• On 10/11/22, at a students union general meeting, the Plant-Based Universities campaign put forward a motion for their facilities to transition to 100% plant-based catering by 2025, with 50% of the options being so by the 2023-24 academic year [1].
• A majority of the, around 100, attendees voted in favour of the motion that will affect the 3 outlets operated by the union.
• The vote is a landmark victory for the Plant-Based Universities campaign, which was announced in November  2021 [2].
• George Monbiot has spoken out about the vote, in a comment given to Plant-Based Universities.

Students at The University Of Stirling have voted to embrace a completely plant-based menu to address the climate and ecological emergencies. The decision represents the first of its kind in the UK, following similar commitments by universities in Germany [3].

George Monbiot, the climate and animal justice writer and author of ‘Regenesis’, said:

“It’s fantastic to see the next generation taking control of their future and putting humans, nonhuman animals and the planet first. The Plant-Based Universities campaigners at The University Of Stirling are leading the way in tackling the climate crisis and creating a sustainable food system”

In 2018, comprehensive research from the University of Oxford showed that 76% of the land currently used for food production would be freed-up by a global transition to plant-based production [4]. This land could be rewilded and begin carbon drawdown, mitigating the worst impacts of climate breakdown. A 2019 Harvard University report on UK farmland and food production from Helen Harwatt and Matthew N. Hayek also concluded that the UK would be carbon-negative if it completely transitioned to a plant-based food system [5].

Imogen Robertson, 21, one of the campaigners at Stirling said:

“This vote is a clear sign that young people are willing to take decisive action on the climate and ecological emergencies. We will be working with catering staff to ensure this vote is implemented in a way that provides cheap, delicious, planet-saving options throughout our Student’s Union.

We are delighted that our fellow students have decided to follow the scientific advice from world-leading academics and step into a brighter future. We hope this sparks a wave of bold action across UK universities to commit to just and sustainable plant-based catering”

The Plant-Based Universities campaign is a nationwide initiative of students who are pushing for their universities and student unions to adopt 100% plant-based catering. The group claims that universities have an obligation to follow the scientific research that they produce, detailing the environmental impacts of animal farming and fishing. The campaign is active in over 40 institutions, with the group encouraging interested students to sign up to run local campaigns.

The Plant-Based Universities campaign is supported by the well-known animal and climate justice group Animal Rebellion.

ENDS

Word Count: 478

For interviews or further comment please contact:

Nathan (Press Back Office): 07466114387

Universities@animalrebellion.org

Notes To Editors:

[1] https://www.stirlingstudentsunion.com/news/article/6013/Your-General-Meeting-November-2022/

[2] https://animalrebellion.org/introducing-plant-based-universities/ and https://animalrebellion.org/students-nationwide-launch-100-plant-based-universities-campaign-for-sustainability/ 

[3] https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/aug/31/berlins-university-canteens-go-almost-meat-free-as-students-prioritise-climate&sa=D&source=docs&ust=1668352302580948&usg=AOvVaw0I-lIIxUJKKaET6kwVOU7u 

[4] https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aaq0216

[5] https://animal.law.harvard.edu/wp-content/uploads/Eating-Away-at-Climate-Change-with-Negative-Emissions%E2%80%93%E2%80%93Harwatt-Hayek.pdf?fbclid=IwAR0qbRS0IuKp4JG0AzXXb5P73osdgnYJ3VBJir88YBpMlajmJg0riNVJFMg

The post George Monbiot Announces Support For Plant-Based Universities: University Of Stirling Students Union Votes ‘Yes’ To Going 100% Plant-Based first appeared on Animal Rebellion.

In an escalation of the Plant-Based Future campaign [1], supporters of Animal Rebellion blockaded supermarket dairy aisles and emptied milk bottles onto the floor.

Kat Chan, 20, who was amongst those in Harrods, said

“We are taking this necessary action because we don’t feel we have any other choice. Last week’s heatwave and wildfires showed us a glimpse of our future if we fail to act now.

Transitioning to a plant-based food system and rewilding is the key solution to the climate crisis.

There is no need for the deaths of over a billion animals for food each year in this country. We have the opportunity to lead the way on a safer future built on love, justice, and freedom.

