Earth Day 2013 Message from Achim Steiner, UNEP Executive Director Fri, Apr 19, 2013

Earth Day 2013 Message from Achim Steiner, UNEP Executive Director Fri, Apr 19, 2013

UNEP is calling on people across the world to share their traditional knowledge and ideas of food preservation whether it be biltong in South Africa, pickling or jam making, sauerkraut in Germany, or the way shark meat is ripened and preserved in ice in Iceland.

Earth Day 2013 marks a special day in itself for millions of people around the globe who care about the environment, and in many ways, for UNEP a countdownto World Environment Day on 5 June which offers another opportunity to mobilize in support of a sustainable century.

Earth Day this year is focusing on Faces of Climate Change - an important public awareness raising exercise given that by 2015 nations have pledged to agree on a new and inclusive UN treaty to deal with theseemingly inexorable build-up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and all the rising risks for countries and communities across the globe.
World Environment Day 2013, whose global host will be the government and people of Mongolia, is focused on the new UNEP and UN Food and AgriculturalOrganization (FAO) campaign Think-Eat-Save: Reduce Your Foodprint which is aimed at cutting the at least one third of all food produced that never makes it from the farm to the fork.
Different issues, but both connected: Every loss and waste of food represents a loss of the energy involved in growing the food in the first place, and thefuel spent needlessly on transporting produce from farms to shops and homes, often across the globe. Meanwhile small but significant amounts of methane - apowerful greenhouse gas - are linked to food thrown away into the globe's landfills set aside emissions linked with livestock and forests cleared for foodthat is never eaten.
Mongolia is one of the fastest growing countries in the world and one that is aiming for a transition to a green economy and a green civilization - it isnot a big waster or loser of food but the traditional and nomadic life of many of its people does have some ancient answers to the modern-day challenge offood waste.
The Mongol general Chinggis Khan and his troops utilized a traditional food called borts to gallop across Asia without depending on elaborate supply chains- borts is basically concentrated beef equal to the protein of an entire cow but condensed and ground down to the size of a human fist. This remarkablemethod of food preservation, without refrigeration, meant a meal equivalent to several steaks when the protein was shaved into hot water to make soup.
And the Mongolians have other secrets to share that may contribute to preserving and thus not wasting food - aaruul, a form of dried curds that can last asa perfectly healthy dish or snack for years, again without refrigeration. UNEP is calling on people across the world to share their traditional knowledgeand ideas of food preservation whether it be biltong in South Africa, pickling or jam making, sauerkraut in Germany, or the way shark meat is ripened andpreserved in ice in Iceland.
Earth Day and WED 2013 are linked as are the challenges and the opportunities for delivering economic growth and generating decent green jobs withoutpushing humanity's footing past planetary boundaries. Reducing food waste and food loss is an economic, ethical and environmental challenge as is climatechange. Both need addressing urgently and in seeing the links we can deliver multiple benefits in line with the transition to a green economy in thecontext of sustainable development and poverty eradication.

