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.

Have you heard of The Butterfly Effect? No, not the Ashton Kutcher movie but the theory itself. It goes back to 1800, in The Vocation of Man, Johann Gottlieb Fichte says “you could not remove a single grain of sand from its place without thereby … changing something throughout all parts of the immeasurable whole”. The same can be said for our ecosystem- push one section of our natural world too far and the effects can be untold.

This Hallo-week, climate justice movements: Animal Rebellion and Extinction Rebellion, are demonstrating to the British and Scottish governments the need to impose legislation that will protect and uphold our homes, habitats and country. This will happen by marking the end of archaic sports which involve the hunting and killing of our wildlife along with the vast swathes of natural land that are burnt and destroyed in order to prime acres for the game.

The annual depletion of up to 260,000 wild animals that are native to Scotland alone are wreaking havoc on local animal societies and food chains. Coupled with the CO2 gas released from the burning of our peat soils, which annually emits more greenhouse gasses than all of the oil refineries in the UK, has created an ecological disaster in the name of an ancient and often inaccessible sport.

Through a series of safe, peaceful and family-friendly actions in both Scotland and on the footsteps of Buckingham Palace, the climate justice movements are informing the public of the action that needs to be taken in order to protect our homes and planet. In the spirit of Halloween, we may not be able to go trick-or-treating but we can remember the animals that have lost their lives by dressing up, creating art work and speaking out against the sports that are engaged within their homes and our beautiful countryside that is being laid to waste.

This Halloween simultaneous demonstrations are taking place outside of Holyrood in Edinburgh, Scotland and a march from Trafalgar Square right up to Buckingham Palace in London dubbed ‘The Hunted Haunting of Buckingham Palace’. Everyone is invited to take part in both actions, and implored to be creative with it! There will be speakers, art, banners, posters, pavement chalk art, face paintings and costumes, lots of costumes.

If you want to join other activists and interested parties for the demonstrations here’s how you can prepare and help out.

For the demonstrations numbers are the most important factor, everybody is welcome and is encouraged to bring friends, family and anyone else you can. Come in your own costumes, preferably animal themed. You can be as elaborate and creative or as simplistic as you want; a white sheet over your head to represent the ghosts of animal lives lost is a popular choice; just make sure it represents the loss and destruction of animals and their homes, particularly those native to Scotland. Bring out your artistic spirit, make banners, paintings, posters, cutouts and bring soft toys; anything you can think of that helps get the message across to protect our natural countryside and wildlife. Show the extent that has been lost and make the government know the demands they are facing.

Alongside people, equipment is also required to ensure the rebellions’ presence is felt. Anything from torches, high- vis vests, placards and flags to ensure that you are seen and safe to sound systems and megaphones to ensure that you are heard.

Above all it has to be said that among these strange and unfortunate times please make sure that you bring face masks for yourself and everyone you’re coming with. Along with remaining socially distant from those who are outside of your household or support bubble. Your voice needs to be heard whilst you are keeping yourself and those around you safe at the same time.

That being said, if you or anyone you have been in contact with lately has any symptoms of COVID-19 then please stay at home, you can still make your voice heard by sharing your thoughts and the demonstrations on social media however for the safety of yourself and everyone around you it is essential that the demonstrations are COVID secure.

It’s no secret that there is a lot of work that needs to be done to ensure the protection of our planet and its inhabitants, however, one step at a time real difference can be made. Through demonstrations such as these and the many others around the world. From climate justice movements to individuals making every day choices, however you choose to participate, your voice can be heard and will not be forgotten. The right and necessary changes will come and our planet and all of us who call it home will benefit from it.

Demonstration Information:

The Hunted Haunting of Buckingham Palace.

Time/Date: Meeting at 5:30pm, Saturday 31st October 2020

Place: Meeting at DEFRA and marching to Buckingham Palace.

Holyrood Demonstration

Time/Date: TBA, Saturday 31st October 2020

Place: Holyrood, Edinburgh

The post Animal Rebellion Prepares for a Terrifying Halloween — Climate Justice Movement Demonstrates Against Grouse Shooting first appeared on Animal Rebellion.

*Originally published 14 August 2020*

Animal Rebellion is active in over 30 countries, including France, Spain, Mexico, New Zealand, Poland, Guatemala, South Africa, Israel, South America, North America and Australia. We continue to start new communities in all corners of the world that fight for a just and sustainable future for all: humans, animals, and the planet.

In 2019, a small group of Extinction Rebellion members recognised an omission in climate activism: no one was seriously addressing the relationship between people, animals, and the planet. And so, they formed Animal Rebellion to raise awareness about this gap and expose the impact animal agriculture has on the climate and all animals involved, human and non-human. They came together to address the role that humans play in this destructive, dangerous cycle and to create a just and sustainable system to replace it.

Now there are A LOT more of us. Animal Rebellion continues to fight alongside Extinction Rebellion but we carry our message: to save the planet, we must end animal agriculture and transition to a plant-based food system.

Animal Rebellion is a decentralised organisation run by volunteers. We use a non-hierarchical structure to empower individuals to harness their creativity and initiative, whilst also balancing the need for group consent. We deliver comprehensive training to educate our members from meeting facilitation and team coordination to content writing and action planning. Anyone who abides by our principles and values can take action in the name of Animal Rebellion.

An inclusive and regenerative culture is at the very heart of the movement. We welcome people from all walks of life to join us. We are focused on creating system change and so do not require our members to make personal changes. We do not ask people to be vegan. We simply ask that they follow our principles and values, such as using a non-violent strategy to bring about change and not blaming or shaming others. We show compassion for people and animals, this includes standing in solidarity with farmers as we value a strong and positive relationship and aim to be a source of support in their transition to plant-based farming.

What is it like to be a member of Animal Rebellion?

I was at the October Rebellion with my sister and this was the first time I had heard of Animal Rebellion. I was at Smithfield meat market on day 1 of the protest and was inspired by the passion and courage of people I met. Any protest can be a daunting experience, but I soon realised the movement is filled with welcoming people from all over the world. I felt comforted to be surrounded by thousands of people standing up for something they believed in, trying to make the world a better place, even though it often means going against the norm.

Members of Animal Rebellion support the movement in different ways. Some will show up to a community talk on animal agriculture, protest outside parliament, march through London, volunteer remotely or on the ground, but we are all united by one thing: our passion. We all fight for a better world and we need your help to succeed.