A plant-based food system would provide security and a future to farmers and farming communities across the country, in contrast to the soaring rates of depression and financial ruin currently being experienced. Around 25% of dairy farmers are considering leaving the industry and we need the government to support them in the transition to plant-based farming.” [2][3]

Animal Rebellion is pushing for a straightforward and cast-iron solution to the climate and animal emergencies: transition to plant-based farming and rewilding of the freed-up land. Research from The University of Oxford has shown 76% of land currently used for farming would be freed up by wholesale transition to plant-based production [4]. This land could undergo rewilding and begin the crucial process of carbon drawdown; this drawdown has the potential to offset decades of fossil fuel emissions.

Nathan McGovern, 23, spokesperson for Animal Rebellion (who was notably involved in several Just Stop Oil disruptions in April that included interrupting an on-air interview on LBC and disabling petrol pumps at the Clacket Lane services on the M25) has said

“A golden solution to the climate and animal emergencies is being presented to us in the form of a plant-based future.

Imagine a world in which there is food security, safety, and hope for everyone, where we are not facing the horrors of climate breakdown currently being seen in places like Madagascar, Pakistan, or even 40 degree heat in the UK!

All we need is for the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, George Eustice and the rest of the government to take action that shows they care about the people they claim to represent.

This September hundreds of people will be taking action against the dairy industry to fight for a plant-based future that will ensure prosperity for humans, other animals, and the planet alike.”

The action comes as part of Animal Rebellion’s demands for a plant-based future, which were announced on Monday 23rd of May [4]. Animal Rebellion is a mass movement using nonviolent civil disobedience to call for a just, sustainable plant-based food system. 

ENDS

For interviews, images or further comment please contact:

pressoffice@animalrebellion.org

[1] https://animalrebellion.org/plantbasedfuturelaunch/ The Plant-Based Future campaign is an upcoming civil resistance campaign with 2 demands for the British government: 1. Government supports farmers and fishing communities to move away from animal farming and fishing as part of an urgent and immediate transition to a plant-based food system. And 2. Government commits to rewild the freed-up land and ocean as part of a broader programme of wildlife restoration and carbon drawdown.

[2] ”Rapid global phaseout of animal agriculture has the potential to stabilize greenhouse gas levels for 30 years and offset 68 percent of CO2 emissions this century” https://journals.plos.org/climate/article?id=10.1371/journal.pclm.0000010

[3] https://www.fginsight.com/news/news/nearly-a-quarter-of-dairy-farmers-planning-to-quit-128874 

[4] “Reducing food’s environmental impacts through producers and consumers” https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aaq0216 

[5] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOq2Jqqga9E&t=5s 

The post ANIMAL REBELLION POUR MILK ON FLOOR OF HARRODS AS PART OF PLANT-BASED FUTURE CAMPAIGN first appeared on Animal Rebellion.

On the 31^st of August, 2021, Animal Rebellion blockaded an Arla factory in Aylesbury responsible for processing 10% of the UK’s dairy¹. 

The climate and animal justice group claim that they occupied the road outside the site for 18 hours because the dairy industry is fuelling our climate and ecological crises. 

Today, 8 of those arrested and charged with obstruction of a public highway were acquitted at High Wycombe Magistrate’s Court. The verdict comes just days after England saw a record-breaking heatwave and wildfires. 

Kat, one of those acquitted, said:

“Today’s verdict shows that judges are waking up to the urgency of our climate and animal emergencies. Without immediate action, we will see more extreme weather events, crop failures, and conflicts over resources we currently take for granted.

Now, more than ever, governments need to support farmers in a transition to a plant-based future. Rewilding the land freed up by such a transition could draw-down the same amount of carbon released by burning fossil fuels each year, as well as returning vital habitats to species at risk of extinction. 

This September, we have no choice but to take disruptive action against the dairy industry again because scientists have declared a code red for humanity. The climate crisis changes everything, and the solution is clear: a plant-based food system will ensure a liveable future for all.”  

ENDS.

Notes:

• ¹https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-58396352 
• For more information or interviews, contact pressoffice@animalrebellion.org
• https://animalrebellion.org

The post 8 Protestors Found ‘Not Guilty’ after Blockading the UK’s Largest Dairy Facility first appeared on Animal Rebellion.

