Ntic Student Magazine
Vol 4 Autumn 2013
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Foreword
Sheffield take on Nottingham at the KIC Games
From settling into our Belgrave premises to hosting the KIC games it has been a busy and productive year at NTIC. This, our fourth, issue of the magazine showcases not only the personal experiences, creativity and imagination of our students during this time but also their sense of community and collaboration that is at the heart of our college.
front and back cover image: Albina Omarova
In this issue, take a tour of the Art and Design summer exhibition courtesy of Media student Uhwe Ando; put yourself in the shoes of a goalkeeper about to face penalties through Turki Hussain M Alsallum’s account of playing at the KIC games; find out what it was like to be part of the college’s first internet meme in Farida Khan’s article about the NTIC Harlem Shake; learn more about Siberia and Brazil from the personal insights of Alexandr Drapeko and Sofia Paz Andrade; share our students’ experiences of Nottingham;
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and consider issues of animal welfare after reading Tsang Wing Sze’s article about vegetarianism. There is a vibrant sense that the students have immersed themselves in their experiences whilst at NTIC. They have grabbed opportunities that have come along, whether it has been taking part in big communal events like the Harlem Shake and the KIC games or whether it has been through sharing their personal reflections in this magazine. College is a great place to find out about yourself and get involved in new experiences. If, when reading this magazine you are inspired to take part, then please do (and e-mail us about it). Enjoy the read. Simon and James.
Contents 4 Photo shorts A quick snapshot of life around NTIC
6 Top ten tips: food and eating out
6
8 Experiencing Nottingham Samuel He 10 The Making of NTIC’s Harlem Shake Farida Khan
12 Anatomy of a Harlem Shake
8
13 The Art of the Harlem Shake Jeann Ardhita Kembangkhana
14 The KIC games come to NTIC Ben Rabbett 16 KIC Games: view from behind the posts Turki Hussain M Alsallum
26
18 A journey through NTIC art Uhwe Ando 22 Brazil: country of the future? Sofia Paz Andrade
24 Greetings from Novosibirsk Alexandr Drapeko
26 What I’ve been thinking and why I became a
18
vegetarian Tsang Wing Sze
Staff team: Simon Aldcroft simon.aldcroft@kaplan.com James Walker james.walker@kaplan.com Student photographers: Yana Ponomareva Albina Omarova
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Photo shorts Life at NTIC is never dull...
This page, clockwise from top: Christmas carols;students at Nottingham Castle on Activities Day; China’s First Secretary for Education plays table tennis with NTIC students; the new common room facilities get the thumbs up from students; College Director, Christian Gerstner getting his head shaved at the KIC games after students raised £150 for charity; the fundraising bucket
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This page, clockwise from top left: former NTIC student and contributor to this magazine, Betty Odema, graduates from NTU and receives a Vice- Chancellor’s award; students at NTIC’s first ever graduation ceremony; signing at graduation; balloons for the graduation ceremnony; student trip to Nottingham City Council; student tour of the NTU Art and Design facilities
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Top ten tips Every issue our students and staff share advice on a variety of topics. This issue we share our top ten tips on...