Ahimsa with Attitude: An Interview with Maneka Gandhi

Ahimsa with Attitude: An Interview with Maneka Gandhi Satya magazine September 15, 1995 Maneka Gandhi is a member of one of the most famous families in the world. But it’s her work—not her name—that makes her remarkable. Gandhi is an animal rights and environmental activist who sees no difference between the two. Based in New Delhi, India, she spoke recently with Satya about solar energy, animal rights vs. animal welfare, the wrath of Kali, and love when she visited New York en route to Chicago, where she addressed a biannual gathering of Jains. Q: How did you get interested in animals and the environment? A: I actually started by losing an election. Until then I was a common-or-garden person. I fought an election and lost at the age of 28 [in 1984]. So when I lost, I started thinking to myself, suppose I’d won? What would I have given to India? Why was I fighting this election to begin with? To give something, not take something. I came to the thought that I should do what was important for me, and what was important for me was my son. What was I doing for him? I was putting away all the material possessions for him, his cutlery, his crockery, his linen, his school, his education, his marital life, his jewelry. But, the essentials: if I couldn’t leave him a glass of water, what was the point of all this? Or if I couldn’t let him cross the street, or if he never saw a park to play in, or if he couldn’t breathe without wheezing, or if he was ill every second day: I thought that I must do something. So I started traveling in India, and I said: “Let me not impose my views.” I started seeing: what is it that people want? How have they developed? What should happen? And from there I came into the environment. I discovered the word ‘environment’ for myself, and studied and learned and read a lot, traveled a lot. Then I became the Minister for Environment (1989-91), and found that the word ‘environment’ was misspelled on the Ministry’s letterhead! When I became Minister, India had no laws for the environment—none. Q: How did animals become central to your ideas about environment? A: I’d always been an animal person, and when my husband died, I opened an [animal] hospital in the same year in his memory. But, I’d never thought of fitting it into an agenda. For me it was something I did because I loved animals. But the more I studied in the environment movement, the more I thought: “Why should animals be separate, and especially in a country where animals run the country?” If I remove the cow, we’re all dead. It’s a cow dung economy; it’s not an open or closed or democratic or communist economy. If you remove the cattle from it, you might as well pack it all in, because there’s nothing else. If you remove the cow, you need buses to bring things to market, and you don’t have them. If you remove the cow, you need gas cylinders to cook on, which you don’t have. If you remove the cow, you need pesticide and fertilizer. If you remove the cow you need something other than milk. Everything ties in right back to the cow, the buffalo, the bullock, the horse, the camel, the elephant, the dog—which is one of the biggest scavengers of the city—the vulture, another big scavenger. Everything has its place, except man. So then I thought that since nobody else is going to do it, I must bring animals into the environment movement. Q: Can you describe the scope of the work you do? A: I run an NGO [non-governmental organization] called People for Animals, which is an umbrella organization for practically all the animal work in India. We make shelters ourselves and fund other shelters. I also go around India and set up shelters. I get land from state governments and try and arrange money; I get animal groups organized to run the shelters. We have shelters coming up in lots of parts of India. We also put cases in court against animal cruelties. For instance, I have a case in court now against using animals in the circus, which is coming up for a hearing next month. And I have another one for zoos selling animals to the circus. We just won a case against the slaughterhouse in Delhi which had to shut down because it was perpetuating so much cruelty. I’m the chairperson of the SPCA, and that involves inspections. I have 75 inspectors who patrol Delhi and have the power to give summonses. We prevent cruelties. We catch trucks which are overloading meat animals. And I run a hospital of my own in Delhi, a shelter, called the Sanjay Gandhi Animal Care Center. I’m setting up another one for People for Animals which is the biggest goshala, or cow shelter, in India. It will have about 10,000 cows. It’s already got about 600 cows, the stray cows of Delhi. Q: What are some of your current campaigns? A: We are working on something called “Artists for Animals” where we’re making every film star sign a pledge that they won’t work with animals. It’s getting to be too much: they’re shooting pigeons on screen, tripping horses, and they have tigers with their mouths sewn up, fighting with these macho stars. Then I have taken on the stopping of dog killing. About two to three million dogs are being killed every year in India because they are strays, supposedly to stop rabies. It has no effect whatsoever. So now we are trying to stop that program and replace it with sterilization and vaccination. Q: You are a very well-known person in India. How do you use that notoriety to further your causes? A: I do a column called “Heads & Tails” every week for about 30 newspapers, and that’s been collected into a book. I have two TV shows. One is called “Heads & Tails”. It’s the ahimsa show, in the sense that it shows animal cruelties, and shows people who are doing good work. It shows what you can do. I have another TV show on environment, a six-minute show every week after the news on Sunday, which says that, for instance, when you use aluminum foil, you kill the tiger. The bauxite is mined in the Bihar forest. The Bihar forest houses the tigers; the big cat is killed first when mining starts. It shows you the inter-relationships, the house of cards effect; how the aluminum was mined and where. Q: Was it hard to start work on these issues in a developing country, where there are so many pressing human needs? A: For me, it wasn’t a decision that was made looking at anything except the need—whose need was greater? And then who would take it up? You know, it’s very easy to do [work with] children, because that’s politically correct. If I hadn’t come into it, quite honestly, nobody would have. It has to be one person who’s confident enough to say, “I don’t care what you say, it has to be what I know to be true.” People in politics say: “You don’t do for people, you do for animals? Where will your votes come from?” Really, it [the work] has a vote multiplier effect, because you’re seen as good. Q: You are the most visible person in India, in all of the developing world, doing