Campania – «We have a non-judgmental approach to the problem, we do not, as expected, violently insult people or demand who knows what. What we ask for is systemic change: the basis for us is to provide information; we ask those who have the power to change things, both individual citizens and government leaders, to encourage a change in nutrition by highlighting not the precarious conditions of animals but also the negative contribution that intensive farming has on our Earth”.
Today with us are Alessandra and Francesco, two activists who represent the Animal Save Movement of Naples and Salerno respectively. With them we explore their motivations, the challenges they face on a daily basis and the hopes they have for the future. We discover how their local actions intertwine with big global issues, offering a unique perspective on how diverse communities can join forces for a common goal.
THE STORY OF ANIMAL SAVE MOVEMENT
The Animal Save Movement was founded in 2010 in Toronto, Canada, by Anita Krajnc, an animal rights activist and environmentalist. The spark that led to the founding of the movement was a strong awareness of the suffering of animals destined for the food industry and the devastating impact of this industry on the environment. Anita Krajnc began organizing weekly vigils outside Toronto slaughterhouses to give visibility to the conditions of the animals transported to slaughter.
These vigils, characterized by a compassionate and nonviolent attitude, aimed to bear witness and document animal suffering, raising awareness and encouraging change through empathy and information. The movement quickly spread globally, inspiring the creation of similar groups in many other cities and countries. Each local group is committed to holding vigils and organizing educational events to promote respect and animal rights.as well as raising awareness of the environmental issues related to industrial meat production.
Today the Animal Save Movement is an international network that includes the Climate Save Movement and the Health Save Movementthus extending its mission to a broader range of interconnected issues affecting human health, climate justice and animal protection.
ACTIVIST TESTIMONIALS: THE VOICE OF ANIMALS AND THE PLANET
It is convenient to think that animals and nature in general do not suffer, yet this is not the case. And although the connection between nature and human spirituality has been a topic heard for millennia, for us Westerners it remains a taboo: we like to think that the human being is at the center of everything and that other species are simply inferior to ours and that must act as a supply or relief valve.
«Supporting global campaigns does not mean abandoning the territory, quite the opposite in fact. We see in the examples that come to us from other parts of the world a greater input to focus and fight for local problems. The basis from which we start is the anti-speciesist theme, the fight therefore for the recognition of the balance between species. Intensive animal farming also has a strong impact on the soil: particularly in the provinces of Naples and Salerno throughout the year there are countless discoveries of carcasses and zootechnical remains.”
What Alessandra, Francesco and all their fellow Animal Save Movement activists focus on is information: they often go to schools to talk about the impacts of farmingdiscussing the problems not only on a terrestrial level but also on an aquatic level, where fish are stuffed with antibiotics to fatten up and be ready for consumption. “Ours is a nonviolent action and the activities we practice to involve more and more people concern events in the territory, screenings of documentaries and webinars open to the public in which we discuss the problem”.
What we ask for is an awareness
For a few months now, the two groups, Salerno Animal Save Movement and Napoli Animal Save Movement, have also joined forces to have a greater visual impact. “Our group not only wants systemic change, but also wants to create a community. Our aim is to create a Socratic approach to the problem, that is, to walk a path with those who follow us through which they become aware of the problem and decide autonomously which attitude is most appropriate to use. We try to lead the individual citizen to delve into certain issues and discuss them. What we ask for is an awareness».
THE PLANT BASED TREATY
The Plant Based Treaty is a global initiative that aims to promote a sustainable food system and reduce the environmental impact of food production through the spread of plant-based diets. Inspired by the Paris Agreement on climate change, this treaty seeks to address the climate crisis, biodiversity loss, and food justice issues by focusing on transforming eating habits.
However, the Plant Based Treaty, which involves governments, non-governmental organizations, local communities and individuals, is currently a flop. Giuseppe from Animal Save Movement Salerno explains why: «The treaty aims to reconvert the current food system which is based on animal proteins in a system based on plant proteins. This because? In recent years, after the Paris Agreement, there has been increasing awareness that a fight against climate problems is indispensable.”
«The ever-increasing periods of drought in some areas of the world and floods in others, the melting of glaciers, the depletion of seas and fresh waters, the destruction of the earth’s habitats are contributing to the climate crisis. And it is precisely after the treaty that the Climate branch of our movement was born: everything is closely related. Greta Thunberg’s militancy is certainly also an accomplice, as she has brought the problem of the climate crisis to every level of our society.”
EDUCATION AND AWARENESS: ANIMAL SAVE MOVEMENT ADVICE
«We often find ourselves fighting and feeling attacked for choices that are not ours, see the deforestation in the Amazon to favor soya cultivation. The problem is that we are not always aware and knowledgeable of certain factors: for example livestock farming favors the pollution of aquifers and with them the earth. This because? This happens when the breeder on duty does not respect the regulations which, I repeat, we do not write”, underlines Giuseppe of Animal Save Movement.
«Just as it’s not our fault if there is an island of plastic in the Pacific Ocean. We simply make people aware of how our daily choices are having such a huge impact on the entire planet. Almost 50% of the plastic island is made up of fishing gear and the abandonment of ghost nets is increasingly monitored because there are more and more findings, even along our coasts, of turtles, dolphins and cetaceans in general trapped in them”.
In recent weeks we have had the opportunity to delve deeper into the topic by speaking with the Fondalicampania association, which personally supervises the waters and seabeds of the Neapolitan coast. «It is not enough to choose paper instead of plastic: the change must be greater, albeit slow. We need to realize that we may be at a point of no return», conclude Francesco and Alessandra, both Animal Save Movement activists.
«We are convinced that there can be no liberation if there is no freedom for everyone. All routes are interconnected in our view: we must free women from patriarchy, we must free the human race from the capitalism of the rich and the white man, we must free animals from the speciesist conception. All these struggles are our struggles.”
A DIFFERENT WORLD IS POSSIBLE AND ANIMAL SAVE MOVEMENT BELIEVES IN IT
«Saving animals doesn’t mean paying for them: we don’t buy them and then set them free. Through dialogue and raising awareness of those who own the animals at that moment, we are able to take them away from their destiny of death. Both on farms and in slaughterhouses. Over the years we have freed many animals, few compared to those that die every day in the world, but it is a way to make it clear that we are there. We are always here”, underlines Alessandra of Naples Animal Save Movement “It is complex to do activism, but we believe in the union and correlation of the various problems and injustices in the world».
What struck me most about Alessandra and Francesco Animal Save Movement was the awareness that the process of conversion to a completely plant-based world is long and tortuous, but not impossible. «Activism means following the laws and still having respect for the work of others. What we do or try to do is simply involve others in the culture of the possible“. There is a second way and we must fight to pursue and follow it. “There are still many flaws in our system, but we trust that things can improve in the future. Food choices as well as our habits can and must be changed.” We do not have a spare planet.
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