On 8/7/22 Birds Solicitors and Commons Legal, who were representing the 12 defendents, recieved the news that the CPS and MBR would not allow the British public the opportunity to condemn animal testing via a jury trial. This is an astonishing move of cowardice, that displays both the CPS and MBR know ordinary people will not stand for the outdated and barbaric use of animals for experimentation. This is despite new footage released by AFM showing 3 of the dogs with Ben Newman and Dan Kidby.

Ben Newman, one of the 3 who took accountability for the liberation, has said “I broke in to MBR and freed the beagles, always with the intention to have a jury trial as I believed that a jury would be able to see that we were right and animal testing was wrong. I thought I would have to let a jury decide, but it appears the government haven’t got the guts to even have the trial. I hope this sends a clear message around the UK and around the world that there is no place for animal testing in 2022”

The CPS and MBR are both acutely aware that the people of this country are against animal testing [2]. They must know that a jury of 12 ordinary citizens will find the “MBR 12” not guilty of burglary, and animal testing guilty of unimaginable and unneccesary cruelty against millions of innocent animals each year [3].

Dan Kidby, another liberator, said “We rescued 5 beautiful dogs from the animal testing industry because it was the right thing to do, and we knew any jury in England would see it that way. We handed ourselves into the police station voluntarily and took full accountability for our actions because we wanted to put animal testing on trial. We still want to do this, animal testing must end.”

The decision to drop the charges against the 3 who openly admitted to rescuing the 5 beagles from torture and death, alongside the 9 who were outrageously brought up on the same charges of burglary, marks a watershed moment for the animal rights movement in the UK. It should mark the death knell for the industry, and a definitive step towards total animal justice. AFM plan to continue their campaign of nonviolent direct action (NVDA) until their demands have been achieved.

The unprecedented decision to drop all charges is an admission that animal testing must be immediately suspended and a public inquiry into the practice carried out as soon as possible, as has been promised since Barry Horne’s hunger strikes that ended in his 2001 death.

AFM demand an immediate suspension of all animal testing in the UK, pending a public inquiry.

AFM is a project by Animal Rebellion, who are also working for animal justice.

ENDS

High quality images can be found here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/11P7tMYma2tRqHNHoWPhI2QRxBnxXcuzW?usp=sharing

The latest video showing the liberation of 3 of the 5 dogs can be found here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1JsXyY5DndSeBrSYEUVKunARXgTEIEDjC/view?usp=sharing

For further comment or interviews see the following:

Email: AnimalFreedomMovementPress@protonmail.com ​​​​​​

Notes To Editors:

[1] https://animalrebellion.org/animal-freedom-movement-supporters-liberate-5-beagle-puppies-in-a-second-day-of-action-against-mbr-acres-beagle-farm/

[2] https://yougov.co.uk/topics/health/articles-reports/2021/11/17/where-do-britons-stand-animal-testing

[3] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/statistics-of-scientific-procedures-on-living-animals-great-britain-2020/annual-statistics-of-scientific-procedures-on-living-animals-great-britain-2020

The post Crown Prosecution Service Drop All Charges Against Animal Freedom Movement Beagle Rescuers- Claiming “Lack of Evidence” first appeared on Animal Rebellion.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Reflections on Rebellion – How People Power can Take the World By Storm

The recent documentary Rebellion tells the story of how Extinction Rebellion went from a vision to a global movement. This blog post reflects on the theory of change behind both Extinction and Animal Rebellion and how we can build transformative people power. 

What if I told you that one book held the answers to achieving positive social change? Would you believe me? When I first picked up a book that claimed to do just that, I was sceptical. I was at a stage of my life where, after becoming aware of the scale of injustice affecting animals, humans and our planet, I was increasingly desperate for any glimmer of hope that change could happen. 

I remember spending hours and days thinking and talking to friends about what we could do to make change when, one day I stumbled upon a book in a bargain bookshop that changed everything. Years later as I dedicate my time to helping grow Animal Rebellion, it seems almost unbelievable that this very book, which came into my hands so coincidentally, is the very same book that inspired the creation of XR and the subsequent birth of Animal Rebellion. So, what is the research that lies behind Animal Rebellion and Extinction Rebellion and how can one book be so influential?

