World Farm Animals Day (WFAD) is coming up on October 2nd. WFAD is always on October 2nd in correlation to Mahatma Gandhi’s birthday. Gandhi, who was a champion of moral vegetarianism, believed that speaking out on behalf of animals is both a necessity and an obligation.

World Farm Animals Day exposes and memorializes the 65 billion land animals whom suffer and die every day year in the world including the 10 billion of those who die in just the United States alone. The state of our food production system today is disgraceful.

By celebrating World Farm Animals Day on October 2nd, we turn Gandhi’s ideals into action by making visible the cruel and unnecessary tragedy of factory farms and slaughterhouses. WFAD observances are hosted by volunteers in communities in all 50 U.S. states and 2 dozen other countries. Participants include animal protection groups, individual citizens, and everyone in between – anyone who cares about animals is encouraged to join us in this global outcry.

Gandhi said, “Progress does demand at some stage that we should cease to kill our fellow creatures for the satisfaction of our bodily wants.” The less animals that die each year means a better world for all of us.

Sara Sawochka