Highlights Of #FreedomForAll Telethon: An Initiative To Help Reduce Animal Exploitation And Suffering In India
The India Animal Fund Freedom For All campaign envisions a world free of animal harm and exploitation which prioritises ending the suffering of all sentient beings independent of species
Researchers have discovered that people who eat more animal protein are not healthier than people who get their protein from plants:
If you look at the traditional Indian diet, it actually has treasures of foods that are not only delicious, but rich in the nutrition that we need, including protein. I'm talking about lentils, beans, chickpeas, vegetables and grains. These foods give us the protein that we need. Now, some have argued, no animal products are more densely packed with protein, so we should choose them instead. What they mean is that meat or eggs or dairy products have protein in them. They do. However, researchers have discovered something that's very important, and that's that people who eat more animal protein are not healthier than people who get their protein from plants. In fact, they're much less healthy. Why would that be? Well, the first reason is what comes along with all that protein. If you're getting protein from animal products, you get cholesterol, you get saturated fat along with it, as well as infective organisms like salmonella and e coli.
When you get your protein from plants, there's no cholesterol, there's virtually no saturated fat. Instead, there are things you need, like fiber, healthy, complex carbohydrates, vitamin C, other vitamins, antioxidants. The other part though might be the protein itself. A protein molecule looks like a a string of beads. Each bead is an amino acid, and your digestive tract separates those beads, those amino acids, you absorb them and you make your own proteins from them. And different foods have slightly different strings of beads, if I can put it that way. A slightly different collection. They have different amino acid profiles. If you eat grains and beans and vegetables, you'll get all the essential amino acids that you need. But it turns out that the collection of amino acids that you get from plants appears to be healthier than the amino acids that are gonna come to you from animal products. There are certain ones in animal products like lysine and methionine that seem to be too concentrated in the animal proteins, and that can be bad for human health. Bottom line, if we're eating our beans and other legumes, our grains and our vegetables, you're getting the protein that you need in its healthiest possible form. And luckily, their traditional Indian foods are wonderful sources of not only good taste, but good nutrition too.
We cage animals, we test on animals, we hunt animals, we kill animals.
The scale and intensity of animal suffering is far greater than any other form of suffering.
And yet it is a suffering that goes unnoticed by most of us.
Animals globally are in dire need of aid & support from the cruelty that they endure each day. The statistics are appalling & the resolve is barely skimming the surface.
Millions of animals suffer inhuman treatment as a result of illegal trade and poaching, reckless breeding, farm agriculture and lab experiments. The laws that protect animals are archaic, there is poor compliance, and existing facilities and infrastructure at animal shelters are below par, and too few in number.
Despite this animal harm & exploitation on a massive scale, financial support for animal welfare causes is less than 1% of the amount that comes in for human causes.
Animal welfare should concern us all. Human health issues, environmental degradation, global warming and challenges of animal well-being are all interconnected. There is an imminent need to be aware of and to adopt an one health approach. For one to be healthy, the planet and all living beings on it need to be healthy.
The India Animal Fund Freedom For All campaign envisions a world free of animal harm and exploitation which prioritizes ending the suffering of all sentient beings independent of species.
The campaign aims to provide a platform for effective giving that produces transparent, independent, evidence-based and actionable recommendations of interventions/ organizations to demonstrably reduce animal suffering in India.
It’s now time to fight for the dignity of animal life. It’s now time to treat all sentient beings with compassion.
Join hands with the India Animal Fund Freedom For All campaign to help animals. They only have us for support.
*Disclaimer: NDTV is the broadcast partner for a Sponsored Campaign by India Animal Fund - Freedom For All. NDTV has no role to play in the funds collected by India Animal Fund. NDTV will not be liable for any claim(s) made by any person or entity, including any statutory or governmental authority, arising out of the collection or utilization of the funds.