If this is your first Rebellion, you may be surprised at what to expect. We have sign language professionals to help make our actions, talks and training more accessible. Regenerative and well-being spaces are available to help balance out the intensity and emotion we sometimes feel due to the nature of what we are fighting for. The culture of Animal Rebellion ensures everyone is cared for during actions, even sharing our food with the police. There is often music, dancing and singing, and generally good vibes when and where it is appropriate.

Joining an Affinity group is a great way to get to know people before the main event. Contact actions@animalrebellion.org for more info.

The post Who Is Animal Rebellion? The Worldwide Movement. first appeared on Animal Rebellion.

We can also celebrate its effectiveness

Talk must produce results, and as I write this there is an election coming and climate change is now an election issue even for mainstream parties. Also, the UK government plans a citizens’ assembly to look at the climate emergency (albeit watered down from what has been demanded). This is a result!

For such a young movement, any results are better than no results

I recall one of the Extinction Rebellion stalwarts at Westminster this October who acknowledged that there might be a 99% chance locking to an immovable object in the road was just pointlessly disruptive. But, they noted that if there was a 1% chance that this symbolic action might result in real action, it was a necessary gesture. Because doing nothing — in other words continuing with ‘business as usual’– guarantees extinction.

We changed the debate

In 2018, not every politically aware citizen was ready to call themselves environmentally aware. This is slowly beginning to change and we can legitimately congratulate ourselves for this. It needed changing! Now as we draw towards the year end, politically aware people are trying for size a new self-defining aphorism: “Every politically aware person has to be an environmentalist”. And vice versa: the environmentally aware are saying, sometimes privately to themselves, hesitantly, “every environmentalist has to be politically aware.” This is a conversation that wasn’t there and now is, and won’t go away. Extinction Rebellion changed all that, for which we can congratulate ourselves.

System change is openly discussed

The focus of the debate has shifted from individuals changing our light bulbs, abandoning plastic straws, driving electric or going vegan — important as all of these changes are — to examining the very nature of what passes for ‘civilization’ around these parts; questioning growth, progress, and the myth of capitalism as a desirable good thing for all. Our civilization’s faith in ‘business as usual’ has been exposed for the terrorist force it is: if allowed to run its course, it will make terminal and irreversible alterations to our mutual planetary life support system.

Personal change is important, but not enough

On a personal level, Extinction Rebellion has changed everything for me this year by shifting the focus to system change. I, and other likeminded people, have been changing our lightbulbs for 40 years or more, (so much for urgency!). I cycled to India because I didn’t want to fly, and have had a guilty conscience ever since about every flight I’ve taken, long or short, offset or not. I’ve changed every lightbulb I possibly could. I can’t possibly use any fewer plastic straws, can’t physically ride any more bikes or go any more vegan than I already am. I used whatever privilege I have to buy myself into a co-housing community, which was at the time, the largest Passivehaus development in Europe, powered by community owned solar and hydro.

Individuals made many of those changes and as we learn more — about palm oil, tetrapak or helium party balloons, all we can do is make ritual, tokenistic, conscience-torturing changes to our personal lifestyles, as if we are the problem. If my lifestyle was the problem, and I changed it, why has the rate of extinctions gone up in my lifetime? Global vehicle pollution doubled? Global meat production doubled? Because whatever changes you and I make, the juggernaut grinds on around us.

The Rebellion has helped lift the debate out of blaming and shaming of the powerless individuals trapped aboard the machine and into questioning the machine itself. This movement has changed that debate. The juggernaut goes by many names — variants on Capitalism, Colonialism, Progress or Patriarchy, and the debate is now around these structural mechanisms of violence and destruction — for which we as a movement can be justifiably congratulated. All of us can be proud to have been part of it whilst we examine and reflect on our personal learnings, insights and oversights. As a movement this is a good time to question how we ourselves act out unconscious dominance patterns learnt from growing up in the juggernaut.

We are (almost) getting to the point of realisation that “every environmentalist has to be an anti-capitalist, and vice versa.” We need to urgently examine where the various liberation struggles intersect and overlap, and add: “every environmentalist needs to be anti-racist, and vice versa” or ‘feminist’ or ‘anti-colonialist.’ or any other from a long list of conscious and unconscious structural oppressions. As environmental activists who grew up riding on the juggernaut we must reflect and challenge our role within all liberation struggles. Let’s decolonise ourselves and our movement, firstly because it is the right thing to do, and secondly so we can get on with saving the planet from ourselves.

What else is missing?

Speciesism is one of the most inconvenient and unavoidable conversations we will have to engage in now. We have to address how environmental justice is inextricably intertwined with interspecies justice and all other justice struggles. Otherwise, despite the progress we have made, we will fail to get to the root of the climate and societal crisis we are facing. Even if the wider public does not want to get involved in animal rights/liberation debates per se, speciesism should be addressed. If we remain silent on this issue, it cannot ultimately win the battle against the climate crisis and the harmful forces that are fuelling it.

Extinction Rebellion and Animal Rebellion recognize that the climate crisis is not an isolated event, but is fundamentally intertwined with other ideologies and systems of oppression. In a recent article on Medium, Sam Knight of Extinction Rebellion wrote: ‘We want the movement to develop a deeper analysis of capital and control, and to acknowledge more publicly the crises of capitalism and colonialism that are in no small part responsible for this crisis’. This is an important move on the part of Extinction Rebellion. Capital is from the same word root as “chattels,” an Old English word meaning “goods” and derived from the same word as “cattle.” How we measured or appropriated wealth was per head (per capita) of cattle, and in a very real sense this carries over to contemporary times. (Just think of the nation which most embodies Capitalism/Colonialism today and consider how important to their identity their heroic dominance myth is: the Cowboy, the steers, and the conquest of the West). African and other slaves were referred to as “chattel slaves.” The capital of their muscle power was owned, controlled, contained and legally traded by an elite class. This system has been legitimised at various times in history by theories of racial, gender or class elitism, and is bolstered by theories of difference and inferiority or superiority. Hence the call to ‘Decolonise’ the juggernaut and for us to own our failings, and to ‘Decolonise XR.’ And Extinction Rebellion is working hard to achieve this. As Knight explained, ‘We talked about economics, politics, science, race, class, gender, sexuality, religion, capitalism, colonialism, militarism, power, growth, degrowth, protest law, ecocide, reparations, climate debt, anarchism, socialism, democracy. We talked about everything we could with everyone we knew.’ It is crucial that we are having these conversations. But, the list of issues that Knight outlines is glaringly incomplete. We cannot omit the invisible ‘ism’ which lies at the root of it all: speciesism.

