On the one hand, the RSPCA does great work in terms of pet and wildlife welfare. It states: “Everything we do is focused on achieving our vision to live in a world where all animals are respected and treated with compassion”. In 2020, the RSPCA investigated over 57,000 complaints of animal cruelty.

However, there is a major disconnect between its goals and its stance on meat and dairy. I often had to defend my involvement with the RSPCA (the branch did excellent work locally), particularly when talking to others who, like me, have adopted a plant-based diet. 

The criticisms typically centred on the RSPCA’s unwillingness to align its policies and actions with the climate crisis and the welfare of farmed animals. 

I was one of a three-person Animal Rebellion delegation to visit the RSPCA’s headquarters at the end of April. One of the others was Jane Tredgett, a former national trustee of the RSPCA, who had been trying to get the charity to reform for more than a decade, alongside our wonderful Animal Rebellion spokesperson, Harley McDonald-Eckersall.

The three of us were calling on the RSPCA on behalf of Animal Rebellion to publicly acknowledge that our food system cannot protect or respect animals and is a major contributor to the climate crisis, as a result of which millions of people and animals are already suffering. 

The RSPCA clearly knows there is a problem here. 

One of those to meet with us was the RSPCA’s director of advocacy and policy, Emma Slawinski. In a COP26 blog, Emma wrote: “Reducing the number of animals being farmed globally – and the amount of meat, eggs and dairy being consumed – should be a key focus of any discussion on climate change.”

She noted that the topic of livestock reduction was almost totally absent at COP26. She continued: “Animals are majorly impacted by the changes in the environment caused by human activity. Alongside the alarming figures around the extinction of species, we see individual suffering writ large in the destruction of habitats, water scarcity and extreme weather events.”

So where are the RSPCA policies that align with this?

Unlike the RSPCA, our position is clear.

From a moral and logistical perspective, meat, dairy and fishing are no longer justifiable. Meat and dairy are the third largest emitters of greenhouse gases and fishing (particularly industrial fishing) is largely unregulated and responsible for species extinction and enormous amounts of waste and pollution. 

And clearly the climate emergency is upon us – if we don’t make significant changes in the next few years then the level of warming we’re facing in this generation will be catastrophic, not to mention what comes after that. 

What We’re Asking

The RSPCA has a significant platform and trust from the public. It is also nearing a major milestone, its 200^th anniversary. When it was formed, it was on the cutting edge of animal protection, founded by brave people who put themselves on the line to do what was right and just. 

Somewhere during those 200 years, the RSPCA lost its boldness. Its culture became one of conservatism, not wanting to upset people, not willing to come out and do what is right, and reluctant to challenge the meat and dairy industry. 

Far from advocating a fair transition to a plant-based food system, it provides a cover of respectability to the meat, egg and dairy industries through its pretty woeful RSPCA Assured scheme. The RSPCA Assured scheme website even includes chicken, egg, pork, turkey and other recipes – https://www.rspcaassured.org.uk/recipes/ The RSPCA’s staff canteen isn’t even plant-based. 

The Assured logo – producers have to pay to be accredited – lulls consumers into thinking the food they are buying is farmed to high animal welfare standards. In fact, the bar set by the RSPCA is incredibly low (e.g indoors, farms can have 19 chickens/m2 of available floor space) and the accreditation criteria are peppered with worthless words, such as “encouraged to”. You can read the whole sorry lot of criteria here: https://science.rspca.org.uk/sciencegroup/farmanimals/standards The argument is that an Assured scheme is better than nothing. As ambitions go, that’s pretty lame.

If we made a fair transition to a plant-based food system then there would be no need for the Assured scheme. 

We believe that the RSPCA can recapture the bravery of its founders. The crises that we face mean large, influential entities such as this need to lead, be bold and speak the truth.

Unfortunately, after two weeks of waiting, all we had back from the RSPCA were woolly words, with absolutely no commitment to take action to shift its policies. We are now planning next steps in this campaign – watch this space.

At the heart of rebellion is a belief that change is possible. It’s time to stand up. And Animal Rebellion’s stance is clear: will take action until there is climate and animal justice and a transition to a fair, sustainable plant-based food system. The RSPCA must join this movement for a better world. 

The post The RSPCA: What’s not to like? first appeared on Animal Rebellion.

The plant-based universities campaign is a decentralised push by students across the UK; students are demanding their university transition to 100% just and sustainable plant-based catering by the 2023-24 academic year. Why? It’s quite simple, industries like meat, fishing, and dairy are destroying the environment, humans, and animals. 

Universities are where a great deal of this research comes from, and therefore these institutions have an obligation to listen to themselves. All roads lead to Rome (or in this case just and sustainable plant-based catering!) 

At the University of Warwick a vote to begin the transition was only narrowly lost, despite constant sabotage and underhand tactics from university committees and student union officers. Meanwhile the campaign made waves in Lancaster, garnering the attention of national student newspaper The Tab. At the University of Sussex campaigners even wiped the floor with their opponents in an organised debate on the topic!

In an interview with Sentient Media Nathan McGovern underscored the intersectional justice the campaign is dedicated to; the just and sustainable plant-based food system the campaign aims towards is part of the greater push for human, animal, and climate justice.