1. It is always better to cook than buy food, and be selective with the type of shop you shop from. Esther Amponsah, Residency Rep for Cotton Mills from Ghana
2. I wish someone had warned me that not only do people eat mushy peas at occasions such as Goose Fair, but they also put mint in them! Rachel, NTIC Student Support Services
3. Many chain restaurants have discounts on Mondays. Hannah Lewis, NTU International Development Office
4. Fast food isn’t healthy – the best way is to cook for yourself! Anonymous NTIC student, Graduate Diploma
5. I wish I’d brought less clothes and left space for some food in my suitcase! In the first few weeks, it’s always hard to know which food is suitable for you – my friends and I spent 3 weeks mostly eating chicken and chips! Consider bringing some ingredients from home for the first few weeks while you’re learning your way around. Betty, NTIC Student Ambassador from Nigeria
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6. The range of food available in Nottingham is good – you can find food from all around the world. Anonymous NTIC student, Foundation Art and Design
7. The fish and chips served in the café in NTU’s Newton Building on Fridays are delicious! Anonymous NTIC student, Foundation in Art and Design
8. I wish I’d known that I could get Nigerian food products in Nottingham before I spent money buying large amounts of them at home. Peace Ubongwung, NTIC Residency Rep at Trinity Square from Nigeria
9. If you need to cook, you should go to the Victoria Centre Market, on the first floor of the Victoria Shopping Centre. The food there is fresher than supermarkets. Anonymous NTIC student, Graduate Diploma
10. Compared to my country, food here is more expensive. For example, a plate of food will go for £3 here, but the same thing could go for the equivalent of £2 in Nigeria. Anonymous NTIC student from Nigeria, Enhanced University Prep (EUP) programme
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Samuel He
Pilar Torres
Experiencing Nottingham
T
alk about Nottingham and the first thing many people think about is the story of Robin Hood. However, Nottingham is not only the home of the Robin Hood legend: the poet Byron and writer D.H. Lawrence both lived in Nottingham to pick just two examples. Nottingham is full of stories and if students really want to experience the famous history of Nottingham then Nottingham Castle and Wollaton Hall are good places to start, writes Samuel He. Nottingham Castle is located on top of “Castle Rock�, a 130 feet (40m) high cliff to the South-West of Market Square. However, approaching the castle from town, up Friar Lane to the stone gate house, you do not get the feeling that you are approaching the edge of a cliff. It is only when you walk past the gardens and the castle itself to the viewing platform that you can see the spectacular views of the city and appreciate the commanding position of the castle. Built by William the Conqueror in 1067 it was used as a major royal fortress and occasional royal residence throughout the Middle Ages. Most famously, Richard the Lionheart laid siege to the castle to reclaim it from his brother John in1194, though the castle also makes many appearances in tales of showdowns between the Sheriff of Nottingham and Robin Hood. However, by the 1600s the castle was well and truly in decline and had been largely demolished by 1649.
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Leach84
The current look of the site began to take shape when a ducal mansion was completed at the cliff summit by Harry Cavendish, the Second Duke of Newcastle, in 1678. Even though it was burnt out by rioters in 1831 it has since been adapted as an art gallery and museum, which remains in use today. In the museum, you can find out about the history of Nottingham through the paintings, illustrations, models, dolls, and other historical artefacts assembled there. The art museum is divided into two floors: the first floor is the main display of costumes and pottery; the second floor is the painting department. The museum and gallery really is a place to appreciate the rich history and many stories of Nottingham. Of course, you are never far from Robin Hood though: outside the castle is the famous Robin Hood statue where many students have had their photographs taken and if you head down Castle Gate to St Nicholas’ Church there are information boards outside telling more stories about Robin Hood. Wollaton Hall, located west of the city centre on a hill in a huge park, was built between 1580 and 1588 and is Nottingham’s best known manor house. The house looks impressive on the top of the hill, particularly if you come from the lake and stroll through the little botanic garden before. Indeed, there is plenty to
do and see for everyone in the grounds. You will find young people playing football, families having picnics and plenty of people just admiring the wildlife, such as the beautiful deer. Inside Wollaton Hall, rather surprisingly, you find a museum of natural history which may be interesting for children. Myself, I found it a little misplaced and would have preferred to have some more information about the house itself, especially since there are only two rooms with information about the house in. Still, entrance to the museum and the grounds is free so it’s not surprising that many people in Nottingham like to come here to relax. Recently though, Wollaton Hall has become famous for completely different reasons: as the home of Batman. Wollaton Hall was chosen as the setting for Wayne Manor in Christopher Nolan’s Batman movie, The Dark Knight Rises, and in summer 2011 many Hollywood stars including Christian Bale and Gary Oldman came to Nottingham to film scenes for the movie. It wasn’t just for outside shots either as many rooms inside Wollaton Hall were completely transformed to look like Wayne Manor for interior scenes. So make sure you visit Wollaton Hall whilst you are in Nottingham and you can say that you’ve not only been in the same place as Robin Hood, but Batman as well.
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h a k e i t a l l a bo ut! S In the Spring Term there were rumblings from the Belgrave building as students made NTIC’s first ever internet meme for their FC035 media class. 72 students and several members of staff piled into the lecture theatre to create the NTIC version of the Harlem Shake. Over the next four pages we look back over the event, starting with Farida Khan’s report on what is was like to be part of that crazy day.