Speciesism is central to the debate, not a sideshow

Speciesism is at the root of extinction crisis and the habitat and biodiversity loss we now face. Let us consider the domestication of animals, the ownership of cattle. Cattle graze in fields, and the field is the original assertion of ownership and control of the wild planetary environment. The innocuous word “field” is an old English word meaning “the place where the trees have been felled.” It is to this control and containment, this original act of colonisation, that we can trace all those other intersections of which we need to talk. We need to be able to question the original idea that humans are different and superior and therefore can do what they want with all other living beings. Speciesism underpins our unconscious belief in our right to dominate all other species and our planetary life support system. We set ourselves up for disaster when we began to think that Human Nature was anything different to Nature itself, when we began to see ourselves in contradistinction to all other animals, as if we were not just another species of animals among myriad others, but somehow set apart.

The violence and dominance of speciesism is the main issue — the violence implicit in humanity’s disconnected relationship to the whole environment. Perhaps, once we step beyond our ingrained, anthropocentric world view, the relationship between speciesism and all other forms of ideological and structural violence will be exposed, and with that in our awareness, we can start to build a better world for all. Animal Rebellion is here to bring that message to the forefront. The only way we can solve the climate emergency is to solve the animal emergency, and that means ending the speciesist industries of animal agriculture and fishing driving greenhouse gas emissions and destroying natural habitats. Join us.

The post The Rebellion Has Brought the Climate Crisis to the Forefront… Now It Is Time to Address Speciesism first appeared on Animal Rebellion.

Rather than ensuring farm standards, Red Tractor fools the unaware consumer into supporting animal cruelty.

‘Facts are irrelevant. What matters is what the consumer believes’, said Seth Godin, American author and business executive. Animal agriculture and its representatives are well aware of this fact and consumers’ desire to be reassured that the products they purchase are ethical and of high quality. But how many are aware that labels, assurance schemes and terms such as ‘humane’ and ‘farm fresh’ mean very little for the 6.4 billion animals killed for food in the UK every single year?

Animal Rebellion has been protesting at the headquarters of Red Tractor, a product certification programme that is made up of a number of farm assurance schemes for food products, animal feed and fertiliser. Red Tractor was launched in 2000 by the National Farmers Union of England and Wales. It is the largest food assurance scheme in the UK, used by 78,000 farmers across the country, and claims to ensure food is traceable, safe and responsibly produced.

The National Farmers Union, as the name suggests, claims to represent farmers. George Monbiot has said that the NFU ‘helps enrich millionaire landowners while destroying biodiversity, polluting water and wiping out pollinators’. The fact that a farming organisation (which has supported both the badger cull and fox hunting, and which has consistently lobbied against any limit being put on the subsidies that large farmers receive) is behind an assurance scheme for consumers seems to many to be a conflict of interests. How can an organisation representing producers concerned about profits be trusted by consumers concerned about standards?

Even farmers have expressed concerns. Alastair Crown, a pig farmer from Co Londonderry was quoted in the Farmers Guardian in 2017, saying, “Red Tractor gives people this idea the produce they are buying is high welfare. But who defines high welfare? Who regulates Red Tractor? They just make up their own standards and as long as their farmers buy into it they are allowed to sell their produce under this banner. It is promoting the intensive production of animals.”

Numerous scandals

Red Tractor’s credibility has been shattered through numerous animal welfare scandals on farms it has accredited. In a major expose in the Daily Mail, Lambrook pig farm in Somerset was described as a ‘hell hole’, with both dead and living pigs lying covered in their own filth. These intelligent animals were held in small, dirty concrete pens and provided with no mental stimulation except for chains hanging from the ceiling. Yet even after being made aware of the terrible conditions, Red Tractor audited the farm and passed it as acceptable.

Rosebury Farm in Dunstable had passed five Red Tractor inspections in 2018 including one in July (all of which the farm had been alerted to in advance) before it was filmed by animal activists. Footage revealed a tiny piglet being swung by one leg and smashed against the wall (after which it continued to kick for at least ten seconds before dying), piglets screaming as their teeth were clipped off without pain relief, pigs being illegally and repeatedly shocked with electric prods, a piglet left frothing at the mouth on a pile of corpses, dozens of dead piglets littering the floor of the farrowing shed, live piglets trapped in cages with dead siblings, pigs crammed into barren pens so small that they were forced to lie on one another during a heatwave and at least one animal suffering from a tumour or hernia.

Earlier this year, three Red Tractor certified farms were exposed by Animal Equality. Chickens were filmed with red-raw skin, dead and alive birds crammed together into overcrowded sheds. Bin bags full of dead birds were found at one farm and staff were filmed breaking birds’ necks and leaving them to convulse on the ground for several minutes. Staff were also filmed deliberately stepping on and kicking birds and one was filmed being thrown against a wall. Many birds couldn’t stand up and were trapped on their backs and sides, desperately kicking and many starving.

The Red Tractor scheme allows multiple cruel practises such as tail-docking of baby animals, teeth grinding of pigs, zero-grazing of dairy cows, long journeys to slaughter and cramming of chickens into sheds with little room to express natural behaviour. Farrowing crates, which trap mother sows in enclosures they cannot even turn around in so as ‘not to allow excessive free movement’ are acceptable under the Red Tractor banner, as are concrete slatted floors where sows can be immobilised for long periods. As George Monbiot has said, ‘the Red Tractor standard is a classic example of an almost meaningless label, whose purpose is to reassure customers in a vague and fuzzy way while holding producers to standards that scarcely rise above the legal minimum’.

Criticism has also been levied at Red Tractor’s inspection scheme. Unannounced visits are as low as 0.08% and, as an Efra select committee noted, farmers can opt out of them. Furthermore, farmers pay for the inspections and can choose which private certification company visits them. Not very reassuring, despite the launch of new standards this year.

