Animal Rebellion, including two ex-RSPCA trustees, met with the RSPCA earlier this month. The meeting was an opportunity to press the charity to take a formal stance against animal farming, and to support a transition to a plant-based system. 

Martin Whybrow is a former RSPCA branch trustee and now a member of the Animal Rebellion group. He said in a press statement, “It is impossible to meet the targets needed to limit global heating without the shift to a plant-based food system.” 

Whybrow continued, “Already, millions of humans and animals are suffering from the effects of extreme climate. It makes total sense for a charity dedicated to animal welfare to join the dots.”

RSPCA’s animal welfare standards

The RSPCA campaigns for the “highest possible standards” of animal welfare during the rearing, transportation, and slaughter of animals.

But the organization permits controversial practices, including the use of gas and maceration for the killing of day-old chicks.

“Done correctly, both methods can offer an effective and humane kill and our welfare standards set strict parameters stating how both of these methods must be carried out to ensure this is the case,” the RSPCA shared in a Tweet.

Advocating for a kinder food system

Animal Rebellion is asking the RSPCA to fulfil its mission statement and support a future where all animals are respected and treated with kindness and compassion. 

“We ask the RSPCA how they can justify caring for dogs and cats while supporting the slaughter of the millions of farmed animals who are killed for food every year in the UK alone,” Animal Rebellion explained.

“Additionally, we ask the RSPCA how they can claim to care for and respect wild animals when they condone an industry that is one of the leading causes of the climate crisis.” 

The animal protection movement intends to continue taking action until “the world sees a food system that centers on climate, animal, and human justice, rather than unsustainable growth.”

The post Former Trustees Urge RSPCA To Reject Animal Farming In Favor Of Plant-Based Systems appeared first on Plant Based News.

This move comes as world leaders meet in the city for the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference. GFI is joining several other organizations taking direct action to promote sustainable alternatives to animal agriculture. 

The United Nations brings together representatives from almost every country on Earth for a global climate summit every year. The 26th summit, COP26, is currently taking place in Glasgow.

At the 2015 summit, every country agreed to limit global warming to no more than two degrees, preferably 1.5 degrees. 

This commitment, known as the Paris Agreement, did not come close to achieving this. So, at COP26 this year, countries must update their plans and go much further to limit global warming.

The Good Food Institute

Bruce Friedrich is the founder and CEO of GFI, an international nonprofit working to promote plant-based and cultivated meat. 

Friedrich has said that the world won’t meet the Paris 2015 targets unless conventional meat consumption falls. He will be in Glasgow with the GFI to encourage national governments to include alternative proteins in their climate emergency plans. 

Alice Ravenscroft, head of policy at Good Food Institute Europe, said, “We’re on the ground in Glasgow, making the case for national governments to include sustainable proteins—meat made from plants and cultivated from cells—in their national climate plans. To achieve this potential, governments must invest billions in open-access research so that sustainable proteins become the most delicious, affordable, and convenient option for consumers.”

The GFI recently installed billboards around Glasgow highlighting how plant-based and cultivated meat can help cut emissions by up to 92 percent. 

“Our billboards make clear that we can’t limit global temperature rises to 1.5ºC without changing how meat is made. Plant-based and cultivated meat can cut emissions by up to 92 percent and use 95 percent less land than farming animals,” said Ravenscroft.

Direct action across Glasgow

The GFI poster campaign coincides with direct action efforts from other organizations in Glasgow around COP26. 

A PETA city center bus campaign sees buses with posters reading: “You can’t be a meat-eating environmentalist. Take Personal Responsibility: Go Vegan.” 

Plant-based brand Heura projected an elephant onto buildings with the text, “plant-based diet = reduced food carbon footprint of 73%”. Earlier this week, hundreds of climate activists marched through the city as part of Extinction Rebellion demonstrations.

Outside of Glasgow, vegan artist Moby called on COP26 world leaders to endorse the Plant-Based Treaty. This is a grassroots campaign designed to put food systems at the forefront of combating the climate crisis. 

Campaigners from Animal Rebellion scaled the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) building in Westminster. Hanging from the walls, they dropped a banner that read “COP: Invest in a Plant-Based Future.” 