T
here was a buzz of excitement in the air. The incessant chatter, the rushed instructions and of course, people with downright weird costumes, make up and face paints! Where else could you find a bunch of alligators hopping around with a bunny rabbit? Or a cyclist on a table? Or even Santa prancing around, when it’s not even nearly Christmas? Yes. In a Harlem shake video. And if you think all this is bizarre, well it gets even better! We made our version of the Harlem shake, a video that went viral on the net, for our A.V Media class here at NTIC! Wait! There’s more… the notion was suggested by a TEACHER. No, you didn’t read that wrong! We are just lucky to have such ubercool teachers at NTIC. The idea to do one such video in our college cropped up during an A.V. Media class while we were learning about memes and copyright and the laws and infringements related to them. Simon Aldcroft, who is the professor for the class, along with a group of other staff members managed to kick start the process of making the video and followed it right through to release: from the organizing, shooting, editing and uploading of the video to the handling of consent forms, which we needed to publish our version of the meme on Youtube. On the day of the shooting, even the chaos surprisingly appeared to be very organized. Annaiss Yucra Mancilla, a Foundation Art and Design student, oversaw the direction while Sangyoon Lee, another Foundation Art and Design student, handled the camera and technical aspects. The Media students ran about interviewing everyone involved with
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Where else could you find a bunch of alligators hopping around with a bunny rabbit?
The best part of the entire project, however, was how everyone came together and made this happen. the project and even managed to get a sound bite from the Director of the College, Christian Gerstner: “It’s great to see the teachers and students coming up with such innovative ideas to learn and grasp concepts. I think this is a really good idea and there is such a sense of enthusiasm all around! I am also excited to be part of the video and have a secret costume ready too!” He said this with a cheeky smile and we later found out that it was him dressed up as Santa! Lastly, the video was put together by Seohyeon Park, a Foundation Art and Design student, under the supervision of Simon along with the Visual Culture and A.V. Media Professor, Karen Fraser, who had also helped to make the video look visually much more appealing. James Walker, the ‘Media Guru’ and a professor at the college guided the students who were creating the ‘making of’ video and helped by giving some great tips and cues for creating effective articles. Interestingly, even though this project was mainly focused on learning the key concepts of one module, students ended up applying several concepts from other modules of their courses, such as Visual Culture, Media and Art, as well. The best part of the entire project, however, was how everyone came together and made this happen. Everyone, right from the staff at the reception to the professors, students and the Director of the College, contributed to it. It was a great hands-on learning experience and what’s more? We got an entire lecture free where we could bring the weirdest of ideas to the table and unleash our crazy inner-selves!
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Anatomy of a Harlem Shake What, how, why, when....
crazy masked dancer
Part 1:
0-14 seconds
boring teacher
! a lo orit o C er t Part 2:
bored students
strutting
the shout
15- 30 seconds
bouncing
hopping
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jumping swimming
The Art of the Harlem Shake Jeann Ardhita Kembangkhana investigates the history of this internet craze. Photos: Yana Ponomareva
T
he Harlem Shake: it is what it is. A trend, a meme, and even a viral in the digital media environment. A group of people perform dance moves and disguise their identity hiding it with certain costumes, it spreads fast through Social Media such as Youtube and Facebook and it becomes an internet sensation. But where did this internet sensation originally start?
The Harlem Shake song was originally recorded by American DJ and producer Baauer. It was first uploaded to Youtube on 23rd of August 2012. However, the Harlem Shake dance was created in 1981, coming from an area in New York City called Harlem – in fact it was originally called The Albee. The dance is defined by The Urban Dictionary as “An eccentric upper body dance move that involves the shaking of the upper torso and shoulders”. So the dance came well before the song but without the song no-one would be talking about The Harlem Shake. The song did not go viral until early February 2013, when a video was posted on Youtube by a blogger in which the dance and the song were combined with certain types of costumes which they used to disguise themselves in the video. The parody videos were started on 2nd of February 2013 by several Youtube users and by 5th of Feb-
ruary the Harlem Shake had become viral with 300,000 views in 24 hours. According to Knowyourmeme.com (2013), the craze for uploading of Harlem Shake videos was so popular that up to 4,000 videos were being uploaded every day during the second week of February. A lot of different communities have participated in this internet sensation, including university students, office employees, sports teams, and many more. Furthermore, on 23rd of February 2013, groups of students in Egypt and Tunisia were even arrested because of the parody videos that they made in public places. Due to the internet sensation, the Harlem Shake song reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100, and number three in the United Kingdom. It also reached number one in Australia and New Zealand. So, the craze shows no signs of stopping as viral versions continue to spread all over the world via digital media and the internet.
