Well we do love vegan activism here at VV TV – peaceful of course and hitting the headlines for the right reasons.

Protestors from Animal Rebellion are targeting McDonald’s by blockading all four of their UK distribution centres, which supply approximately 1300 restaurants and serve 3.5 million customers each day.

  • 100+ Animal Rebellion protesters block depot sites for a combined 95 hours, causing significant disruption to McDonald’s food chain.
  • Fast food restaurants reportedly were forced to shut due to supply shortages.
  • Animal Rebellion says that McDonald’s is a symbol of the destruction caused by the animal agriculture industry. They are calling for a transition to a plant-based food system to stop the climate crisis and end the suffering of animals.

Animal Rebellion protestors calling for McDonald’s to switch to a plant-based menu by 2025 are getting their voices heard as several restaurants are reportedly forced to close.

The protestors, who are part of a mass movement using nonviolent civil disobedience to call for a sustainable plant-based food system, blockaded four of the fast food giant’s UK distribution centres for a combined 95 hours over the weekend.

It was part of a national action to call out the animal agriculture industry for their part in the global climate crisis, by causing economic disruption to the McDonald’s supply chain.

During the protests, around 100 protestors used trucks and bamboo structures at the distribution sites in Hemel Hempstead, Basingstoke, Coventry and Heywood to stop lorries from leaving depots. These depots supply approximately 1,300 restaurants and serve 3.5 million customers each day, according to McDonald’s.

Following the action, it was reported some restaurants were actually forced to close due to food shortages on Sunday, and many others had to remove options from their menus. Protesters who visited various McDonald’s restaurants were told “This is a nationwide problem” by McDonald’s staff.

Early week deals were also reportedly pulled as the chain felt the full effects of the action.

James Ozden, a spokesperson for Animal Rebellion, said: “This weekend’s successful action was about highlighting the serious impact that meat and dairy production is having on our climate and how we need to change our food system for a better future.

“The meat and dairy industry is destroying our planet: causing huge amounts of rainforest deforestation, emitting immense quantities of greenhouse gases and killing billions of animals each year. The only sustainable and realistic way to feed our population is with a plant-based food system. Organic, free-range and ‘sustainable’ animal-based options simply aren’t good enough.”

News of the action has travelled worldwide, from Sri Lanka to Sydney, emphasising the very prominent nature that chains like McDonald’s have in people’s everyday lives.

At each site, campaigners started their protest at 4am on Saturday morning, with all lasting until at least the early hours of Sunday morning.

For each site, protests lasted:

Coventry – 30 hours. No arrests and everyone packed down by 10am on Sunday morning.

Basingstoke – 20 hours. 8 protestors arrested and released by Sunday afternoon.

Hemel Hempstead – 21 hours. Final lock on was removed at 2.40am and 6 protestors were taken into custody at Hatfield and released by Sunday evening.

Manchester – 24 hours. No arrests and protestors packed down after 24 hours at 4am.

Following the action, Animal Rebellion will continue to demand that McDonald’s becomes fully plant-based by 2025. However, they say McDonald’s is just a symbol of the system they are trying to change, which is the entire animal agriculture industry.

To see Animal Rebellion original press release, click here. To join the rebellion and call for a more sustainable food system, visit their website now.