On the 25th of March the campaign rocked the boat London-wide, after the teams at University College London, King’s College London, and London Metropolitan University orchestrated simultaneous banner drops! The banners read “meat & dairy = climate crisis.” This very simply spells out the situation to these institutions, who are oftentimes the source of the conclusive data on the matter! Students decided to take direct action due to the unresponsiveness and lack of engagement from their universities and student unions.

Speaking at the action, Sofia Carolina Fernandes Pontes, a student at London Metropolitan has said 

“It’s simple, universities have to act on the climate crisis and that begins with their menus. We know that meat, fish, and dairy are driving climate collapse, deforestation, and ocean dead zones. This is all whilst we produce enough to feed ten billion people, yet have hundreds of millions starving all over the world because of our woefully immoral food systems. Universities must transition to fully just and sustainable plant-based catering by the 2023-24 academic year in order to secure a livable world for the students they are educating.“

Meanwhile, at the University of Exeter, Emma de Saram is tirelessly pushing for climate, animal, and social justice in the South-West! Speaking to us she said:

At Exeter, while we have a passionate group of students and incredible academics pushing for a plant based campus, we are repeatedly halted by bureaucracy and the University system that places profit over the planet. We launched our campaign in February with a stall and online talk with activists and researchers, and have had small successes like a week-long price reduction for veggie options, but we still have a battle to fight.

With the campaign set to have upwards of 20 universities involved by the start of the 2022-23 academic year, the future is bright! We’re still looking to support and help as many students across the UK as we possibly can, so fill out our interest form here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdI88OPSTQ76if-ip32HoDwVXEA1Ua3SOzZ1ztTd0w_5YwP7Q/viewform !

The post Plant-Based Universities: Taking The UK By Storm first appeared on Animal Rebellion.

So what’s wrong? Well, where do you start? The need to transition to a plant-based system to counter the climate crisis applies to the oceans as it does to the land. For 20+ years, the MSC has been propping up and providing a sheen of respectability to the fishing industry. The MSC’s “blue tick” certification label now spans 400+ fisheries, representing around 15% of all global fish landings.

There is plenty of money sloshing around this scheme. Fisheries pay fees of $20,000 to $500,000 for an assessment from Conformity Assessment Bodies (CABs). Indeed, the cost of certification ironically often excludes small-scale fisheries from applying. The MSC also charges retailers royalties of up to 0.5% of the net wholesale value of seafood sold, for using its label. Around 80% (£23.6m) of MSC’s funding comes from licensing income.

It’s not difficult to see a glaring conflict of interest. And there have been plenty of people who have pointed out the flaws in the MSC model. If the nets of MSC-certified fisheries had as many gaping holes as the MSC scheme itself, then no fish would be caught in them at all.

Scores of organisations have highlighted that the MSC’s certification process does not properly account for by-catch, particularly of sharks and cetaceans.

For a long while, MSC allowed vessels to catch both certified and non- certified fish in the same fishing trip, with this only dropped after intense pressure from advocacy group, On the Hook. The 2021 documentary, Seaspiracy, particularly had MSC in its sights and the response by the charity was woeful. The film’s director, Ali Tabrizi, questioned the NGO’s independence owing to its funding and is shown repeatedly failing to secure an interview with MSC to answer the criticisms.

There was a backlash to the documentary from the MSC and other industry interests after it was aired. But Seaspiracy wasn’t making up the criticisms. One contributor to the documentary was Callum Roberts, professor of marine conservation at the University of Exeter. He accused MSC of certifying fisheries that had “astounding levels of by-catch” and said the MSC label was not “worth a damn in some cases”.

The fishing industry hides behind the certification, as do the supermarkets, with consumers duped into thinking there is such a thing as sustainable fishing and that the certification means they are doing the right thing.

The MSC needs to actually take the word in its title – “Stewardship” – seriously. It needs to extract itself from the hopelessly flawed symbiotic relationship with the industry. It must accept that sustainable fishing is a contradiction in terms. And it needs to pivot to supporting a fair and just end to fishing as a vital component of a plant-based food system. Until then, Animal Rebellion will expose its hypocrisy at every opportunity.

The post The Marine Stewardship Council: A flawed sheen of respectability for an industry in denial first appeared on Animal Rebellion.

It’s a pretty obvious no, and yet this is almost exactly what is happening right now. But it’s not just one community that is being affected, it’s the whole world and the system that’s causing this destruction hasn’t had just one year to prove that it works. It’s had centuries. Meat and dairy have been the dominant part of a Western diet for a long time now, with increasing industrialisation following WW2 giving us the food system we are used to today. Right now, animal farming contributes at least 18% of global emissions, 70% of agricultural emissions and up to 80% of global deforestation. Even with all this, these industries fail to be profitable, with £1.5 billion of government subsidies coming straight out of taxpayers pockets and into those of livestock farmers. This industry was entrusted with the job of feeding the world. It’s failing. So why is there so much resistance to building something new?

A Deceptively Simple Solution

In recent years it has felt like there has been a shift, with campaigns for reducing the amount of meat and dairy we consume becoming more common. With reports like the 2019 EAT Lancet report which called for a 90% reduction in meat and dairy consumption as well as documentaries such as Cowspiracy and Seaspiracy, the recognition that what we eat impacts the planet has gained mainstream acceptance. A 2021 poll of 2,095 UK adults run by the ‘Eating Better Alliance’ found that 21% of respondents were eating less meat than a year ago, with 38% doing so because of carbon emissions and 37% because of other environmental concerns. In the face of a changing industry, however, we have seen a new story being told by the meat industry,  that we can keep our current food system and focus on eating less meat, but better quality.