Up to 4,000 videos were being uploaded every day during the second week of February. [13]
S
aturday 29th June saw Nottingham Trent International College play host to the KIC Games for the first time. This annual competition that allows students from across all of the KIC Pathways and Language schools to compete in football, basketball, badminton and table tennis has become a key fixture in every college calendar. NTIC member of staff Ben Rabett reports on how the competition unfolded. On the day, teams from all of the Pathways Colleges and Manchester Language School made the trip to Nottingham to represent their institutions. Football and basketball kicked off the festivities in the morning with both sports witnessing some incredibly close games. Both semi-finals in the basketball were decided by a free-throw shoot out which saw Sheffield and Brighton progressing to the final, Sheffield eventually taking the honours. The football tournament provided mixed fortunes for the Nottingham team. Missing out on a place in the final after losing to the eventual winners, Brighton, in a nail biting penalty shoot-out was eventually made up for after beating Sheffield in the third place game by the same method. Liverpool, having won a convincing 3-0 victory in their semi-final, were unable to overcome Brighton in final eventually losing 1-0. The badminton competition was dominated by players from Sheffield, with the team winning both the Men’s singles and mixed doubles competitions. Glasgow prevented a clean sweep in the badminton, winning the Ladies’ singles competition. The table tennis saw heartbreak for Nottingham, after reaching the finals in Men’s and Ladies’ singles as well as the Mixed Doubles competition, as competitors fell one by one to a once again dominant Sheffield contingent. With victories in basketball, table tennis and badminton, Sheffield were crowned champions for the 3rd consecutive year on a day that witnessed an overall ethos of fair play and encouragement with teams supporting each other throughout.
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Games in action (clockwise from top left): serious warming up; Sheffield play Liverpool in the basketball; badminton scores; players keep their eyes on the shuttlecock; Glasgow and Bournemouth face each other over the table tennis table ; follow the arrow; the NTU Trent Bear mascot.
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Turki Hussain M Alsallum bravely agreed to keep goal for the NTIC football team. This is his account of a busy day in the nets.
W
e met at 8am on a cloudy Saturday morning at Belgrave to go to the Clifton Sports Centre with the rest of the NTIC team. We were the first to arrive at the centre but half an hour later the other colleges arrived which made us quite nervous because the players showed a lot of skills and they acted professionally. Nevertheless, they were friendly and accepted to share Facebook pages and phone numbers, which was a nice start to the competition; it certainly made us feel less nervous. The first round of the football tournament was split into two groups. In our group were Liverpool, Bournemouth and Glasgow. In the other group were Brighton, London, Sheffield, Manchester and Bristol. We had heard rumours that Liverpool were the best team in the competition so were immediately worried about qualifying as only the top two teams would go through. Fortunately though, we just managed to qualify in second, narrowly ahead of Glasgow. On the other side of the draw Brighton were showing good form, qualifying at the top of their group with Sheffield in second. So far so good‌. After a much needed lunch break we returned for the semi-finals. The sun was shining a little brighter and our legs were feeling a little heavier but we were looking forward to a big match. We faced Brighton who had scored many goals in the first round so I patted my goalkeeping gloves against the posts for luck. By full-time I had saved more than 3 goal attempts and the scores were still level so maybe luck was on our side. Now, for penalties‌. if only my luck would hold! Unfortunately it [16]
wasn’t to be. Our captain decided to sub me and in the end we lost 4-5 in a tense and closely fought penalty shoot-out. This was disappointing but we would still have a chance for bronze. In the other semi-final, Liverpool proved their position as favourites in the competition, beating Sheffield 3-0.
Soccer skills (clockwise from top left): keepie ups; the NTIC team; Liverpool on the ball against Glasgow; the Liverpool keeper psyches himself up; team talk for Glasgow at half time; an NTIC defender in action against Sheffield.