Other schemes are viewed more favourably by animal welfare organisations, such as the Soil Association and RSPCA’s Freedom Foods certifications which demand stricter animal welfare procedures. So does this mean that animal products from these schemes are acceptable? Again, only undercover activism has revealed abuses of even the best systems. The Soil Association last year refused to suspend an organic dairy farm in Somerset supplying its milk, despite condemning footage where distressed calves were filmed being brutally force-fed and hit by a worker. Several cows were filmed with their back legs chained together in shackles, newborn calves less than a day old were filmed being dragged by the back legs into separation pens away from their agitated mothers and denied access to water for up to 29 hours , a worker was filmed standing on a calf with his full body weight whilst shouting obscenities, distressed newborn calves were seen struggling as workers shoved feeding tubes down their throats-a procedure that can damage the throat or be life threatening if the tube goes into the lungs. This farm was also in the RSPCA Assured scheme and supplied Waitrose — although both suspended it following the footage. The Soil Association condemned the footage but continued its support.

You have to wonder why, time and again, animal activists are the ones uncovering extreme animal cruelty in the meat, dairy and egg industries. Red Tractor may be among the worst, but even among the best such as the RSPCA’s independent assured scheme, routine practices such as the maceration or gassing of live, day old male chicks are allowed because they are legal. RSPCA Assured recommends that when pregnant cows are slaughtered, any foetus should not be removed from its mother for at least five minutes but that ‘if a foetus is found to be showing signs of life, it must immediately be killed with a captive bolt or by a blow to the head with a suitable blunt instrument’. Calf slaughter is considered humane when no more than 3% of calves slip and no more than 5% cry out in the abattoir. All schemes can only work in the current framework of what is legal and farm animals have few legal protections against appalling suffering both during their lives and their deaths.

One of our great silences

‘The way that meat, eggs and milk are produced is surrounded by one of our great silences, in which most people collaborate. We don’t want to know, because knowing would force anyone with a capacity for empathy to change their diet,’ said George Monbiot. Most people don’t want to know what happens behind slaughterhouse walls or inside factory farms — nor, even on organic, free range farms legally. Most people are uncomfortable with animal suffering and the truth is that animal suffering is integral to animal agriculture.

Animal Rebellion has targeted Red Tractor because of its appalling failures but we believe that no slaughter can ever be humane and that commodifying sentient beings is wrong.

Facts are facts. Only a plant based food system can truly reassure consumers that cruelty is off the menu.

Join Animal Rebellion

The post Red Tractor: Assuring Animal Cruelty first appeared on Animal Rebellion.

Animal Rebellion came into being to make sure that everyone who cares deeply about animals and the planet knows that, in the coming October Rebellion, there is a group representing them. A group made up of all of us. Many of you were already asking: what about the animals? Many of you were waiting for Animal Rebellion to come along. So here we are.

Most of us who formed Animal Rebellion were already involved in other animal justice groups such as Save, Animal Justice Project, AV, Hunt Sabs, and local action groups, as well as animal advocates from academia, the media, and other walks of life.

We knew that, as people who care for animals and fight for animal justice with and alongside our animal kin, it would be the worst kind of injustice to leave the safety and security of all animals out of the picture. We also know that, because of animal agriculture’s impact on the planet, from the burning Amazon, to the greenhouse emissions, to the water usage and degradation of our soil, you simply cannot fix the climate emergency without ending the animal emergency.

Why are we in alliance with Extinction Rebellion?

We know that time is running out and that if we don’t come together as a unified force, right now in this moment, then all that we love and all that we have worked for will be lost.

That’s why Extinction Rebellion introduced its Movement of Movements strategy as a crucial part of the International Rebellion in October and beyond. It will see a range of groups take to the streets together in a unified call for immediate action on the climate and ecological emergency.

And that’s why Animal Rebellion signed up, despite differences, to be a sister organisation to Extinction Rebellion and all the other groups. Separate and autonomous, but working together as rebels.

The Movement of Movements — also known as The Rebel Alliance — aims to include a wide range of groups from across society — doctors, farmers, academics, faith communities, international solidarity communities, peace groups, women’s groups, youth groups, and disability groups — as well as the animal justice community.

Together with Extinction Rebellion, we are calling on as many groups as possible to take part. We are asking all Rebels to help make this happen. We’ve signed a Memorandum of Understanding and have agreed on principles of how we work together. There are a number of resources to help support any groups that want to be involved.

Together, our alliance will culminate in the International Rebellion from 7 October, in solidarity with similar actions taking place across the globe.

We need you!

Animal Rebellion is calling for people from all over the UK to come to London in October because the evidence is clear: a transition to a plant-based food system is critical to avert climate breakdown and mass extinction. And we believe it is the crucial first step in achieving total animal liberation.

We know that the only way we can ever be powerful enough to transform our society is if we find common ground on which to stand together with other movements and make unified demands of the government that they cannot ignore.

Our very survival depends upon this. The survival of all animals depends on this. We must build a mass movement powerful enough to force the government to tackle the climate and ecological emergency all of us face. No group or organisation can do this alone.

It’s time to take a stand.

Get prepared. Bring your friends. Bring a tent. And rebel for ALL life.

Join the October Rebellion

The post What is Animal Rebellion’s Relationship with Extinction Rebellion? first appeared on Animal Rebellion.

Animal Rebellion’s change of plans over Smithfield was controversial and we have listened to the valid and thoughtful criticism that it was undemocratic. The reason for the change of plans has been explained elsewhere so here we will focus on how we can improve our democratic decision making over the Rebellion.

Due to a combination of different factors — time pressures, safety concerns, being a very young organization, the Rebel Alliance, our strategy and the limitations of our small but dedicated team of volunteers — it was not possible to open this decision up to the wider community.

Decentralized decision making has always been the aim. We believe that the best way to achieve this is via People’s Assemblies. This is a grassroots method of self organizing that allows groups of people to discuss issues and make decisions collectively, so that no one group or individual can dominate the process. They also allow us to model participatory democracy, whereby ideas, feedback and decision making is done as a collective endeavour. People’s Assemblies have been used in France and by the Occupy Movement. This movement is about issues far bigger than any of us as individuals, and doing the best we can as a group to achieve our aims for animals and the planet is the goal.

People’s Assemblies can help build the movement. Assemblies held in public draw members of the public into the conversation and add their voice to the debate. They can also be used during direct actions, such as occupations or other forms of non violent civil disobedience. Groups of any size can discuss issues or make decisions collectively regarding moving our aims and objectives forward (for example, direct action groups making emergency decisions themselves).

