Berkeley City Counsel Agrees to make a 'Plan' to Stop Buying Animal Products
Animal Rights/Vegan Activist Strategies Article from All-Creatures.org

FROM Kitty Jones
Facebook post, July 29, 2021

Although this isn’t exactly what we wanted, it is still a huge victory for animals and the planet. Having the goal of 100% divestment in writing from Berkeley City Council sends a powerful message to the entire world that it is time to transition our food system.

One step closer! Berkeley will be divesting from animal by phasing out all city purchases of animal products. We have been organizing and working hard to get the city of Berkeley to be the first in the country to divest from the heinous, violent, and destructive industry that is animal agriculture. At first we were ignored and lied to until the point about two months ago that we were forced to start doing protests at city hall and in front of the mayors house, we even slept in front of the mayors house for one action. Suddenly we got the politician’s attention!

We were all gathered at City Hall when the Berkeley City Council voted yes on a plan to decrease city purchases of animal products by 50% by 2024, “with an eventual goal of a 100% shift to plant-based food products.” The city plans to determine the timeline for that end goal next year.

Although this isn’t exactly what we wanted, it is still a huge victory for animals and the planet. Having the goal of 100% divestment in writing from Berkeley City Council sends a powerful message to the entire world that it is time to transition our food system. Animal abusing industries are starting to recognize that their days are numbered.

We’ve seen Berkeley lead the way on animal rights before and create a ripple effect. When Berkeley passed the fur ban in 2017, that was a mostly symbolic victory as there was hardly any animal fur sold in Berkeley. But that victory inspired a major city, San Francisco, to ban fur the next year. And in 2019, the entire state of California followed suit, becoming the first state in the nation to ban fur. We hope to see divestment follow a similar trajectory and you can help us make it happen.

Come to the Animal Liberation Conference to get trained in everything from protest organizing to public speaking and grassroots lobbying. And if you can’t make it, stay tuned for a webinar on how you can bring divestment to your city.

Photos by @yanotereproduzcas and @rachel.z.photography

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