We faced Sheffield in the thirdplace play-off and yet again the match was heading to penalties as we drew 1-1 at full –time. This time I said no to the captain when he wanted to sub me because I wanted to prove myself. We won 4-1 and I saved 3 shots during the shoot-out! I was so pleased to end with this performance and I wonder what might have happened if the captain had not subbed me in the previous match; I think he was regretting that decision. Still I was proud of the team for all our performances and what we achieved. The final match was just like a real final: it was a close game with both teams playing hard to win. In the end Brighton managed to get a goal in the last few minutes to beat Liverpool, 1-0. This proved an exciting climax to an exhausting but brilliant day. [17]
A journey through NTIC art The summer NTIC Art and Design exhibition took place in July, allowing students to showcase a range of their work responding to the theme of the urban environment. You can explore some of their excellent work for yourselves over the next few pages, starting with Media student Uhwe Ando’s guide to the exhibition and some of its creators.
A
quick glance at the picture above clearly reveals an international collection of students from a range of different cultures and backgrounds. This is the NTIC art team, a team consisting of Product Design, Graphic Design, Interior Architecture, Architecture, Fashion and Fine Art students. Fortunately, on this rather stormy Monday our concerns were not about getting wet but about getting to know this diverse set of individuals who have painstakingly created works of art to tell us something about themselves and how they perceive the world around them.
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Our journey through the psyche, thoughts and perceptions of the NTIC art team gives us a glimpse into what we should expect from these brilliantly artistic minds in the near future.
t
Wanxian Chen (Annie) – Fashion Accessories Chen is a Chinese born student studying at NTIC. Her interest lies in fashion accessories, which are simply things we wear to make ourselves more attractive with no particular function in mind. Chens’ design (see above) is a fashion accessory she envisions would be worn by youngsters of the future she says, “My inspiration comes from geometry and architecture, and I focused on the primary colours to give it a natural look as all colours originate from blue, red and yellow” Annie, as she would prefer to be called, hopes that the exhibition will leave a picture in our minds of what the future holds for the fashion industry.
Qi Zixuan - Architecture Qi is also an NTIC Chinese student. She has designed a bridge which will connect two separate buildings via a walkway. Qi’s design, however, is unlike any other bridge I have ever experienced as her design combines leisure, art and function into one large walkway; walking to the next building suddenly becomes more than just going from A to B. You can take a five minute break from whatever task you were about to involve yourself in, resting on cushions half way across the walkway as TV screens feed you news, ranging from the weather to breaking news, which is reflected around you. What a way to cool off during work hours.
“Human nature suggests the eyes tell a story about the person; we communicate unspoken words with our eyes”. Anonymous NTIC student- Fine Art What is this? Eye-catching and visually arresting, a classroom filled with computer screens seems to be holding individuals captive. Futuristic, abstract, there are countless words and definitions that can be used. James Walker, a Media Lecturer at NTIC, referred to it as ‘surveillance art’ which is natural for a Media Analyst and the way they see the world. However, a close interview with the designer who preferred to remain anonymous described the concept of the 20 eyes’ expressions being projected through electronic screens. She says, “Human nature suggests the eyes tell a story about the person; we communicate unspoken words with our eyes”. A closer look at the screens and you will see sadness, anger, excitement and love among other things.
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Albina Omarova / NTIC
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Selected pieces from the show (clockwise from top left): Architecture student Ju Hyun Kim is pleased with his work; Chun Yin Lau explains his design; detail from Hiu Yan Tse’s work; Wanxian Chen; Xin Tan displays her fashion work; another detail from Hiu Yan Tse’s piece; Amna Nasir discusses her fashion magazine with Rongjiang Li; students taking in Rongjiang Li’s final piece; all smiles for Graphic Design student, Sarah Mousa
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country of the future? Words and images: Sofia Paz Andrade
F
or many years now Brazil has been considered a ‘country of the future’. Its reputation has grown and it has received several prestigious honours, such as hosting the World Cup in 2014 and the Olympics in 2016. However, this view of Brazil is out of step with the reality of the economic issues facing the country.
