Notes from a session during the luminous green workshop 31st July 2008

Brian Degger, Priyas, Melentie Pandilovski, +others

I (Brian Degger) have just run a session on ethical protein provision for the luminous green event 31st July in Singapore 2008. The session went well, it was on ethical protein concentrating on meat although I am more confused than when I started. I wanted to look at a number of protein sources, but we did not touch vegetable proteins, as the group had much experience with meat

Meat's place in the world is very complicated and there were a number of issues to discuss before even concidering the meat licence. As the panel was made up of 5 self selecting people (3 from the SE Asia and India), me living in uk, we had the opportunity to discuss the complicated picture. So, immediately it was apparent that the people in my group had a far better understanding of meat, hunting and killing than me. Three had experienced a village and hunting culture in their youth.

We also got to start exploring the meat and religion. From its diverse population, there is a majority of people that revere the cow (88%) and the minority that don’t (12%). So depending upon who you talked to, there was a completely different attitude to beef.

In other news, to save on land space, the Netherlands is considering a pig skyscraper/farm to supply its pork.

I found the SE Asian viewpoint on hunting to be rich, with the slightly controversial idea that livestock/meat is money on 4 legs for the disenfranchised/people without land. As a source of protein, its ethics do not come into it if it is the only way they can sustain themselves. Just a few provocations…..ethical meat the supermarket way is unsustainable/affordable for masses.

The Meat Licence is an interesting probe for the uk, but outside the western world, where there is a better connection with the land, it makes the idea irrelevant. For immigrants coming into the UK will they have to be licensed if they cant prove that they have been involved in the slaughter of meat?

It is interesting that these asian regions are going down the same route of industrialised farming.

From one participant, there was also a strong reaction to another law in the already overregulated UK, do we need another law?

(to any external materials…) [[www.meatlicense.org.uk]|Meat License]