For many people, this was the ideal answer. The idea that they didn’t have to drastically change our lifestyle or eating habits but could also have a neutral, or even positive effect on the planet while doing so. Yet, when you dig a little bit deeper into what the industries are telling us, some holes start to form.

Is Less But Better Enough?

Before we answer this question, it helps to look at a completely different industry and investigate how it dealt with rising information that was saying their product may be causing harm: the tobacco industry. In the book Merchants of Doubt, Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway show how the big businesses behind cigarettes developed a playbook for dodging the science that showed that the product they were selling was killing people. This formula has gone on to be used to talk about everything from global warming to pesticides and, more recently, animal agriculture. The basic tactic is, cast doubt on the science through paid ‘experts’ and false claims and spark controversy to derail the conversation from what the harm that is being caused.  

It can be hard to believe but by looking at the industries’ own messaging we can quickly find examples of where meat, dairy and fishing are already doing this. And they all tell one story: that we can fix the problems of the industry by eating less and ‘better’ animal products.

They bring up food miles and promote buying locally sourced meat and dairy whenever questions around the climate impact of animal products are raised. While the idea of buying local in and of itself is a positive one, the reality is that transport is an extremely small part of food emissions, making up less than 10% and as low as 0.5% of GHG emissions when it comes to animal products’ contribution to emissions. So essentially, even if all animal products consumed were locally sourced, they would still be contributing far higher emissions than plant-based products. 

They say that switching to grass-fed systems for cows and sheep will be better for the environment than intensive farming and even plant-based options. If we look into this though, we find that the opposite is the case. Research shows grass-fed systems produce more emissions than intensive farming, while also using more land! On top of that, it would take a rainforest three-quarters of the size of South America to sequester the carbon produced by livestock.

Let’s not forget that every year in the UK approximately 2.6 million cattle, 10 million pigs, 14.5 million sheep and lambs, 80 million fish and 950 million birds are slaughtered for human consumption. It’s pretty clear that a food system where no one has to die is a better one. 

They say that there is no other option and that this food system is the only one that works. But we know that isn’t true.

A Plant-Based Food System

With more and more evidence showing us that we need to change what we eat to help the planet heal, it seems obvious that we need a big change and that it’s a change that can’t just be achieved through individuals making small shifts to their diet. The whole system is set up in a way that harms the planet. Luckily though, we have an alternative which would take destruction off the menu.

A study from Oxford University that looked into the viability of a plant-based food system showed that if we were to convert all the land currently used to graze animals to natural vegetation it would remove the equivalent of 15% of the world’s total GHG emissions. Only a small fraction of pasture land would be needed to grow food crops to replace the lost beef. Another report showed that if we were to shift to a plant-based food system, food-related emissions would drop by 70% by 2050, saving £440 billion in the process.

But it wouldn’t just mean less carbon and more wild spaces. A plant-based food system is a system of abundant and affordable food as plant-based food is not only better for the planet, it also takes far less land to produce and is rich in variety, culture and flavour. Although this world may feel far away, it is already happening. Organisations such as the UK-based Refarm’d are working with farmers to transition from a struggling dairy industry into sustainable and profitable oat milk farming while the Good Food Institute is supporting transitions to pulse farming.

Conclusion – Meat and Dairy is Bankrupt

With a plant-based food system we can feed the world, provide much needed green jobs and build a world where humans and animals alike are treated with respect and dignity and have access to an abundance of food and choice. Urgent change is needed but we have an alternative that is just and fair for everyone. All we need to do is work together and achieve it.

The post Doubt and Lies: the tactics of a struggling meat and dairy industry and why we won’t fall for them first appeared on Animal Rebellion.

Activists, experts and a renowned human rights lawyer are in court today in London seeking an end to factory farming in the UK. Animal Rebellion stands with them and congratulates them on their unprecedented and urgent action.  

Today, Animal Rebellion is standing alongside Scrap Factory Farming as an unprecedented case against the UK government is heard at the Royal Courts of Justice in London. We are outside the court to show our support for this world’s first ever legal action to end factory farming.

The case has been brought by the Humane Being and is fronted by Dr Alice Brough and Humane Being co-founder, Jane Tredgett, represented by renowned human rights lawyer, Michael Mansfield QC. Their case includes over 1200 pages of content detailing the risks and dangers of factory farming. Dr Brough was a vet on UK pig farms. After seeing the unhygienic and stressful conditions for the animals and the appalling environmental damage done on-site, she quit to campaign for animal justice.

The case focuses on the threat to public health from factory farming, including antibiotic resistance and the significant risk of increasingly deadly zoonotic diseases such as bird or swine flu. 

Animal Rebellion recognises that dismantling factory farming is a key part of our demand for a fair and sustainable transition to a plant-based food system. We cannot address the climate crisis and achieve animal and climate justice without it. This is why we stand in solidarity.

