Activists held a sit-in at a Sainsbury’s supermarket in Bristol to protest against animal husbandry and to promote a plant-based diet. Animal Rebellion members occupied the egg aisle at Sainsbury’s in Clifton Down Shopping Center for an hour.
Around 13 local supporters took part in the action, ahead of the end of DEFRA’s ‘free range grace period’ for English barn eggs which ends on Monday (Feb 27). They held banners calling for the UK to adopt a plant-based food system.
Many chickens bred to provide free-range eggs are now barn-raised for fear of bird flu. Producers were still allowed to label eggs “free range” during a 16-week grace period.
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But from next week they will have to be called barn eggs. The protesters carried banners calling on the UK to adopt a plant-based food system and said they were targeting Sainsbury’s because the supermarket chain sells more than half of the products guaranteed by the RSPCA in the UK.
They believe the label gives buyers false assurances about wellness standards. Bristol teacher Mia Bridges, 27, says she took part because she believes billions of animals are suffering around the world as a result of a faulty food system.
She said: “As a nation of animal lovers, we really have to ask ourselves why we are allowing cruel practices to continue when there is such a simple and kind alternative: a sustainable plant-based food system.”
Earlier this month, supporters of the same group put up posters in Bristol city center calling on people to put their love of animals into action on Valentine’s Day by choosing a plant-based future. The coordinated mass action includes similar protests in London, Nottingham, Exeter, Southampton and Liverpool.
Sainsbury’s issued a statement saying: “We are aware of some activity in our stores and are monitoring the situation. We have a variety of security measures in place to ensure our customers can safely shop with us.”
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