Brazil is the fifth largest country in the world and largest in South America, both by geographical area and by population with almost 200 million people. Despite its huge size many of these people live in densely populated cities, which can bring its own problems. For example, in industrialised and developed cities in the south there is a big difference between the upper and lower classes of society. These cities must cope with the fallout of having people facing extreme economic hardships living among the ‘elite’.
the people o Brazil have er, and wan be heard.
Government responses to these issues have often been unpopular. Brazil has a history of its people complaining about decisions made by the government, whether to do with spending on education or the amount of corruption. However, with the extra strain of the World Cup and the Olympics, everything has changed; protest has become the norm. Where people used to protest once or twice a year, now people go out on the streets every day after work to demand changes. This is because money is being deviated to make this country a tourist hotspot for the many visitors next summer. Taxes have increased, bringing corruption along with them, education spending has fallen and the unhappy people will stop at nothing to get their voices heard. The photos overleaf were taken at protests in Brasilia during our national independence day last year (7th September, 2012). I was there mainly to photograph the event because I thought it was an interesting scenario. I have been an amateur photographer for a couple of years now and these pictures seem alive and vivid not because of my camera but because the people of Brazil have power, and want to be heard.
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Girl with a clown no because they are co
of pownt to Black and white riots. The sign says, “STOP CORRUPTION”.
ose. The nose represents the government onsidered a joke.
Two girls protesting. The signs both say, “FREE THE COUNTRY OR DIE IN IT”.
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Greetings from Novosibirsk Alexandr Drapeko
R
ussia. A huge landmass spread over Europe and Asia. There are many people and many cities and of course if you ask people who don’t live here about Russia, they always know something about it. Some people even know city names such as Moscow and St. Petersburg. Yet the most interesting thing to me is that almost no one knows about Novosibirsk, even though almost everyone knows about Siberia. Novosibirsk is the third most populous city in Russia, and my city of birth. If someone asks me, “Which city is the best in the world?” I won’t think long to answer. But why do I like this city so much? Being the third most populous city in Russia means Novosibirsk still has status but at the same time there are not too many people, not when compared to Moscow and Saint Petersburg anyway. The city is located in the southwest of Siberia on the two banks of the Ob River and so the city is quite comfortable with a relatively dry and mild climate. Of course in the winter in Siberia is too cold, but the real Siberian person dresses warmly and does not feel cold. Most of all, though, the city is full of tourist attractions.
Routard05
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The most famous place in Novosibirsk is Lenin Square. Lenin Square is the central square of Novosibirsk city and includes a famous monument to Vladimir Lenin. To the right of the statue of Lenin are three figures - the worker, soldier and peasantwhich symbolize the driving forces of the revolution. To the left are the figures of a young man with a torch and a girl, carrying an ear of corn, which reflect the continuity of generations. On the other side of Lenin Square, right behind these monuments, is Novosibirsk State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre, which is one of the most significant theatres in Russia. It is hard not
So there is plenty for tourists to do but Novosibirsk is not just for tourists. Many people also come to study here at one of the many good universities in the city: Novosibirsk State University, Novosibirsk State Technical University, The Siberian State Academy of Geodesy or The Siberian University of Consumer Cooperatives for example.
Dimitri Lebedev
Novosibirsk train station
Mikhail Koninin
It is easy to get around Novosibirsk. Passing by Lenin Square is one of the longest streets in the Russian – Red Prospectus. Its length is about seven kilometers and it runs along much of the right bank, making it difficult to get lost. There are easy ways to travel between the two river banks as well. You can use the Novosibirsk Metro, which opened in 1985, or you can travel by car or bus on either of the two bridges which cross the river. When travelling by train many visitors like to spend time admiring the sight of the striking railway station.
The Novosibirsk State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre
A snow leopard at Novosibirsk Zoo
So, come and visit Novosibirsk. I think it is the most interesting and beautiful city, especially in the winter, and I am sure everyone can find something here.
Novosibirsk: The city where I was born, The city which I love so much.
One of Novosibirsk’s bridges, spanning the Ob River
Mikhail Koninin
However, Novosibirsk is not just for history, lovers of nature can enjoy one of the most famous zoos in Russia. The Novosibirsk Zoo is a world-renowned scientific institution as well as a popular tourist attraction, with around 700,000 people visiting the zoo each year. The zoo has over four thousand animals and is involved in many captive breeding programmes for endangered species.
