vegan food relief

Free Lunch Served at the European Parliament to Highlight Food Waste Issue

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We the undersigned want to challenge the current model of production and consumption and build on alternative ways that are good for the planet, animals and people. We support a truly sustainable system which focuses on nutritional quality, on preservation of soil and biodiversity, on protecting farmers’ livelihoods as well as animal welfare, on reducing waste and adulteration in the food supply and on true long-term solutions rather than the false quick fixes of fertilisers, pesticides and GMOs. The Free Lunch is a sustainable food event being organised by Compassion in World Farming, Humane Society International, Beyond GM & Food for Life Global and the Sustainable Food Systems Group.  The Free Lunch is being facilitated by the kind help of Elite Events, Dolma – Restaurant végétarien, Bakkerij Filip, the Gleaning Network Belgium and Feedback. Here are some pictures: https://www.facebook.com/FreeLunchEU/photos_stream We have distributed nearly 1500 meals on Esplanade at the European Parliament and to refugees in Maximilian Park in Brussels. You may have heard that there is no such thing as a free lunch. However, we are offering just that. Not only is this lunch free from meat, dairy, egg, sugar, additives, pesticides, and GMOs, it will free up waste by using surplus vegetables. Choosing seasonal, locally grown delicious plant-based meals frees up land, water and other resources, such as fossil fuels, used to produce animal products. Plant-based meals free biodiversity from the threats of industrial food production, and free animals from lifelong confinement and suffering. And, making regular plant-based meal choices can help free you from the increased risk of dietary related non-communicable diseases. Break free with a free lunch!

10 years later — FFLG’s Most Memorable Relief Effort

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I remember the call I got from Indradyumna Swami in Sri Lanka. I was sitting in my office at the World Bank. I had just started a new job and was comfortable and peaceful. “Paul you have to come here. It is really bad. We need to respond to this. It is the biggest natural disaster in modern history.”  I had seen the news, but like most I had not allowed the magnitude of the disaster to really sink in. Television has that affect in that it allows us to watch calamity unfold without being too emotionally involved. I cared for the people, but was not sure how our organization could respond effectively. There was nothing from the past to measure this by. This disaster was unprecedented  in every way. The devastation was spread over thousands of miles! I mean, where do we begin?  The swami was insistent. “We have to do something.” I agreed and wondered what I could do. After all I, was a volunteer for Food for Life too, and I had just started a new job that paid well and I was now supporting my new family. Then other calls started coming in. “Paul, what is Food for Life Global doing for the Tsunami survivors?” “How can we help?” There was no turning back now. I had to do something and it had to be fast. I closed the door on my office and turned it into FFL emergency relief central. I set up a donation page and posted a report that FFLG was planning a response. I appealed for volunteers. I had set the ball in motion. Where it would lead I had no idea. But we were in. I was in. We were going to help. Over the next week, literally tens of thousands of dollars began […]

Food for Life revived in Serbia with the flood disaster

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In the early days of my service to Food for Life, I got to travel through the former soviet union, eastern Europe and the Balkans. I ventured into war zones in Chechnya, Georgia and Sarajevo. But one thing surprised me more than anything else: I found the people in these parts of the world to be the most enthusiastic to start a Food for Life project and the scope seemed unlimited. Many young men and women asked me what to do and how they could model the success of what we had done in Australia. One of those young enthusiasts was Krishna devotee, Srinivas das, who took on the task of developing Food for Life in Belgrade, Serbia.  He very methodically built a program from the ground up and followed all the good practices of others before him in Western Countries. Srinivas was able to get the support of the UNHCR and the Red Cross and position his Food for Life project as an essential partner in improving the social injustices that were present in Belgrade at the time. His project was a model of success for other projects in Eastern Europe and I encouraged other projects to follow suit and work for ways to cooperate with the more established NGOs in the area. “It was the most effective way to build credibility,” I told FFL volunteers, and in fact, partnering as such became an important ingredient in a book I would later release called, The 10 Ingredients of Success, later revised and republished at How to Develop a Successful Food for Life Project. Sadly, however, with the changing political and financial landscape of Serbia, over time, the program he built stalled, lost steam and stopped.  The Balkans floods The flood disaster that devastated large parts of Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia stimulated […]

URGENT Help Needed for Survivors of Typhoon Haiyan

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Typhoon Haiyan roared over the Philippines with pounding rain and top sustained winds approaching 200 mph as it neared the coast. “It is the strongest tropical cyclone on record that’s made landfall, writes Jeff Masters at Wunderground. That death toll is expected to rise. According to the AP, “close to 720,000 people had been evacuated from towns and villages in the typhoon’s path across the central Philippines, the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council said.” FOOD FOR LIFE RESPONDS Food for Life Philippines is responding to the emergency with hot vegan meals. A team of volunteers is gathering resources and equipment to expand their efforts immediately. A spokesperson for the team, Balarama Das, contacted Food for Life Global for assistance. “We are sending money to help with the initial stages of the relief effort,” explains director, Paul Turner. “However, the response to this national disaster is going to be a long-term one, so more funds are urgently needed to keep our volunteers supplied and supported,” he said. Our local FFL coordinator just sent us this brief report… “Here’s an update about the situation in Tacloban city and nearby places: there is no water supply and no food supply there; people are getting frustrated and will do anything to get food like stealing and looting. There are more than 1600 dead bodies recorded now and there are thousands missing. The local authorities are planning to have a mass burial tomorrow. However, some bodies have already been buried just along the roads. “Many of the nearby towns are impossible to reach, because of the devastation. There are no banks open and other establishments are closed all over the place. If possible, please try to send as much money as possible now before we enter the main disaster zone so that we can continue our […]

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