In the last decades, our planet suffers from rapid anthropogenic changes, which are affecting the course of humanity. Our way of life, even the survival of our species is put into question. “If we want things to stay as they are, things will have to change” as it was said at “The Leopard”.
The Climate Change, the “Sixth mass extinction” of species and the rapid depletion of the planet’s resources are the most important changes of the last half century.
-The Climate Change is expected to shake the social, economic and geopolitical balance. Hippocrates was saying that “prevention is better than cure”. According to the Central Bank of Greece, if Athens is not properly prepared, the Climate change will put a burden on the Greek economy as twice and a half times as the current “exorbitant”, “non-viable” etc. national debt!
-The 6th mass extinction of species is underway. This is the biggest pressure on biodiversity over the last 66 million years!
-Our lifestyle depletes natural resources faster and faster. Today we borrow from future generations almost half of the natural resources that underpin our way of life. In 2017 we spent the annual “environmental capital” offered by Earth since early July!
Animal farming is at the heart of all these negative developments. It is wasting natural resources, endangers wildlife, pollutes, mainly with greenhouse gases etc. Meat and dairy are subsidized scandalously in order to remain affordable, while they are damaging public health! Finally, intensive livestock captures forms of scientific ferocity and systematic torture that are perhaps the biggest disgrace of our era, corresponding only to the Holocaust!
We need to have a great moral, environmental and health change. If we switch rapidly to plant-based diets, respect and protect every life form, liberate the animals from human rule, then our world would be immediately better. If on the contrary we continue on the same road, we are preparing a future of poverty for our children and of struggle for survival for our grandchildren.
This is why the parties for the animal rights grow rapidly, even in societies like Cyprus and Greece that are facing acute social and economic problems. Cyprus continues to have 40% of its territory under foreign occupation. Greece undergoes a deep economic crisis that seems without end. And yet, our societies have decided that animal politics is equally important for their future! So, the Cyprus’ “Animal Party” and the Greek initiative “Animalists Ecologists” are preparing to participate successfully in the European elections in 2019. Along with many growing animal rights’ parties in other EU countries, we know that our movement will be part of the winners in this important election. The citizens of Europe will be represented by many animal rights activists as MEPs in the next European Parliament.
Kyriakos Kyriakou is the President of “Cyprus Animal Party”. Nikos Raptis is founding member of the organizational committee for the “Animalists Ecologists” party.