work like this. How much support do you find for your work? A: Well, I have a great deal of support. What kind of support it is, I don’t know, because I have no idea what to do with the support! I’m only learning very painfully, and it’s taking a long time, to be an organization person. I have about 30,000 members in People for Animals. I get about 80 letters a day, and those are work letters: “Can we donate land? Can we help?” But the point is, how does it translate? [The setting up] of bureaus and units is coming, but it’s coming very painfully. State governments are very supportive, in the sense that if I want something, I get it. I don’t know whether it’s the work I do or who I am, but if I want land, I get it; if I want the government to stop something, it’s done. Q: How important is vegetarianism to you and the work you do? A: I came to environment, then took up animals, and then from there I decided that it is not just “animals’ work”—you had to be vegetarian. I couldn’t go around saving the one cat and one dog, which is what people mean when they say ‘animals’, it had to be saving the meat animals, or rather preventing them from being born. So, I had to do vegetarianism. I had to do ahimsa which fitted the whole thing, the whole catchall phrase of environment, animals, vegetarianism. Everything comes into ahimsa. Q: What do you think about the term ‘animal rights’? A: I think it’s very important. But it shouldn’t be separated from animal welfare. In America, because you’re so rich, and you’re so bored, you invent debates, for instance the debate about abortion. It’s so non-sensical. We’re amazed that you people should be burning abortion clinics and killing abortion people. The debate is so irrelevant to the rest of the world. If you want to have an abortion, have it. If you don’t want to have it, don’t have it. Why do you make a thing about it? And why lobby, and why go to Congress? The right of a person to their own body is the first right, before anything else. So, the same way, now you’ve invented the debate between animal rights and animal welfare. How can we separate the two? My child’s right is to live, therefore I must look after the child. So, welfare is tied into rights. If I were to leave a one-day old baby and say: “Right, now it’s your life’s right to live, bye, bye”—it doesn’t mean anything. So, welfare is tied into rights. What I’m trying to do in India is start from a position of welfare: first welfare, then rights. If I look at a donkey on the road and it’s been run down, I can’t take it home. If I don’t have an animal shelter, the next time I won’t even look; I’ll just turn my eyes away because I’m ashamed. And the third time, I won’t even be ashamed. So, if I’m to further nurture it, then I must have first the shelter, then I have the rights. I see no debate. Q: There’s a lot of talk about sustainable development, particularly in poor or developing countries. Can you talk about that? A: Sustainable development is only possible with environmentalism. You could have, for instance, solar energy roofing, which may cost a little amount to begin with but will not put a strain on the city system. That would be sustainable. You could have no pesticides. If you didn’t have pesticides, you wouldn’t need hospitals. So you would be saving money on the hospitals, and saving money on the pesticides. There are a lot of ways to do it quite simply and easily. But we have to realize that there is no difference between development and environment. Environmentalism is everything. All of economics should be environmentally sound first. If it’s environmentally sound, it’s every-which-way sound. But, there’s no attempt to tie this into the economics which is taught in a university. You have to tie it into what you use; it should be taught as micro-economics. Teach me environmental economics. Teach me the science of inter-related crisis. In India, [environment] is taught in schools as singing and dancing. Q: How do you see the consequences of ignoring the environment/development connection? A: Anything that is not correctly done is going to kill us. It’s Kali, the goddess, who is the ultimate revenge-taker. You hurt her [and] she hurts you back. It’s not some big-bosomed cow-like creature sitting around being the Earth, you know. Our main economics are going awry the minute we kill all the animals and export them. Now India is Asia’s largest meat exporter. We’re feeding the rest of the world, but we’re not feeding them meat. We’re feeding them our water, our hillsides, our land. One slaughterhouse is using 16 million liters of water a day to clean its carcasses, and the meat is all exported to the Middle East. The slaughterhouse is next to the city of Hyderabad, which only gets water for half an hour a day. One of the things that’s underemphasized in the environmental thought process is our right to health, whereas that should be the basis of environmental work. If you create the greenhouse effect, I’m going to go down. In the Seychelles now, 50 percent of their money is going in building barricades, because sea levels are rising. Q: Did you feel you could do more for animals and the environment when you were Minister for Environment? A: Yes, I did. I felt that I could do a lot. I feel I can do exactly the same amount now, but in a different way—and by working much harder. Politics is ability to call change. When I was Minister, we shut down the circuses with animals. And when I stopped being Minister, the Circus Federation went to court and got a stay in court, and the case has dragged on for four years now. Q: So, do you plan to run for parliament again? A: Elections are next year, and I have no idea. I may, I may not. I’m technically in a party [the Janata Dal], but the party doesn’t exist. Q: What’s needed to get people to make the connection between animals and human beings, to see an animal not as dinner, but as a living, feeling being? A: What we need is not love. Love is such a stupid word. I keep getting called ‘animal-lover’ and I keep saying: “If I were working with old people, would you say ‘old people lover’? If I was working with AIDS patients, would it be ‘AIDS lover’?” It’s not ‘animal lover.’ It’s somebody who respects life. That’s all. I just respect the right of this animal to be. And not to be interfered with, not to be genetically impaired, not to be used, not to be forcibly made pregnant like the cow is, not to be herded up and down. Just let it be. Q: But for so many people, that’s such a leap. A: But that’s where we begin from. If you begin from respect, then you go everywhere. Love is so trivial. People say to me when they come and visit (I’ve got 12 dogs): “Oh, you must love dogs.” I say: “Absolutely I hate them, hate them. They occupy the whole house. I’m a guest in this wretched house.” But the point is, I respect their right to be. I make no demands on them at all. And they don’t make any demands on me. We kind of coexist.

