At around 10:00, 5 individuals blocked Westminster Bridge by Parliament
2 of the individuals, dressed as Rishi Sunak and a representative of animal farming and fishing respectively, staged a candlelit Valentine’s dinner on the road. Animal Rebellion claims this is to highlight the way the Government is ‘in love’ with industries causing the climate and ecological crises.
Others also displayed a large banner nearby reading “Love To All”, in a message calling on the Government to make the decision to invest in a plant-based future that tackles the issues of the current food system.
This comes ahead of an expected statement from environmental group ‘Just Stop Oil’ outside Downing St at 11:00
In a Valentine’s Day protest, supporters of Animal Rebellion have taken action at the iconic bridge in Westminster. The group is calling on Rishi Sunak and the Government to “share the love” and stop issuing animal farming and fishing subsidies, and instead invest in the transition to a plant-based food system.
Joshua Lane, 25, an engineer from Derbyshire said:
“This Valentine’s Day we’re calling on the Government to get out of its toxic relationship with animal farming and fishing and, instead, show commitment to tackling the climate and ecological emergencies with a plant-based food system.
Rishi Sunak could lead the way towards a world where humans and nonhumans alike are free from the worst impacts of climate breakdown, in a nation of animal lovers it’s the only sensible choice.”
Despite recent reforms being announced to farming subsidies, it still appears to favour larger animal farmers over independent and plant-based producers, receiving criticism from the Shadow Environment Secretary [1]. The University of Oxford reported that the global approach to farming subsidies, with an emphasis on rewarding environmentally harmful meat and dairy, needed to be revised [2].
A 2019 Harvard University report on UK farmland and food production from Helen Harwatt and Matthew N. Hayek also concluded that the UK would be carbon-negative if it completely transitioned to a plant-based food system [3].
Whilst Rishi Sunak was Chancellor of The Exchequer, it is reported that he consistently voted against climate measures and participated in actively cutting money available for a mass insulation programme [4]. It was also revealed last year that he accepted donations connected to oil and gas, displaying financial ties to industries damaging to the environment [5].
The action comes as part of Animal Rebellion’s demands for a plant-based future, which were announced on (23/5/22) [6]. The animal and climate justice group is urging wholesale governmental and societal support for farmers and fishing communities to transition to a plant-based food system and programme of rewilding that will secure a future for generations to come.
Animal Rebellion is a mass movement using nonviolent civil disobedience to call for a just, sustainable plant-based food system.
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