Animal Rebellion has also criticized the sustainability of the COP26 menu, which is nearly 60 percent meat and dairy-based.

Changing the global food system

At COP26, the GFI will highlight how alternative proteins can provide the meat people want while using up to 95 percent less land than conventional animal agriculture. 

Research in the journal Science in 2020 showed that even if governments eliminated fossil fuel emissions immediately, it’s impossible to meet the Paris Agreement without significantly changing food production. 

According to a 2021 study in Nature Food, greenhouse gas emissions from animal-based foods are twice those of plant-based, with animal agriculture emissions alone responsible for roughly one-fifth of human-caused climate breakdown.

The GFI believes food and agriculture are under-represented at COP26. It also states that nations must address the significant role agriculture and the global food system play in global warming. 

Moreover, the organization says making the shift is necessary to hit our climate targets. And that we need to give people better options and make sustainable plant-based or cultivated meat the default choice.

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They call for a ‘plant-based future’ – and demand the UK government stop subsidizing meat and dairy.

Animal Rebellion protest UK government

Four protestors climbed the Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs (Defra) building in Westminster, London, this morning. 

Here, they unveiled a sign reading: “COP26: Invest In A Plant-Based Future.”

A police cordon, fire engines, and an ambulance are on the scene.

Animal Rebellion, which is a sister organization of Extinction Rebellion, says it intends to remain on the building until its demands are met.

The UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, must cut all taxpayer support for animal agriculture – and encourage other world leaders to do the same, they order.

‘Defunding meat’ before COP26

In just five days, leaders and policymakers will gather at the UN Climate Change Conference 2021, aka COP26, to make decisions on how best to tackle the climate emergency.

This offers a mammoth opportunity for the UK, who are playing host this year, to instill monumental change.

Despite this, Animal Rebellion spokesperson Nathan McGovern accuses the government of being hypocritical.

In a statement sent to PBN, 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.

“…We need to defund meat and subsidize plant-based alternatives instead.”

UK government’s meat consumption targets

The calls also follow the rollout of the National Food Strategy. This report is created to improve health and protect the environment. 

And this year, it set out recommendations for meat intake to be reduced by 30 percent. ‘Our current appetite for meat is unsustainable’, it reads.

Welcomed by many, Animal Rebellion included, the report marked a positive step in highlighting the benefits of plant-based diets. 

However, Britain’s meat industry remains heavily reliant on the pockets of the public. Under EU Agricultural Policy, UK farmers received around £3.5 billion in payments every year.

While this is set to change following Brexit, in 2020 alone, £3 billion was set aside to fund the farming community.

The post Animal Rebellion Swarm Up Government Building In COP26 Protest appeared first on Plant Based News.

A spokesperson from Animal Rebellion spoke to Plant Based News about its approach to fighting animal cruelty.

The 2021 National Animal Rights March

This weekend, thousands of people gathered in London to participate in the 2021 National Animal Rights March. Supporters marched past Unilever, Cargill, and the Marine Stewardship Council’s headquarters.

At least one thing that these organizations have in common is that they profit from the animal-based food industry, which is what Animal Rebellion is aiming to tackle.

“We’ve taken the approach to focus almost exclusively on farmed animals,” Animal Rebellion said about the movement’s goals. “The main reason is that there are so many more animals that are in terrible conditions and being exploited compared to other industries [like fashion and animal entertainment].”

In fact, around 75 billion land animals and trillions of fish are killed for food each year. 

“We should tackle it. And if we can get that even a bit of the way there that would make a huge difference for the majority of animals alive today. It’s a really big scale issue. It’s also a unique opportunity because it ties in with climate and the debate surrounding animal testing on cosmetics too,” they explained.

Building the pressure

Animal Rebellion strives to complete nonviolent yet disruptive campaigns, which have accelerated as of late. Around a week ago, protesters slept over at a McDonald’s restaurant to demand a plant-based food system. It resulted in the arrest of 38 activists. Other ‘Rebels’, as they’re referred to, dyed the Buckingham Palace fountains blood red to protest the use of crown land for hunting and animal agriculture. 