Animal Rebellion spokesperson, Dan Kidby, says: 

“Removing the incredibly inhumane system of factory farming, that destroys the health of the planet and people, is an essential part of the move to a plant-based food system. We congratulate and support all of the volunteers and experts that have worked so hard to bring this urgent and unprecedented court case. Scrapping factory farming and ensuring a rapid, sustainable and just transition to a plant-based system has to happen if we are to reverse climate crisis.”

The Climate Impacts

The impact of animal farming on the planet is well understood.

At its most fundamental, we know that meat, fish and dairy industries, and the resources needed to support them, contribute 18-23% of all greenhouse gasses and are responsible for around 70% of all global agricultural emissions.

Scientists are clear: we don’t need these systems to feed the world. Meat, fish, eggs and dairy industries use around 83% of global farmland, but provide only 37% of our protein and 18% of our calories. Better use of this land could remove 8.1 billion metric tons of CO2 from the atmosphere per year.

Methane gas is one of the largest contributors to global warming and can trap up to 100 times more heat in the atmosphere than CO2 over a five-year period. Most methane comes from cows that are fed low-quality grains that their bodies cannot digest, causing high levels of indigestion and flatulence. 

Water pollution

The current system is so bad on so many fronts, including the health ones highlighted by this week’s action. 

The meat and dairy industries also drain the world’s water supplies. From watering the crops that farmed animals eat to providing them with drinking water, and cleaning away the filth from farms, lorries, and slaughterhouses, the meat, egg, and dairy industries put a serious strain on the world’s water supply.

It is a double whammy in that the sector also pollutes the world’s waterways and seas. For instance, a study by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, highlighted a new class of agricultural pollutants in the form of veterinary medicines (antibiotics, vaccines and growth promoters), which move from farms through water to ecosystems and drinking-water sources. 

And only last week, alongside the decimation of fish populations and destruction of their habitats, the polluting effects of the fishing industry were exposed. Scottish fishermen were so incensed by what they see in the seas off Scotland that they went to a longstanding critic of their industry, Guardian journalist, George Monbiot. They exposed the deliberate and widescale disposing of nets and longlines at sea. This “ghost gear” drifting through the oceans presents a mortal threat to whales, dolphins, turtles and much of the rest of the life of the sea.  

Taking action

Monbiot concludes that, like the fictional US president in the recent movie, Don’t Look Up, here is yet another instance of the world’s governments, faced with ecological collapse, deciding to “sit tight and assess”.

The current failure of authorities to tackle the myriad issues from meat, dairy and fishing is why brave protestors have to step up, why court cases need to be brought, and why whistle-blowers need to be heard. 

The targets for curbing carbon emissions won’t be close to being met without a transition to a fair and sustainable plant-based system and, in parallel, so many other benefits would accrue. Our health would be better, the air would be cleaner, the planet’s water would be conserved and cleaner, and billions of creatures would avoid indescribable suffering. 

The post Animal Rebellion supports those taking the UK government to court today over factory farming  first appeared on Animal Rebellion.

Well 2021 was a wild year, with blockades, beacons, and lock-ons aplenty! More can be read about those here or seen here. Animal Rebellion did a fantastic job in showing McDonalds, Arla (The UK’s biggest dairy producer,) and even the British government where they’re going wrong! With that in mind we wanted to invite the meat, dairy, and fishing industries to make some resolutions of their own to secure a just and sustainable plant-based future!

Let’s start it off nice and simple shall we? McDonald’s and Arla, this one’s for you (and other food and drink providers)! In fact it’s a resolution to make until 2025 and it is to  make a just and sustainable transition to 100% plant-based! Animal Rebellion is so excited to help in making  the change that we even used nonviolent direct action to speed you both along in 2021. In 2022 the resolution for the pair of you is to make genuine steps in that transition!

 We know why these resolutions are necessary, but perhaps you don’t? Firstly Mcdonald’s, your current food system relies on meat directly linked to Amazon deforestation . Even when your beef burgers don’t come from South America, methane emissions from the cattle are catastrophic. It’s simple, serving 100% plant-based options in your restaurants is the only way to just and sustainable practice.  The McPlant might be a start, but it’s certainly not going to be the end …

Onto Arla, why is ditching dairy and transitioning to being 100% plant-based by 2025 such a great resolution? Well for starters, dairy can use up to 29x more land, 22x more water, and produces  nearly 5x as many greenhouse gas emissions per litre when compared to plant-based options. The fact is, the most ‘sustainable’ dairy option is less sustainable than the ‘least sustainable’ plant-based one. If that’s not bad enough, areas with intensive dairy farming also experience horrific levels of water pollution due to spillage, dumping waste feed, and the surface run-off of waste or excrement from the herds. It’s clear that dairy is milking the planet. McDonald’s and Arla’s  resolution to transition to just and  sustainable plant-based production is looking pretty good to us …

Now let’s think of a resolution for the fishing industry! Instead of destroying oceans and coasts alike, resolve to a just and sustainable transition away and into other industries like aquatic plant-based options.  

Stopping fishing entirely is essential in order to preserve biodiversity and equilibrium in ocean ecosystems. In fact, depleting oceans of fish, and leaving rubbish behind is driving algal blooms, reduced carbon-capture potential, and poisoning coastal communities. We think this is more than enough reason to give multinational fishing corporations the resolution to transition away from their destructive practices, and support their workers in seeking a future within a just and sustainable plant-based food system.

