Imagine waking up every morning to fresh event reports on climate change, livestock, and dietary shifts, and contributing to the hot discussion with researchers, practitioners, and activists after dinner. During the 21^st Convention of Parties (COP21) in Paris, Brighter Green experimented on such an engaging project using WeChat, a smart phone application phenomenon in China.

Almost everyone in China with a smart phone uses WeChat. It has the function of both WhatsApp and Facebook, allowing group discussions and sharing of photos, articles, and videos with followers. Since December 2014, Brighter Green has organized monthly discussions featuring experts on animal rights, nutrition, and diet, as well as the environment; the series is called Global Dialogue Online.

WFD WeChat group header

In the WeChat group established for a certain topic (e.g. farm sanctuaries, veganism, livestock and climate change, animal protection, etc.), the guest speaker can communicate with an audience in English or Chinese, with nearly simultaneous translation by volunteers. Brighter Green collaborates with What’s For Dinner? director Jian Yi and intern Miao Jie, in addition to a growing group of global volunteers, to coordinate these monthly live chats. Global Dialogue Online is an interactive aspect of the larger What’s For Dinner? (WFD)-themed WeChat group, which posts engaging, rich, unique content articles almost daily. Read More

It was 40 degrees Fahrenheit and windy, but veganism created a hot spot at the heart of Montreal. Organizers of the Montreal Vegan Festival estimated that on November 7th, over 10,000 people were attracted to the rows of vegan product-sampling booths, mouth-watering culinary demonstrations, and eye-opening stories that transformed lives around the world.

As part of the forum, Brighter Green’s documentary What’s For Dinner? was screened to 250 people, followed by an introduction to the ongoing vegan movement in China.

To most people in Montreal, China is both familiar and unfamiliar. Media coverage about China’s growing meat consumption can easily worry our vegan friends in Canada, but the reality is still far beyond reach. Through the lens of film director Jian Yi, the audience was directly exposed to the social and environmental complexity on the other end of the globe, as well as the discussions and changes that are taking place at the moment.

Through the documentary and dialogue, the audience found answers to several questions about which they were concerned:

Are Chinese people very carnivorous? No, the traditional Chinese diet is mostly plant-based and the culture does not encourage people to eat a lot of meat.

Are Chinese people aware of the problem of animal-based foods? Yes, and there are hard-working activists in China, diligently spreading the latest news, research, videos, and opinions that promote a healthier and happier life.

Is the government trying to stop you in any way? No. We see our goals in line with several priorities of the government – public health, environment, and food security – and there were local officials coming to our screening event in China!

Do people in China care about animal suffering? Of course yes. We are all human beings. When we are exposed to the ugly facts, we have the same feeling of sadness, and the same desire for putting the cruelty and violence to an end.

Yes, we are all humans, and yet, every encounter is always full of surprises. Exclusively volunteers, without even one full-time paid coordinator, organized this big festival. Local vegan magazine, Versus, was very impressive with its pleasing artistic designs and professional print quality, presenting in-depth analytical articles, moving stories, fashion sketches, and delicate recipes.

In Montreal, a food movement is in full gear. This can be seen in the long lines outside the vegan festival site, in the airplane stickers on farmers’ market price tags indicating imported vegetables, in numerous vegan restaurants serving delicious and creative foods, and in beautiful young women who reach into dumpsters without hesitation to rescue slightly scratched pumpkins.

All of these are the hope of a food system full of love and consciousness. When we break down stereotypes and exchange hope, we begin to feel the commonality in each other, no matter how great the distance is between us.

Photo Credit: Montreal Vegan Festival & Wanqing Zhou

Caroline Wimberly traveled to Durban, South Africa in late August 2015 to attend three conferences on behalf of Brighter Green. Afterwards, she traveled extensively around the country. This blog is the fourth in a four-part series on her experiences and observations during the trip.

I was told by multiple different Afrikaners (a large ethnic group in South Africa of mostly Dutch descent that developed their own language called Afrikaans in the 18th century) that animal products played a large role in their diets, and I got the impression it was more important as a cultural tradition than anything else. It was the Afrikaner community that started the South African tradition of braai, which is similar to a barbecue, but more deeply-rooted and community-oriented, with a specific braai master in charge.

Braais are not only gatherings where grilled food is served (mostly meat), they are also important points of connection. To emphasize their value across communities, a campaign to formalize a holiday called National Braai Day began. It was endorsed by the country’s National Heritage Council in 2008 and coincides with Heritage Day (September 24). Furthermore, it boasts a world-famous patron, Nobel Peace laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who has called it, “something that can unite us.”

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Caroline Wimberly traveled to Durban, South Africa in late August 2015 to attend three conferences on behalf of Brighter Green. Afterwards, she traveled extensively around the country. This blog is the third in a four-part series on her experiences and observations during the trip.

South Africa is a beautiful country. I was astounded at its topographic diversity, prevalence of various wild animals, and multiple languages (it has 11 official ones, with tribal languages Zulu and Xhosa being the most widely spoken).

Another noticeable feature of South African culture is the prevalence of meat. From Zulus to Afrikaaners to tourists, meat plays a big role in the diets of many South African communities. Even though the country’s per capita meat consumption is about 65 kilograms (143 pounds)—just slightly over half of U.S. consumption levels— meat is pretty much everywhere.

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Caroline Wimberly traveled to Durban, South Africa in late August 2015 to attend three conferences on behalf of Brighter Green. Afterwards, she traveled extensively around the country. This blog is the second in a four-part series on her experiences and observations during the trip.

One of the major producers for KFC in South Africa is RCL Foods (previously Rainbow Chicken), which is the country’s largest chicken processor. In 1997, Rainbow Chicken teamed up with U.S. agribusiness Cobb to create Cobb South Africa (now under the umbrella of RCL Foods). This partnership allowed for the introduction of the industry super-breed, Cobb500, into the country. This breed is considered the world’s most “productive” broiler chicken and was developed in the U.K. in the 1970s.

In the style of U.S. poultry giants like Tyson, Rainbow employs vertical integration throughout their supply chain, contracting different growers to provide its poultry products. These providers mimic U.S. growers with factory farm conditions, including indoor confinement of the birds without outdoor access, processed feed, and artificially short life cycles. To give an example of the scale of these growers, here are some production statistics from one Rainbow supplier, Essaurinca from 2013:

• They expanded from 8 sheds to 11 sheds to increase yields and more effectively provide for KFC quota levels (via the Rainbow supply chain);
• Through this expansion, they produced 300,000 broiler chickens per 35-day growing cycle (with about 27,000 birds being raised in each shed);
• They increased from six-and-a-half to eight growing cycles per year, producing around 2.4 million birds per year.

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