Copyright ©201

Being vegetarian is the only way to save the planet: Maneka Gandhi

Barkha Mathur, TNN Apr 20, 2013, 05.20PM IST

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("There is an urgent need…)

Holding responsible the many fallacies that are associated with a vegetarian diet for the rise in the number of meat eaters, Maneka Gandhi, the founder of People for Animals, said that even medical practitioners were not aware of how well a vegetarian diet can work for physical well being. "They believe in the dictum 'garbage in garbage out.' They don't believe in the adage 'prevention is better than cure' and so preventive methods preached by naturopathy or ayurveda have been termed as alternative medicine." Diet and nutrition forms a very minuscule part of medical curriculum, she feels. "Even athletes turn vegetarians some five to six days before a tournament as it is known to make them feel more healthy and agile."
Dismissing all arguments against vegetarianism as puerile, Gandhi says, "Just see how well the Jains and the Marwaris do in life. It cannot be a co-incidence that they are so well educated and affluent. It is because of their way of life which involves least harm to a living being."
"There is an urgent need to instil these values in young children and for this we need to catch the adults who have an influence on them. It can be parents as well as teachers," she feels.

Do not treat cow as an animal…, says Maneka Gandhi

 

By Maneka Gandhi*

Krishna’s relationship with cows is the ultimate relationship between man and animal. They are not his “pets”. They are not to be used and discarded. He does not love them because they are beautiful, pedigreed, give milk. He does not even attribute human characteristics to them while loving them: that they are gentle, wise, loving, generous, patient, noble and sinless.
He loves them because they are him and Radha and his 16,000 wives and gopis in another form. He is non judgmental with his love. The ultimate lover sees neither the qualities of his beloved nor even her species, shape or personality. He loves because that is his nature. I do not love dogs and cats and horses and ants and eagles and mango trees. I love because all of them are me and it is the ultimate selflove to see myself in every blade of grass and therefore to be respectful of it. How many times has a human been reborn? How many lives have I spent as a donkey or a mouse or a cockroach or a sunflower? My soul is the same, how many different bodies has it occupied? Therefore how can I love just my current species – and that too, only a few people in it – when I have been all species.
But, why the bond between Krishna and the cow? It is not by accident that he has been made a cowherd in the epics. Or that he spent his formative years in Gokula (meaning herd of cows) ,  the area on the banks of the Jamuna now in Mathura.
The Srimad Bhagavatam says that Krishna knew the name of each cow of Vrindavana. If any cow was missing Krishna would immediately call her by name. The cows were divided into herds by color, black, white, red, or yellow. In each colour there were 25 further divisions. There were also eight herds of cows that were spotted or speckled or had heads shaped like a mridanga or that had tilak marks on their foreheads. Each of the 108 herds had a herd leader.”Thus when Krishna calls out, ‘Hey Dhavali’ (the name of a white cow) white cows comes forward, and when Krishna calls ‘Hamsi, Chandani, Ganga, Mukta’ and so on, the other groups of white cows come. The reddish cows are called ‘Aruni, Kunkuma, Sarasvati, etc., the blackish ones ‘Shyamala, Dhumala, Yamuna, etc., and the yellowish ones are Pita, Pingala, Haritaki, etc. ”
The Krishna Bhaktas trivialize the reasons for Krishna’s love for cows. Because they are beneficial to humans. They give milk (They do not give milk to humans . They produce it for their own children and we take it from them). They allow him to secretly meet Radha and the girls who take the cows into the forests (this is equally mad) Their lives are always for others (again rubbish. If left alone, they care for their own families as we do). They have no lust (have they never seen a bull on heat?) If we worship the cow simply because it is of economic benefit then the scriptures should be equally ecstatic about horses, goats, pigs, businessmen, gold. The worship of the cow goes much deeper than that.
