SO WHAT ARE CHICKEN NUGGETS?

The scraps of meat and sinew adhering to the bones of slaughtered chickens are blasted with high pressure water. The resulting slurry is strained through a mesh. After that it is bound together with gums, flavoured sugar and artificial chemicals. It is then wrapped in bread crumbs, heated up and served as nuggets!

YIV WORK RECOGNISED Gujarat Samachar publications presented me with a, Sanskar Garima award on 28th January 2006. This award was in recognition of our work in promoting vegetarianism and Indian culture.

FOOD STANDARDS AGENCY The FSA organised a stakeholders' meeting in October 2004 to discuss the labeling of foods suitable for vegetarians and vegans. Despite very strong representations by Hindu and Jain groups that eggs should not be considered vegetarian, the FSA has included eggs as vegetarian! the FSA position is only a recommendation and is not legally binding. We will continue pressing the FSA to exclude eggs from the definition of vegetarian. Meanwhile vegetarians should look for, ‘Vegan’ labels to be absolutely sure that there are no animal products.

DIWALI WITHOUT FIREWORKS! Firecrackers terrify domestic animals such as cats and dogs and kill insects. They also cause immense noise and environmental pollution. Diwali should be celebrated without firecrackers!

VEGETARIANS WHO EAT EGGS

Many Hindu and Jain vegetarians eat eggs. They especially do not mind eating cakes and doughnuts which have eggs, as well as mayonnaise sandwiches! There is nothing wrong with eggs, they say. Well first of all why would anyone want to eat something that comes out of the rear end of an animal? Laying hens are kept in extremely cruel conditions - in cages which are stacked on top of each other. Hens get egg peritonitis -infection and inflammation in the abdominal cavity caused by eggs. When hens are unable to expel an egg it may cause infection leading to peritonitis, especially if the egg breaks internally. Prolapses may also occur where part of the laying duct protrudes from the hen. Hens naturally peck at anything unusual and the result is that pecking from other birds turns the prolapse into a bloody and infected wound. To stop this mutilation, many hens are debeaked in the cruelest way. Broken bones in hens due to lack of calcium are common. Once the hens stop giving eggs after two to three years they are slaughtered for chicken soups, pies and pasties. The male chicks are killed almost immediately because they are no use to the industry. They are either gassed or minced alive. For every female there is an unwanted male chick. In UK that means over 30 million every year: anyone for an omlette!