“We call it a Rebellion,” they said, adding that Extinction Rebellion, the sister organization to Animal Rebellion, developed the framework. It involves a short yet intense period of protests, as an alternative to one-off protests.

“One-off protests are really easy to ignore. It’s really disruptive for a day, police are strained for a day. But then it goes away and people forget and it moves on,” the spokesperson explained. 

“But if you do it for a sustained and prolonged period then it gets increasingly disruptive and annoying and in your face. So it’s like a build in pressure.”

They added that the format allows people to take one or two weeks off to focus and have a ‘really impactful disruptive period’, before returning to their day-to-day lives. “So we concentrate the movement a little bit into a shorter period.”

A shared mission

It’s a massive undertaking, and one that would be difficult to accomplish without as many hands on deck as possible. 

The protests have attracted a wide range of supporters – not just vegans. Animal Rebellion’s spokesperson explained that some activists are campaigning for the systemic shift away from animal agriculture while not following a plant-based diet themselves. This is the case for some non-vegan Extinction Rebellion activists, who still agree that updating the food system is ‘totally the right message’.

“They really support it. They agree that animal farming is killing the planet and they’re willing to get arrested for it. It’s amazing,” the spokesperson said, referring to actual recent events.

“If we said to them, ‘oh if you’re not 100 percent vegan you can’t join us’, we’d be missing out on these people who are really committed, really passionate and want to do great things,” they continued. “It’s helping us be bigger and broader than we would’ve been otherwise. And I think once people are in our spaces, which are animal product-free, it kind of helps them shift anyway.”

The post Here’s Why There Are So Many Animal Freedom Protests Happening Right Now appeared first on Plant Based News.

It comes as the fast-food chain is urged to go entirely plant-based by 2025, following continued recent demonstrations.

McDonald’s UK burger factory

Around 100 campaigners set up a blockage and large bamboo structures in the early hours of this morning, July 15.

They’re positioned outside the OSI Food Solutions factory in Scunthorpe, Northern England.

Protestors – part of the organization Animal Rebellion – say they won’t move until ‘massive disruption’ is caused to the global giant.

It singles out McDonald’s for its role in funneling animal agriculture and also accuses it of being involved in deforestation.

‘McDonald’s is a symbol of an industry that needs to change in order to feed the world’, the group claims.

Plant-based food system

Rose Patterson is a spokesperson for Animal Rebellion. In a statement, they said: “We’re living in a time where massive change is possible.

“But our window to act on the climate crisis is closing quickly. The meat and dairy industries are responsible for 80-90 percent of Amazon deforestation, at least 18 percent of global emissions, and for exploiting and killing billions of animals every year. 

“To save ourselves and the future of our children, we must start transitioning towards a plant-based food system.”

McDonald’s UK protests

Following a slew of protests from mid-May, McDonald’s has already witnessed widespread disruption.

Its four distribution centers were shut down, causing national menu shortages. Then, more protestors staged ‘Mc-sit-ins’ forced several London outlets to shut down seating areas.

Throughout the demonstrations, Animal Rebellion maintains its position that the protests will continue until the company’s CEO agrees to take meat and dairy items off the menu for good.

The group, which is connected to Extinction Rebellion, calls for a plant-based food system in order to tackle the climate crisis.

You can find out more about Animal Rebellion here

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Since protestors occupied a host of London outlets last weekend, the action has now spread to stores nationwide including Manchester, Brighton, and Stoke.

McDonald’s protests

As part of the ‘Mc-sit-ins’, campaigners are taking up seats in stores with their own vegan lunches.

It continued this weekend, at restaurants including London’s Oxford Street.

The peaceful protest comes as Animal Rebellion demands to speak to the chain’s UK CEO, Paul Pomroy, and demand him to switch to an entirely plant-based menu across all stores.

Moreover, protestors are organizing the sit-ins on a weekly basis via Whatsapp to ‘keep the pressure up.

They claim: “McDonald’s needs to transition to a fully plant-based menu by 2025 to address the climate and animal destruction they cause on a daily basis.”

Distribution blockade

The Extinction Rebellion sister organization successfully shut down the four distribution centers supplying McDonald’s 1,000 restaurants last month.

