Legendary Jane Goodall to speak on pandemics, wildlife and intensive animal farming

Published 08/05/2020

On 2 June 2020, wildlife legend Jane Goodall, PHD, DBE, Founder – The Jane Goodall Institute and UN Messenger of Peace, spoke at the online conference: ‘Pandemics, wildlife and intensive animal farming,’ which we hosted together with seven Members of the European Parliament (MEPs). The webinar featured introductions by European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety Stella Kyriakides and European Commissioner for Agriculture Janusz Wojciechowski. 

You can watch the full webinar here.

The host MEPs come from all the key political groups and from seven different countries: Anja Hazekamp (the Netherlands, GUE/NGL), Sylwia Spurek (Poland, S&D), Jiří Pospíšil (Czechia, EPP), Martin Hojsík (Slovakia, Renew Europe), Tilly Metz (Luxembourg, Greens/EFA), Francisco Guerreiro (Portugal, Greens/EFA), and Eleonora Evi (Italy, NI).

Programme

The Event

Covid-19 and the climate crisis are together delivering a clear message that the health and wellbeing of people, animals and the environment are interdependent.

We have over-exploited the planet's resources and encroached into areas that were previously relatively safe for wildlife. Wildlife trade and trafficking as well as factory farming can create enabling conditions for viruses to spill over from their animal hosts into humans. Intensive animal farming relies on mass confinement and consequent suffering of farmed animals. This increases the risk of zoonotic diseases and antimicrobial resistance.

We need to reform food and farming policy so that it respects human health, the welfare of farmed animals, the planetary boundaries and the survival and well-being of wildlife. The EU must lead in taking ambitious action through the Farm to Fork Strategy, the Biodiversity Strategy and the Common Agricultural Policy in order to avoid future crises.

Jane Goodall, PhD, DBE, iconic speaker for the natural world, shared her visionary insights for reform of policy and inspired us all to show full regard for the value of the planet and all the living beings who share it.

Dr Jane Goodall

JANE GOODALL, PHD, DBE, FOUNDER - THE JANE GOODALL INSTITUTE AND UN MESSENGER OF PEACE

Dr Jane Goodall is an ethologist renowned for her groundbreaking research into the wild chimpanzees of Gombe, now in its 60th year. The Jane Goodall Institute was founded in 1977 and Dr Goodall travels more than 300 days a year sharing stories about the programmes of the Jane Goodall Institute including the welfare of captive chimpanzees, community centred conservation and the global humanitarian and environment programme empowering young people, Roots & Shoots. She stresses that every day every action we take makes a difference and it is up to each one of us to decide what kind of difference we wish to make. www.janegoodall.org; ​rootsandshoots.global; www.janegoodall.be

EU Commissioner Stella Kyriakides

Stella Kyriakides is the European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety. She recently presented the Commission’s Farm2Fork Strategy aiming to achieve sustainable food systems and launching a number of actions in areas such as pesticides and animal welfare. Prior to that, she was a Member of the House of Representatives of the Republic of Cyprus, Vice President of the Democratic Rally Party, Head of the Cyprus Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, President of the Parliamentary Assembly,  Member of the EPP Ethics Committee and President of the Cyprus National Committee on Cancer Strategy. Earlier she worked as Clinical Psychologist in the Mental Health Services of the Ministry of Health of Cyprus in the area of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Special areas of interest and training were Pediatric oncology and Child sexual abuse.  She earned her BA in Psychology from the University of Reading, UK, and her MED degree in Maladjustment, at the University of Manchester.

EU Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski

Janusz Wojciechowski is the European Commissioner for Agriculture. He recently presented on the mobilisation of the Common Agricultural Policy to support farmers in the transition towards more sustainable production and in achieving the Green Deal objectives. Prior to this role, Commissioner Wojciechowski was a Member of the European Court of Auditors, a Member of the European Parliament from 2004 – 2016, President of the Parliament’s Animal Welfare Intergroup and vice-chair of the Agriculture and Rural Development Committee. He has served as Deputy Speaker of the Polish Parliament, President of the Polish Supreme Audit Office, Member of the Governing Board of the European Organisation of Supreme Audit Institutions, Under-Secretary of State in the Cabinet Office with responsibility for Legislative Affairs, a Member of the Polish Parliament and a Judge at the High Court of Justice. He achieved in Master's degree in law at the University of Łódź.

