Deliveries from Arla’s Aylesbury distribution centre are facing major delays after vegan climate activists blockaded all entrances and exits this morning (31 August).
Around 50 activists from Animal Rebellion, which is affiliated to climate campaign group Extinction Rebellion, blocked the gates to Arla’s DC, at around 5am.
The protesters locked on to bamboo structures and concrete barricades to prevent lorries from gaining access. Other campaigners are chained to a van with a banner stretched across one side reading “Plant-based by 2025”.
The protestors say they are there to highlight the recent report from the United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPPC), which has identified the need for drastic action on greenhouse gas emissions including methane to prevent serious climate breakdown. Methane is a major by-product of animal farming. They are demanding that Arla switches entirely to plant-based foods by 2025.
Read more
An Animal Rebellion spokesman said: “Companies like Arla claim to be leading the way in tackling the climate crisis, yet until these big multinationals start to talk seriously about the inevitable need to transition our food system to one that is plant-based, their words are empty.”
Arla said it was a farmers’ cooperative committed to producing dairy products in the most sustainable way possible, pointing to its plans to reach net zero emissions by 2050.
The company is working with the police to limit the impact of this demonstration to its customers and local community.
“We have managed to complete our morning shift changeover and all colleagues are safe. However, access to the site for our larger vehicles is being blocked,” a spokesperson added.
