January – Saving the world one council at a time

We kicked off the year with our schools and councils campaign, demanding that they do their part to encourage plant-based eating. A total of 74% of councils have declared a climate emergency, yet few are taking steps to reduce food-related emissions. How did we get on? Well, an incredible 10% of UK councils got on board and saw the need to help reduce animal product consumption in their local area. Thanks to the actions taken by Hackney Council alone, an estimated 92,000 animal lives will be saved each year, not to mention 490 tonnes of CO2! 

April – Challenging the school menu

We demanded that the Department of Education introduce plant-based foods in school canteens, an initiative which will aid them to do their part in helping meet climate targets while encouraging young people to establish healthier eating patterns and save money! Several councils from Brighton to Somerset worked with ProVeg to promote more plant-based meals in schools.

May – McDonalds brought to a halt

That’s right, we blockaded all four McDonald’s UK distribution centres, which supply approximately 1300 restaurants! We called for, and continue to call for, McDonald’s, one of the biggest symbols of the animal agriculture industry, to offer a fully plant-based menu by 2025. 

Why? McDonald’s is an enormous contributor to climate change by selling such environmentally destructive foods at ridiculously low prices, and is also known for its poor track-record on animal cruelty and workers rights. We say no! Over 100 protestors blockaded the site for 24 hours, fighting for human, animal and climate justice. 

June – G7 Presence in Cornwall

We made sure our voices were heard at the G7 Summit taking place in Cornwall. Around 50 people peacefully occupied both indoor and outdoor seating at the McDonald’s in Falmouth. 

July –  Big Mac crisis 

Animal Rebellion blockaded McDonald’s only UK burger factory and halted production for over 24 hours! Tents and gazebos were set up as a camp and our brave activists secured themselves to bamboo structures outside the building and occupied the roof, setting an unofficial world record of 62 hours up a beacon! We were met with support from former employees of OSI Foods, who described horrendous working conditions and from the locals who rallied to show support and provided food and essentials.

August –  All night occupation

Sick of us yet Mcdonald’s? In August 50 protestors spent the night at the Leicester Square branch of McDonald’s as we repeated our demand for a transition to a plant-based menu! From 6pm onwards we occupied the restaurant and aimed to start conversations with customers about the destruction caused by McDonald’s and the impact of the fast-food industry.

Buckingham Palace Protest 

That’s right! We dyed the iconic Buckingham Palace fountains blood red in a protest against use of crown land for hunting and animal agriculture.

We demanded that the Queen put an end to the use of crown land for industries which are contributing to the climate and ecological emergency and the death of animals. It’s time for a new system based on justice and compassion and the royal family should be leading the way. 

National Animal Rights March

We were joined by numerous animal rights groups and activists to stand up for animals loud and clear. We marched from Smithfield Market, stopping at Unilever, Cargill and MSC and through central London, mobilising thousands of people and celebrating all that has been achieved for animals and the large amount of work still left to do.

Arla Action
To end our August Rebellion, 50 rebels blockaded Arla, the UK´s biggest milk factory, calling for an end to dairy production. Dairy corporations, including Arla, together emitted more greenhouse gases in 2017 than major polluters such as BHP and ConocoPhillips, and the industry also undoubtedly abuses animals on a large scale. We demanded that the government supports companies like Arla by funding a fair transition for workers in meat and dairy industries to just and sustainable alternatives.

October – COP 26 Protest 

Animal Rebellion protestors scaled the face of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). Ahead of the COP 26 Climate change conference, we urged leaders to ‘defund meat’ and invest in plant-based alternatives instead.

We called out our government’s hypocrisy, as they claim to be world leaders in climate change whilst propping up the unsustainable and environmentally destructive meat and dairy industries with at least  £1.5 billion a year in subsidies. We called for an end to this and sent a clear message to world leaders attending COP26 later that month!

What a year! And we are ready for even bigger and better things in 2022. Find a role that’s right for you and get involved with Animal Rebellion now. Let’s bid goodbye to the year with some wise words from Margaret Mead.

