What makes a person get up before dawn, travel to an unremarkable factory outside Scunthorpe in the north of England with other activists and storm a rooftop, ‘lock on’ outside the gates or affix oneself to the top of a bamboo tower or van as part of a three-day blockade? We spoke to three activists to find out.

On a dark Thursday morning earlier this month, a group of climate and animal justice activists launched a bold plan to take on the ‘great enemy’. The tactics were simple - blockade the entrance to a factory that to many would seem like any other - yet their demands if realised would have world-changing implications: go plant-based by 2025, McDonald’s.

Camera in hand, we travelled over to the OSI Food Solutions factory on the outskirts of Scunthorpe in Lincolnshire, where an estimated three million burgers are produced every single day supplying every McDonald’s franchise restaurant in the UK. In fact, according to Animal Rebellion, the animal and climate justice group responsible for the blockade, OSI is the only supplier of patties made from cows’ flesh to McDonald’s making it the perfect target when looking to send a strong message about an industry that exploits animals and the environment.

“Skittle”

Q: Tell us why we’re all here?

We're here peacefully blockading the only McDonald’s burger distribution centre in the UK to peacefully send a message that we want them to go plant-based by 2025. They represent the cruelty and fragility of our food system. They've become this monolith of a corporation that is raping our planet and destroying so many animals. The conditions that these animals live in is just horrific. There's absolutely no standard of care. They are a product from the moment they’re bought into this world as babies to the moment that they're taken out.

We’re here for the environment as well. Just in the last few days, we’ve had news of the terrible flooding - many people died or have gone missing. Then you've got Greenland melting and the Amazon emitting more carbon than it’s sequestering. McDonald's is just the perfect representation of all of that.

They already have the infrastructure, the money and the resources. All they have to do is switch the animal products to plant-based alternatives. That is all we are asking them to do. And yes, our approach is a peaceful one because we believe that we cannot fight hate with hate or violence with violence. We need to be better and rise above that. 

Q: Is peaceful, non-violence really the right approach?

The peacefulness has really helped us because the police just don’t know how to react to our non-violence. They’re so used to people confronting them and they just respond with the same force. But because we are just this very loving and supportive community, they don't know how to respond. They know that if they are violent to us, the public will be on our side. And if they do nothing, then we can continue spreading our message. I'm here for the animals because they are my main motivation for everything that I do.

Q: We understand that you were one of the activists on the van?

My buddy “Cauliflower” and I climbed on at 3am yesterday morning and stayed there until a couple of hours ago. So about 30 hours, and we slept there last night. It's been an incredible experience. Honestly, I think the hardest part of the whole experience was the abuse from the locals because they see us coming with a message they don't agree with and take it so personally. Consuming animals is so ingrained in our culture, within our families and in our everyday lives. I think people have this visceral reaction that they just want to hate us.

People came here to throw meat at us and people were getting quite violent. Ironically, the police actually had to be our protectors. There were these three men in a car, they drove past with a dismembered pig's head stuck out the window. That was very distressing. I don't mind the shouts, it’s more that you know the animal meant nothing to them. That was really intense.

Q: When you see something like that and you're confronted with that visceral, almost hatred, how do you get past that?

My initial reaction, obviously, is to be hurt, but then I just feel sad for them because it's not really them as people. We can't be angry, it's the system that they’ve grown up in. They can’t actually see an alternative. So when they are shouting “get a job” or “fuck off stinky hippies” I feel like, honestly, deep down that they envy that we have this peaceful and supportive community.

Maybe they want to be a part of that, but they don't know how to break out of this paradigm that they are stuck in. I honestly just feel really sympathetic for those people, because I want everyone to be able to experience something like this. I want everyone to know what it's like to live by your morals, it feels so good and freeing. I know that those people are going to go home and they're going to eat pigs and cows and ruin their own bodies, ruin their families, and also those animals’ lives. It's not a way to live for people. I'm here for those people as well, I want them to break out of the vortex of hatred.

Q: To anyone sitting at home who knows that McDonald's and animal farming is bad, but aren’t ready to come down here and help, what would you say to them?

I would say, firstly, it's amazing that you're vegan, and thank you so much. But second of all, I was like that too. When you first go vegan you're outside of the activist world. I would say just join your local Animal Save, Animal Rebellion or other grassroots group and if you ever feel like you are an outcast in your community for being vegan, you will meet so many friends and feel normal again. If you join an activist movement, you will feel empowered to make change, you really feel like you're making a difference.

Even if McDonald's never goes plant-based, you will know that you made a difference and you stood up for what you believe in. When you find yourself in this world, you won't be able to go back.

Q: What would you say to those animal rights activists who say we shouldn’t be asking for McDonald’s to go plant-based but rather an end to corporate exploitation?

I would say that it’s a means to an end. Most people don't have an anti-corporate mindset and we need to be as inclusive as we possibly can. Even though what McDonald's is doing is horrible, there are a lot of people out there with full-time jobs and kids who need that fast, cheap, accessible option. McDonald's could be just that, as long as they're selling healthy and peaceful food, because many people can't just shop at Whole Foods or a farmers’ markets. That's how we're going to bring veganism to the masses.

Q: As someone once said to me, when McDonald’s goes vegan, that’s when we know we’ve won. Would you agree with that?

Absolutely, if McDonald's went totally vegan, everyone would follow suit. I've heard there was a vegan Burger King in Germany, which I think is great, but also I don't know if that's just greenwashing. That’s the tricky thing.

Q: You’ve talked about receiving hate from the public, but have you had any positive interactions?