We do not want to replicate existing power structures. We have a diversity of voices within our movement and all deserve to be heard using active listening — the technique of hearing someone out before developing any response to ensure everyone gets a voice in a supportive, trusting environment. No one individual or group holds all the answers and these issues are not ones that demand point scoring or intellectual jousting but instead using the wisdom of the crowd as a collective. To do this, there is a list of hand signals we use to allow meetings to run smoothly and be radically inclusive.

Trust is an important factor. Trust in the process, the facilitator and the other participants. That’s why the system and process are agreed on at the beginning.

No system is perfect but coming together in humility in order to work towards decisions and actions that are best for all and achieve our aims is the goal. This is your movement, my movement, our movement.

Let’s hear from one of our rebels, Dulcie Ruttley-Dornan, and her experience of democratic decision making at the rebellion:

Animal Rebellion: My experience of a decentralised system.

“For a long time, I have felt dismayed at hierarchical systems and the way they often end up benefiting those sitting comfortably at the top whilst the minions at the bottom do their dirty work; work that they don’t necessarily agree with and also have little say in. A decentralised system, however, seemed ideological and an impossible reality. Thanks to Animal Rebellion, I have recently had a change of heart on this.

Every day we hold a People’s Assembly to create new plans and actions for the following 24 hours, determined by the consensus. Anyone is welcome to attend, including the Police…and they always do! During Day 2 of the rebellion, we had a tough decision to make, which would impact the future of Animal Rebellion and had the potential to make or break us. The question put to the rebels was whether to hold our site at DEFRA, joining forces with Extinction Rebellion, or to march to Trafalgar Square and set up camp? In small groups of around 10 people, we first discussed the possibilities surrounding the question at hand in detail, then summarised our points and decided on 3 core issues to support our overall argument in answer to the question. A facilitator or scribe from each group then shared our thoughts and opinions over the microphone to everyone at thePeople’s Assembly. One by one the facilitators stated the consensus of their smaller groups, resulting in an almost equal divide for ‘Stay at DEFRA’ and ‘Go to Trafalgar’. Finally, a committee, which was formed by volunteers and nominees on Day 1, held their own discussion incorporating all of the opinions brought up during the meeting. Ultimately, the decision was made to stay and hold our site at DEFRA!

The reason this changed my view of a decentralised system is what came next. There was such a strong sense of solidarity, even from those who had voted to leave the site. Through the deep discussion in our small groups and giving the opportunity to speak and be heard to everyone, the Animal Rebellion members understood the reasoning behind the decision to hold our base at DEFRA. We had explored the pros and cons of all of our options, including the risks involved in staying and the symbolism of DEFRA; what with it being the chief government department that props up the animal farming industry! We also understood and supported those who made their own decisions to go to Trafalgar Square by helping them with their belongings and keeping them informed of Animal Rebellion’s planned actions. Due to the process of the People’s Assembly, gathering opinions from everyone and making decisions together, we all had a beneficial input in the process.

I have used words like ‘we’ and ‘our’ throughout this short piece deliberately, because all Animal Rebellion members are essential cogs in the grander mechanisms of the system: Animal Rebellion is truly decentralised and I can’t think of a more inclusive system. What a decentralised system loses in surprise tactics (since the Public Assembly’s are literally public), it gains in open, honest, and inclusive decision making. We become ever stronger with increased solidarity and our positivity continues.”

The post The People’s Rebellion: This Is What Democracy Looks Like first appeared on Animal Rebellion.

As Animal Rebellion march on Westminster, let’s look at the toll animal agriculture takes on humanity.

Did you or anyone you know live in the UK between 1980 and 1996? If so, did you also know that you cannot legally donate blood anywhere in the world except in Britain? And that the reason is down to animal agriculture?

Most people are aware of variant CJD and its link to BSE in cattle due to the scandal of ‘Mad Cow Disease’ in the 1990s. But how many are aware that in December 2012, the medical journal ‘The Lancet’ reported that 1 in every 2000 people alive today may be incubating the disease due to eating infected meat or exposure through blood donations or foodstuffs containing bovine material? The initial wave of victims had a specific genetic profile which meant that the disease manifested sooner, but scientists now know that people can carry the disease for up to fifty years without showing symptoms. When the disease emerges it is gruesome, painful and always fatal. And scientists say they simply do not know how many people could be impacted: no test for carriers of the disease exists.

This catastrophe was entirely man-made and arguably due to caused by the commodification of animals and the greed for profit. Many farmers in the 1980s started feeding their cattle meat and bone meal made from the rendered down remains of sheep, pigs and cattle, effectively turning cows into cannibals. The protein in the bone meal sped up growth and reduced costs, allowing more money to be made. Meanwhile, mechanically recovered meat (mulch made from the remains of animal corpses including spinal cords, brains and eyes) was being processed and sold in pies, burgers, sausages and other foodstuffs.

Rampant, reckless greed of the meat industry

‘Murdered by greed and corruption’ is the epitaph on Grant Goodwin’s grave. Grant ‘died in agony’ aged only 30 after succumbing to the human form of BSE, known as variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD)’. His father, a taxi driver, believes that the risk to human health from eating British beef was known as far back as 1988 and claims his family were family was told to keep secret the fact that Grant had vCJD to prevent a public outcry. Christine Lord, whose son Andrew also died from the same horrific disease, found documents and memos dating from 1986 showing BSE could pass from cattle to humans through infected meat and that, if it did, it would kill. However, the government continued to assure the public that British beef was safe to eat until March 1996 when the link between eating beef and BSE was finally confirmed.

Grant’s tragic story was featured alongside other victims in the BBC’s ‘Mad Cow Disease: The Great British Beef Scandal’, aired in July this year. The episode is ‘currently unavailable’ on iPlayer, oddly, but plenty of articles have been written about it and the continued threat to human health even today. As Carol Midgley reported in the Times, “Who could watch Mad Cow Disease: The Great British Beef Scandal without feeling a) deep disgust and b) rage? Rage at the rampant, reckless greed of the meat industry, rage at the arrogant assurances of the Conservative government that there was no risk to health as it prioritised beef farmers’ interests, rage at the grotesque hubris of feeding the remains of cows, sheep, pigs and chickens back to cattle, making cannibals of herbivore animals. What a perversion”.