The word Gau or Go itself means fair, light,white, golden, beautiful.  When my son Varun was getting married in Varanasi, the first ritual of the marriage was for the priests to ask him his Gotra (Dattatreya). The gotra which means lineage also means herd of cows. Gaurav , meaning the sound of a cow, also means glory and prestige. Another name for Jupiter, the moon, Seshanaga  ,Sage Chaitanya and Siva is Gauranga or cow coloured. Gauri or cow coloured is another name for the Earth and Parvati . Daybreak  is Gaushra: the time of cattle grazing. Gautama, the name of the Buddha comes from Gau Uttama meaning the ultimate cow, remover of darkness, the ultimately fair , wise and beautiful. Gautami is another name for the rivers Gomati ( with the wisdom of the cow) , Godavari ( giving prosperity) and Durga. Krishna is known as Gopala, Godharin, Gomateshwar, Gopa, Govardhana, Govinda,Gosvami. Gopati is another name for Vishnu, Siva and Varuna. The ultimate paradise is Goloka meaning cows world – the paradise of Krishna situated on Mount Meru on which dwells Surabhi the mother of all cows.
I have met many enlightened souls. I know now is that nothing they say is meaningless or pointless or even metaphorical. Even when they say things that sound general like ‘be happy’  or “drive safely “you discover later that there was a specific  applicable meaning. Why has the cow been chosen? In all the religious texts there are three animals that are repeated again and again as important and to be revered: the snake, the monkey and the cow. The snake is associated with energy, the monkey with intelligence, innovation, bhakti and humility and the cow as the ultimate and best in everything.
I do not believe that these are metaphors or chosen at random. Reading the scriptures and listening to the experiences of all those who have attempted enlightenment, I realize that these animals that are being referred to are the actual animals and they actually are what they are supposed to represent. As we kill the snakes the earth loses its energy, our constant war with monkeys depletes the intelligence of the human race and its ability to think its way out of the mess we are sinking into and our ceaseless killing of cows by Hindus who sell them and Muslims who kill them and the government which boast of killing the largest number of cows in the world (our leather export is Rs 27,000 crores which is only of cowskin. If each skin is Rs 300, how many cows is that?) , our tolerance of them being smuggled to Bangladesh, our acceptance of thousands of illegal abbatoirs –we have lost our desire to strive for the best. Which of us is now the best at anything or even wants to be the best? A weariness of the spirit, an acceptance of mediocrity, corruption, bad education, third rate lives, bad health, criminal governments, wars, endless destruction, has settled on us.
The protector of cows,Krishna Gopala is the greatest mind, both for civil administration and war.  The highest devotees are the Gopis or cowherdesses. Goloka is the highest destination. As described in the Brahma Samhita Lord Krishna on His planet, Goloka Vrindavana, engages in tending the surabhi cows.”  Could it be that the cow is the ultimate deity? That god has chosen to test us by putting our 33,000 gods in our midst and then he watches to see what we do to them? If cows are the deities for Lord Krishna this has to be the highest form of worship.
Krishna is not a cowherder only because he was sent to be raised by Nanda and Yashoda of Braj village who owned cows. He was sent to them because they owned cows. He is still herding cows in His eternal abode  Goloka.  Why do the saints from Vyasa onwards say that the cow is to be worshipped? .Why are our idols bathed in milk and cow urine – the panchgavya. Why does the Skanda Purana say “Offering respect to the Cows will help the devotee to diminish the reactions to his past sinful activities” Could it be that people who serve Krishna ’s cows and see them as Gods are the most fortunate and achieve results in the simplest manner . There must be a reason why the wish granting of the universe is put into Kamadhenu , the wish fulfilling cow.
Vedic philosophy teaches there are 7 mothers: 1) the birth mother, 2) the nurse, 3) the wife of the father (if she is not the birth mother), 4) the wife of the king, 5) the wife of the spiritual master, 6) the earth, and 7) the cow.
Do not treat the cow as an animal, to be used and discarded.  Treat her well and your wishes might come true.
*Maneka Gandhi is a parliamentarian and animal welfare activist. You may contact her at gandhim@nic.in

