We would like to invite you cordially to a debate Meat Atlas: What do we eat and what are the impacts?, which will take place in HUB (Drtinova 557/10, 150 00 Praha) in September 11, 2014 at 6pm.
Food is very personal. It is not just a need, but also an art and a pleasing activity. Meat, milk and eggs are an everyday part of our diet. However, not everybody knows or cares what exactly is on his or her plate and where it comes from. The globalization of the meat industry has changed the face of the Czech countryside (and not only here) in recent decades and moved cattle and poultry into big halls that have turned into meat and dairy factories. A handful of mega-companies controls meat production and the genetic material of livestock, while investment funds buy-up lucrative fields for growing animal feed and meat itself contains more and more artificial substances. Beside the health impacts, the current system of meat production and consumption has enormous implications for the global eco-system as well as for social and political relations.
The aim of the public debate “Meat Atlas: What do we eat and what are the impacts?” is to open a discussion about some unsuspected dimensions of the meat industry not mentioned by commercials or product labels. The starting-point for the debate will be the recently published Czech version of the Meat Atlas, published by the Prague office of the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung and Hnutí DUHA (Friends of the Earth, Czech Republic).
Programme
Speakers (18:00-19:00)
Vojtěch Kotecký (Hnutí DUHA, Czech Republic) - Ecological impacts of the meat production and consumption in the Czech Republic
Christine Chemnitz (Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung, Germany) - Global dimensions and impacts of the meat industry
Miroslav Šuta (a doctor and expert on health risks and toxicity, Czech Republic) - Health risks associated with the use of the GMO and chemicals in the meat industry
Josef Sklenář (eco-farm Sasov, Czech Republic) - Practical obstacles to a higher market share for organic meat
Moderated by Stanislava Lekešová (Czech TV / Czech Radio)
Discussion (19:00-19:30)
The debate will be simultaneously interpreted from Czech and English. Refreshments from organic and home products will follow.
Please register at info@cz.boell.org by September 9.