Spring 2019
Vegan International is pleased to announce its new Worldwide Advisory Board Members, including one very special addition. They are: Dr. Nandita Shah, India; Anita Kranjnc, Ph.D., Canada; and 269, Israel. In addition, future activities of Vegan International include working towards initiating a United Nations Convention Against Speciesism.
New Vegan International Worldwide Advisory Board Members:
Nandita Shah, MD, India
Dr Nandita Shah is a registered Medical Doctor and the author of the book Reversing Diabetes in 21 Days. She is the Founder, Director, and a trustee of SHARAN, founded with the vision of helping people connect to animals and nature in order to heal themselves and the planet.
Dr. Shah first became vegan because of ethical issues. She says, “I became a doctor to reduce suffering and when I became aware of the tremendous suffering that we inflict on fellow creatures used for food, I had to make the connection.”
Her vegan journey began in 1985, when she learned the truth about dairy: the suffering that a cow undergoes due to repeated impregnations and loss of her offspring so that our milk bottles can be filled.
Dr. Shah also did an internship at Farm Sanctuary in New York to learn more about farm animals and their relation to us. SHARAN collaborated with PCRM to organize some talks and seminars for Dr. Neal Barnard for doctors, hospitals and lay people all over India.
She is quick to embrace others’ ideas and efforts and lend her enthusiastic support. Vegan International is pleased and honored to have Dr. Shah on the Vegan International Worldwide Advisory Board.
Anita Krajnc Ph.D.,Canada
Dr. Krajnc is the founder of Toronto Pig Save. Her inspiration was based on a quote by Leon Tolstoy, “When you see suffering, do not turn away, draw closer”. Distressed by the suffering of pigs being transported to slaughter, she decided to bear witness and offer comfort.
These individuals had suffered tremendously and had not experienced a word of comfort during all of their short lives. They were facing a horrific death. Together with others, Anita offered water to individuals on slaughter trucks. For this act of kindness, she was jailed as a criminal. Worldwide outrage precipitated her release.
Anita’s Save Movement is the world’s largest and fastest growing grass roots movement. The Toronto Pig Save has grown into a world-wide Save Movement including: Animal Save: 622 groups, 66 countries; Climate Save: 70 groups, 29 countries; Health Save: 15 groups, 10 countries.
Vegan International is honored to have Anita Krajnc join the Vegan International worldwide Advisory Board.
269, Israel
269 is an Israeli inspiration.
The nation of Israel was born in 1948 – the same year the United Nations was founded, and Mahatma Ghandi was assassinated. Originally, Israel was a refuge for the victims of the World War II concentration camps in Europe. Refugees entered the shores of Israel on former Mississippi river boats then used for clandestine immigration. Concentration camp survivors from the displaced persons camps in Cypress entered the port of Haifa in the then British Mandate of Palestine. Their vessels were boarded by the British Navy. Images of individuals with numbers tattooed on their arms from the degrading conditions in the concentration camps, fighting the British Navy with can openers in their hands, remain to this day.
Today thousands of Israelis, both men and women, young and old, are tattooing ‘269’ on their arms in solidarity with the concentration camp like circumstances many non-human species are forced to endure. There is a direct connection between the brutality shown to concentration camp victims, and the brutality shown to today’s non-human species.
269 is a white Israeli bull who, as a calf was destined to be slaughtered. He was rescued or stolen, by saviors or terrorists, depending on your viewpoint. 269 is currently living in an undisclosed location in Israel eating grass.
269 is the first member of the Vegan International Worldwide Advisory Board from a species other than human. He is recognized for his ability to inspire thousands to action in recognizing and speaking out against injustice, for anyone, anywhere, of any species. Vegan International does not discriminate on the basis of species, and recognizes outstanding achievement regardless of how it occurs.
Vegan International is honored to have all these heros and heroines on the Vegan International Worldwide Advisory Board.
Vegan International Seeks Support At The United Nations for a Convention against Speciesism
The benchmark of a civilized society is the quality of its justice. Animal exploitation must be eliminated by legal means. It must be eliminated by a law, just as a law – U. S. President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation -freed Slaves. Sentient beings must be granted rights as the U. S. Founding Fathers’ Declaration of Independence established inalienable rights for humans.
Violence against the vulnerable is inherently wrong. Civilized society needs a basic, fundamental, and non-negotiable commitment to non-violence and justice for all. This is the purpose of Vegan International’s proposed United Nations Convention Against Speciesism.
In order to accomplish a UN Convention Against Speciesism, Vegan International plans to meet with other animal advocate UN NGOs soon. In addition, Vegan International has reached out to meet and discuss this with the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), as well as the UN Missions of other developing nations, specifically Nepal – which has expressed interest, and Rwanda – which is especially sensitive to genocide issues. Billions of non-human victims are killed yearly from animal agriculture, habitat destruction, and species extinction, making it the largest genocide in the history of the planet.
The small island nations in AOSIS are the most vulnerable to the destructive effects of Climate Change – caused primarily by animals raised for food. Methane traps heat in the atmosphere more effectively than carbon dioxide. Additionally, the AOSIS nations are currently changing from their healthful plant-based diets to the unsustainable meat and dairy based diets, as evidenced in many cases by the appearance of McDonalds and Burger King.
Other developing nations, specifically Mexico, experienced skyrocketing incidence of diabetes and heart disease as their diet changed from plant based to meat and dairy based. This is with the accompanying skyrocketing healthcare costs.
Currently there are several UN initiatives already in existence. The Universal Declaration of Animal Welfare (UDAW) has the full support of 46 Governments, and the support of Ministries of 17 other Governments. The other is the United Nations Convention on Animal Health and Protection (UNCAHP). Vegan International plans to build on these existing initiatives.
These initiatives, while offering some relief, contain a ‘humane hoax’ aspect. They give parameters for continuing to raise animals for food regardless of the impact on the physical and psychological well-being of these animals, the negative impact on climate change and human health, the pollution, habitat destruction, and species extinction it causes.
A United Nations Convention Against Speciesism would end species exploitation, and extend to all species the rights granted by previous United Nations documents, such as The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Convention Against Genocide, and the Convention Against Torture.
Results of these upcoming meetings will be in the Summer Newsletter.
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