to take Meatless Monday to the next level!

VHS has invited other Lower Mainland municipalities to follow Vancouver’s lead and pass similar proclamations in solidarity and is encouraging citizens, schools, businesses and the community as a whole to embrace plant-based eating on Monday, May 15th (and every Monday moving forward)! Get in touch with Program Coordinator, Emily Pickett, to learn more and get involved.