Ecotarian to embark on campus hunger strike
A York student will embark on a 72-hour hunger strike on campus, beginning this Sunday evening, to promote ecotarianism.
Tom Daltas, a PPE Undergraduate, will partake in this action in protest of government inactivity over climate change, and in order to raise awareness of environmental issues among students. He will be sat outside Vanbrugh college, and will spend the nights in the common rooms.
“Through freezing my arse off I aim to promote genuine environmentally responsibly consumption, recently dubbed ‘ecotarianism’,” he said.
Daltas went on to explain the mission statement of this movement: “Although a lot of vegans are ecotarians, the movement does not necessarily exclude meat-eating, nor is it the exclusive preserve of hippies. Environmentally, ecotarianism reduces your carbon footprint. Politically, however, the idea is that under liberal government and a capitalist market, the vote we cast with our money can be far more potent in driving change than our political vote. Change is urgently needed and governments will not act fast enough if the electorate seems disinterested.”
Daltas believes his actions will be seen as a step forward in political participation on campus. By promoting ecotarianism, he aims to raise awareness among students of broader environmental issues, with a priority on the idea of ecological citizenship. Generally, he hopes that such political action will raise the profile of environmental activism.
He asserts: “ I am not asking for any money, nor will I wave a placard in your face or act holier-than-thou (mainly because I’m not).”
Anticipating possible hostility, Daltas says: “regardless of opinion, please come and say hi during my hunger strike. Oh, and another thing. For God’s sake don’t carry any food with you.”
6 responses below. Comments are open.
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I don’t understand how a hunger strike is relevant to climate change and responsible consumerism? Surely it would be better to have a display – and perhaps samples – of “good” and “bad” choices and how students an make a real difference?
a hunger strike shows how deeply he feels about the matter and how serious the problem has become. I offer my support.
72 hours could be much better spent supporting the same issue, surely?
well not really, something different wouldn’t have attracted nearly as much attention.
Surely giving £20 to oxfam or greenpeace or a fund for victims of natural disasters would be a far more appropriate way to help the planet.
But that wouldn’t get attention would it?
Which one’s really more important? We’ve seriously lost our way if we actually swallow this idea that ‘raising awareness’ on campus can impact on a global scale. Why not support an organisation that can?
I wonder whether these protesting ‘ecotarians’ would be willing to part with some money to really make a difference? Or is the attention-seeking part of the agenda?
I’ll be giving some money to RAG, totally anonymously, knowing that hopefully it’ll do more good than if i rampage through london with a banner.
Nice one Sid…rolls eyes