Vegan activists protested at the inauguration of Brazil’s new president Jair Bolsonaro on January 1 in Toronto.

The campaigners included high-profile vegan activist Anita Krajnc, a member of Toronto Climate Save and Extinction Rebellion, alongside around 50 others, who held signs saying: “Go vegan or we die.”

They were protesting Bolsonaro’s plans to expand animal agriculture in the world’s largest rainforest – as well as his proposals to reduce enforcement of environmental protection laws.

Go vegan

As a result of these proposals, the activists want Bolsonaro to ditch animal products for the month.

Krajnc told Canadian channel CTVnews: “We challenge President Bolsonaro to sign up for Veganuary.

“If Bolsonaro went vegan, he would not contemplate cutting down the precious Amazon rain forest,” she said, adding that animal agriculture is a major threat to the Amazon.

‘Game over’

But this demo was not enough, said Krajnc, who told Plant Based News that further actions are necessary to stop Bolsonaro’s plans.

“It’s game over if this goes ahead,” she said.