‘’Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.’’

The post Animal Rebellion’s 2021 Roundup! first appeared on Animal Rebellion.

The United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP 26, will be kicking off in a week´s time, where world leaders will meet to discuss how they plan to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees, an ambitious target which the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has said will require drastic action.

The stakes couldn’t be higher. The eyes of the world will be watching with many desperate to see real commitment and a sense of urgency from those with the most power to stop the breakdown of our climate. At this COP, many are especially eager to see world leaders discuss each and every driver of climate change as, bizarrely, a leading cause of global warming has been painfully absent during numerous climate change conferences over the last decade.

Governments all over the world have failed to acknowledge Animal Agriculture as a major cause of global warming and have failed to propose a transition to a sustainable, plant-based food system despite there being urgent need. Without this transition we have no chance of meeting the Paris Agreement targets, or any sort of target at all. Indeed, even if the burning of fossil fuels ceased this instant, the environmental damage of the animal farming industry would be enough to raise temperatures well above 1.5 degrees and jeopardize human life. 

Aside from being one of the largest sources of greenhouse gases on Earth, the animal agriculture industry is a leading cause of air pollution, water pollution, deforestation, species extinction, habitat loss and ocean dead-zones. Raising animals for food already occupies at least a third of the Earth’s surface and uses up to a third of our freshwater supply, making it one of the most resource-draining industries in existence. The high amounts of animal flesh consumed in our societies are resulting in the destruction of our planet, with extreme levels of land and air pollution and the ocean expected to be void of life in less than three decades. 

Yet the industry continues to thrive, almost entirely unchallenged, with the demand for meat expected to double by 2040, and animal agriculture emissions projected to increase by 80% by 2050.  Not only is this going on unchallenged, but, in fact, is encouraged and paid for all over the world through government subsidies. Globally, the vast majority of agriculture subsidies go to animal farms and farmers growing animal feed. 

In the UK, around 90% of the annual profit of famers who graze land mammals comes from agriculture subsidies. It’s a similar story in the US, where, in 2020, $50 billion was used to subsidise and bail out farmers, almost all of whom were meat, dairy milk and animal feed production firms. The reality is that our tax money is being used to drive down the prices of environmentally destructive food, which are precisely the ones which should have the highest price tag of all. 

Governments must stop propping up failing, environmentally damaging industries and begin to help those rearing animals to convert to a healthy and sustainable type of farming. Governments must acknowledge the undeniable truth that we cannot continue to eat how we currently eat and begin the transition to a just and sustainable plant based food system. 

But will they? Many are skeptical. COP26 has failed to confirm whether they will discuss the need to reduce intensive animal farming or the discussion of animal agriculture as a whole. They also have failed to answer queries on whether a plant based menu will be offered to conference attendees.

In addition, with less than two weeks to the summit, a UK government report from the Behavioural Insights Unit outlining the importance of plant based eating in the fight against climate change was swiftly deleted. The report showed what aspects of public behaviour need changing in order to hit climate targets. We can see that Governments have the knowledge they need to fight climate change but are simply not doing anything with it, notably because, “asking people to directly eat less meat and dairy is a major political challenge”, as stated in the report. This would seem to be an example of politicians choosing to value their political careers and popularity more than the greater good, but what the world desperately needs is governments who tell the truth and act with urgency to change the systems that are causing so much harm.

However, we do have some reason to be hopeful. A group of UK MPs are calling for an end to animal agriculture and showing support for the Plant Based Treaty. This treaty aims to halt the destruction caused by animal agriculture and promote a global shift to sustainable plant-based eating. In addition to support from numerous politicians around the globe, the treaty has so far been endorsed by 396 Organizations and 201 Businesses. 

Ahead of the conference, a group of celebrity plant-based advocates, including Joaquin Phoenix, Billie Elish and Alan Cumming have sent an urgent letter to Right Honorable Alok Sharma, the conference’s president, demanding that animal agriculture be on the agenda.

