Eat less meat: Malta animal charity MSPCA wants public to go ‘cruelty free’

The Malta Society for the Protection of Animals is launching a public awareness campaign on the cruelty of animal farming and the benefits of reducing or avoiding animal products and meat in people’s diets.

The MSPCA campaign will focus on factory farming as one of the contributors of greenhouse gas (GHG) methane.

“Although carbon dioxide sticks around much longer, methane’s effect on global warming accounts for much more than its percentage in mass. While every effort to reduce CO2 emissions should continue, methane emissions are troublesome enough to demand similar reform,” MSPCA outreach manager Christian Pace said.

“Nothing about food packaging tells you anything about the suffering you are supporting. You only get a small label when food is sourced from ethical and sustainable sources, so it is safe to assume that no such mark implies the opposite on some large or small scale. Society needs to become more aware on how unsustainable farming is threatening the whole ecosystem and be empowered to make more responsible food choices to guarantee their children and grandchildren can still eat, drink and breath.”

The MSPCA will be fund-raising together with athlete Dave Wise, editor of online sports magazine Trek and Run, who ran the Malta Marathon in 2018 to raise funds for the MSPCA. As an advocate for sustainable practices and against animal cruelty, Wise has been on a vegan diet for some years.

“Dave happily admits his vegan diet has improved his athletic performance. In line with his love for animals Dave contacted the MSPCA to organize a fund raising and awareness campaign during his run in the Gozo marathon,” Pace said.