The book I found that day was ‘This is an Uprising: How Nonviolent Revolt is Shaping the Twenty-First Century,’ written by two brothers: Mark and Paul Engler. The Engler brothers are writers, organisers and social movement researchers who explore the recent history of protest across the world and present a model of social change based on strategic nonviolence and momentum organising. Momentum is a form of social movement which combines structure-based organising with the goal of creating mass moments of mobilisation, where millions of people rise up to demand change. 

In their book, the Engler brothers use examples from movements such as the Indian Independence Movement, the Civil Rights Movement, the Serbian ‘Otpor’ Movement and the Arab Spring to show how innovative, creative tactics can topple the ‘pillars of power’ of a corrupt or unjust regime and inspire enough people to take action for change. How much is enough? The book quotes research by political scientist Erica Chenoweth which finds that no movement which has mobilised 3.5% of the population in sustained, active participation has failed to achieve its aims. 

Not only that, ‘This is An Uprising’ makes a case for strategic nonviolence, again citing research by Chenoweth showing that nonviolent movements are twice as likely to be successful in their aims as violent ones, a figure which is illustrated by examples from movements which have acted nonviolently for both morally and strategic reasons. 

These movements have managed to be more inclusive than their violent counterparts and, importantly, have been able to build public sympathy for the cause and highlight the unjust nature of state violence and repression. For me, this book opened up a whole new world, one which was filled with people who were asking the same questions that I was about how we can make change happen. And, it wasn’t long before the lessons in the book were playing out right in front of my eyes.

For many, the early days of Extinction Rebellion were a transformative and incredible experience. The urgency of the climate crisis paired with the conviction that, as the popular chant goes, the people united could never be defeated inspired thousands of people to take to the streets and hundreds to face arrest. 

I watched from the other side of the world and was stunned to see the blueprint laid out in books like ‘This is an Uprising’ come to life. Active popular support + nonviolent action → government declaring a climate emergency within a few months! 

It was at this point that Animal Rebellion began, as a small group of people who realised that the same lessons could be applied to the struggle for animal and climate justice. With the same dream of mobilising 3.5% of the population and the same understanding of tools like mass mobilisation and nonviolent action, Animal Rebellion was formed from a plan with impressive proof of design. But, is social change really something that can be planned in advance?

Chenoweth’s research and the conclusions drawn by Mark and Paul Engler have inspired a flurry of groups who are using the model of Momentum-driven organising to create movements for change. From training organisations like Momentum and the Ayni Institute, to grassroots movements such as the Sunrise Movement; the ‘cycle of momentum’ blueprint – which suggest that large-scale change can be achieved through escalating nonviolent action, active popular support and absorption of volunteers – is proving to be enormously popular around the world. Yet, at the same time, there are a number of challenges that arise when putting the ideas in practice. 

Cycle of Momentum

Research Context/Liberal Democracy Challenge

One of the most common critiques of the application of Chenoweth’s research in the Momentum organising model is the recognition that the context of the research is notably different from the type of movement it is being applied to. The dataset used in Chenoweth’s research focused on movements seeking to ‘overthrow oppressive regimes, resist foreign occupations, and to secede from a state.’ This is a different context from the one movements like Animal Rebellion and Extinction Rebellion find themselves in, leading to questions about the relevance of the findings and, particularly, the 3.5% rule. In a 2016 interview, Erica Chenoweth stated: “if a nonviolent campaign is aiming for… economic and social justice reforms… Do we see the same types of success rates of violent and nonviolent action? The answer is we don’t know yet because those types of data collection procedures are not yet fully developed.” 

What this tells us is that, while this research can provide us with valuable knowledge and insight, we’re yet to see whether the roadmap that has proved so effective for movements to overthrow dictators and oppressive regimes will have the same results with our mission for system change in a liberal democracy. 

Additionally, some key features of momentum organising relate to generating public sympathy and support (pg. 18). In previous movements, a key contributor to gaining this kind of support has been the effect of ‘repression backfire,’ where state violence and repression have had the backfire effect of increasing support for the movement. In liberal democracies, repression to protest movements is generally a lot less visible than in oppressive regimes. Violent responses are rare (although not unheard of and are a frequent reality for marginalised communities and, particularly, LGBT+ and BIPOC individuals). State repression often occurs behind the scenes, including through an incomprehensible legal system which has the effect of tying up protestors in endless court proceedings, which often end up with cases being dropped or thrown out. 

