BREAKING: Animal Rebellion blockades McDonald’s only burger factory in the UK
Activists from Animal Rebellion have put up bamboo structures blockading McDonald’s only burger factory in the UK. | Credit: Animal Rebellion (via Instagram)
Animal and environmental justice group Animal Rebellion has targeted McDonald’s once again to demand it commit to transitioning to a plant-based menu by 2025. Activists have blockaded the fast-food giant’s only burger factory in the UK, disrupting the supply of three million cow patties per day to its UK franchises.
According to Animal Rebellion, around 100 protestors have set up bamboo structures, trucks and tents and launched a rooftop occupation to prevent deliveries in and out of the factory.
Animal Rebellion has called on people to “bring their tents” to the factory in Scunthorpe in the north of England, signalling their intentions to “stay as long as it takes until McDonald's commits to changing towards a plant-based menu”.
In a statement, Animal Rebellion urged “everyone to join the camp and protest against McDonald's for their track record of destroying the environment, poor labour conditions and animal exploitation.”
"There is no second chance in averting climate breakdown - we have just one opportunity to get this right,” said Professor Joy Carter, Emeritus Professor of Geochemistry and Health, University of Winchester. “We need to radically change our food system and it must start with the meat and dairy industry. Until we make large-scale systemic changes and move towards a plant-based food system, we will continue to destroy our planet.”
Animal Rebellion said they would end the blockade if McDonald’s “makes the first step” by committing to becoming 20 per cent plant-based within one year, but that the chain was “just a symbol of the system” being the entire animal agriculture industry.
Rose Patterson, a spokesperson for Animal Rebellion, 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 per cent of Amazon deforestation, at least 18 per cent 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."
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In May, Animal Rebellion blockaded four McDonald’s distribution centres, introducing its demand for a plant-based menu. In the months following, activists embarked on a campaign of peaceful sit-ins in McDonald’s restaurants in London and other cities to reiterate their call-to-action and inform the public.
Today’s action is a ramping up of their campaign against McDonald’s, seen by many as the foremost symbol of the animal exploitation industry. However, the group’s demands are backed by scientific research and peer-reviewed studies.
A 2019 EAT Lancet report stated that to feed 10 billion people we must reduce red meat and milk consumption by 90 per cent by 2050, while a 2018 study published in the journal Science, looking into the environmental impacts of food production, found that a plant-based food system could reduce land usage by 76 per cent and greenhouse gas emissions by 49% from current levels.
Quoting a prediction by independent thinktank RethinkX that 90 per cent of jobs in the meat and dairy industry in the US will be lost by 2035, Animal Rebellion claimed the same would happen in the UK.
"We can forecast similar impacts in the UK as the industry rapidly transitions to more sustainable options,” said Harley McDonald Eckersall from Animal Rebellion. “Not transitioning away from animal farming will mean economic and social damage, as we are going to see millions of people lose their jobs in the next decade. These are real people with real lives: McDonald's has a responsibility to bring about this change before the choice is taken out of their hands."
To join the action and call for a more sustainable food system, visit Animalrebellion.org.
Animal Rebellion says it will “stay as long as it takes until McDonald's commits to changing towards a plant-based menu.” | Credit: Animal Rebellion (via Instagram)
Andrew Gough is Media and Investigations Manager for Surge.
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