The Middle East Animal Welfare Conference (MENAW)

This was held at the Concorde Al Salam Hotel in Cairo from March 1st to 3rd 2010. MENAW is a network of all the animal welfare groups from across Egypt, Lebanon, Sudan, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, UAE, Iran, Palestine and others. Associated groups such as African Network of Animal Welfare, Middle East Veg Group, Compassion for Animal Farming, were also represented.

Invited to speak from the farm animal perspective, Sandhya Prakash (left), founder of Meveg, spoke about the impact of livestock on the Environment. The session was well attended and brought to the fore “livestock” as one of the most significant contributors to the serious environmental problems we face today.

Sandhya is originally from India but she has lived in Dubai and Saudi Arabia for many years. Sandhya has already held a small congress at a trade fair in Dubai, and has been offered a similar opportunity in Egypt. In December 2010, Sandhya will be organising another vegetarian congress in Dubai.

Mrs. Asha Bawa
Mrs. Bawa is a long time supporter of YIV. She is based in Hounslow from where she actively promotes vegetarianism. She works alongside groups such as Diabetes Awareness and local hospitals. She sets a good example in how everyone can take an initiative and succeed. Contact: asha@veggie-bites.co.uk

Food For Life
Food For Life, the world’s largest vegan food relief project working on the principles laid out by the founder of the Hare Krishna Society, Srila Prabhupada, distributed nearly 100,000 meals to the earthquake stricken people of Haiti. The food offered is called; ‘Prasadam’ and the dedicated volunteers of Food for Life believe that by serving delicious vegan prasadam people will automatically give up meat. Food for Life distributes free food in many cities of the world, including London.

Worms in the Fish!
A great many fish carry parasites of various kinds, some of which are transmitted to humans. These parasites are as natural to their hosts as the water in which the fish swim. With fillets (fish meat without bones) however, when preparing the fish one should remove the worms! Freezing the fish to -31C for 15 hours or -23 C for seven days will kill parasites but this is not easy to achieve in a home freezer and it rather spoils the notion of fresh fish! You could cook the fish to a minimum of 60/140F to eradicate parasites. Or when eating fish, sushi or sashimi keep your eyes closed! So much for oily healthy fish! The medical establishment continues to recommend fish as a rich source of Omega 3 and Omega 6. The dangerous mercury in fish, the decimation of all aquatic life and the ecological disaster facing our rivers and oceans does not seem to matter. 300,000 whales, dolphins and porpoises are killed every year by fishing nets. Omega 6 is found in large amounts in oils derived from nuts, seeds and soya beans. Omega 3 is found in flaxseed and rapeseed oil and hemp seeds. Whether you eat land animals or sea animals it is all wrong!


Jain Animal Sanctuary
Sheila Barber continues to look after the animals at the sanctuary in Burwash, Sussex. We continue sending £700 each month. Sheila recently took in two goats from the neighbouring farmer, one is totally blind and one was desperately ill. With loving care and the help of the vet both the goats are living happily now.