Environmental groups around the world will be watching closely to see if politicians use the precious time they have left to negotiate change and begin a transition away from animal agriculture to limit global warming. As weather patterns become more extreme and life on Earth becomes more about surviving, there may be few of these opportunities left. Until then, Animal Rebellion will continue to highlight the overwhelming role of animal agriculture in the climate crisis and the urgent need to transition to a plant based food system.

Together, we can work to ensure that governments tell the truth, act now and listen to the people. Join us to help encourage a shift to a just and sustainable plant based food system. Learn more about how to volunteer and which role might suit you!

The post Why Animal Agriculture must be on the COP 26 agenda first appeared on Animal Rebellion.

1. What is the problem?

• Animal agriculture and fishing industries are major contributors to environmental problems.

Scientific evidence show that the animal farming and fishing contribute massively to the climatic and ecological emergencies (1, 2). Animal agriculture emits 18% of the world’s greenhouse gas (3). It also causes deforestation, since the Amazon rainforest is cut down for soy crops that will feed Western’s cows (1, 4, 5). Fishing has depleted numerous aquatic animal populations, with unprecedented decrease in the number of fish (6). Animal agriculture and fishing industries are major causes of ocean acidification, which disrupts corals and other aquatic animals (1). They also have a dramatic impact on water quality, with pesticides and tons of feces infiltrating into water supplies as well as the ocean and threatening the health of the organisms that depend on those ecosystems (1,7,8).

In a nutshell, the current food system is unfit and unsustainable (9).

• We can address the environmental emergency to give children a more hopeful future.

Children grow up in a climate crisis and many develop eco-anxiety (10). Being too young to take all possible actions, primary school pupils can feel powerless in the face of the emergency. Depression can grow quickly in this situation. Since animal proteins impact astonishingly the environment, children can feel the dissonance between the discourse at school to take individual steps to reduce our carbon footprint, and the animal products served daily at the canteen.

2. The solution is under our eyes

• Plant-based food systems are better for the environment

Systematic scientific reviews of the impact of dietary change suggest that a plant-based diet is the most sustainable nutrition to mitigate the ecological disaster (9, 11, 12, 13). Switching to a fully plant-based food system would reduce food’s land use by 76%, food’s greenhouse gas emissions, acidification and eutrophication by 49%, using 2010 as a reference year (4).

We now have scientific evidence that well-planned plant-based diets are nutritionally adequate (14, 15, 16, 17). We can grow well and get all essential nutrients from plants, except vitamin B12, which is easily supplemented (14, 16, 17); vitamin B12 is easily found in fortified food such as breakfast cereals, nutritional yeast and non-dairy milk.

It’s not a hard nut to crack that now is the time to switch to healthy and sustainable plant-based food systems (18).

• Plant-based school meals is the next step

Plant-based school meals are a low hanging fruit, ideal and needed to tackle climate change.

In England, an analysis of over 6000 meals in schools showed that over half the carbon emission and 38% of the water footprint are due to meat and fish (19). An analysis of school meals found that plant-based meals not only had the lowest environmental impact but also the highest energy value and best nutritional value (20). Serving low carbon plant-based meals has the potential to reduce the environmental footprint of the canteen by 46-60% (20). All plant-based milk are more environmentally friendly than cow milk (4). Besides, children with lactose allergies or intolerances will no longer be left with a different meal.

A transition to plant-based school meals will bear fruits for our environment. Taking collective action by providing pupils with plant-based food will show consistent commitment to help solve the climate emergency, making it easier for young people to adopt climate friendly practices from a young age.

3. We are already moving forward

Some are already adapting and moving forward with sustainable diets. In 2017, German environment minister paved the way to sustainable vegetarian meals within her organisation (21). Following the recognition that meat and fish are not necessary at any stages of life (14, 15, 16), some nurseries in the UK are also choosing to offer vegan or vegetarian meals (22). Meat-free mondays are very popular.

