Vegetarians'_International_Voice_for_Animals

Viva! (organisation)

Viva! (organisation)

British animal rights group

Viva! (formerly Vegetarians' International Voice for Animals) is a British animal rights group, which focuses on promoting veganism.[2] It was founded by Juliet Gellatley in 1994. Viva! carries out undercover investigations to expose the abuse of factory farmed animals and produces information on how to go vegan, including recipes and shopping guides. It is a registered charity.[3]

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Overview

Viva! is an animal rights' campaigning organisation, working on issues such as factory farming and slaughter and is based in Bristol, with a branch office in Poland. Campaigns include End Factory Farming, Eat Green, Foie-Gras free Britain,[4] Exotic Meat,[5] Ban the Farrowing Crate,[6] Dark Side of Dairy[7] and youth campaigns including The Big Coverup.[citation needed] Campaigns in 2018 included an investigation into Hogwood Pig Farm in Warwickshire, and Scary Dairy's "Trash" campaign, highlighting the dairy industry's forgotten victims: male calves.

Events

Following on from its success with the former biannual national "Incredible Vegan Roadshow" in London, Viva! now organises six annual festivals across the UK designed to help people become vegetarian or vegan. These are: Bristol Viva! Vegan Festival, Cardiff Viva! Vegan Festival, Swansea Viva! Vegan Festival, Stockport Viva! Vegan Festival, Birmingham Viva! Vegan Festival and Coventry Viva! Vegan Festival. Viva! also do a number of outreach events each year to raise awareness and support of its current campaigns.

Celebrity endorsement

Viva! enjoys the patronage of numerous entertainers, including Martin Shaw, Heather Mills, Michael Mansfield KC, Jerome Flynn, Hayley Mills and Stella McCartney.[8][9]

In the press

In 2009, Viva! criticised supermarket chain Tesco for turning 5,000 tonnes of meat that had passed its sell-by date into electricity by burning it to avoid wasting the meat. Viva! argued converting out-of-date meat into heat with CO2 as byproduct was not environmentally sustainable, but Tesco defended its decision.[10]

In 2012, Viva! stated that it favoured the development of cultured meat. "Certainly, with over 950 million land animals slaughtered in the UK each year, and the vast majority of them factory farmed in awful conditions, anything that saves animals from suffering is to be welcomed," former Viva! spokesman and campaign manager Justin Kerswell said, adding that individuals should make up their own mind on whether or not they would consume it themselves, because 'vegetarianism and veganism aren't religions'.[11]

In 2022, Viva! ran a TV advert which showed a couple ordering pulled pork takeaway from a company called "Just Meat." When the takeaway arrives, it is a live piglet delivered with a meat cleaver.[12]

See also

References

  1. [1]
    "Who we are". Viva! Website. Retrieved 24 March 2024.
  2. [2]
    "Opinion: Only by going vegan can we begin to call time on Britain's factory farm crisis". The Independent. 3 August 2020.
  3. [3]
    "Viva! at the Charity Commission".
  4. [4]
    Bryan, Hannah (21 March 2015). "Rockliffe Hall removes foie gras from menu following social media backlash". The Northern Echo. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  5. [5]
    Graham, Rachel (29 March 2018). "Exotic meats: on the brink of supermarket extinction?". The Grocer. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  6. [6]
    Sales, Dan (20 March 2007). "Farmer fury over Mills' undercover protest". Bridgwater Mercury. ISSN 0962-5046. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  7. [7]
    McArthur, Maxine (17 October 2018). "Vegan activists to march against 'dark side of dairy' in Glasgow city centre". Glasgow Times. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
  8. [8]
    "Star Supporters!". Viva!. Archived from the original on 3 March 2009.
  9. [9]
    "Stella McCartney". Viva!.
  10. [10]
    Murray Wardrop (6 August 2009). "Tesco criticised by vegetarians for using waste meat to generate electricity". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  11. [11]
    Chi Chi Izundu (23 February 2012). "Could vegetarians eat a 'test tube' burger?". BBC News. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
  12. [12]
    Duncan, Grace. "Viva launches 'controversial' TV ad calling on shoppers to ditch meat". The Grocer. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
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