In October 1992, John Gummer, then the Secretary of State for Agriculture, was called before the Agriculture Select Committee and, reading from reports by environmental health officers said, “We have real problems with our slaughter houses”. He then read extracts from government reports revealing what had been documented: “Slaughter hall floor heavily soiled with blood, gut contents and other debris — no attempt to clean up between carcasses. Car cleaning brush heavily contaminated with blood and fat being used to wash carcasses. Offal rack and carcass rails encrusted with dirt. Missing windows — birds, flies and vermin entering. Effluent discharging across floor — risk of contamination. Faeces was often found smeared over the dead bodies of the cows.”

Has anything really changed? A freedom of information report released by the government’s food watchdog in 2016 revealed that ‘there were more than 4,000 severe breaches of animal welfare regulations over the past two years at British slaughterhouses’. Horrific reports reveal cruelty, neglect and malpractice (which increase the risk of food poisoning).

Four million cows and around two hundred people so far have died due to BSE in Britain alone (the disease has also emerged in other countries), and it has cost the NHS over a billion pounds. Scientists do not know how many people are carrying the disease, nor how many more will die. A letter written to Dr William Watson, director of the Central Veterinary Lab, which was part of the Ministry of Agriculture warned in 1986 that, ‘’If the disease turned out to be bovine scrapie it would have severe repercussions to the export trade and possibly also for humans if for example it was discovered that humans with spongiform encephalopathies had close association with cattle. It is for these reasons that I have classified this document confidential.’ According to the Philips Report into the outbreak, the truth was ‘carefully’ hidden from the public – to protect animal agriculture at the expense of lives.

As great a threat as climate change

The bad news continues. The IPCC warned last year that climate change would lead to disaster within 12 years if urgent action was not taken to reverse the growth in greenhouse gas emissions. According to the World Wildlife Fund, ‘Humans and wild animals face new challenges for survival because of climate change. More frequent and intense drought, storms, heat waves, rising sea levels, melting glaciers and warming oceans can directly harm animals, destroy the places they live, and wreak havoc on people’s livelihoods and communities’. The IPCC report warned of increased ‘heat-related mortality and morbidity, decreased cold-related mortality in temperate countries, greater frequency of infectious disease epidemics following floods and storms, and substantial health effects following population displacement from sea level rise and increased storm activity’. Animal agriculture is a significant factor in this threat to health.

However, another threat looms and again animal agriculture bears responsibility. Not salmonella, nor pollution, nor people in impoverished areas starving as food they could eat is fed to farm animals, nor high cholesterol or cancer, although all those and more also have connections to animal agriculture. This threat has been called an ‘apocalyptic’ threat which could mean the ‘end of modern medicine’ by England’s chief medical officer, Dame Sally Davies. She said in April that, ‘The threat of antibiotic resistance is as great as that from climate change, and should be given as much attention from politicians and the public.’

Since the discovery of penicillin in 1928, antibiotics revolutionised medicine and penicillin alone is estimated to have saved between 80–200 million lives and is still doing so. Globally today though, by far the greatest use of antibiotics is animal agriculture. The systematic overuse of antibiotics is undermining their ability to cure life-threatening infections in people by creating antibiotic resistant bacteria. Experts predict that 10 million people a year could die from antibiotic resistant infections by 2050.

Despite this, huge amounts of antibiotics continue to be used in farming. Farm animals account for almost two thirds of all antibiotics used in 26 European countries and around 30% of all antibiotics used in the UK. Antibiotics are often given to healthy animals to compensate for low-welfare, cramped conditions where disease outbreaks are common and harder to control.

An antibiotic apocalypse

Shockingly, antibiotics are also used for ‘growth promotion’ of animals, forcing them to put on weight faster and thus increase profits. This practice is banned in Europe and the USA but is common elsewhere. The use of strong antibiotics critical to human health is still allowed on farm animals despite scientific advice to the contrary, including in the UK and USA. Fish farming is also implicated in this threat to human health: according to a report published in June by Farm Animal Investment Risk and Return (Fairr), ‘The climate crisis, excessive use of antibiotics and feeding farmed fish with wild stocks risks “sinking” the aquaculture industry’. It’s the common problem -prioritising profit over animal welfare and food safety that is to blame, as Dutch MEP Anja Hazekamp complained after the European Commission failed to legislate after ‘horrific’ methods of slaughter were revealed on Italian fish farms in 2017/18. She said, “Animal welfare is not a priority of this commission, especially where fish are concerned. Commercial interests are always given higher priority, unfortunately.”

The UN’s Interagency Coordination Group on Antimicrobial Resistance (IACG) has recommended stronger rules should be enforced internationally to prevent the overuse of antibiotics in farming and on people.

Haileyesus Getahun, the director of the IACG, said the threat of antimicrobial resistance was “a silent tsunami”, and that the public were still largely unaware of the problem. “We don’t see the effects of it yet, but what is coming will be a catastrophe.”

Dame Sally Davies echoes this concern: “The world is facing an antibiotic apocalypse. Unless action is taken to halt the practices that have allowed antimicrobial resistance to spread and ways are found to develop new types of antibiotics, we could return to the days when routine operations, simple wounds or straightforward infections could pose real threats to life”.

Animal Rebellion believes that the issues of climate change and animal agriculture need to be tackled from the top down. Commodifying sentient beings for greed, profit and convenience does not impact only farmed and wild animals but threatens our own existence on this planet. Are governments which seek to protect animal agriculture’s profits over health the ones you trust with regards to food safety? It’s not too late for change: complete system change and a transition to a clean, plant based system would benefit the earth and all its inhabitants.

It’s time to demand an end to animal agriculture.

Join Animal Rebellion and be a part of history.

Because humans are animals too.

The post Because Humans Are Animals Too first appeared on Animal Rebellion.

Gwendolyn Love is proud of how far her new business has come in just a few months. Established at the end of 2018 by Dragos Ava, his brother Andu and partner, Gwendolyn, Lunchbox by Mingzi is committed to offering the “true taste of nature” through its selection of European and Asian inspired breakfast and lunch options.

Much of that inspiration and the recipes come from Gwendolyn’s own Buddhist vegan family — a tradition that goes back to her grandmother over 60 years ago. Her mother, aunty and uncle are all vegan too for religious reasons. Veganism isn’t mandatory for Buddhists, but the idea of appreciating food and acknowledging the sacrifices made in getting it to your plate is important to many in the faith.

One of our team visited and tried the potatoes and aubergine, which was tasty but milder than our rebel was expecting. “Oh, my grandmother would put a LOT more spice in!” Gwendolyn says, explaining that many of the vegan recipes available were from her grandmother’s cruelty-free kitchen.