The tactics that work so effectively against oppressive regimes can fall flat in the political context of the UK. We can see this in the changing of policing tactics following April 2019, which led to significantly decreased media coverage for following rebellions and a large number of unlawful arrests.  

Mobilisation Challenge

Another challenge that arises is one of mobilisation. When movements are focused on ending a repressive regime or bringing down a corrupt dictator, this is something that generally affects almost the entire population. Srdja Popovic, one of the leaders of the Serbian Otpor movement, talks about creating a ‘line of division,’ where your messaging clearly speaks to the vast majority of the population, with only the clear villains being on the other side of the line disagreeing with you. The effects of a repressive regime are immediate and visible, they are being felt right at that moment by the people the movement is trying to mobilise. A challenge for movements operating in other contexts is trying to replicate that same sense of personal investment, often without the corresponding direct impacts. 

While movements like Occupy and Extinction Rebellion achieved this to a certain extent, mobilising vast amounts of people to demand change, an ongoing struggle for groups like these has been in sustaining this kind of active participation. In the West, we’ll often see a surge of climate action surrounding extreme weather events, particularly ones affecting other Western countries such as the 2019-2020 Australian bushfires. 

Between these upsurges of interest however, social movements mostly ‘operate on the margins of success with burnout a common companion to mobilisation’. Momentum organising talks about manufacturing ‘moments of the whirlwind,’  ‘explosions’ where many people suddenly care about your issue. However, it seems obvious that these moments are more likely to take root when people are being directly effected by the focus of your movement. Without the direct effects of a repressive regime being observable to everyone, the challenge of reaching 3.5% active participation is a significant one. This only becomes more challenging when movements seek to advocate for other-than-humans, including movements for animal and climate justice. 

The Frontloading Challenge

A final challenge I’ll touch on is the focus that movements following the Momentum Model place on ‘frontloading.’ Frontloading is defined as “engaging in serious, strategic planning,” and “visioning our future while anticipating problems that will come up, so people can make aligned decisions without command and control.” This refers to organisations taking a period of time, generally 12 months or so, to plan out their story, structure, strategy and culture, with the understanding that this will enable the movement to build rapid momentum, mobilisation and escalation while maintaining strong processes, organisation and support structures for people and the organisation. 

If we look to current understandings of social change however, we can see that a dominant model of social movements is the ‘framing’ model which regards ‘creating a movement… (as) a cultural enterprise: an idea only ‘moves’ a group if it has cultural resonance.” What will have this resonance is difficult, if not impossible to predict. 

Additionally, in a fast-changing environment and media landscape, something which is relevant and important to people will be out of date six months later. This runs the risk of organisations investing a significant amount of resources (time, money, people) into building a movement which may entirely fail to capture the energy and attention of the public. 

So is there a golden rule for social change? Theories on social change have evolved over time. Early on, sociologists believed that social movements arose out of discontent which evolved into a belief that a successful movement depended on who could mobilise the right resources (money, people and time) to achieve a desired aim. In the last decade, a body of work referred to as ‘new social movement theory’ has attempted to explain the occurrence of recent social movements by understanding social movements as a “cultural enterprise” which succeed by creating an “injustice frame” which highlights a problem, a solution and a way that people can be part of change. 

Current understanding in sociology is that we can’t predict when a social movement will form or if it will be successful. This tells us that, while theories like Momentum are useful models, ultimately there is no golden rule or blueprint for change which will be successful every time. However, drawing together knowledge from a range of sources, there are some things we can say with some confidence:

• The best people to mobilise are closer than you think! A theme across social movement research is that movements succeed in mobilising when active participants are inspired and engaged enough to then mobilise their own friends and families. We can learn from this and focus on giving our base the skills and, importantly, the passion to show those around them why change is needed and why what we’re doing is important. 

• A strong, unified vision and messaging that connects to shared values is how we can unite people behind a common goal. Movements with a clear vision and that connect to people’s values, fears and desires are the movements that succeed in overcoming challenges and adapting to change.

• If you want to achieve mass mobilisation and create lasting change, nonviolence is the best way to go.