Host Members of the EU Parliament

MEP ANJA HAZEKAMP (NL, GUE/NGL)  |  @ANJAHAZEKAMP

Anja Hazekamp is President of the Intergroup on the Welfare and Conservation of Animals and Co-Chair of its Cage-Free Farming Working Group. She is Vice-Chair of the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety Committee, Member of the Fisheries Committee as well as Substitute Member of the Agriculture and Rural Development Committee. Appointed to the European Parliament in 2014, she was writing history, as for the first time ever a party for animals was elected to an international parliament. She is not only a passionate advocate for animal rights and environmental justice, she also defends all those who are most in need of protection in our societies.

MEP SYLWIA SPUREK (PL, S&D)  |  @SYLWIASPUREK

Dr Sylwia Spurek is an attorney-at-law and Doctor of Law who has worked on human rights issues for 20 years, including writing the first draft of the domestic violence law in Poland. She is a Member of the Committee on Civil Liberties and a Substitute Member of the the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety Committee, as well as the Agriculture and Rural Development Committee. Before her election as an MEP in 2019, she held the post of Deputy Ombudsperson, working on equal treatment, health issues and environmental issues. Dr Spurek is a strong campaigner for animal rights and feminism.

MEP JIŘÍ POSPÍŠIL (CZ, EPP)   |  @POSPISIL_JIRI

Jiří Pospíšil has a distinguished academic and political career. He graduated from and later served as Dean of the Faculty of Law at the University of West Bohemia, and has twice held the post of Czech Minister of Justice. He has also served as Chairman of the Legislative Council of the Government. He is now a member of the European Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee and a Substitute Member of the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection, as well as a Substitute Member of the Subcommittee on Human Rights. 

MEP MARTIN HOJSÍK (SK, RENEW EUROPE)  |  @MHOJSIK

Martin Hojsík is a Vice-President of the Intergroup on the Welfare and Conservation of Animals and a Member of the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety Committee. He focuses on climate policies and the fight against hazardous chemicals. He is a founder and a Member of the Board of Progressive Slovakia, for which he is the main environmental expert. He has long experience in environmental protection and climate change and has worked in a number of international organisations - including the international NGOs Four Paws, Action Aid and Greenpeace. 

MEP FRANCISCO GUERREIRO (PT, GREENS/EFA)  |  @FGUERREIROMEP

Francisco Guerreiro is a Vice-President of the Intergroup on the Welfare and Conservation of Animals. He was elected in May 2019, representing the party PAN (People-Animals-Nature). He is the Vice-Chair of the Agriculture and Rural Development Committee and a Member of the Committee on Fisheries. During his mandate, Francisco is committed to promote a reform of the EU's agricultural policy where animal welfare, plant protein production (and a transition to it), organic farming, and short supply chains are privileged and incentivised.

MEP TILLY METZ (LU, GREENS/EFA)  |  @METZTILLY

Tilly Metz is a Vice-President of the Intergroup on the Welfare and Conservation of Animals. She is the Chair of the Delegation for relations with the countries of Central America, a Member of the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety Committee and a Substitute Member of  the Agriculture and Rural Development Committee. She has received the “EU for animals” award for her commitment to animal rights and animal protection. Another topic central to her work is the need to shift to more sustainable food systems. Prior to her career in politics, she was in academia, where she both taught and served as headmistress.

MEP ELEONORA EVI (IT, NI)   |  @ELEONORAEVI

Eleonora Evi is a Vice-President of the Intergroup on the Welfare and Conservation of Animals and Co-Chair of its Cage-Free Farming Working Group. She is a Member of the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety Committee, a Member of the Committee on Petitions and a Substitute Member of the Committee on Industry, Research and Energy. She is one of the initiators of the European Citizens' Initiative "End the Cage Age", calling for a ban of cages in animal farming.

Compassion in World Farming

With offices and representations in eleven European countries, the US, China and South Africa and over 1 million supporters, Compassion in World Farming has been campaigning to end all factory farming practices for over 50 years. www.ciwf.eu

Philip Lymbery, Global CEO of Compassion in World Farming  |  @Philip_CIWF

Philip has played leading roles in many major animal welfare reforms, and is an inspiring speaker, ornithologist, photographer and naturalist. He is also an award-winning author. Farmageddon: The true cost of cheap meat was chosen as one of The Times Writers’ Books of the Year in 2014 and cited by the Mail on Sunday as a compelling ‘game changer’. Dead Zone: Where the Wild Things Were, is the first book to show how factory farming is a major driver of wildlife declines worldwide.

www.philiplymbery.com​