Activists from Animal Rebellion and local groups of Extinction Rebellion held the sit-in from noon on Saturday in St Marys Street Weymouth branch. Branded a McSit-in, they occupied areas of the restaurant for 2 hours.
Catherine Cannon, (43), a local climate activist at Saturday’s sit-in, said: “McDonald’s needs to transition to a fully plant-based menu to address the climate, ecological and animal destruction they cause on a daily basis.”
“McDonald’s and the wider intensive animal agriculture industry is responsible for huge levels of deforestation, and is a major driver of climate change. Investigations have shown that McDonald’s livestock feed comes from deforested areas of Brazil and Bolivia.”
“A fully plant-based McDonald’s may sound odd, but it is actually a very reasonable demand when we consider the scale of the crisis that we are facing.”
This action comes a month after Animal Rebellion, a sister organisation to Extinction Rebellion, blockaded all four of McDonald’s UK distribution centres, effectively shutting down the UK supply chain of the biggest fast food company in the world. 1,300 restaurants were affected by the blockades, which lasted between 19 – 30 hours.
Around 100 activists from Animal Rebellion used trucks and bamboo structures to blockade distribution sites at Hemel Hempstead, Basingstoke, Coventry and Heywood in Greater Manchester during the protest on 22nd May.
Catherine said: “The blockades of the distribution centres were just the beginning. We will keep putting pressure on McDonald’s until they talk to us and agree to address the damage they cause by transitioning to a plant-based menu”.
“We don’t want to spoil anyone’s lunch. A plant-based burger is a win-win-win for peoples’ health, animal welfare and the climate and ecological emergency, and advances in food technology are so good you can barely taste the difference. As the biggest fast food corporation in the world, McDonald’s has a responsibility to lead the way to a more sustainable future”.
Scientists widely agree that meat and dairy consumption are major contributors to climate breakdown. In his latest documentary, Sir David Attenborough said that “we must change our diets … the planet simply cannot support billions of meat-eaters”.
Jon Williams from Wyke Regis, Weymouth, another activist at the Weymouth sit-in, said: “We are in the middle of a climate and ecological emergency and we are still consuming huge quantities of meat on a scale that is just not sustainable for our planet. This has to stop.”
“I think this awful Covid pandemic has helped people realise that we cannot continue the way we have been. Destroying forests brings wildlife into closer contact with humans, enabling viruses to pass from animals to humans. The more forest that is destroyed, the greater the risk of a new pandemic.”
“Intensive animal farming also increases the spread of disease, and factory farming, where huge numbers of animals are crammed into small spaces and deprived of everything that makes life worth living, only exists to supply the demand for cheap meat, eggs and dairy products.
“What’s more, working conditions in the supply chain of animal products are very low. Slaughterhouse work has been linked to a variety of health disorders and workers in fast food chains including McDonald’s are often on zero-hour contracts and paid a low wage.”
Catherine added: “People have been holding McSit-ins across the country and we will keep coming back to make sure our message is heard.”
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