A ‘clear demand’

The demonstration involved erecting giant structures and displaying banners calling for a plant-based food system, due to the links between the meat and dairy industries and their weight on the climate crisis.

Additionally, the group blames McDonald’s for being a ‘symbol’ of animal agriculture and deforestation.

As a result of the demo, restaurants across the country reported food shortages.

On Instagram, the group stated: “We have a clear demand. And, we will keep up the pressure until McDonald’s transitions to a plant-based menu.”

You can follow Animal Rebellion on Instagram here

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Now, Animal Rebellion’s latest action has caused several of the fast-food chain’s restaurants to shut down seating areas.

McDonald’s protest

A sit-in protest took place on Sunday, May 30, in the bustling West End in Central London. Branded a ‘Mc-sit-in’, the action involved protestors gathering to eat vegan packed lunches together.

As a result, Animal Rebellion confirmed ‘all’ outlets in the area closed down indoor seating. They branded it ‘McSelf Destruction’.

At the time of writing, protestors revealed they had occupied ‘almost all’ outdoor seating in Leicester Square.

In a statement on Instagram, the group added: “Rebels have taken to McDonalds restaurants in London for our McSit-in! We are letting McDonalds know that last weeks distribution centre blockade was just the beginning!

“We will continue to disrupt business as usual for them until we get to speak to the CEO and our demands are met!”

‘Mc-sit-in’

The group, which is run in solidarity with Extinction Rebellion, put a call out on Twitter for protestors to join them in occupying the store.

Their plan was to ‘carry out sit-ins’ and ‘calmly’ sit down with a vegan pack-lunch together.

‘Grab some friends, read the action plan, have a non-violence practice, and head out to a Maccas near you!’, they announced online.

Animal Rebellion blockade

Last weekend, campaigners put up a blockade and disrupted McDonald’s supply chain. Moreover, it resulted in 14 alleged arrests.

Animal Rebellion demands the fast-food giant abandon animal agriculture and go 100 percent plant-based by 2025.

Additionally, Animal Rebellion accuses the chain of being involved in deforestation.

Nick More is a Renewable Energy Developer and member of Amazon Rebellion, another branch of Extinction Rebellion.

More said: “McDonald’s and the wider animal agriculture industry is clearly responsible for huge levels of deforestation in the Amazon Basin and wider Pantanal region. 

“Despite their apparent greenwashing, there is no transparency in their supply chain or independent audit sufficient to support their claims that they are not a driver of deforestation. “

You can find out more about Animal Rebellion here

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The fast-food giant is under pressure to ditch animal products and commit to a 100 percent vegan menu by 2025. 

McDonald’s urged to go plant-based

Last week, distribution centers supplying McDonald’s shut down in the UK following a series of demonstrations by Animal Rebellion campaigners.  

This resulted in menu shortages being reported across the country – and the alleged arrest of 14 protestors. 

Responding to the campaign, controversial TV personality Piers Morgan tweeted: “This makes me want to buy 1,000 Big Macs tomorrow.”

Piers Morgan

However, this isn’t the first time Morgan has hit out at vegans. 

Last year, the former Good Morning Britain host slammed McDonald’s after it announced the trial of its McPlant range. 

Morgan branded the line ‘total nonsense’ and said the McPlant burger should be called someone else.

“The McPlant, the meat-free range, it’s obviously total nonsense,” he said.

“Look it up in the dictionary, a burger is a meat product, so is a sausage. Why do vegans want to use our language?”

His then co-host Susanna Reid replied: “A veggie burger is a burger. It’s a burger… just because it doesn’t meat in it…it’s a burger.”

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So far, it’s led to national shortages at the fast-food chain: in line with the protesters’ demand that it go completely plant-based by 2025.

However, police have since arrested 14 of the animal rights advocates, according to The Telegraph.

Animal Rebellion’s protest at McDonald’s

The advocates constructed giant structures at the centers in Basingstoke, Coventry, Hemel Hempstead, and Heywood.

This was part of an act of non-violent civil obedience to protest the chain’s mammoth meat sales.

‘McDonald’s is one of the biggest symbols of the animal agriculture industry which as we know is destroying the planet’, one of the protestors proclaimed.