Birds have right to fly in open sky

 

By Maneka Gandhi*

In Lucknow, recently, I decided to go and see the People for Animals shelter. On the way, I saw a road covered with cages . Thousands of parakeets, mynas, munias, bulbuls. I rang up the local district forest officer and asked him to send me a team to arrest the sellers and take the birds. By the time I returned from the shelter and picked up the forest department team they had already informed the sellers and the bird market had simply vanished!
Undeterred we went into the houses behind the market and found one with heavy padlocks on it. The chirping of birds could be heard inside. We called the police – the chowki was 50 yards away , shamefully – and they took an hour to come. The locks were broken and the munias, doves, baby parakeets were taken away. If I had not been there, the mob of seller would have lynched the forest officers. The DFO told me that that last time they raided the market, they were stripped off their clothes and beaten. No one was arrested. The man whose house we raided had a bold sign on top – Ram Autar (his real name is Sulaiman ), Bird and Animal Seller. Just out of jail after 10 months, it had not taken him one day to restart his criminal profession.
While the newspapers were full of the incident the next day, I know it is a useless gesture. The police and the forest department get weekly bribes and  even if they did not, they are scared of the physical violence they might encounter in this hardcore criminal Muslim basti called Nakhas. Not just birds are sold here. Bombs, guns and knives are made and every criminal on the run can hide out here.
The first thing the ranger said to me was: “How can we take these birds? They are all foreign.” They were not . They were all munias that had been dyed bizarre bright colours. That shows two things: the ignorance of the forest rangers who receive no training at all in wild species or articles. And their readiness to interpret the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 to say that people selling “ foreign” bird can do so legally. For years now, every time we catch a bird-seller, this is the excuse that the department makes. The seller has no import licence or selling licence; he has brought the birds from Kolkata which is the centre of the trade. But still his birds are “foreign”. As a result, whenever animal activists take away birds, the local courts order them to be given back under “custody” to the sellers themselves. Needless to say the case is never heard again and the “custodian” carries on selling them.
This useless Jairam Ramesh refuses to correct the error. At the end of his tenure, he will go down in history as the minister who talked the most and did the most damage to forests, animals and the environment.
However, now comes a major ray of hope in the form of a judgment from Gujarat. Every now and then God sends a judge with common sense and humanity. Honourable Justice M.R.Shah of The High Court, Ahmedabad has come as a gentle ray of sunlight through the clouds of forest department ignorance and corruption.
In 2010, Abdulkadar Mohamad Azam Sheikh was caught selling birds in Surat. A criminal complaint under Sections 11 of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act 1960 and Section 12 of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 was filed against him. He had kept 494 birds in tiny cages with their wings and tails cut, cellotaped and with rings on their legs. These birds were confiscated by the police and given to an NGO.
The criminal appealed and typically asked for custody of the birds. Fortunately, the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate dismissed the application and ordered the birds to be set free in the sky. The criminal made a revision application to the Additional Sessions Judge who asked for the birds not to be released but to be given to an NGO and costs to be paid to them by the criminals of Rs 1.05 lakhs.
The criminals then went to High Court in May 2011 and asked for the birds. Their lawyer N.A.Shaikh’s defence was that his clients had been in the business of selling birds and animals for a long time so should be allowed to carry on ! This is like catching a man with his 40th murder victim and being told that since he has killed 39 before that , he should be allowed to keep doing it. And , in the same breath, they said that they should be given the birds since it was their first offence! They further argued that no licences were needed for sale of birds. That is true – no licences can be given because the trade is illegal. They also argued that the birds would die with the NGO or the police and therefore should be returned to them.
The lawyers , including the Additional Public Prosecutor, argued that since the way they had been kept was cruel and atrocious, and that as most of them were birds banned for sale , they should not be given back.
The judge quoted a beautiful passage from the ruling by the Supreme Court in the case of Sansar Chand the tiger poacher. It is too long to reproduce here but I will give this judgment’s salient points:
The criminals had failed to prove their ownership. Possession of birds does not mean ownership.
The birds were all being sold without a licence. No licence could be given by any authority unless the applicants proved that they got the birds without hunting or trapping. Even the business of breeding birds could not be started without hunting or trapping them.
The manner that they were kept was inhuman and against the rules of nature and in violation of the right of birds to move freely in the air/sky
Not just the Prevention of Cruelty to Animal Act 1960 but Art 51 of the Constitution casts a fundamental duty on every citizen to have compassion for animals and to protect them from unnecessary pain.
Birds cannot be kept in cages because they suffer pain. To keep any birds in cages would be tantamount to illegal confinement of the birds and violative of their right to fly in the open sky.
The day has come to think of the fundamental rights of birds and animals: right to live freely, right to move freely . Violation of these rights has cause the decrease in birds and many have vanished.
To keep the birds in cages during the trial is unfair because this may take a long time. Therefore the only order that can be passed is to respect the rights of birds and free them in the sky. Section 451 of the Code of Criminal Procedure confers powers on the court for custody and disposal of property pending trial and if such property is subject to natural and speedy decay or if it is expedient to do so . Therefore the original order of the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate to release the birds in the sky is restored.
This is the most important judgement for the animal welfare movement in a long time. It confers rights on birds. Please make a copy of this article and give it to the forest department. Start catching the bird sellers of any birds in your area. If you want copies of the judgement, I will send them to you. I have also put it on the site www.peopleforanimalsindia.org.
God bless Justice Shah !
 *Maneka Gandhi is a parliamentarian and leader of animal welfare movement in India. You may contact her at gandhim@nic.in

Iodine number

Many carbons preferentially absorb small molecules. Iodine number is the most fundamental parameter used to characterize activated carbon performance. It is a measure of activity level (higher number indicates higher degree of activation), often reported in mg/g (typical range 500–1200 mg/g). It is a measure of the micropore content of the activated carbon (0 to 20 Å, or up to 2 nm) by adsorption of iodine from solution. It is equivalent to surface area of carbon between 900 m²/g and 1100 m²/g. It is the standard measure for liquid phase applications.
Iodine number is defined as the milligrams of iodine adsorbed by one gram of carbon when the iodine concentration in the residual filtrate is 0.02 normal. Basically, iodine number is a measure of the iodine adsorbed in the pores and, as such, is an indication of the pore volume available in the activated carbon of interest. Typically, water treatment carbons have iodine numbers ranging from 600 to 1100. Frequently, this parameter is used to determine the degree of exhaustion of a carbon in use. However, this practice should be viewed with caution as chemical interactions with the adsorbate may affect the iodine uptake giving false results. Thus, the use of iodine number as a measure of the degree of exhaustion of a carbon bed can only be recommended if it has been shown to be free of chemical interactions with adsorbates and if an experimental correlation between iodine number and the degree of exhaustion has been determined for the particular application.

