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Nation Rising
By Sheanne Moskaluk

Hear some Passionate Highlights of the The Nation Rising 2018 Protest Speeches and Interviews at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Canada.

https://www.facebook.com/nationrisingcanada/videos/252079142071383/

This past July, Dan and I flew east to our hometown of Ottawa, Ontario.  Dan was born in Ottawa and I had moved there with my family when I was in Grade 2.  We grew up in the same neighbourhood, met and got married in Ottawa in 1989, before starting our life together in British Columbia.  So while all of that history might have been enough to lure us back for a visit 29 years later, we made the journey for a reason much bigger than ourselves.

Sheanne and Dan Moskaluk in front of the Peace Tower.

On July 14th, we had the privilege of participating in the first annual Nation Rising March and Rally.  Dan and I, along with 500 other Canadians, marched through the streets of downtown Ottawa, arriving on Parliament Hill.  At the foot of the Peace Tower, we all delivered a list of demands to our Federal government:

  1. Stop subsidies to animal agriculture

Stop the multi-billion dollar subsidies that go to animal agriculture. It is wrong that our tax dollars are used to fund food that makes us sick, destroys our planet, and hurts animals.

  1. Make healthy food affordable

Create new subsidies to ensure healthy, organic, plant-based food is affordable for everyone, in particular Indigenous and low-income communities.

  1. Help farmers transition to plant-based farming

Provide financial assistance to farmers wishing to make the transition to plant-based farming, and set up the necessary committees to provide guidance during that transition.

We had the honour of speaking shoulder to shoulder with James Aspey, renowned animal rights activist; Dr. David Jenkins, Professor, Dept. of Nutritional Sciences and Medicine at the University of Toronto (interestingly, also the inceptor of the glycemic index); Dr. Sailesh Rao, co-producer of “Cowspiracy”,  “What the Health” and Executive Director of “Climate Healers” and Shelby Bertrand, from the Animal Protection Party.

From Left to Right: Dan and Sheanne Moskaluk, Dr. Sailesh Rao, James Aspey

The focus of the speeches drew attention to the detrimental effects on our health, the environment, and the animals by consuming and exploiting animals, yet our federal department of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) promotes and hands out large subsidies to these industries.

These subsidizes give animal products a false affordability.  Our tax dollars fund these subsidize which, in turn, fund dollar menu items in Canadian Fast Food restaurants and the products in our grocery stores.

We pay for these products with our tax dollars, our health, and the well-being of the animals and the planet.  Our tax dollars also fund provincial and federal healthcare systems and programs.

It is a ludicrous system, subsidizing the very products that are making Canadians chronically ill and bankrupting our governments with overwhelming medical costs.  In Canada, someone dies of heart disease or stroke every 20 minutes.  In most cases, heart disease is a preventable, reversible disease that need never exist, particularly on a whole food plant-based diet.  One in four Canadians is expected to die from cancer.  The scientific data linking animal products to chronic disease is robust.

At the exact same moment, the United Nations is urging a global shift away from meat and dairy.  A global shift towards a vegan diet is vital, according to the UN, to save the world from hunger, poverty and the worst impacts of climate change.

Health Canada has responded to this call to action by proposing changes to the Canada Food Guide, including emphasizing plant-based protein-rich foods, and stressing the health benefits of eating mostly plant-based foods.

Does anyone else see the irony? Currently, we have two very important Federal Ministries that are not at all on the same page, and the outcome could have a negative effect for Canadians for generations to come.

On one side, we have our Ministry of Health, initially led by the Honorable Jane Philpott, who began to lay the groundwork for changes to the Canada Food Guide that will be unveiled later this year.  We have also seen a strong and continued commitment by our current Minister of Health, Madame Ginette Petitpas Taylor, to include whole food plant-based nutrition recommendations in our Canada Food Guide, along with more accurate information about the negative health effects of animal based food products.

The inclusion of information on the health benefits of whole food plant-based eating in the Canada Food Guide will open up the door, permitting Canadians to expect plant-based food options in all of our governmental level institutions, in schools, hospitals and prisons.  It will ensure that all municipal, provincial, and federal agencies will have to provide plant-based options.  This, in turn, will better our health; it will lessen animal suffering and enslavement, and will have a positive impact on the environment.

On a far different page, or perhaps even planet, we have the Minister of Agriculture, Lawrence MacAulay, whose mandate is to continue propping up industries that degrade our health, the health of the planet, and continue to cause the unnecessary suffering and death of billions of animals.

As renowned Canadian Registered Dietitian, Brenda Davis, recently stated, “A diet is only as good for the human species as it is ecologically sustainable and ethically justifiable.”

Our agricultural sector and farmers need to be leaders in the paradigm shift.  Our farmers can be world leaders in plant-based agriculture.  Strengthening and rejuvenating plant-based agriculture systems need not be a difficult task for us, given that we have our feet planted on one of the most diverse and fertile landmasses, envied around the world.

Canadians can lead by example.  Each of us votes with our dollars every day at the grocery store.  Communicate with your local, provincial, and federal governments that these animal agriculture subsidies need to stop, and that our farmers need guidance and assistance now in transitioning to plant-based agriculture.

We have a choice and the survival of our planet depends on what we do next.

About Dan and Sheanne Moskaluk (a.k.a Indian Rock Vegans):

Dan and Sheanne are Whole Food Plant-Based Vegans based at Indian Rock, Naramata, BC Canada.   They founded and manage the Indian Rock Vegans 1200 member strong Facebook Group which serves as a hub of information, resources, recipes, chuckles and support for all in the WFPB Vegan Community and those interested in adopting the lifestyle. Their story is featured in the documentary film “Eating You Alive”

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COMMENTS (2) | Animal Activism, environment, Issue 2
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Comments

2 Responses to “Nation Rising”

  1. Debbie
    October 16th, 2018 @ 4:23 am

    Thank you for sharing this brilliant and inspiring article! I’ve been saying the same thing – why are they still subsidising animal farming when it is now well-documented that animal agriculture is the leading cause of so many environmental disasters and animal products are so unhealthy? I’m thrilled to discover that someone is demanding a change of policy that is desperately needed.

  2. Ma Karuna Aghora Shiva Shakti
    October 18th, 2018 @ 11:20 pm

    This is too perfect. I have been talking about protesting the government subsidies for animal slaughter the last couple of weeks. Seeing this just gives me more passion to do it right away.

    Thank you

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