*Originally published 8 July 2020* Animal Rebellion is standing in solidarity with UK Farmers against the new Agricultural Bill 2020. You’re right, this is shocking. Why are we standing with the very farmers who keep the animal agricultural system going? The Agricultural Bill 2020 is a HUGE step backward for our food system and food security. What is the Agricultural Bill 2020? The Bill is replacing European Union (EU) Farming regulations and is setting new, lower standards for the future of British farming. The Bill allows cheaper, lower quality imports into the UK from countries like the US: including hormone-injected beef, chlorinated chicken and eggs. The meat allowed to be imported into the UK is currently illegal according to UK and EU legislation. How[…]
Refarm’d: One Step Closer to a Plant-Based World
*Originally published 5 May 2020* Have you ever wondered what a plant-based world looks like? Have your eyes gleamed at the possibility, but a little voice called Doubt savagely trespassed your dream? You’re not alone. After knowing the undeniable benefits of a plant-based food system, it’s difficult to ignore. However, the scale of this mission is intimidating and can often leave you feeling worse off. That’s why we are so excited to bring to you Geraldine Starke from Refarm’d who is bringing us one step closer to a plant-based world. Geraldine dreamt of making an animal sanctuary but struggled with the fact that sanctuaries rely heavily on donations to operate and are tough to scale up i.e. helping more and more animals out[…]
Wherever There Is Milk, There Is An Alternative. Arla Must Choose Plant-Based Milk.
Walk through any British supermarket today and you will encounter a vast array of milks. It’s not just green, red, or blue top anymore. Aisles are overflowing with alternatives and people are buying them (a quarter of UK customers). These plant-based options have spilled into cafes and restaurants too. You may find them at your work canteen, at school, at conferences or on trains. Wherever there is tea, there is milk, and wherever there is milk, there is an alternative. With the demand for plant-based milk growing, the UK cannot get left behind. We must choose the right milk to invest in. Although plant milks have been around for thousands of years (horchata and almond milk), the dairy industry has long enjoyed domination[…]
What is the Future of Animal Farmers?
*Originally published 25 February 2020* *Updated 15 November 2021* Mainstream media would have us believe that supporters of a plant-based food system and animal farmers are enemies. These two groups of people are often pitted against one another on opposite sides of the climate crisis, although, contrary to this belief, The Vegan Society states: “It is the system that is at fault, not individual farmers, who are just trying to make a living like everyone else”. Introducing the Grow Green campaign in 2015, The Vegan Society supports and collaborates with farmers and advocates for policies that will help them transition to a more sustainable system. Similarly, Animal Rebellion promotes a ‘no blame, no shame’ culture and campaigns for system change[…]
Intensive Animal Farming Operations Are Rapidly Expanding around the UK and DEFRA’s Farm Subsidies Are Largely to Blame
*Originally published 30 November 2019* How is it possible that while there is increasing scientific knowledge and public concern about the catastrophic impact of factory farming on the earth, animals, and human beings, DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs) is not reducing, as it should be, but is in fact increasing subsidies for factory farms? A joint investigation by the Guardian and the Bureau of Investigation discovered that factory farm operators were granted approximately £70 million of public money between in 2016 and 2017. The types of operations that received subsidies include: “Feedlot-style beef units, rearing thousands of cattle in outdoor yards; so-called megadairies, with herds of up to 1,800 cows; Intensive egg producers using cage housing systems; poultry megafarms and pig units which[…]
Are We All Being Milked?
*Originally published 28 November 2019* At a ‘Women in Dairy’ conference earlier this year, Dr Jude Capper, an ‘independent livestock sustainability consultant’ who also runs the ‘Februdairy’ campaign which attempts to promote animal milk, showed a slide during her presentation which featured two young children drinking what appears to be cows’ milk products. The message on the slide read, ‘Our biggest challenge is to keep dairy in the diets of future food purchasers’. This targeting of children by the dairy industry is not new, even if, evolutionarily speaking, drinking the bodily secretions of another species is. Set against the 300,000 year history of our species, drinking milk is a relatively new habit. Before about 10,000 years ago, hardly anybody drank milk,[…]