Some of the arrests made were on suspicion of criminal damage, aggravated trespass, and intimidating behavior – The Telegraph reports.

However, the group revealed on its Twitter account that the ‘rebels’ have now been released.

In a tweet, they said: “This is direct action and it doesn’t end today. Keep the momentum up, let’s think big and brainstorm.”

According to HertsLive, six of the arrested protestors will appear at St Alban’s Magistrates Court in July.

Another report revealed a handful of protestors will appear in court in Basingstoke next month.

National shortages at McDonald’s

Following the country-wide action over the weekend, McDonald’s is experiencing shortages in some of its restaurants.

Animal Rebellion shared an image of a sign, which appears to be from one of the chain’s restaurants.

It reads: “We are temporarily experiencing a shortage of some ingredients. Consequently, some menu items might be temporarily unavailable or ingredients may be missing. 

“We apologize in advance to any customers impacted and thank you for your patience.”

Moreover, ‘this is only the beginning’, the group – which is connected to Extinction Rebellion – claims.

McDonald’s urged to go plant-based

Moreover, Animal Rebellion accuses McDonald’s of contributing to deforestation.

This is due to its involvement in selling huge quantities of meat, contributing to the figures linking animal agriculture to hikes in greenhouse gas emissions.

Furthermore, the group is critical that Mcdonald’s is ‘lagging behind’ other renowned chains.

They include Wagamama, which announced it would slash its meat offerings by 50 percent within a year.

Animal Rebellion petition

The primary focus of the protest is to convince the chain to go entirely plant-based in order to tackle the climate crisis.

As a result, Animal Rebellion launched a petition – and says they ‘won’t stop’ until McDonald’s commits to its call.

It reads: “In order to prevent habitat destruction, climate change, animal suffering, human suffering, and future pandemics we must transition to a just, sustainable plant-based food system.

“We are calling on Mcdonald’s to lead the way by pledging to transition to a fully plant-based menu by 2025.”

At the time of writing, the petition garnered 3,283 signatures – a fraction away from its 5,000 goal.

You can sign the Animal Rebellion petition here

The post McDonald’s Protest: Menu Shortages Reported Across The UK And Arrests Made appeared first on Plant Based News.

The organization is connected with Extinction Rebellion and seeks to fight the climate crisis by creating a plant-based food system.

Animal Rebellion shut down McDonald’s

The protestors call for McDonald’s to abandon animal agriculture and commit to a 100% plant-based menu by 2025.

As a result, they stormed the sites in Basingstoke, Coventry, Hemel Hempstead, and Heywood. The protests began at 4.30am on Saturday, May 22.

Via the organization’s Twitter account, one protestor proclaimed: “McDonald’s is one of the biggest symbols of the animal agriculture industry which as we know is destroying the planet.

“It’s killing animals, it’s exploiting workers, it’s doing horrible things… We’re here today to demand McDonald’s go plant-based.”

Their demonstration involved erecting giant bamboo structures and displaying large banners. Moreover, protestors linked arms through metal structures.

They say the move will affect the chain’s 1,300 restaurants nationwide.

Animal agriculture: ‘destroying our planet’

An Animal Rebellion spokesperson, Jamez Ozden, deplored the fast-food giant for its role in deforestation and slaughtering vast quantities of animals.

In a statement, he said: “The meat and dairy industry is destroying our planet: causing huge amounts of rainforest deforestation, emitting immense quantities of greenhouse gases and killing billions of animals each year.

“The only sustainable and realistic way to feed ten billion people is with a plant-based food system.  Organic, free-range, and ‘sustainable’ animal-based options simply aren’t good enough.”

The group hopes to put pressure on the company’s CEO.

Protecting workers

As well as animals, health, and the planet, Animal Rebellion is urging McDonald’s to improve the way it treats its staff.

As a result, it says it supports the Fight for £15 movement which protects the rights of fast-food workers.

The movement urges the giant to pay all its workers at least $15 an hour. This is almost double the current US minimum wage.

It comes after McDonald’s workers went on strike for higher wages earlier this month, before the company’s annual shareholders meeting.

You can find out more about Animal Rebellion its demands via the website here

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