On April 27, the European Commission decided to register and approve a European Citizens’ Initiative (ICE) called “End The Slaughter Age“. In simple terms, it is an official signature collection – a legal act, not a simple petition – which aims to exclude farms from the European CAP (Common Agricultural Policy) subsidies for the livestock industry, to channel these funds towards greener and more sustainable alternatives that do not involve killing animals, such as cellular agriculture and the production of plant-based foods. The launch of the ECI, considered legally admissible by the EU as it meets all the criteria established by the 2012 Lisbon Treaty, will take place on Sunday 5 June. The date was chosen by the organizing committee as it coincides with that of the National Animal Rights Day, a day dedicated to raising awareness on animal rights that is celebrated on the first Sunday in June.
The international organization End The Slaughter Age, chaired by the author of the text, the Italian activist Nicolas Micheletti, aims to collect at least 1 million signatures from seven member states of the European Union within a year, the minimum objective necessary to get the European Commission moving. Once this threshold has been exceeded, it will in fact be required to act, deciding whether or not to carry out the initiative and support the decision with clear and exhaustive reasons. As the impact of climate change is increasingly dramatic and the livestock industry is among the main catalysts of CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions, quick and clear decisions are also expected in favoring diets mainly based on products plant-based, considered much more sustainable.
The End The Slaughter Age initiative aims precisely to facilitate these ethical, sustainable and healthy alternatives for the benefit of all: animals, humans and the planet. “Vegetable meat and cultivated meat produce over 90 percent less greenhouse emissions, for the same amount of meat produced, and require as many fewer resources, ie land, water, etc.”, declared the president of the organization Nicolas Micheletti.
The Climate Clock, the clock of the Climate Apocalypse based on scientific data – such as those of the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) – reminds us that there are only 10 years left to the point of no return, that is to exceed 1, 5 ° C average temperature compared to the pre-industrial era. This will bring about catastrophic consequences and unspeakable suffering for humanity. For all these reasons, even if intensive livestock farming will not be eliminated, it will still be essential to give more and more space to more sustainable and ecological food alternatives. A strong signal can come from initiatives such as that of End The Slaughter Age.