After declaring a climate emergency, Enfield council has stopped serving meat at its council events and Lewisham council has voted to provide exclusively plant-based options at theirs. Leeds City Council has decided to introduce more meat-free meal options in their 182 primary schools. In France, Lyon will serve all meals meat-free to its 29,000 children (23).

Growing legumes in the UK can provide nutritious and local plant-based proteins. Dishes from around the world use beans and peas can inspire the cooks. A couscous or a falafel with hummus are for instance easy and tasty additions to the school menu. We are lucky that in the recent years plant-based protein meals have increased in quality and diversity. Ever dreamed of nuggets made of sustainable pea protein that taste even better than the original meat ones? Yes, this is where we are. It’s a piece of cake, but it needs all of us.

With your help, we can achieve huge goals for animals, people, and the planet. Find out how you can be part of this incredible journey by learning more about the campaign here and there. Sign up here to find out how you can get involved and get support. You can also register your interest to get updates on the campaign.

References:

1. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2014). Climate Change 2014: Mitigation of Climate Change. Contribution of Working Group III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Edenhofer, O., R. Pichs-Madruga, Y. Sokona, E. Farahani, S. Kadner, K. Seyboth, A. Adler, I. Baum, S. Brunner, P. Eickemeier, B. Kriemann, J. Savolainen, S. Schlömer, C. von Stechow, T. Zwickel and J.C. Minx (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA. 

2. Myers, R. A., & Worm, B. (2003). Rapid worldwide depletion of predatory fish communities. Nature, 423(6937), 280.

3. Steinfeld, H., Gerber, P., Wassenaar, T. D., Castel, V., Rosales, M., Rosales, M., & de Haan, C. (2006). Livestock’s long shadow: environmental issues and options. Food & Agriculture Organisation.

4. Poore, J., & Nemecek, T. (2018). Reducing food’s environmental impacts through producers and consumers. Science, 360(6392), 987-992.

5. Margulis, Sergio. (2004). Causes of Deforestation of the Brazilian Amazon. World Bank Working Paper;No. 22. Washington, DC: World Bank.

6. Hutchings, J. A., & Reynolds, J. D. (2004). Marine fish population collapses: consequences for recovery and extinction risk. BioScience, 54(4), 297-309. 

7. Vizzini, S., Martínez-Crego, B., Andolina, C., Massa-Gallucci, A., Connell, S. D., & Gambi, M. C. (2017). Ocean acidification as a driver of community simplification via the collapse of higher-order and rise of lower-order consumers. Scientific reports, 7(1), 1-10.

8. Cattano, C., Claudet, J., Domenici, P., & Milazzo, M. (2018). Living in a high CO2 world: a global meta‐analysis shows multiple trait‐mediated fish responses to ocean acidification. Ecological Monographs, 88(3), 320-335.

9. EAT-Lancet Commission (2019). Healthy Diets From Sustainable Food Systems summary report. 

10. Wu, J., Snell, G., & Samji, H. (2020). Climate anxiety in young people: a call to action. The Lancet Planetary Health, 4(10), e435-e436.

11. Hallström, E., Carlsson-Kanyama, A. & Börjesson, P. (2015). Environmental impact of dietary change: a systematic review. Journal of Cleaner Production, 91, 1-11. 

12. Springmann, Marco (2016). Going veggie would cut global food emissions by two thirds and save millions of lives – new study. The Conversation. Website browsed 19/01/21 https://theconversation.com/going-veggie-would-cut-global-food-emissions-by-two-thirds-and-save-millions-of-lives-new-study-56655 

13. J. Rogelj, D. Shindell, K. Jiang, S. Fifita, P. Forster, V. Ginzburg, C. Handa, H. Kheshgi, S. Kobayashi, E. Kriegler, L. Mundaca,R. Séférian, M. V. Vilariño, 2018, Mitigation pathways compatible with 1.5°C in the context of sustainable development. In: Global warming of 1.5°C. An IPCC Special Report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels and related global greenhouse gas emission pathways, in the context of strengthening the global response to the threat of climate change, sustainable development, and efforts to eradicate poverty [V. Masson-Delmotte, P. Zhai, H. O. Pörtner, D. Roberts, J. Skea, P. R. Shukla, A. Pirani, W. Moufouma-Okia, C. Péan, R. Pidcock, S. Connors, J. B. R. Matthews, Y. Chen, X. Zhou, M. I. Gomis, E. Lonnoy, T. Maycock, M. Tignor, T. Waterfield (eds.)].