Thirdly, we have a helpful resolution for the British Government! If our banner on the Home Office building didn’t make it clear enough in October 2021, invest in a plant-based future! We know that the, roughly, £1.5 Billion yearly subsidies for industries like meat, dairy, and fish would be better used elsewhere! The British government must help its farmers make the just and sustainable transition to plant-based farming in order to secure the future. 

By helping ordinary farmers adopt Earth-friendly farming that they can rely on, the British government will be freeing up some 85% of land from inefficient meat and dairy production. Freeing this land for multiple uses including rewilding, plant-based farming, and renewable energy is a necessity to mitigate the worst impacts of climate breakdown. 

Finally, not to just make resolutions for everyone else, Animal Rebellion would like to make a resolution for ourselves! That is to refuse to quit in our mission to secure a just and sustainable plant-based food system, thereby halting mass extinction, alleviating the worst effects of climate breakdown and ensuring justice for animals. Whether it’s on social media, from a beacon or helping university students campaign, we promise we’ll be there fighting for the future of all life!

If you’d like to get involved in helping any of these resolutions come true then fill out our interest form below or get in touch via any social media! There is something for anyone to do within Animal Rebellion!

https://actionnetwork.org/forms/animal-rebellion-volunteer-submissions

1.  _{https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/sep/17/leading-burger-supplier-sourced-from-amazon-farmer-guilty-of-deforestation}
2. _{https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/oct/27/whats-the-beef-with-cows-and-the-climate-crisis}
3. _{Nemecek. T and Poore. J, “Reducing food’s environmental impacts through producers and consumers,” Science 360, issue 6392 (June 2018): 987-992.}
4.  _{https://sentientmedia.org/milk-pollution-in-rivers/}
5. _{Salazar. Cesar, Jaime. Marcela and Quiroga. Miguel, “Transition Patterns of Fishermen and Farmers into Seaweed Small-Scale Aquaculture: The Role of Risk and Time Preferences,” EfD Discussion Paper Series (2020,) p. 3-20.}
6. _{https://www.cbsnews.com/news/salt-water-fish-extinction-seen-by-2048/}
7. _{https://www.science.org/content/article/united-kingdom-embark-agricultural-revolution-break-eu-farm-subsidies}
8.  _{De Ruiter. Henri, et al, “Total global agricultural land footprint associated with UK food supply 1986–2011,” Global Environmental Change 43 (2017,) p. 72-81.}

The post 2022: Some New Year’s Resolutions For a Plant-Based Future first appeared on Animal Rebellion.

January – Saving the world one council at a time

We kicked off the year with our schools and councils campaign, demanding that they do their part to encourage plant-based eating. A total of 74% of councils have declared a climate emergency, yet few are taking steps to reduce food-related emissions. How did we get on? Well, an incredible 10% of UK councils got on board and saw the need to help reduce animal product consumption in their local area. Thanks to the actions taken by Hackney Council alone, an estimated 92,000 animal lives will be saved each year, not to mention 490 tonnes of CO2! 

April – Challenging the school menu

We demanded that the Department of Education introduce plant-based foods in school canteens, an initiative which will aid them to do their part in helping meet climate targets while encouraging young people to establish healthier eating patterns and save money! Several councils from Brighton to Somerset worked with ProVeg to promote more plant-based meals in schools.

May – McDonalds brought to a halt

That’s right, we blockaded all four McDonald’s UK distribution centres, which supply approximately 1300 restaurants! We called for, and continue to call for, McDonald’s, one of the biggest symbols of the animal agriculture industry, to offer a fully plant-based menu by 2025. 

Why? McDonald’s is an enormous contributor to climate change by selling such environmentally destructive foods at ridiculously low prices, and is also known for its poor track-record on animal cruelty and workers rights. We say no! Over 100 protestors blockaded the site for 24 hours, fighting for human, animal and climate justice. 

June – G7 Presence in Cornwall

We made sure our voices were heard at the G7 Summit taking place in Cornwall. Around 50 people peacefully occupied both indoor and outdoor seating at the McDonald’s in Falmouth. 

July –  Big Mac crisis 

Animal Rebellion blockaded McDonald’s only UK burger factory and halted production for over 24 hours! Tents and gazebos were set up as a camp and our brave activists secured themselves to bamboo structures outside the building and occupied the roof, setting an unofficial world record of 62 hours up a beacon! We were met with support from former employees of OSI Foods, who described horrendous working conditions and from the locals who rallied to show support and provided food and essentials.

August –  All night occupation

Sick of us yet Mcdonald’s? In August 50 protestors spent the night at the Leicester Square branch of McDonald’s as we repeated our demand for a transition to a plant-based menu! From 6pm onwards we occupied the restaurant and aimed to start conversations with customers about the destruction caused by McDonald’s and the impact of the fast-food industry.

Buckingham Palace Protest 

That’s right! We dyed the iconic Buckingham Palace fountains blood red in a protest against use of crown land for hunting and animal agriculture.

We demanded that the Queen put an end to the use of crown land for industries which are contributing to the climate and ecological emergency and the death of animals. It’s time for a new system based on justice and compassion and the royal family should be leading the way. 