Top 5 Carnivorous Plants

l 5, 2013 | Author ari hidayat

People got used to the fact that animals, bird and fish are the only carnivorous species on Earth. In real certain plants can associated with this group of predatory natural beings. Sometimes they even referred to as miracles of Mother Nature. Specifically, the cause of their existence is usually related to the environment plants are distributed in; lack of certain components in the ground preconditioned necessity of hunting and catching flash species, including insects or small animals. There are 450 species of carnivorous plants belonging to 6 families, which can be found all over the world in many different habitats.
1. Nepenthes is famous for its ability to eat insects. It is a native species of Sumatra and some other Malaysian Islands. There are many species that differ in size and shape of the pitcher traps. Recently discovered Nepenthes attenboroughii is so strong that it can hold and digest a mouse or a medium-sized rat, including their bones and teeth!
2. Drosera (sundew) is a potential threat to flies and mosquitos in the area of its distribution. This plant owns of very insidious leaves that produce a sticky substance. As a result, little insects cling tightly to the sundew, and still remain motionless – a tricky sticky liquid leaf has a paralytic effect. As soon as the prey is caught, leaves close up and the plant digest its meal.
3. Bladderwort is a known carnivorous plant, residing in moisture places. In addition, it is a record-holder in reaction speed! Recently, scientists have estimated that the time it spends to catch a prey is 0.5 milliseconds. It is assumed that a victim should get to the hollow trap from which previously water is pumped out, and thus an area of low pressure is formed. As a result, one has only to touch the trap, as its walls are expanding, and the victim along with the water is drawn inside, where digestive enzymes start working.
4. Drosophyllum has thin long leaves, which contain sticky elements. As in case of Nepenthes, the plant catches prey the same way. However, its gluttony can be hardly outranged. Drosophyllum consumes dozens of insects per day.
5. Butterwort is a close relative species of Bladderwort. The entire upper side of the leaf is covered with fat sticky substance. Insects usually stick and begin to spin, trying to escape. Nothing good comes out of it – the carnivorous plant starts to roll a leaf.

440 sunstroke deaths in 3 days, toll climbs to 524

TNN | May 27, 2013, 06.33 AM IST
HYDERABAD: The intense summer heat continues to claim more lives even as the India Meteorological Department (IMD) warns of a severe heat wave in some parts of the state for two more days. The Official sunstroke toll released by the commissioner of disaster management on Sunday put the number of deaths at 524 since April 1. Of these, 440 deaths were reported in the last three days, with 250 cases coming to light since Saturday.
This is the first time that 440 people have lost their lives due to heat in the span of three to four days in the state. Between April 1 and May 23, the official sunstroke toll was only 84 but it zoomed to 524 by May 26. Guntur recorded the highest number of deaths with 95 people falling victim, followed by Prakasam district with 75 casualties.

According to the IMD, the maximum temperatures showed a marked increase at one or two places in coastal Andhra Pradesh but fell at one or two places in Telangana and Rayalaseema. The highest maximum temperature of 47 degrees Celsius was recorded at Tuni and Visakhapatnam airport. Vijayawada and Kakinada recorded 46 degrees Celsius while Bapatla, Machilipatnam, Rentachintala, Hanamkonda and Ramagundem recorded 45 degrees Celsius. Hyderabad was relatively cooler with the mercury at 41 degrees.

Severe heat wave conditions are expected in Prakasam, Guntur, Krishna, East and West Godavari and Visakhapatnam districts for the next two days. Warangal and Karimnagar are also expected to feel the brunt of the sun.
 http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/440-sunstroke-deaths-in-3-days-toll-climbs-to-524/articleshow/20284894.cms

Self Inspection and Quality Audits

Self Inspection and Quality Audits

1.  Introduction:

Self inspection is basically a method of objective overall review of one’s own operation on aspects that may have on quality effect on quality assurance. In general, self inspection aims at identifying defects whether of critical, major or minor nature. Self inspection should be conducted by designated competent persons from the company. Self inspection program is conducted in order to monitor the implementation and compliance with current GMP principles and to ensure that the necessary corrective measures are taken.

2.  Purpose:
Self inspection is away to evaluate the whole operating system from every aspect that might influence the quality of the products. It is not only to find the weakness or fault but more important is to find a way to prevent and to overcome the problems effectively.

