Mohamed Gad, who launched a campaign in Aswan to boycott meat, called for a presidential decree to ban cattle slaughter for a month. He also called, in an interview with Al-Masry Al-Youm, for NGOs to create a market parallel to butchers. “The campaign is still in the beginning stages and we will not end it unless prices go down,” he said.
Q: How did you come up with the idea?
A: The prices of local meat dramatically went up from LE65 to LE90 a kilo in just three weeks, while more than 25 percent of the population live below the poverty line.
Aswan is the fifth poorest governorate. I had to take action. So I launched the campaign on Facebook. Amazingly, it attracted more than 12,000 respondents by the third week of August in several governorates. And we are now appointing a coordinator in each governorate.
Q: How did the officials in Aswan take it?
A: The governor said he was supporting the campaign and held a meeting with the butchers. But we have always said that the problem is not only with the butchers but with other parties as well. His support was more of a media show. That is why I am calling for a presidential decree to ban cattle slaughter for a month.
Q: How can we bring prices down?
A: First, the presidential decree. This can come after Eid al-Adha. Then the NGOs can create a market parallel to the butchers by buying and selling meat. The officials should allow them to use the slaughterhouse at cost once a week, or supervise their slaughter outside the slaughterhouse. And the Armed Forces can sell meat to civilians at their own outlets. Also, the slaughter of female cattle must be stopped.
Q: You said the problem is not only with the butchers. What did you mean?
A: There are the monopolists, the cattle raisers and the importers.
Q: What role can women play?
A: They are the most powerful weapon we rely on. They are the financial ministers of the households. It is in the hands of the women.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