When Gwendolyn and co-founders Dragos and Andu Ava heard about what we were doing at Smithfield — sharing our vision of a plant-based future and demanding that government takes action in bringing that about- they were inspired and wanted to help. Lunchbox by Mingzi is on Holborn Viaduct, just around the corner from Smithfield Market. And that’s not so far to send some tasty free and hot food for hungry rebels.

“We recognise that businesses have an important role to play in dictating the future of the food industry,” said Gwendolyn. So after legendary journalist and activist, George Monbiot, officially opens Animal Rebellion’s Plant-based Market’ on 7th October, Rebels on the ground at Smithfield will receive warm vegan tasting boxes straight from Dragos and Andu’s kitchen.

The business wants to promote vegan and vegetarian eating and does so through its menu, as well as offering “tasters” to those who visit the restaurant. And Gwendolyn believes that by giving customers a positive plant-based experience rather than forcing them to change their diet, people are more likely to consider reducing the amount of meat and fish they eat.

Inspired by Animal Rebellion

In addition to delivering free vegan tasting boxes to Smithfield on the 7th October, Lunchbox by Mingzi is also offering all Animal Rebellion protesters a 20% discount on vegan food during the two-week insurgency. Rebels can visit Lunchbox by Mingzi and use their discount at any point between 7th and 19th October for items on its breakfast, lunch and specials menus.

As the plant-based eating market continues to grow, Gwendolyn says Lunchbox by Mingzi anticipates expanding its vegan offering.

She added: “By raising awareness of the need for a sustainable food system in a peaceful and informative way, Animal Rebellion is creating allies not enemies. As a local business and customer of the Smithfield Market, we’re excited to stand side-by-side with Rebels in October.

Gwendolyn admitted that her team has been inspired by Animal Rebellion standing up and demanding change. It’s the direction she wants her business to go in — and the more demand there is for plant-based food, the more they can go in that direction.

What’s important for us to remember at Animal Rebellion is that Lunchbox is currently a customer of Smithfield market. Lunchbox isn’t currently fully vegan, and the respectful dialogue that Animal Rebellion has had with Smithfield has been a major factor in Lunchbox supporting our cause.

“Animal Rebellion’s positive engagement with Smithfield, as well as a demonstrably ‘softer’ advocacy approach, has inspired us to lend our help to its cause,” said Gwendolyn.

Although of course we want to see the end of all animal exploitation, that our approach is beginning to be seen and acted upon by local businesses like Gwendolyn’s is critically important to our movement. The more we can make a plant-based world thinkable, the more it will become inevitable.

Building relationships with suppliers at Smithfield, getting to know them personally, is far better than buying from a supermarket, says Gwendolyn.

We can only hope that very soon, Gwendolyn and the Lunchbox crew won’t be shopping at Smithfield for its animal products, but for its pioneering plant-based alternatives at the heart of the UK’s radically healthier and more sustainable, and more just, plant-based food system. Let’s keep the rebellion going.

The post London Eatery Lunchbox Inspired by Animal Rebellion – and Sends Hot Food to Feed the Rebels first appeared on Animal Rebellion.

The Official Animal Rights March on Saturday 17th August was an incredible day, being both uplifting and motivating, heart-breaking and full of love. It was also our launch, the official first action of Animal Rebellion. And as a wholly new movement, there were of course many questions about who we are and what we’re about.

Some of these ranged from: why is an animal justice movement foregrounding climate breakdown, and not the animals? Why aren’t we talking about cruelty to animals more? Do we only care about farmed animals? And why announce Smithfield Market as the October target so soon?

We’re going to answer all of these questions. As a brand-new organisation, it’s incredible how quickly we’ve grown. While those involved day-to-day perhaps think the answers are clear, it’s easy to forget that it’s not the same for everyone. So over the next few days and weeks leading up to October 7th, we’re going to answer them here. Starting with the last question first.

So, why Smithfield, and why so soon?

Animal Rebellion has formed because we’ve been inspired by the success of Extinction Rebellion (XR), are terrified by the reality of climate breakdown, but know that any vision of the future we want to see must be one that includes animal justice and liberation.

So while we are demanding the same of government as XR, and we are employing the same tactics of non-violent civil disobedience, we felt it absolutely necessary to focus on the exploitation of animals, and animal agriculture’s major complicity in the climate emergency.

So that’s why we’ve announced our civil disobedience will be at Smithfield Market.

But if the Market knows we are coming, won’t they be able to prepare more easily to disrupt our occupation? Won’t it fire up farmers and butchers against us? Aren’t we targeting the working class and letting the wealthy elite and their government apologists off the hook? If we’re in solidarity with Extinction Rebellion, why aren’t we heading to Westminster with them?

This was something we debated for a while amongst the core organising group of Animal Rebellion.

Some thought that the sooner we release the intended October action, the sooner activists and those wanting to take part could prepare (and prepare for the expected resistance to our plans). Others thought it was too early. Others have the same reservations and questions that people on the march were asking.

On balance, we considered the benefits of an early announcement were greater than keeping our plans hidden. Yes, it can act as a rallying call for those who would like to resist our non-violent direct action: and already they’re flocking to our Facebook page to shout abuse! But it also acts as a beacon for all of those who believe in Animal Rebellion’s goal: to demand of the government a swift end to the exploitation of animals within animal agriculture by investing in a safe, just and sustainable transition to a plant-based food system.

Let’s get some facts straight on Smithfield

This is the reason why we have selected Smithfield in the first place: its position at the symbolic heart of the UK’s animal agriculture industry. This is a provocative and challenging goal, to go straight to the core of the UK’s relationship with the animals we use for ‘meat’ and other products.

So let’s get some facts straight about Smithfield (and show why this is an animal justice action first and foremost). This will also straighten out some misrepresentations that the media have made about who we are.

Smithfield Market is the UK’s oldest and largest ‘meat’ distribution market, selling what they claim to be ‘high quality’ products to London’s restaurant trade and ‘discerning consumers’. Smithfield and its traders pride themselves on its ‘state of the art’ handling facilities and draws heavily on its history dating back to 1174 to justify its continued role in the exploitation of animals.

But unlike what the farmer told our spokesperson Kerri Waters on Ian Payne’s LBC radio show recently, no, not every ‘meat’ product sold at Smithfield came from an animal in the British animal agriculture industry, raised on supposedly idyllic green pasture without a care in the world. Many traders in Smithfield are importing ‘meat’ from abroad, including Brazil and the US.