• There are many theories of change and many ways we have seen change happen over time. By learning from a variety of sources and movements and by remaining flexible, adapting to current situations and not being afraid to innovate, we can learn from the past and build new methods of change that are the best fit for the society we’re living in. 

Books like ‘This is an Uprising’ give us important insight which we can use to inspire our campaigns and strategy. What can be even more important though is what we learn when we take these theories and see how they play out on the streets. The relationship between activism and academia can be one of symbiosis where each group grows and thrives alongside one another. While there might not be one silver bullet solution for social change, what does exist is an incredible passion, determination and an extraordinary amount of skills and knowledge. All the movements written about in books like this weren’t following an exact blueprint. They, like us, were learning as they went and using tools and lessons from history to shape pathways forward that made sense in the context they were in. If we come together, aren’t afraid to try new things and learn from our mistakes and successes, what can’t we do? 

You can watch the Rebellion documentary on Netflix 

Keen to start rebelling and be part of a movement for change? Actions will be happening in London from the 9th – 17th April. Find out more and say you’ll be there by joining our Facebook event here: https://fb.me/e/2lLxYQmBO

You can join our telegram broadcast: https://t.me/joinchat/s17vhYFQ3qY5YTBk

Or our https://chat.whatsapp.com/HYcMc8iZ140BPOxE6yhp09

The post How Change Happens first appeared on Animal Rebellion.

• At 11:40 this morning students from University College London, King’s College London, and London Metropolitan University dropped banners reading “Meat & Dairy = Climate Crisis” at important university buildings.
• The students are campaigning for their universities to transition to 100% just and sustainable plant-based catering in cafes and restaurants by the 2023-24 academic year.
• They are doing so in order to make universities recognise and act on the catastrophic climate impacts of industries like meat, dairy, and fishing.

Students from 3 prestigious universities have unfurled large banners and let off non-toxic smoke flares at key university locations in order to confront their institutions on their cafes and restaurant’s impacts on the climate. The students say they plan to remain in place for one hour before peacefully dispersing.

Sofia Carolina Fernandes Pontes, 25, student at London Metropolitan has said “It’s simple, universities have to act on the climate crisis and that begins with their menus. We know that industries like meat, fish, and dairy are driving climate collapse, deforestation, and ocean dead zones. This is all whilst we produce enough to feed ten billion people, yet have hundreds of millions starving all over the world because of our woefully immoral food systems. [1] Universities must transition to fully just and sustainable plant-based catering by the 2023-24 academic year in order to secure a livable world for the students they are educating.“

The Plant-Based Universities campaign [2] which is active at 20+ universities across the UK aims to hold universities to account for their role in the climate crisis. As places where vast amounts of knowledge is produced, they are the institutions most aware of the changes that need to be made. One of those is undoubtedly a just and sustainable transition to fully plant-based cafes and restaurants.

The 3 universities today’s action focussed on all have clear sustainability goals relating to catering [3]. All of them hint at plant-based options being sustainable and desirable, so this begs the question: why not adopt fully just and sustainable plant-based options? In order to bring this issue into greater focus and attention within universities the student campaigners have taken nonviolent direct action. The campaigners are taking this action in solidarity with all those over the world participating in the global student strike [4]. 

The banners dropped at UCL’s Gower Street Main Campus, KCL’s Bush House, and London Metropolitan’s Holloway Campus Library are a clear message to these institutions from their students. The message is that students will not allow their universities to stand by and be complicit in the ongoing collapse of the climate, destruction of human and animal life, and destruction of their futures.

Dev Vyas, 19, student at UCL tells us “Universities have a duty of care to their students. By continuing to ignore their own studies about how unsustainable meat, fishing, and dairy industries are, they are burying their heads in the sand on this. We, students from a massive variety of backgrounds, experiences, and studies, refuse to stand by and watch our universities commit climate, social, and animal injustices. Today thousands of young people are striking for climate change and we fight alongside them for justice worldwide.”

Plant-Based Universities campaigners encourage any other interested students to fill out the interest form here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdI88OPSTQ76if-ip32HoDwVXEA1Ua3SOzZ1ztTd0w_5YwP7Q/viewform

Email: Universities@animalrebellion.org

Instagram: @plantbasedunis

Notes to editors

[1] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/241746569_We_Already_Grow_Enough_Food_for_10_Billion_People_and_Still_Can’t_End_Hunger

[2] The campaign is a nationwide initiative driven by groups of students, gaining international interest, that is supported by the movement Animal Rebellion. https://animalrebellion.org/campaigns/plant-based-universities/#:~:text=The%20Plant%2DBased%20Universities%20campaign,the%202023%2D24%20academic%20year. 