Oleg Zdorik
to be impressed by the scale and history of the city when you stand on Lenin Square.
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Words and illustrations: Tsang Wing Sze
After I lost my little puppy last year I stayed up all night, unable
to stop thinking of him:
Is he living happily in heaven? Will he blame me for not doing enough for him? Is he miss-
ing
me
too?
Does
heaven
even
exist?
I eventually stopped blaming myself but I still felt so useless. What could I do to help? Apart from being thankful and treasuring everything around me, what else could I do to save a ‘little life’? What else could I do to stop me from being so sad about losing something? And then I found the answer:
I
decided
to
stop
eating
animals.
I do not think anyone should have the ‘right’ to judge life; or to take it away. I’m not saying eating meat is wrong; that is unfair and would be a way of me judging people. I’m writing because I consider life as a ‘big thing’ and something that can be changed in a better way. So I’m not telling anyone to stop eating meat but to think deeper, before enjoying their meals. If we go back to the far beginning, back to the history, why do we kill animals? We started killing animals because we didn’t have a choice, we needed to survive, we needed to protect ourselves from the beasts; we needed to eat in order to maintain our life. I understand that, but we are no longer hunter-gatherers. Most of us are lucky, we do not have to worry about survival, whether running from the beasts, or finding food to eat. In fact being human is scarier in a way: we have choices, and we have too many. What makes us think we still have the ‘right’ or ‘power’ to kill animals? One may say, because we were born to be more clever and creative. We think, we do things that other animals can’t do, we dominate over others, we contribute, we have morals and standards; we are special. But pigs didn’t choose to be pigs, life chooses them. Each one of us has only one life, just as for animals. What is the difference? How can we eat an animal because we think our life is more valuable? How do we define value? How do we measure contribution? How do we know they are not contributing in their own way? [26]
much nutrition from meat to function. This is especially true for us, the people in the developed world. Meat mainly contains protein, iron, fats and vitamins, and all this nutrition can be found in lots other food we eat daily. We can get protein, which is essential to our body to repair and build cells, through other food such as nuts, eggs, dairy food and soya. Iron, which helps carry oxygen throughout our body and helps build red blood cells, can be founded in pulses, nuts, green leafy vegetables, seeds and more. We get vitamins from fruit and vegetables especially. We do get a lot of fat from meat but it is saturated fat, which is not healthy for the human body. Saturated fat increases the cholesterol in blood that can lead to heart disease. So, what do we eat meat for? And on top of that, because we have morals and standards, because we can think more than other species, that’s precisely why we should not kill or eat them. How would you feel if someone close to you died? I cried two weeks when my dog passed away. Our life is equal; every life is here for a reason, not for us to eat. What if the roles were reversed? What if we were the prey? How about that? Would that be funny?
Furthermore there are good environmental reasons to not eat meat. The media has been widely reporting the relationship between meat eating and global warming, which is because the large scale production of meat for human consumption creates large amounts of greenhouse gases. I think most people are familiar with the problems of greenhouse gases and global warming. So not eating meat would also help to save the planet.
People say it is difficult to stop eating meat but it’s not as hard as you think. Even though you may enjoy eating meat a lot and you think that you cannot survive without eating it, it is exactly this thinking that stops you. Stop thinking, and start trying. You will be surprised by the things you can do. And you may think, even if I stop eating animals now, the majority of people still do so it wouldn’t help. But the thing is, everyone on earth counts. If one person stops eating meat, it’s one more and it soon adds up: one becomes two, becomes three and so on. But even if you disagree with me, there are some very practical reasons against eating meat.
I’ve been thinking a lot about ‘life’ lately because I loved my little puppy and I love everyone around me, from now and before, so much that I’m scared of losing things. I treasure everything that makes up this world, even the spider in my bathroom that I’m afraid of. Everything is life, and life makes up this world: the reindeers running in Scotland; the birds that usually sleep on the tree outside of my window; the little ladybug that fell on my hair today; your loved one; and all the other animals on people’s dishes every day. But it wouldn’t be fair if I judged everyone based on my own perspective, this is just my own opinion after all, but to anyone reading this please think, think of the importance of life and how we have been told to value such things.
The human body does not actually require too
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Get involved: meet:
Wednesday afternoons contact:
simonaldcroft@kaplan.com
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