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A California-based butchers shop is currently displaying an anti-meat sign in its window.
The sign at The Local Butcher in Berkeley says: “Attention: Animals’ lives are their right. Killing them is violent and unjust, no matter how it’s done.”
Animal activists
The move to display the sign was prompted by weekly demonstrations and negotiations with activists from the global grassroots animal rights network Direct Action Everywhere [DxE].
The group has described it as ‘the first victory for DxE’s new Facing the Truth campaign’. The campaign targets the farm-to-table movement and labels such as ‘humanely-raised’, ‘grass-fed’, and ‘cage-free’.
DxE organizer Matt Johnson said: “The idea behind the Facing the Truth campaign is to dispel the mythology behind meat.
“There’s no way to produce meat without cruelty, and DxE’s investigations have repeatedly shown that even ‘humane’ farms are sickeningly violent.”
Protest
According to local media, the shop’s owners agreed to post the sign after 12 weekly Sunday protests. Aaron and Monica Rocchino, owners of the Local Butcher Shop said: “It was the least offensive option that they gave us. It’s really not affecting us; it’s affecting our neighbors and our community.
The Rocchinos claim their business hasn’t been affected by the sign.
“If anything, (customers) say ‘this is ridiculous and we’re sorry that you’re being extorted that way’. It’s not going to change anyone’s mind,” she said. “They’ve put a lot of thought into where they’re getting their meat.”
‘Increasingly visible’
But according to DxE, animal rights activism has been increasingly visible with the Berkeley Animal Rights Center (ARC) opening last year. It’s the first community center for animal rights in the US.
Paul Darwin Picklesimer, manager at the Berkeley ARC, said: “When Berkeley leads, the nation follows.
“This is a special place with people who are committed to elevating the voices of the vulnerable. It’s an ideal launching pad for bold, progressive, and compassionate ideas, including the idea that animals are not ours to use.”
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