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.

Animal Rebellion is standing in solidarity with UK Farmers against the new Agricultural Bill 2020.

You’re right, this is shocking. Why are we standing with the very farmers who keep the animal agricultural system going?

The Agricultural Bill 2020 is a HUGE step backward for our food system and food security.

What is the Agricultural Bill 2020?

• The Bill is replacing European Union (EU) Farming regulations and is setting new, lower standards for the future of British farming.
• The Bill allows cheaper, lower quality imports into the UK from countries like the US: including hormone-injected beef, chlorinated chicken and eggs. The meat allowed to be imported into the UK is currently illegal according to UK and EU legislation.

How does the Agricultural Bill 2020 impact a just and sustainable food system?

• The Bill threatens environmental sustainability. Intensive farming causes the destruction of soil, deforestation, annihilation of wildlife and poisons drinking water. Farmers can not manage the costs of pollution prevention, and serious pollution incidents are now reported weekly in the UK. Between 2010 and 2016, there were 5,300 instances of agricultural pollution cases, of which 536 were serious. The UK government announced a “climate emergency” in April 2019, yet the Bill is practically asking farmers to race towards the worst environmental practices.
• The Bill jeopardises animal welfare. It is unjust. Whilst animal welfare standards are low, with several undercover cameras having filmed poor standards and abuse; the Bill is forcing further negligence of the animals. Already, 70% of farm animals in the UK are kept in overcrowded, windowless factory farm buildings or cages. You can see how many animals are presently reared indoors here.
• The Bill compromises human health. Chlorinated chicken, eggs and hormone-injected cows will be the new standard. The chlorine is used to “clean off bacteria and other contaminants”. This is the equivalent of putting a plaster over an injury. It hides the problem. The conditions in which these animals are farmed are treacherous and infected with fecal matter and life-threatening germs, such as campylobacter and salmonella. The next virus threatening to cause a pandemic is already here.
• The Bill weakens economic sustainability for UK farmers. More and more small to medium-scale farmers have been forced into the dominant hands of large-scale intensive farmers. The Bill exacerbates this issue. Flooding the market with cheap, low quality food jeopardises British Farmers economically — a great position for large-scale factory farmers to increase their dominance in the industry. Inevitably, smaller farmers will get pushed out. Did you know in 2019 there were an estimated 800 American-style mega-farms in the UK? A 26% increase since 2011.

Farmers Vs Animal Justice

The Bill is driving farmers into economic strains, pushing them to commit environmental and cruelty crimes, and further create an unjust food system. The Government is not helping them to reverse environmental damage or shift agriculture towards fruit, vegetable, and protein crop production.

Whilst farmers and animal justice communities have long had a rocky relationship, this is an opportunity to build relationships. Farmers play a key role in our transition towards a just and sustainable plant-based food system. We need to work with them to address the animal and climate crisis.

Therefore, Animal Rebellion stands in solidarity with UK Farmers against the Agricultural Bill 2020 and to build relationships to move towards a just, sustainable plant-based food system.

The post Why Is Animal Rebellion Standing with UK Farmers first appeared on Animal Rebellion.