Canadian animal rights group unveils provocative ad campaign

May 17, 2013

Mercy for Animals Canada launches ad campaign on public transit

An animal rights group – Mercy for Animals Canada started a national ad campaign to be displayed on public transit attempting to compare farm animals to beloved pets like cats and dogs.

The controversial ads began this week in major cities like Calgary, Montreal, Vancouver, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Halifax, and Saskatoon. The ads will be displayed on buses, subways and light rail.

The ads will feature a puppy beside a piglet, a kitten beside a baby chick and a dog beside a cow. The say “Why love one but eat the other?” The activist group’s aim is to promote vegetarianism. The group is also making the claim that 95% of the 700 million animals raised for human consumption in Canada suffer cruelty. It is yet to be determined how the activist group came up with this figure.

A spokesperson with the Manitoba Pork Council says people can make their own choices on what to eat, noting that humans are omnivores that typically have a diet that consists of a healthy balance of grains, vegetables and meat.

Video: How farmers are protecting the soil and our food security | DW Documentary

For a long time, soil was all but ignored. But for years, the valuable humus layer has been thinning. Farmers in Brandenburg are clearly feeling the effects of this on their sandy fields. Many are now taking steps to prepare their farms for the future.

Years of drought, record rainfall and failed harvests: we are becoming increasingly aware of how sensitively our environment reacts to extreme weather conditions. Farmers' livelihoods are at stake. So is the ability of consumers to afford food.

For a few years now, agriculture that focuses solely on maximum yields has been regarded with increasing skepticism. It is becoming more and more clear just how dependent we are on healthy soils.

Brandenburg is the federal state with the worst soil quality in Germany. The already thin, fertile humus layer has been shrinking for decades. Researchers and farmers who are keen to experiment are combating these developments and looking for solutions. Priority is being given to building up the humus layer, which consists of microorganisms and fungi, as well as springtails, small worms and centipedes.

For Lena and Philipp Adler, two young vegetable farmers, the tiny soil creatures are invaluable helpers. On their three-hectare organic farm, they rely on simple, mechanical weed control, fallow areas where the soil can recover, and diversity. Conventional farmer Mark Dümichen also does everything he can to protect soil life on his land. For years, he has not tilled the soil after the harvest and sows directly into the field. His yields have stabilized since he began to work this way.

Isabella Krause from Regionalwert AG Berlin-Brandenburg is convinced after the experiences of the last hot summers that new crops will thrive on Brandenburg's fields in the long term. She has founded a network of farmers who are promoting the cultivation of chickpeas with support from the scientific community.