*Originally published 16 November 2019* *Updated 15 November 2021* As part of Animal Rebellion’s response to DEFRA’s National Food Strategy, Animal Rebellion has made ten core suggestions. The first is to incentivise a just and sustainable plant-based business model. In their (invited) consultation with DEFRA, Animal Rebellion points out that vegans and vegetarians are expected to make up a quarter of the population by 2025. They note that in response to the increasing demand for ethical plant-based alternatives to meat, fish, dairy, and other animal products, plant-based businesses have been on the rise. The popularity of Beyond Meat products (such as the Beyond Burger, made from pea protein, coconut oil, potato starch, and beetroot juice) and other plant-based alternatives to animal products is[…]
What Anti-speciesist Rewilding Looks Like — and How to Get There
*Originally published 10 September 2019* Okay, imagine it is year X, when animal products are almost universally seen as unnecessary, unhealthy and a product of a particularly cruel period in our relationship with the planet and its other inhabitants. This is the year when most people shudder in disgust at what only recently was accepted as the norm. The food production system is being completely restructured, with fishers continuing their transition from killing marine animals to planting and harvesting kelp, while farmers are now producing plants for human consumption only. We no longer breed animals in their billions, we no longer subject them to a life of enslavement, and we no longer sentence them to death on the grounds that[…]
Love and Fruit in the Time of Catastrophe: Animal Rebellion Converts Smithfield MEAT Market into Smithfield BEET Market
*Originally published 10 October 2019* Animal Rebellion is responding to the climate catastrophe the only way one should: with love and fruit. In the face of total climate (and social) breakdown, Animal Rebellion is challenging our poisonous system in an unconventional but incredibly potent way: with apples, beets, and broccoli and a hefty dose of genuine loving kindness. The images and videos that have been emerging in the press and on social media since October 7th, of hundreds of animal rebels camped peacefully inside the main hall of Smithfield Market, the UK’s largest meat market, and one of the largest in Europe — a symbol of the cruel, toxic, and destructive food system in which we currently live — are magnificently[…]
What Would a Plant-Based World Be Like?
*Originally published 2 October 2019* A Plant-Based World Would be a Kinder, Less Violent World A plant-based world would be a much kinder and much less violent world. It would be a just world, and it would be a re-enchanted world, a world where cows would be cherished for their beauty, dignity, and grace, not violated and butchered for their milk and flesh, where pigs would be adored for their sweetness, playfulness, and curiosity, not mutilated and knifed, where hens would be treasured for their gentleness, integrity, and devotion, not twisted, torn, and broken in tiny cages for their eggs, where goats would be venerated for their majesty, cleverness, and mischievousness, not beaten and abused for their bodily fluids and[…]
London Eatery Lunchbox Inspired by Animal Rebellion – and Sends Hot Food to Feed the Rebels
*Originally published 2 October 2019* 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[…]
Animal Rebellion’s Strategy to Ensure Climate and Animal Justice Is at the Forefront of a Sustainable World
*Originally published 12 September 2019* Animal Rebellion’s announcement that Smithfield Market, the UK’s largest and oldest market servicing the animal agriculture industry, would be our primary site for the October International Rebellion made complete sense to the animal justice community. For others, locating our primary site away from Westminster wasn’t in line with the bigger picture. If we are to stand together in a Movement of Movements then our individual specific demands should be swept aside to make it clear the government, the system, is our target. We’ll reveal more of our plans in the next few weeks but in the meantime we’ve listened to the concerns of those in the Rebel Alliance, including the views of XR. That’s why we announced[…]