National Animal Rights March

We were joined by numerous animal rights groups and activists to stand up for animals loud and clear. We marched from Smithfield Market, stopping at Unilever, Cargill and MSC and through central London, mobilising thousands of people and celebrating all that has been achieved for animals and the large amount of work still left to do.

Arla Action
To end our August Rebellion, 50 rebels blockaded Arla, the UK´s biggest milk factory, calling for an end to dairy production. Dairy corporations, including Arla, together emitted more greenhouse gases in 2017 than major polluters such as BHP and ConocoPhillips, and the industry also undoubtedly abuses animals on a large scale. We demanded that the government supports companies like Arla by funding a fair transition for workers in meat and dairy industries to just and sustainable alternatives.

October – COP 26 Protest 

Animal Rebellion protestors scaled the face of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). Ahead of the COP 26 Climate change conference, we urged leaders to ‘defund meat’ and invest in plant-based alternatives instead.

We called out our government’s hypocrisy, as they claim to be world leaders in climate change whilst propping up the unsustainable and environmentally destructive meat and dairy industries with at least  £1.5 billion a year in subsidies. We called for an end to this and sent a clear message to world leaders attending COP26 later that month!

What a year! And we are ready for even bigger and better things in 2022. Find a role that’s right for you and get involved with Animal Rebellion now. Let’s bid goodbye to the year with some wise words from Margaret Mead.

‘’Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.’’

The post Animal Rebellion’s 2021 Roundup! first appeared on Animal Rebellion.

Many people across the world today are compelled to organise and take part in protests, driven by the impending climate crisis, government inaction and the desire to show that we can do better. Animal Rebellion protests seek to highlight the disastrous effects of the meat, fishing and dairy industries and show that a better future exists under a plant-based food system. These protests seek to disrupt business as usual and show the urgent need to change our systems and behavior.

The right to peacefully protest is fundamental to a democratic society. Across the globe, throughout history, there are so many examples of where protest has brought vital change – whether black civil rights in America, the end of British rule in India, the overthrow of dictators, same-sex marriage legislation, pro-choice rights for women along with so many other causes.

The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill is a blatant attempt to stifle protest. Typical of this government’s other moves to undermine democracy, the worst aspects of the bill have been added as  last-minute amendments, meant to get in under the radar, avoiding parliamentary scrutiny.
Writer and activist, George Monbiot, has said: “The government’s back-door amendments to the policing bill are tyrannical. We should be on the streets in our millions… This is proper police state stuff.”

Among other things, the bill would: 

• ban protesters from attaching themselves to another person, to an object, or to land, with a maximum prison sentence for this and other offences of 51 weeks; 

• make it a criminal offence to obstruct in any way major transport works from being carried out;

• significantly expand police stop and search powers so that the police would be entitled to stop and search people or vehicles if they suspect they might be carrying any article that could be used in the newly prohibited protests;

• introduce new powers to ban named people from protesting: people would be banned if they had previously committed “protest-related offences”;

• make it a crime to cause “serious annoyance” to the public, with a maximum penalty of ten years in prison;

• give the home secretary control over the definition of “serious disruption to the life of the community” and “serious disruption to the activities of an organisation”, both of which could determine when police powers are engaged to limit protest. Essentially, a minister could suppress protests that they do not like or agree with.

The power of non-violent protest scares governments. Often their tactics are heavy-handed, which rebounds on them, building more support for the cause in question. Where authoritarians are met with creative, colourful, resilient and diverse protests, their traditional responses fall down. It is easy to conclude that the bill is an attempt by central government to head off the problem before it occurs.

When thinking about Animal Rebellion or Extinction Rebellion protests, it isn’t hard to see the awful implications of the bill. It would put in jeopardy so many legitimate actions, whether it is occupying a McDonald’s outlet or distribution centre, blocking a dairy factory, scaling government buildings, or just marching for animal rights, climate justice or other causes. 

And it is not only groups like ours that will be stifled. What about local residents who want to protest against the loss of open space, the closure of a library or other services, the polluting actions of their water company, or the building of a new road? Trade unions and other groups will also be hit.

Indeed, it is hard not to conclude that it will now be difficult to attend a protest without committing an offence. Those clearly completely legitimate historical protests that brought so much positive change would arguably be made illegal under legislation such as this. 

The Green Party calls the bill “the gravest threat to civil liberties in more than a generation”. But opposition has also come from less predictable sources. Two former Conservative prime ministers, Theresa May and John Major, have spoken in parliament against the bill. 

George Monbiot asks, why aren’t more people on the streets, protesting while they still can? The Kill the Bill movement and groups such as Liberty have been doing their best to raise the dangers of what’s coming but most people seem oblivious to the implications. 

Perhaps it is the lack of media coverage. Perhaps it stems from so many other distractions, including Covid and government sleaze, corruption and incompetence. Perhaps it is just a misguided assumption that democracy in this country is safe. It is probably all of the above. 

If protests turn violent then there are already laws in place to deal with this. This bill is about state control and the erosion of freedom of expression. That is why we have to oppose it at every opportunity and continue to try to raise awareness of how it will erode all of our democratic rights. 