3.  Team of Self inspection: A self inspection team, of which the members are appointed by company management, should initially prepare a self inspection check list for reference in the implementation of inspection. Self inspection team should be withdrawn among the production, quality control, quality assurance, research & development, engineering and general affairs departments. The team should consist of technically competent persons with high conscience in quality assurance in drug product processing activities.

4.  Coverage of Self inspection:
The Self inspection team should carefully study every point in the GMP guidelines and drive questionnaires fitted to the company needs. The following items should undergo self inspection so as to ensure GMPs in the premises as per WHO requirement.
Personnel
Premises and Equipment
Maintenance
Storage of starting and finished products
Production and in-process controls
Quality control
Documentation
Sanitation and Hygiene
Validation and revalidation program
Distribution
Product complaint and recall
Calibration of instruments
Labels control
Results of previous self inspection and corrective action taken

5.  Frequency of Self inspection: Self inspection shall be conducted at reasonable intervals, but should cover an area/operation/function at least once a year or if necessary at short intervals.

6.  Procedure:
Prepare a time schedule and area to be self inspected
Determine the Self inspection team
Prepare a Self inspection check list
Record all filling
Prepare the finding report and recommendations
Distribute to the Department Head concerned
Prepare a corrective action plan

7.  Self inspection Report: In the implementation of self inspection, the team should consistently bear in mind that the purpose of self inspection is to look for improvement and not only fault finding. The team also gives recommendations for solving encountered problems taking into consideration the economic aspects of GMP implementation.

8.  Distribution of Report:
Plant Director
Production Manager
Quality Control Manager
Head of Engineering Dept.

9.  Corrective Action:
Should be appropriate to correct deficiency
Must prevent re-occurrence
Must be completed in a timely manner
It should be documented and records maintained
Must be monitored

GMP Audit Check List- Personnel and Premises

PERSONNEL

1. Is up-dated organization chart showing arrangement for quality assurance including production and quality control available?
2. is up dated technical staff list is available with following information - Name, qualification and years of relevant experience of responsible pharmacists, Chemist in Production, Quality Assurance & Quality Control?
3. Are production and Quality Assurance/ Quality control functions independent of each other?

4.      Are all unit areas adequately staffed?

5.      Is there proper supervision in every unit?

6.      Is hiring of an employee proceeded by a medical examination?

7.      Is this examination done periodically ?

8.      who is responsible for reporting/checking health of  employee?

9.      Is an employee whose states of health is doubtful immediately removed from the work site until she/he has recovered?

10.  Is there system of reporting back after illness?

11.  Is medical assistance available during the normal working hours?

12.  Are there suitable washing, changing and rest areas?

13.  Is the clothing suitable for the activity undertaken? Briefly describe the clothing.

14.  Are there clear instructions on how protective clothing should be used and when it should be changed?

15.  Is in-house or external laundry used?

16.  Have all personnel received GMP training? A. Induction B. Continuous

17.  Is training manual/syllabus of GMP available and enclosed?

18.  Do all personnel receive up-dated GMP training? How often?………

19.  Is record of training details (induction/continuous) provided to each staff in-house available and enclosed?

20.  Is efficacy of training assessed by questionnaire?

PREMISES

1. Are there any sources of pollution (industrial or other) in the neighborhood of the building?
2. Is well-labeled plant lay-out of suitable size, design and construction for each areas of production and control available/enclosed?
3. Is the plant so constructed and maintained to protect against. a) Weather, flood, ground seepage? b Access and harboring of vermin, rodents, birds, insects and other animals?
4. Is there an adequate working space for a) Orderly and logical placement of equipment and materials? b) Efficient flow of work? c) Effective communication?
5. Are buildings and facilities properly constructed to facilitate smooth operation and adequate cleaning?
6. Are room arrangements adequate, to prevent mix-up and/or cross-contamination of products?
7. Are lighting and ventilation adequately designed and installed?
8. Is schematic drawings/data on design criteria (specification of the air supply, temperature, humidity, pressure differential and air change rate, re-circulation percentage), filter design/efficiency, limits for changing filters, validation, re-validation frequency provided?
9. Are toilets: a) not open directly to production areas? b) well ventilated?
10. Are sewage, trash and other effluent disposal adequate?
11. Are floors, walls and ceilings constructed of materials which will facilitate easy cleaning and if necessary Dis infections?
12. Are products of other highly toxic/hazardous products, cephalosporins, steroids/hermones, cytotoxics well segregated?
13. Is schematic description of water system including sanitation provided? ( Indicate city supply, capacity, vessel materials/pipework, filters specification, store/circulating temperature, specification of water produced, sampling points, frequency testing, procedure and frequency of sanitation)
14. Are there preventative maintenance and servicing programme/procedure/reporting available? ( Indicate the frequency of services /checks, details of services/repairs/modification, critical maintenance that could affect product quality, access/use of maintenance records)