That farmer on LBC urged us to ‘do our homework’ and protest against the imports coming from devastating animal agriculture of larger, more intensive industries.

Well, in occupying Smithfield, we are.

And Kerri was correct: as DEFRA have identified, British farmers are importing soy and other grains from abroad to feed their animals. Most if not all cows, for example, will be brought indoors during the winter to be fed on grain; and most ‘beef’ cows switch to grain before slaughter to be fattened up on grain. Around 75% of soy is grown to feed ‘livestock’ worldwide. Much of this comes from deforested land in the Amazon, and other cleared rainforest. In the UK, around a third of all imported soy is used as animal feed.

We are not anti-farmer. That is a myth used to attack us. We want to see a healthy, plant-based food system where farmers are secure and rewarded for crop production and environmental stewardship. This is the only way forward: because even the most sustainable animal production is still worse for the environment than the most unsustainable plant-based production. (Let’s be clear: we would never want any animal production; we’re just stating facts here. Until every animal is free.)

And like the Amazon, the UK used to be covered in forest, which was cut down for animal agriculture. What humans are doing in the Amazon is what we did centuries ago. We need to repair the damage we have done to our own country, not just point the finger at other countries and the degradation of their own land. We need to re-wild — and farmers are our best allies in this, in the right system.

And even if Smithfield Market only sold ‘meat’ from the UK? Well, no, it is not okay to suggest that we Brits get to eat our ‘meat’ while it’s ‘them over there’ cutting down the rainforest that need to change their ways. These colonial and racist claims are always to be challenged. As most research shows, not only do Western countries such as the US, Australia and the UK eat far more ‘meat’ per person than countries in the global south, it is these same Western countries that have far larger carbon footprints.

But until the animal cruelty stops, we won’t stop. Look at what else is sold at Smithfield. Veal: the male bobby calves of no use to the dairy industry, that are kept in single crates, often tethered, and fed a deficient diet so as to keep their ‘meat’ pink enough for the consumer, then killed while babies.

And foie gras, the production of which is banned in this country, because it is so cruel, but that it is still legal to sell. There are many campaigns to ban the selling of foie gras here.

Claims that meat industry workers make, that Brits are somehow more ‘loving’ of the animals and animal parts we eat, are wholly blown apart when you take a look at the products sold in this market.

What about people’s jobs?

We remain deeply sorry for the inconvenience we cause in our actions. We are ordinary people with ordinary jobs too — teachers, cleaners, engineers, project managers, vets, driving instructors, schoolchildren, grandparents — who are terrified of the future that climate breakdown is bringing. We know that climate breakdown will cost all of us our jobs.

But to claim, as LBC’s Nick Ferrari did, that a ten-working-days shut-down of Smithfield will risk thousands of jobs doesn’t hold up.

Some of the traders at Smithfield are traditional and family-run. Many are also multi-million pound companies. Taking just the first on their traders list, Absalom and Tribe had over £150,000 shareholder funds to distribute at the end of its 2018–2019 accounts, from a £2m turnover. The oldest family trading business in the market, David Andrade and Sons, had a £270,936 shareholder funds’ pot to distribute at the end of its 2018–2019 accounts, from a £1.5m turnover.

And as the comments on the LBC news story of Nick Ferrari’s interview with our spokesperson Alex Lockwood suggest, Brexit is likely to lose Britons many times the number of jobs that our two-week action will. And those job losses will hit the poor and northern more, they will hit women more. We wonder if Nick asks the same question about jobs to Boris Johnson?

Our choosing Smithfield was not about targeting working-class people. If we do not avert climate catastrophe then there may be no jobs left in any industry. As many have pointed out, including Extinction Rebellion’s Rupert Read and academic Professor Jem Bendell, climate breakdown is driving our entire civilisation to a cliff edge.

Our plans are a response to the heavily subsidised animal agricultural industry, and one that includes the selling of veal, foie gras, game birds (let’s not get started about the illegality and cruelty of ‘game’ birds, shall we?). But the industry is just as horrific an existence for every pig, cow, sheep, chicken and goat that has his or her life ended when he or she desperately wanted to live. Every trader at Smithfield is part and parcel of the industry deeply responsible for those deaths, that are also, in turn, responsible for climate breakdown.

The UK government must show leadership

The UK is deeply responsible for climate breakdown, and we play our part in animal exploitation too. It is we who need to show leadership in transforming our food systems and our consumption of fossil fuels. The industrial revolution started here, in the UK. There is no country with greater responsibility — or opportunity — for transforming the status quo when it comes to climate breakdown.

We know that we need to act. And we know that non-violent civil disobedience has been part of every successful social justice movement, from the Suffragettes to Martin Luther King’s Civil Rights marches.

Despite all of this, we need to reiterate: our target is the government. Our government is in the position to act swiftly enough to tackle climate breakdown. We’re demanding of the government that they tell the truth and act now on the impacts that industrial animal agriculture has on climate breakdown.

In that, the launch of the new nationalfoodstrategy.co.uk initiative is window dressing. Another year-long exercise to tell us what we already know? What the UN has already said? What the RSA’s Food, Farming and Countryside Commission have just spent the last year researching? That we need an urgent transition to a plant-based food system.

Our target is the government, and we are demanding it lead the transition of the UK to a plant-based food system, investing in and supporting farmers and workers into new and more secure jobs. We already know most farmers in the UK who raise animals also grow crops, such as beet and grasses, to feed their animals. Working with, for example, the Vegan Society’s Grow Green campaign, there is a huge opportunity here to improve the UK’s food security and food sovereignty. And to transition Smithfield into the biggest, brightest, boldest statement of the UK’s investment in its own future, as a new fruit, veg, grain and pulse market (plastic-free, too), as a statement of our intent to take climate breakdown seriously.

This is why we announced Smithfield Market as our occupation site so early. It gives us the chance to build a movement, plan well, and talk in public about this transition with a clear, definable subject at the heart of our story.

But Smithfield is not our only target. Watch this space…

We wish to stand in alliance with all of those who fear for the future, and want to act. From farmers to city workers to environmental and animal justice activists, we will only bring about the change we need if we stand in solidarity together, with love in our hearts, ensuring the future is fit for every animal, as much as it is for we humans.

The post Why 10,000 Animal Rebels are Occupying Smithfield Market in October first appeared on Animal Rebellion.