When we were on top of the van we had a lot of lovely conversations with people. One that really stood out in my mind was one with someone walking by who said he worked for two years at this burger distribution factory. He told us about the horrific working conditions. He asked for a normal working contract and they let him go because of that. He said that when he did eventually leave, his co-workers and his boss messaged him awful things, calling him a “freak” and a “fucking idiot” for having a different opinion to them.

He also told us some really harrowing sanitary facts about what goes on inside, such as that the meat they get delivered could be eight or nine months old and it's frozen, not ‘fresh’. They don't care, and when they ask whether they should be doing health checks, they say that they've already been done. He said that the pig flesh that gets delivered sometimes has faeces on it and they just cut it off. That is the food that people are being sold and McDonald's doesn't give a shit. 

It's just really, really sad. Because he's a migrant worker, he had no other choice. People will say that there's always a choice, but I think that's just a very privileged mindset when he has a family to care for. There are a lot of young workers in there straight out of school or college, he said. They'll go there and then they get sucked into it and then it's the only job that they can do. I am here primarily for the animals, but I want to say that I'm here for the workers too because McDonald's also oppresses them. As much as the animals are just meat, to McDonald’s the workers are just hands to pack burgers. 

Never miss an article

Stay up-to-date with the weekly Surge newsletter to never miss an article, media production or investigation. We respect your privacy.

“Charlie”

Q: Animal exploitation is everywhere, so why McDonald’s?

McDonald's activities are causing so much devastation. If we can convert the world to a plant-based food system then we reduce the problem significantly. We’re here to highlight the facts that the world is waking up to, and to give climate scientists more confidence to tell people what's going on. I'm obviously a lot older than the young people here, but they are giving up their freedoms to show that they really do care. I’m here to support them, anything that helps.

Q: How have you found the reaction from the public and passers-by?

It’s been a mixed bag and it seems to be 50/50. People are becoming more aware all the time and how much of a problem the climate is. You only have to read the newspapers to see that - 49 degrees celsius in some parts of the world is unprecedented. Just cars passing by, there have been some people swearing at us, but others giving food and support. Even that balance is reassuring.

Q: The Extinction Rebellion environmental message has sometimes been at odds with Animal Rebellion’s full set of demands. What can you say about that?

I would say that we're getting there with the environmental movement. They've become very aware of us within the core group and at the recent G7 rebellion in Cornwall, they were shocked by how many Animal Rebellion people were arrested and were affronted. They saw it clearly as an injustice really, and because of that, they began to understand the message and what we're about.

In a sort of tacit admission, the latest redraft of the XR demands and principles now includes species which has never happened before. You can never satisfactorily say that’s because of us, but yes, it’s probably because there has been a push in that way.

Q: Can you see McDonald’s going plant-based by 2025?

They've got a massive production system going so it's probably a big ask for us to imagine, but somewhere in McDonald's there are directors with children and they'll be reading this stuff and now know that they're killing their own kin.

“Rain”

Q: Why do you think McDonald’s is a good target for this action?

McDonald's is not only a massive corporation but a massive symbol too. It represents a system that is completely corrupt and needs to change. Even if we ignore the animal suffering and remove that from the equation, we need to go plant-based to have a sustainable future. That's not just my opinion, that's what scientists are saying. McDonald's has the power and resources to do that and have a massive cultural impact. We're starting here because they have the power to create massive change.

Q: Isn’t calling for a plant-based menu just a recipe for green capitalism?

In an ideal world, McDonald's wouldn't exist. Even going plant-based there will still be so many issues. We've talked about the worker exploitation side of things and there's so much that needs to change, but this is a starting point. We just need action to happen and quickly. I'm not saying that McDonald’s going plant-based would be the end of it and everything would then be okay, but it's the beginning of a transition. 

Q: How has the public reacted to your message?

It's been a mix. I wouldn't say that they’re all happy we're here, but they're not all angry either. We've had some really lovely people being supportive, bringing us water and asking what we need. And then yes, we've also had some less positive responses. But on the whole, I've been surprised. I don't expect everyone to go out and become a vegan activist, but people have laughed and said to me that they now have things to think about. And that's what we want - to plant those seeds of change.

There was like a group of guys who were really hostile yesterday and were just hanging out sort of frightening people. They ended up coming towards me and I expected it to be a horrible negative interaction, but they just asked why we were here. It led to a conversation where they ended up really listening. They said they felt that nothing was going to change, but we talked about the history of fighting for change, women’s votes, equal rights, and so on.

Q: Have you spoken to any of the workers?

We've actually spoken to a lot of people who used to work here, coming to show their support and tell us about how horrible the working conditions were when they were here. We haven’t spoken so much to the people that currently work here, because we wanted to make sure no one was trapped inside when we blockaded, hence the 3am start. There were a couple of workers who were here before we arrived, so we made sure they were able to get out, and a manager who spoke to us yesterday, but that’s the most interaction we’ve had. McDonald’s and OSI don’t seem to want to speak to us.

Q: What would you say to anyone who doesn’t see the point in this blockade?

I'd say that individual change is great, but it's not enough. What we need is wide-scale systemic change, the problem that faces us is just so much bigger than I think any of us can fathom. And to be able to even stand a chance to fight against it, whether you care about climate change or whether you care about the masses of animal exploitation and suffering, which are so interlinked. I don't think you can address one without the other.

In order to make a change, what we need is system change. We can write petitions, we can talk to politicians, we can do whatever we want, but the truth is they're not listening and they're not acting fast enough. We need to take drastic action, and that's why we're here. That's why we do what we do.

Visit animalrebellion.org

Andrew Gough is Media and Investigations Manager for Surge.

Your support makes a huge difference to us. Supporting Surge with a monthly or one-off donation enables us to continue our work to end all animal oppression.

LATEST ARTICLES