14. American Dietetic Association and Dietitians of Canada. (2003). Position of the American Dietetic Association and Dietitians of Canada: Vegetarian diets. American Dietetic Association reports. 

15. 2020 Diets for a Better Future – Rebooting and Reimagining Healthy and Sustainable Food Systems in the G20

16. Melina, V., Craig, W., & Levin, S. (2016). Position of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: vegetarian diets. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 116(12), 1970-1980.

17. Kenneally, S., Bristor, D., Newman, G., Desmond, A., Shah, M., Vano, L., Martinez-Biarge, M., Russell, L., Lewandowska, M., Kassam, S. (2020). The evidence supporting a plant-based diet for optimal health and prevention of chronic disease. Plant-Based Health Professionals UK.

18. Blake, L. (2014). People, Plate and Planet : The impact of dietary choices on health, greenhouse gas emissions and land use. Centre for Alternative Technology. Part of Zero Carbon Britain.

19. De Laurentiis, V., Hunt, D. V., & Rogers, C. D. (2017). Contribution of school meals to climate change and water use in England. Energy Procedia, 123, 204-211.

20. Batlle-Bayer, L., Bala, A., Aldaco, R., Vidal-Monés, B., Colomé, R., & Fullana-i-Palmer, P. (2021). An explorative assessment of environmental and nutritional benefits of introducing low-carbon meals to Barcelona schools. Science of The Total Environment, 756, 143879.

21. Mosbergen, Dominique (2017). German environment minister bans meat at official functions. The Huffington Post. Website browsed 30/01/21 https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/germany-meat-ban-environment-ministry_us_58ae1b24e4b01406012f962b?ec_carp=5200738518123961463 

22. Spanswick, Ellie (2017). Children enjoy meat free meals as more nurseries go vegetarian. Daynurseries. Website browsed 30/01/21 https://www.daynurseries.co.uk/news/article.cfm/id/1580875/children-eat-meat-free-as-the-number-of-vegetarian-nurseries-grows 

23. Delpont, Léa (2021). La mairie de lyon généralise le menu sans viande dans les cantines. Les échos. Viewed 21/02/21. https://www.lesechos.fr/pme-regions/auvergne-rhone-alpes/la-mairie-de-lyon-generalise-le-menu-sans-viande-dans-les-cantines-1291990

The post Plant-based school meals to solve the climate crisis first appeared on Animal Rebellion.

When I ask myself what it means to stand in true solidarity with the trillions of our animal kin whom we exploit and kill for food every year, all of whom want to live, all of whom resist their oppression every day, I look to the ways in which past successful social movements have created transformational change in society.

The ecology of social movements

What I have learned is that successful movements have involved different individuals, groups and organisations working to make change in different ways, through: individual change, creating alternatives and changing the dominant institutions that shape society. This is why social movements are often referred to as ‘movement ecologies’.

In the animal justice movement examples of individual change include veganism and animal advocacy. Examples of creating alternatives include sanctuaries, vegan businesses and veganic farms. And examples of the dominant institutions that shape society that we need to change include governments bodies, corporations, polices and legislation i.e. structural change. We can work for structural change from both inside and outside the system. The ‘inside game’ includes lobbying and party politics. The ‘outside game’ can mean either reforming the status quo e.g. through NGO campaigns for welfare reforms, or transforming the status quo through mass protest movements demanding transformational change e.g. legislation that abolishes the property status of other animals.