[3] University College London: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/sustainable/positive-climate/sustainable-food King’s College London: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/aboutkings/strategy/sustainability/policies-strategies/food/food London Metropolitan University: https://www.londonmet.ac.uk/media/london-metropolitan-university/london-met-documents/professional-service-departments/estates/sustainability/Sustainable-and-Ethical-Food-2019—2020-SMART-Targets-.pdf

[4] https://fridaysforfuture.org/march25/

The post Plant-Based Universities campaigners drop banners on 3 London universities highlighting climate crisis first appeared on Animal Rebellion.

31st March 2022 @ 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm

Rebellion season is here!

Are you wanting to attend an action or demonstration? Would you like to show your support to rebels who are on the front lines causing disruption? How can you be prepared?

Our know your rights training goes over the basics of what you may need to know when going out to a protest, and what to expect if you decide to get arrested. We will be going over the powers of the police at protests so people don’t have to be feel like you are being bullied by the police. What rights you have while in custody & what to expect while you are awaiting your release. Register to attend the event here:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/305572454437

The post Know Your Rights! first appeared on Animal Rebellion.

Groups of students at over twenty UK universities are calling for a transition to 100% plant-based on-campus catering in a campaign against University complicity in the climate crisis. This campaign is supported by the climate and animal justice movement Animal Rebellion, who have previously taken direct action demanding a transition to a just and sustainable plant-based food system, most notably against McDonald’s by shutting down all four of their UK distribution centers in 2021.

Vaania Kapoor Achuthan, 19, from University College London said: “Universities are sites of knowledge, and they (themselves) advance our scientific understanding of the harmful environmental impact of meat, fish and dairy industries. They, therefore, have a responsibility to listen to that science and take necessary action. Universities claim to be preparing us for the future, whilst also threatening it by selling environmentally-harmful animal products. More plant-based options will not alleviate universities’ direct involvement in the climate crisis. We will continue campaigning until our universities display actual progress towards 100% just and sustainable plant-based catering.”

Outreach campaigns have been started and policy motions have been filed at six universities (University College London, King’s College London, The University of Warwick, Lancaster University, Coventry University, and The University of Sussex) with over a dozen more, including Brunel University London and The University of Leeds, preparing to do the same. The number of groups are growing every week ​​with the intention to have a campaign running in every university in the country by the end of the year.  The campaign has also received global interest, with universities in The Netherlands and Australia keen on adopting it. Anyone interested in being involved or starting a campaign at their university is encouraged to register here.

Meat, fish, eggs, and dairy use around 83% of global farmland, yet only provide 37% of our protein and 18% of our calories. Better use of this land could remove 8.1 billion metric tons of CO2 from the atmosphere per year³. Joseph Poore, researcher at University of Oxford states that “A vegan diet is probably the single biggest way to reduce your impact on planet Earth, not just greenhouse gasses, but global acidification, eutrophication, land use and water use. Avoiding consumption of animal products delivers far better environmental benefits than trying to purchase sustainable meat and dairy.⁴”It is facts like these, provided by the faculty of universities including those mentioned, that mean switching to just and sustainable plant-based catering is a necessary step for universities to take.

Nathan McGovern, 22, from King’s College London, said: “The campaign is imminently achievable. Plant-based options are rife amongst cafes and restaurants in UK universities. All we are  asking is that the next easy, logical step is taken. It is an entirely possible, and utterly necessary move towards sustainable practice.”

The Guardian reported in December 2021 that the majority of universities are failing to even meet their short-term emissions targets. Global Food Security, a group of the UK’s leading public funders of food-related research, concluded that the transition towards plant-based products generally correlates with a lower environmental impact. This was a study conducted largely by faculty from universities across the UK. Science is staring universities in the face, and imploring them to stop the sale of animal products.

Interview opportunities and photos

For an interview, photo opportunities or further information, contact the followinguniversities@animalrebellion.org or message @plantbasedunis on instagram.