Follow the protest movement on facebook (https://www.facebook.com/Kill-The-Bill-UK-105927524913222) and twitter (#killthebill) for regular updates and to learn about future actions. For more information and to sign the petition against the bill, visit https://www.libertyhumanrights.org.uk/

The post The Police Bill: Our right to protest hangs in the balance. first appeared on Animal Rebellion.

During the civil rights movement, people organised and defied the unjust laws that separated Black people from equal freedom and rights with white people. The racist laws included affected all elements of society. They included the segregation of public transport which meant that Black people were often obliged to sit at the back of the bus, even when the front was empty and were forced to give up their seat for white customers. A young girl rebelled, refused to give up her seat and was arrested however due to her youth and status she was largely ignored. She wasn’t alone though.  A movement was growing and, soon after, a woman, Rosa Parks, took nonviolent direct action  by refusing to give up her seat on a bus for a white person. She was also arrested but this time  her actions sparked uproar and people boycotted the buses, organising amongst themselves to travel to and from work by creating taxis among themselves. Their rebellion and economic pressure made the bus company face a dilemma.

This story is one of many examples. The civil rights Movement, votes for women, the independence of India, the end of the Apartheid… If you remove direct action, arguably none of these would have happened or certainly not as fast. Throughout history, people have disobeyed unjust laws to push the creation of just laws. We can learn from their successes.

What is non-violent direct action (aka NVDA)?

NVDA is bold, disruptive, and makes change happen. It is a form of civil disobedience, which means people taking direct action are prepared to face  consequences such as arrests. NVDA aims to hold accountable the government and organisations that hold a high amount of financial and political power. NVDA is organised, well-planned and creative. People put justice and freedom at the centre of the debate by putting their skills, time and energy into crafting a media-catching action. Crucially, a variety of roles support the rebels who are able and willing to break unjust laws, so that people from all walks of life can help build impactful nonviolent direct actions. No matter how much time you have, you can find a role within the movement.

NDVA is one theory of how change happens within the movement for climate and animal justice. We respect and can support other organisations who have the same aim but different ways of achieving their goals. We are a sister movement to Extinction Rebellion which also uses NVDA, and we focus our demand on a just and sustainable plant-based future.

Direct action serves several functions

Why would power-holders change the status-quo, if meat, fish and dairy lobbies support them through close financial and social ties? Why would the institutions whose one and only goal is to make profit agree to expand their circle of concern beyond their self-interest, for the sake of making the world better? Why would they truly take responsibility and do more than greenwashing, if we don’t use our own power to disrupt them? Direct action can serve the following purposes:

– (SHOWING) PEOPLE HAVE POWER by withdrawing our consent to the political decisions made. People empower themselves to act to create a better future. We are more than voters, we can propose solutions to the big problems of our time.

– PUTTING THE ISSUE INTO THE SPOTLIGHT, which makes ordinary people think about it. It asks the pressing question: is our demand and the current system morally right or wrong?

– CAUSING ECONOMIC PRESSURE. For instance by blocking a burger patties factory, we disrupt the company, which prevents them from making money on the back of animals on that day.

– OFFICIAL POWERS FACE A DILEMMA: They can either repress us to keep business as usual, or listen to the people and make positive changes. Even if these changes are uncomfortable, it is still better than the pressure of the media and the need to deal with the disruption.

– SO THAT STATES AND CORPORATIONS ADAPT. By displaying a positive vision we are creating a plan, an alternative to the current problematic system, that corporations and states can follow.

NVDA for a just plant-based food system

Much (social justice) progress in history was achieved thanks to civil disobedience. NVDA is one type of civil disobedience. In 1930, Gandhi led the Salt March   in protest against the unjust tax of the British empire across all of India. Millions of Indians joined him in this act of civil disobedience which precipitated the movement for Indian Independence which succeeded in 1947.

This did not happen overnight and required strategic planning, collaboration and sacrifice, but they did it! In South Africa, people organised and rose against the unfair Apartheid – and, ultimately, they achieved real change.

When you think about it, it kind of makes sense: Strong institutions and profit-making companies won’t give people more rights freely, if it means more equality and less profit and power for them. And yet, we can see examples of where people rising up for change has led to power holders giving over more freedom because of movements for justice.  We can see this in the abolition of slavery, women’s suffrage, the Arab Spring and  marriage equality. When facing such strong power-holders, the people can choose to obey unjust laws. Or we can choose civil disobedience, which grants us the power to disrupt.

Since they don’t listen to legal protests and only make unambitious decisions, we have to act. If not now, when? If not you, who? Too long have we waited for a plant-based world.

A human spills fake blood in a royal fountain. Another climbs up, up in the air to stay over 62 hours in a bamboo structure that will block the supply chain of a fast food company. What’s next? The aim is a just and sustainable plant-based food system that nourishes everyone.

The responsibility to care and act?

Only a few people decide how much to subsidise animal farming and fishing, and how much to invest in a fair transition to sustainable plant-based agricultural practises. These choices have dire consequences for all of us. Yet we are not happy with their slow reactions in the face of the climate crisis and the injustice to animals killed for food. We will not let them have the fate of billions of animals, humans included, in their hands. We will not let them waste public money to try to prevent an obsolete system of animal agriculture and overfishing from falling into pieces. We want to build a better system.

