The Day Without Meat 2014 : Facts, Figures and Thoughts

For the first time ever in Lyon, a group of 20 motivated students from the universities Lyon 1, Lyon 2 and Lyon 3 decided to organise and stage, on campus, a celebration of the Day without Meat, with the goal of raising awareness amongst the student body.

Why ?

Because animals suffer as a result of their living conditions in farms and of their eventual death in slaughterhouses.
Because farms are responsible for 18% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, even more than that caused by transportation.
Because the production of meat requires a gargantuan amount of numerous resources such as water and various grains and cereals which could be used to feed people directly.
Because eating less meat, and more vegetables, pulses, nuts, etc. reduces the risk of heart problems, diabetes type 2, cancers and obesity.

A Positive Response !

At midday, at the Manufacture des Tabacs campus of Lyon 3, the Lyon and St. Etienne branches of CROUS (a centralised catering service for university restaurants in France) offered various vegetarian options, which were chosen by 400 students !

The menu consisted of :

 Carrot sticks with parsley sauce
 Leek pie
 Cheese quiche

 Ricotta and spinach tortellini
 Risotto

 Raspberry tart

The film Viandes de France was shown in the Student Services centre for the whole day, at the Bron campus of Lyon 2.

“It made me reconsider quite a few things” was the general response of students to the short film.

To wrap things up, there was a conference in the evening, From your Plate to the Planet ; the Issues and the Ethics, given by the animal rights society L214 which was attended by over 30 people.

Throughout the day, more than 40 people gave their emails so as to receive further information on the society, Sentience and some even wished to join up as members !

Sentience in the Press

The Day without Meat organised by Sentience was covered by a number of local newspapers : Le progrès, Métro News and Direct Matin all featured sections on the event.

All in all, a very positive result for an organisation that had only existed for 5 months !

The next large activity for Sentience in France is planned for October, at the beginning of the new university term. Meanwhile, in Ireland, the society will hope to gain a foothold in NUI Maynooth, and beyond !

If you want to stage a similar event, or even start a branch of Sentience in your own university, get in touch !