If you happen to go to the site of the vegetarian party, you will be faced with an irresistible countdown, followed by a very packed program, all to be combed. The day is organized by AVA, an association with a long history behind it and a respectable scientific committee: Franco Libero Manco, its president, Valdo Vaccaro, Michele Refoli, Mauro Damiani, Caterina de Pisi, Manuela Di Cesare, Vincenzo Falabella, Michela Troiani, Giorgio Vitali.

They are illustrious exponents of the field of nutrition, dietary planning, immunological aspects and natural nutrition.

We asked Franco Libero Manco, president of AVA (non- profit organization Armando D'Elia), on the occasion of the 10th Vegetarian National Day, which this year will take place on Sunday 13 May in Rome at the Città dell'Altra Economia, ex Slaughterhouse from 10.00 to 20.00.

We immediately liked the main theme of the day, summarized in the significant thought: "Vegan, the only possible future".

Being vegan can no longer be considered a choice linked to respect for animals, nature and the awareness that proper nutrition can guarantee health and well-being, but the only possibility for humankind to make the future possible. In fact, our planet does not have the possibility to feed a carnivorous population, because 5 more planets would be needed like ours to produce the foodstuffs necessary for farmed animals and to dispose of the immense quantity of excrement and waste products. If all humanity were to adopt the western lifestyle there would be an immediate collapse of all systems.

Only culture, science and vegan ethics can free humanity from hunger, violence, pollution, forest destruction, disease, pain ...

Professor Armando D'Elia was a chemist, naturalist and scholar of vegetarian dietetics. His passion for vegetarianism was strong, incredibly intense. Are there any other specific reasons why the Association of which he is president is inspired by this character of rare tenacity and wisdom?

Prof Armando D'Elia was among the pioneers of vegan culture in Italy and heir to the great American hygienist school whose progenitor was Herbert Shelton . His teaching has preceded the times of the current movements that emerge together with the awareness of responsibility towards oneself and towards the collective destiny.

On what occasion was the idea of ​​a National Vegetarian Day born?

The idea stems from a physiological boost to the exponential growth of the large family of vegetarians who today in Italy has about 6 million and expects that in 2030 half of the population will be vegetarian.

For us it is nice to meet again, to speak the same language, to have the same feeling, to nourish the same hope of a world free from injustice and violence against man, animals and nature.

On your site we saw a box dedicated to various online petitions. How does user participation work?

Each of our collaborators undertakes to collect the necessary signatures for petitions seeking to recognize the rights of vegetarians in schools, hospitals, public canteens, etc. but also to protest against television sponsors in favor of the consumption of meat and products that are harmful to people's health, and many other initiatives.

In your opinion, how much is man's longevity linked to the non-violent attitude one should take towards animals?

The non-violence of the vegan culture makes the man milder, more available and tolerant. Vegetable nutrition, which increases serotonin levels in the brain, enhances the immune system allowing the individual to live healthier and longer than average. Powerful eating, consuming foods unsuitable for our nature as frugivorous beings, processed, industrialized foods, etc. the human being loses at least a third of the length of his life.

In fact the human species should live 7 times its development period, that is 130-140 years like the other mammals: venerable age reached only by the few populations that traditionally are vegetarians in the world; on the other hand, the Eskimos who feed almost exclusively on meat have the absolute lowest average lifespan, beyond the lowest IQ.

An increasing number of nutritionists and chemists adhere to the vegetarian lifestyle and promote its benefits. Many are still those who attack vegetarianism on the front of food shortages, calling into question anemia, loss of vitamin B12 and more. But is a vegetarian really forced to supplements?

Those who claim that the vegan diet lacks some nutrients have not experienced the beauty and benefits of this lifestyle . I speak from direct experience: I have been a vegetarian since 1976 and have been a vegan since 1992. Since then I have not accused a cold, a flu, a headache and my blood tests confirm my excellent health. This reality is common to all those who are consistently vegan. So no supplement because no deficiency .

If you were to suggest a documentary and a book to those who want to understand better and more closely consequences and realities linked to all forms of exploitation and maltreatment of animals, predation of organs, genetic manipulations, which would you indicate?

There is a vast literature available to everyone, but the texts that inspired the animal rights movement are mainly:

• Naked Empress, by Hans Ruesch;
• Ecocide, by Jeremy Rifkin;
• An eternal Treblinka, by Charles Patterson;
• Vivisection or science, by Pietro Croce and many others.

But above all I would invite everyone to read the revolutionary best-seller by Colin and Thomas Campbell The China Study . There are too many documentaries about animal abuse on the internet to name just a few.

The National Feast of Vegetarians will also host performances of yoga and tai chi. According to her, a potential evolution of consciousness (and perhaps the breakthrough from a system in clear crisis like the one in which we live) passes not only through a different relationship with the animal, but also through psychophysical paths of integration of emotional, rational and motor centers ?

As long as the human being has a conscience capable of justifying the existence of slaughterhouses, real concentration camps and extermination in peacetime, he will have neither the sensitivity nor the positive intelligence necessary to make this world better.

Only by valuing the different, the small, the defenseless, respecting the sacredness of the life of every living being is it possible to make the human conscience more just, fraternal and supportive towards the same living beings, including humans.

Do you believe that the prevailing aggressiveness with which we measure ourselves in the street, in traffic, at work, in relationships is a consequence of the intake of meat and the difficulty in eliminating the resulting toxins? Is it related, in other words, to an excess of Yang?

Aggression and human violence is directly related to meat consumption. This in fact increases the levels of the amino acid tyrosine and the accumulation in the brain of two neurotransmitters, dopamine and adrenaline, responsible for the aggressiveness typical of predatory animals. Meat is a food suitable for predatory animals, it serves to give them the aggressiveness necessary to kill the prey.

The milder animals, as well as stronger and more prolific, are vegetarians instead. In essence, as A. Kingsford said: "As long as men will eat like tigers they will keep the nature of the tiger."