When scientists warned us about the causes of global heating and found that other animals can feel and build strong relationships, we voiced our concerns about animal agriculture and fishing. We walked the streets, we wrote to our MPs. When scientists found that a plant-based food system is a viable solution to the climate and environmental emergency, we gave talks. We shared leaflets and our favorite plant-based recipes. We even sometimes spoke with politicians.

These steps/activities are great but we need more to achieve a fair food transition. The current political and food systems are not just nor sustainable. We cannot wait until every person decides to go plant-based because this avoids thinking about the privilege, the food deserts and the barriers to change that we face (how about schools, offices…). Yet, every week that passes with animals behind bars and sent to death instead of freedom is unnecessary when a system that is more just for all life and our planet is out there.

Building mass movement for a just plant-based future.

Together we are powerful. We have skills and passion that are the building blocks of our movement.

Join us by giving your time to enact effective and sustainable change! We are a decentralised movement and welcome your NVDA, as long as it fits with our demands and our principles. Your background and location do not matter.

Help fuel the rebellion and support arrestees with a donation.

Further reading

This is an uprising by Mark and Paul Engler. Explains the theory to build social movements, drawing on historical examples.

TED talk The success on nonviolent civil resistance (13min) by Erica Chenoweth.

Don’t think of an elephant by George Lakoff, Howard Dean and Don Hazen.

More examples of civil disobedience that won.

The example of the freedom riders in the civil rights movement.

The post What Is Non-Violent Direct Action And How Will It Make Us Win? first appeared on Animal Rebellion.

ANIMAL REBELLION CAMPAIGNERS SCALE DEFRA IN CLIMATE CHANGE PROTEST AHEAD OF COP26

• Animal Rebellion protestors have scaled the face of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) building amid calls for a plant-based future
• The climate and animal movement are demanding the UK government ‘defund meat’ by investing in plant-based alternatives instead, to mitigate climate change and reduce animal suffering
• They say the action is a clear message to world leaders attending COP26 later this month, urging them to step up if they hope to make real change 
• Link to photos

Animal Rebellion campaigners have scaled the front of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) building to demand an end to government subsidies for meat and dairy in a protest against climate change.

The protesters climbed the building in the early hours of this morning, unveiling a banner that reads “COP26: Invest in a Plant-Based Future”. Animal Rebellion says they intend to remain on the building, suspended in hammocks, until UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson pledges to cut all taxpayer support for animal agriculture and promises to urge all world leaders to do the same when they attend the COP26 summit later this week. 

Animal Rebellion spokesperson Nathan McGovern said: “The UK Government is simultaneously saying that it is a world leader in climate change whilst propping up the unsustainable and unprofitable meat and dairy industry, one that emits disproportionate amounts of greenhouse gases. This hypocrisy has to end – we need to defund meat and subsidise plant-based alternatives instead.”

The UK government spends at least £1.5 billion a year subsidising livestock farming, ten times the UK’s annual budget for planting trees (see Notes to Editors for calculations). Meanwhile, despite a global explosion in demand for planet-friendly alternative proteins, the UK has only committed £90m in research and development to this sector. 

As part of the campaign, Animal Rebellion is demanding the government subsidise plant-based foods instead, as recommended by the National Food Strategy, as a “positive action to protect the planet for future generations and end the unnecessary suffering of billions of animals every year.” 

The National Food Strategy, who conducted the first independent review of the UK food system in 75 years, advised the government to invest £1 billion into food system innovation, with £125 million set aside for innovation into alternative proteins to replace meat, dairy and eggs. 

The government-commissioned report tackles the nation’s meat consumption, stating: “Our current appetite for meat is unsustainable. Plant-based proteins produce 70 times less greenhouse gas emissions than an equivalent amount of beef, and use 150 times less land.”

The report also mentions the economic benefits of the alternative protein industry, claiming that up to 10,000 new jobs could be created in the UK by investing in this growing sector. It adds that, if we don’t act soon, we could lose out on “new green jobs” and become net importers of these products.

Finally, it addresses the myth that free-range, grass-fed and regenerative livestock is greener, stating: “The more intensively you rear some animals, the more carbon-efficient they tend to be.”

In the UK, livestock grazers are largely dependent on public subsidies with around 90% of their profits coming from taxpayers pockets. Experts believe that 85% of the UK’s total land footprint is associated with meat and dairy production. 

Notes to editors:

– The UK spends £3bn a year on farming subsidies of which at least half £1.5bn is spent on livestock. According to Greenpeace around half of European farming subsidies across Europe go to livestock farming. With 85% of the UK’s land footprint associated with meat and dairy the figure is actually likely to be much higher in the UK, but no precise figures exist.  

– The UK’s Net Zero Strategy published last week pledges £750m to be spent on the Nature for Climate Fund by 2025: this was first announced in the March 2020 budget. Across the five years 2020-25 that’s £150m per year on tree planting or roughly 1/10th of the annual budget for subsidising animal agriculture. 

To find out more about Animal Rebellion and start taking action for our planet, click here.

Email: pressoffice@animalrebellion.org

Animal Rebellion Web Page | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter 

Contacts:

• Nathan (on ground)
• Hazel (back office)
• Joel (back office)

The post Animal Rebellion Campaigners Scale DEFFRA In Climate Change Protest Ahead Of COP26 first appeared on Animal Rebellion.