raising public awareness on food safety and ethical eating, introducing its ambassador, Maria Poonlertlarp, with an Animal Welfare Problem Themed Fashion Show This October 20 – 23, at Samyan Mitrtown G Floor
World Animal Protection-Thailand, a global non-governmental organization with a goal to improve animal welfare, presents “Happy Meat Happy Me”, an interactive exhibition, invites consumers to an immersive learning experience. This event aims to raise public awareness of food safety and ethical eating. WAP is calling for a revolution towards better animal welfare in the food system and animals on farms, before consumption. “Happy Meet Happy Me” is in the heart of the city, Bangkok, where consumers are one of the largest and most diverse groups, during October 20 – 23, at Samyan Mitrtown G Floor. The event will introduce the World Animal Protection Thailand’s Ambassador, Maria Poonlertlarp, Miss Universe Thailand 2017, making her first appearance in a creative “END FACTORY FARMING” fashion show, developed under the concept of problems in animal welfare, calling for justice for animals! on October 20, 2021.
Roatchana Sungthong, Country Director, World Animal Protection Thailand, highlighted the objective of the event saying that “Happy Meat Happy Me, an interactive exhibition, aims to raise public awareness of animal welfare which has effects on our health and the environment. We want this event to be a chance for people to learn and take action on improving animal welfare. The World Animal Protection is committed to move the world to protect animals, putting an end to needless suffering and animal cruelty. Their mission is to create a better world for animals, even for those raised for food. We need to make sure that there is no future for inhumane factory farming and introduce an equitable and sustainable food system for the world.”
“In this event, we, at World Animal Protection, are not asking everyone to completely cut meat from their diet, because we know that there are animals raised for food. However, we want to raise people’s awareness, telling everyone that animals’ lives and feelings matter. We want to show the cruelty and suffering that they have to go through and how they affect us. These are the messages that we want to convey. Everyone wants to be happy every single day of our lives, and just like us, animals also need to live a good life until the last day of their lives,” Roatchana added.
Maria Poonlertlarp, World Animal Protection Thailand’s Ambassador, said that “I am very honored to work alongside World Animal Protection as the spokesperson sharing information and the importance of animal welfare and to get a chance to improve their quality of life, allowing them to live the way nature intended to. I once visited a free-range chicken farm, the chickens looks so happy there, with the feeling of their feet touching the ground, and the sun against their feather. On the contrary, those on factory farms are crammed in barren battery cages. Some lose their feather, some are wounded, and some couldn’t even walk. Those are just the tip of the suffering they have to face. So if we reduce meat from our diet, or choose to consume meat from farms that care about animal welfare, not only that we will get to eat safe antibiotic-free meat, but we will also get to help the animal raised for food to live the happiest during their time.
Not to mention that, as a consumer, it is important to know where our food is from, and how it affected us and our environment. Therefore, I believe that by being the ambassador of the World Animal Protection Thailand I will be able to help create an impact that changes the way we consume our food.”
The highlight on the opening day of the “Happy Meat Happy Me” event is the fashion show developed under the concept of problems in animal welfare by Sarisa Nuansri, Creative Director of SAVETUDIO. The “END FACTORY FARMING” collection is comprised of ready-to-wear clothes made with upcycling t-shirts from the fast-fashion industry, aiming for minimum impact on the environment. The silhouette of this collection is inspired by the clothes of the local farmer. The prints derive from flowers and nature with a hint of happy farm animals (pigs and chickens) through a cute drawing, and a cute and homey color inspired by a free-range farm in a cartoon drawing of food like bacon and eggs. This is ironic, of course, because the animal raised for food often live to be only 3 – 4 months old in a factory farming environment. No difference from humans, without proper welfare, animals are hurt and tormented. The models represent the animals, calling for justice for them.
In this 4-day “Happy Meat Happy Me” event, there are various activities such as the digital interactive exhibition that will give everyone a food experience starting from picking their favorite dishes from the menu, learning about their origin and the animal welfare for chickens and pigs in the factory farm, as well as the adverse effects of eating unsafe food, and what are some actions we could take towards better animal welfare for factory farming.
There are also different sessions on the main stage where the audience can share their thoughts such as:
- Thursday, October 20, 2022:
– 4.00 PM A panel discussion on “What’s the point?: Why do the lives of pigs and chickens lives matter?”, a take on the social awareness of animal welfare and our quality of life in the sustainable world. The panel featured many influential people, such as Zcongklod Bangyikhan, editor-in-chief of the Cloud magazine, Thanaboon Somboon, founder of CreativeMOVE, and Greenery, Muandao. Kongwanarat, Farm Animal/Food System Campaign Manager (WAP), and Maria Poonlertlarp, the ambassador of World Animal Protection-Thailand.
- Friday, October 21, 2022:
– 2.00 PM A panel discussion on “Safety Food Producer Partnership” by Pig and Poultry Association. The panel will include Dr. Fuse Wanich Wantawee the owner of WorTawee Biodynamic Farm; Panchana Vatanasathien, the founder of Food for Fighter, and Jo Sloane, the founder of Sloane’s network of brands which specializes in sourcing only high welfare ingredients.
– 4.00 PM A panel discussion on “Factory Farming and the silent pandemic of antimicrobial resistance” led by Assistant Professor Dr. Niyada Kiatying-Angsulee, Drug System Monitoring and Development Centre, DMDC, Supoj Singtosri, the President of the Deep-Litter System Pig Farm Network at Donrae Ratchaburi Province, and Chokdee Smithkittipol, Farm Animal/Food System Campaign Manager (WAP). - Saturday, October 22, 2022:
– 12.00 PM “Happy Meat Happy Me” Cooking Show by Tam Chudaree Debhakam, the first Top Chef Thailand, and the founder of Baan Tepa Culinary Space driven by the philosophy of sustainability. Fundraising Animal Print Workshop by Baitong Kiratinuch Luang-anggoon will share her inspiration and passion for screen printing animals on a t-shirt to raise funds for animal welfare for the past ten years; and the Limited-Edition animal print screening activity that you can join.Advertisement - Sunday, October 23, 2022:
– 2.00 PM A panel discussion on “The solution: Happy Meat Happy Me” by Supoj Singtosri, the President of the Deep-Litter System Pig Farm Network at Donrae Ratchaburi Province, Amnart Reansoi, the Owner of Tan Khun Organic Farm; and Vorakorn Laohaserikul, the Owner of Kiddee Farm. In this panel, you will get a chance to learn more about “the solution” of how to run a business that is practical and ethical, with real-life examples and experiences, as well as techniques to spot high-quality meat sourced from farms of high animal welfare.
Please come join us, broaden your eating experiences with high animal welfare farms and learn more about safe food at “Happy Meat Happy Me” this October 20 – 23, at Samyan Mitrtown G Floor. 10.00 AM – 8.00 PM (FREE ADMISSION)
For more information: www.worldanimalprotection.org and Facebook fanpage: World Animal Protection Thailand #HappyMeatHappyMe #WorldAnimalProtectionThailand