All of these approaches are needed. It is not enough to only focus on individual change, or on structural change. Change is needed on every level of society. These approaches, and the individuals, groups and organisations using them, can and must work in synergy with each other if we have any hope of building a movement that can create transformative change for and with other animals.

While all of these approaches are needed, as civil rights activist, trainer and social movement theorist Bill Moyer argued in his book Doing Democracy, each of them come to the fore at different stages of the movement cycle. Historically, successful movements have been catalysed by ordinary people coming together to refuse to cooperate with unjust systems, take direct action through mass protest and civil disobedience, and make personal sacrifices to force the injustice they are fighting against out into the public consciousness and inspire others to take action with them. In this way they have been able to shift public opinion and force politicians to take stands on issues they would rather have avoided.

Animal Rebellion

We have an opportunity to catalyse a powerful mass movement for animal justice in a profound and meaningful way through Animal Rebellion. Animal Rebellion is a new, mass volunteer movement that recognises that the climate and ecological crisis we are facing is one that affects us all, humans, other animals and the planet. It is based on the understanding that our exploitation of other animals, our oppression of humans and our destruction of the natural world are all entangled, that they all enable and compound each other. While it stands in solidarity with Extinction Rebellion and the broader ‘Rebel Alliance’, and shares the same demands and theory of change, Animal Rebellion also recognises that we cannot address the climate and ecological emergency without addressing the animal emergency. Amongst other things, this means telling the truth about the animal farming and fishing industries being leading contributors to the climate emergency, ending these industries and transitioning to a sustainable and just plant-based food system.

Momentum-driven organising

Like Extinction Rebellion, Animal Rebellion is using momentum-driven organising to build a mass movement that has the power to shift public opinion and achieve transformative change. Momentum-driven organising draws on lessons from the field of civil resistance and from past social justice movements, such as the Indian Independence movement and the Civil Rights movement. In this model of organising, escalating non-violent direct action is used to create momentum and inspire people to take action. This momentum is then absorbed through a strong movement organisation which has a decentralised structure that enables people to act autonomously in line with the movement. The absorbing of momentum increases active popular support and carries on this ‘cycle of momentum’, continuously building the power of the movement. The ultimate aim is to generate the sustained and active support of 3.5% of the population. This 3.5% figure is based on the work of Chenoweth and Stephan in their book Why Civil Resistance Works. They analysed over 300 national level campaigns over the past century and found that no campaign failed once it had achieved the active and sustained participation of 3.5% of the population and many succeeded with much less. It is momentum-driven organising that has helped Extinction Rebellion grow exponentially and shift public opinion in such a short space of time. And it is momentum-driven organising which holds such promise for Animal Rebellion.

The first step

However, movements are built one campaign at a time. This is just the first step of this particular campaign and movement cycle, building on the many that have come before. It will be a long and arduous haul. We have much to learn about how to build a mass protest movement in an effective way, as well as the implications of being an ally movement. And like other movements, this is ultimately an inter-generational struggle, just as our life’s work is an inter-generational project. But right now I see no other option that can catalyse the mass movement we, and more importantly other animals, need to create meaningful structural change in society that will move the cause of animal justice forward. A huge part of this change is to shift our destructive, industrial, corporate-controlled food system to a plant-based food system which is sustainable and just for all.

Like many vegans I have spent many years focusing on individual change. But over the past few years I have come to realise individual change alone is not enough. So now when I ask myself what it means to stand in true solidarity with other animals, I increasingly believe that this requires ACTING in solidarity with other animals*. And to me this means reclaiming our individual and collective power by withdrawing our consent, cooperation and obedience from oppressive systems, taking direct action and demanding structural change.

I will be acting in solidarity with other animals and rebelling for all life with Animal Rebellion on the streets of London from October 7th.

Join me.

It’s time to rebel

*See also this excellent post by Christopher Sebastian McJetters on what it means to him to choose to ACT in solidarity with marginalised persons of all species.

The post It’s Time to Rebel for All Life first appeared on Animal Rebellion.