1. De Sy. V, et al,”Land use patterns and related carbon losses following deforestation in South America,” Environmental Research Letters, vol. 10, no. 12 (2015.)

2. Jia. G, Shevliakova. E et al, “Chapter 2: Land-Climate Interactions” in UN Special Report: Climate Change and Land (2019.) https://www.ipcc.ch/srccl/

3. Nemecek. T and Poore. J, “Reducing food’s environmental impacts through producers and consumers,” Science 360, issue 6392 (June 2018): 987-992.

4. Carrington. D, “Avoiding meat and dairy is ‘single biggest way’ to reduce your impact on Earth”, The Guardian (May 2018).

The post Students nationwide launch 100% plant-based universities campaign for sustainability first appeared on Animal Rebellion.

Animal Rebellion is all about joining the dots between the climate emergency and the urgent need to transition to a plant-based future. We can’t have the first without the second. For many of us, this is obvious – the evidence is clear. However, why do so many organisations and people still fail to make the connection?

As well as being part of Animal Rebellion’s media team, I am a Green Party councillor on the Green/Alliance-led Hythe Town Council in Kent. We declared a climate and ecological emergency and then brought a motion to become a plant-based council. It was an obvious, logical next step. 

Many other councils, educational institutions, churches and other organisations have declared climate emergencies and set net zero carbon targets. But only a relatively small number (Oxfordshire County Council being a recent fine exception) have followed this by becoming plant-based.

Was there a better example of the disconnect than serving meat, fish and dairy at the COP26 Summit in Glasgow in November? While delegates from across the world discussed ways to meet carbon targets, a key part of the answer was staring up at them from their plates.

We read shocking facts: humans now account for about 36% of the biomass of all mammals; farmed animals, mostly cows and pigs, account for 60%; wild mammals for only 4%. The biomass of poultry is around three times larger than that of wild birds. Marine mammal biomass has decreased fivefold due to commercial whaling and other exploitative hunting practices.

Knowing this, how is it possible to just carry on regardless?

Story-telling is an important part of joining those dots. I had the honour last year of interviewing film-maker and self-declared “vegangelist”, Thomas Wade Jackson. His film, A Prayer for Compassion, poses one vital question: Why do so many religious and spiritual people not make the connection between their beliefs and a non-violent diet? He travels the US and beyond, asking this question to people of multiple faiths. 

Thomas told me: “They talk about we’re all connected, the passion and all this, but then when I saw they were still eating animals, it didn’t make sense to me.” Compassion for the planet and for people did not extend to other living creatures. We have been conditioned from birth, bombarded with messages, telling us what’s right and wrong, what’s desirable, what we should think, how we should behave; it is difficult to find our true voice, to see through the biases of our society. 

Story-telling is what A Prayer for Compassion does so powerfully, as have other films such as The Age of Stupid, Cowspiracy and Seaspiracy. It is what Animal Rebellion does with all of its actions, using a clear narrative, colour, music and images.   

Pressure has to be applied, there are too many entities with a vested interest in the status quo. As Mahatma Gandhi observed, Western civilization never looks for a cure for the problems, it looks for ways to make money out of the symptoms. 

On the up-side, more and more people are making the connection. The number of those acting for a plant-based system across the globe is increasing steeply. Veganuary is now a major movement. More generally, there is a growing understanding of the devastating impact of meat, fish and dairy.

Commercial companies have responded, with ever more plant-based product launches, although for the large incumbents this is typically alongside, not instead of, non-plant-based. 

There can be no sitting on the fence if we are to save the planet. It is why Animal Rebellion is calling for McDonald’s and its peers to become wholly plant-based by 2025. It is why we state you can’t have a climate-friendly dairy industry – it is a complete contradiction. 

Animal Rebellion and many others work tirelessly and bravely to join the dots. We can’t do otherwise – our whole future depends on it. 

Join us in 2022. Whatever your skills and time, there are always ways you can help! Fill out our interest form below or make contact via any social media. 

A Prayer for Compassion is available on streaming channels and is also available for community screenings, with potential grants available from plant-based funding organisation, VegFund – https://vegfund.org/

The post Joining the dots between the climate crisis and a plant-based food-system first appeared on Animal Rebellion.