Animal Rebellion plans G7 action to shift focus to animal agriculture
Next week, the leaders of the world’s seven biggest economies will gather in Cornwall for the G7 Summit. Animal activists will be there to greet them.
The G7 is made up of the UK, USA, Canada, Japan, Germany, France and Italy, as well as the EU and this year’s guest countries Australia, India, South Korea and South Africa. The leaders will meet from June 11 to 13 in Carbis Bay, Cornwall, to “help the world fight, and then build back better from coronavirus and create a greener, more prosperous future.” Tackling climate change and preserving the planet’s biodiversity will be a policy priority.
Dozens of activist groups, some of which are part of the Resist G7 coalition including the Campaign Against Climate Change and Cornwall Youth Climate Alliance, are planning to carry out demonstrations, direct action, and a Mass Day of Action in Cornwall during the Summit to resist the capitalist agenda of the G7 and to pressure leaders to take concrete action on the climate and ecological emergency (CEE).
Animal Rebellion will be there to make sure that the animal welfare and environmental harms of animal agriculture are not forgotten.
“G7 is really setting the scene for [UN Climate Conference] COP 26 in November,” says Ben Newman from the Animal Rebellion Actions Team. “Animal agriculture is always left out of these things.” The job of Animal Rebellion, he says, is to communicate the message that addressing the harms of animal agriculture must be considered as part of environmental and climate action.
In Cornwall, Animal Rebellion will join a march on the first day of the Summit, hold non-violent direct action (NVDA) trainings at their camp, and build on their recent actions against McDonald’s to demand that the fast-food chain make its menu fully plant-based. On May 22, activists blockaded four McDonald’s distribution centres supplying what they say is around 1,300 McDonald’s restaurants across the UK. Last week, Animal Rebellion stepped up its disruption of McDonald’s business by staging a ‘McSit-in’ at the Leicester Square branch, occupying the restaurant’s outdoor seating for over two hours, after all, West End McDonald’s branches preemptively shut their indoor seating to prevent planned sit-ins from going ahead. More McSit-ins are planned for the G7 Summit.
“We will certainly be using G7 as an opportunity to get people from around the country doing it together,” says Newman, “to then take home and for it to turn into a weekly direct action campaign, so it causes material and economic disruption but it's also a form of outreach and momentum building.”
As for the group’s demands to the G7 regarding animal agriculture, in summary, they are:
tell the truth about the significant contribution of animal agriculture to the CEE;
act now to transition to a just and sustainable plant-based food system and restore degraded ecosystems;
create citizens assemblies to help create a roadmap to a healthy, sustainable and just food system for all.
The full demands can be read here.
The G7, which will prioritise “tackling climate change and preserving the planet’s biodiversity” and “strengthening our resilience against future pandemics”, is happening hot on the heels of recent positive moves from G7 members France and the EU regarding plant-based foods. Last week, EU lawmakers rejected Amendment 171, a draft bill which would have banned producers of plant-based dairy alternatives from using terms such as “creamy” and “buttery” and from sharing any similarities with dairy products in their marketing and packaging. A couple of days later, France’s environment minister Barbara Pompili revealed that the climate and resilience bill currently under consideration will see meat taken off school menus at least one day a week, vegetarian options standardly included in public catering, and chefs trained in plant-based cooking.
But there is no indication yet in the communications from the G7 Summit, such as the statement on the ‘green recovery’ from the UK’s Chancellor Rishi Sunak, that the leaders grasp the centrality of phasing out animal agriculture to achieving the Summit’s aims. That is why the presence of Animal Rebellion, among other climate and environmental groups, will be so important to keep that message front and centre.
For individuals wanting to help spread the message and see change happen, Newman recommends that, apart from going vegan, the most impactful thing they can do is “taking part in direct action”, such as organising or participating in sit-ins, or lobbying councils to shift local institutions to plant-based menus. “Anyone who knows anything about the subject will find they know a lot more about animal agriculture, veganism, or even diet than almost any councillor,” he says. “So I'd say councils are a great place to influence and actually see tangible change which will motivate you to do more.”
If you want to join Animal Rebellion in Cornwall you can follow their Facebook page for updates or subscribe to their newsletter.
Claire Hamlett is a freelance journalist, writer and regular contributor at Surge. Based in Oxford, UK, Claire tells stories that challenge systemic exploitation of and disregard for animals and the environment and that point to a better way of doing things.
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