Guest guest Posted February 8, 2002 Report Share Posted February 8, 2002 Dear Friends, Yesterday afternoon, Bruce Friedrich, Senior Campaign Coordinator for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, held a press conference in San Francisco to launch PeTA's boycott of Pleasanton-based Safeway corporation and its subsidiaries. As reported in USA Today, the SF Chronicle, and the Contra Costa Times, the boycott marks the collapse of 16 months of negotiations with Safeway, in which PeTA implored the corporation to implement and enforce minimum welfare standards for its suppliers of animal products, similar to those adopted by McDonald's, Burger King, and Wendy's. In a moving presentation to press, Friedrich catalogued evidence of egregious abuse of farmed animals obtained by PeTA's investigators working undercover at the factory farms and slaughterhouses supplying Safeway with meat, eggs, and dairy. Particularly horrendous was the footage from a pig facility in Oklahoma where pigs were being beaten, kicked, slammed to the floor, and bludgeoned with hammers. The Food and Social Justice Project announced its support of PeTA's boycott, and its commitment to holding regular leafleting demos at Safeway stores throughout the Bay Area (please stay tuned for our plan of action!). Alfredo Kuba was also on hand to offer the presentation in Spanish. You can learn more about the boycott at http://www.Shameway.com During our leafleting campaign outside of Burger King, we commonly heard comments from passersby who indicated that they did not eat at fast food restaurants, implying that they were therefore not responsible for the really awful abuses we were discussing. The shift to focus on a grocery chain will really drive home the point that systematic abuse of animals is standard agricultural practice on factory farms, on feedlots, on stockyards, in transportation, and in slaughterhouses. Focussing on one corporation (Safeway) and focussing on the most egregious abuses (gestation crates for pigs, forced molting, debeaking of hens, debilling of ducks, skinning and dismembering of animals who are still fully conscious, and so on) helps secure the public attention that these issues sorely need. We all know that the real solution to these problems is for consumers to simply embrace a vegan diet. But, until the media is willing to spend any serious time on these systemic problems, the mainstream of the population will remain undereducated on the issues. Campaigns like the Safeway boycott bring the concerns of animals (and the associated environmental, public health, and labor concerns) to the table and enable a national debate on the issues. You can help by getting involved at a grassroots level. The Food & Social Justice Project will be coordinating protests and leafleting actions throughout the Bay Area (this is the home of Safeway HQ, and where they will feel the heat the most!). The leafleting actions will be similar to those conducted on a weekly basis outside of the Burger King at Market & Powell. We will be polite, respectful, and entirely nonviolent. People will be invited to participate as they please (you may leaflet, engage passersby in conversation, or simply hold a sign). If you do not wish to participate in a public demonstration, please write to Safeway corporation (you can get contact info/addresses, etc. from http://www.Shameway.com). Safeway executives need to know that there is a groundswell of support for the PeTA boycott right here in the Bay Area. And, of course, you can offer your support by taking your consumer dollars to places other than Safeway. In San Francisco, vegetarian co-op Rainbow is not only a wonderful place to purchase groceries - it's also a social haven where one can run into friends and comrades! In Berkeley, Berkeley Bowl has the best variety and abundance of fabulous produce anywhere. Albertson's, Bell Market, Trader Joe's, farmer's markets, and the myriad of independent neighborhood grocery stores that constitute the backbone of our communities are all fantastic alternatives to Safeway. Remember, every dollar you take away from Safeway is a vote for the animals who truly cannot advocate on their own behalf. Thanks so much. Best regards, Alka Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 11, 2002 Report Share Posted February 11, 2002 Thanks for passing this on. I'm interested in leafletting at some Safeway stores in S.F. Is anyone interested in joining me at the stores in the Richmond District? There's one on Cabrillo and 7th Avenue and one on Fulton near Ocean Beach. It would be nice if we could get a group together to do this... , " Chandna, Alka " <alka.chandna@s...> wrote: > Dear Friends, > > Yesterday afternoon, Bruce Friedrich, Senior Campaign Coordinator for People > for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, held a press conference in San > Francisco to launch PeTA's boycott of Pleasanton-based Safeway corporation > and its subsidiaries. As reported in USA Today, the SF Chronicle, and the > Contra Costa Times, the boycott marks the collapse of 16 months of > negotiations with Safeway, in which PeTA implored the corporation to > implement and enforce minimum welfare standards for its suppliers of animal > products, similar to those adopted by McDonald's, Burger King, and Wendy's. > > In a moving presentation to press, Friedrich catalogued evidence of > egregious abuse of farmed animals obtained by PeTA's investigators working > undercover at the factory farms and slaughterhouses supplying Safeway with > meat, eggs, and dairy. Particularly horrendous was the footage from a pig > facility in Oklahoma where pigs were being beaten, kicked, slammed to the > floor, and bludgeoned with hammers. The Food and Social Justice Project > announced its support of PeTA's boycott, and its commitment to holding > regular leafleting demos at Safeway stores throughout the Bay Area (please > stay tuned for our plan of action!). Alfredo Kuba was also on hand to offer > the presentation in Spanish. > > You can learn more about the boycott at http://www.Shameway.com > > During our leafleting campaign outside of Burger King, we commonly heard > comments from passersby who indicated that they did not eat at fast food > restaurants, implying that they were therefore not responsible for the > really awful abuses we were discussing. The shift to focus on a grocery > chain will really drive home the point that systematic abuse of animals is > standard agricultural practice on factory farms, on feedlots, on stockyards, > in transportation, and in slaughterhouses. Focussing on one corporation > (Safeway) and focussing on the most egregious abuses (gestation crates for > pigs, forced molting, debeaking of hens, debilling of ducks, skinning and > dismembering of animals who are still fully conscious, and so on) helps > secure the public attention that these issues sorely need. > > We all know that the real solution to these problems is for consumers to > simply embrace a vegan diet. But, until the media is willing to spend any > serious time on these systemic problems, the mainstream of the population > will remain undereducated on the issues. Campaigns like the Safeway boycott > bring the concerns of animals (and the associated environmental, public > health, and labor concerns) to the table and enable a national debate on the > issues. > > You can help by getting involved at a grassroots level. The Food & Social > Justice Project will be coordinating protests and leafleting actions > throughout the Bay Area (this is the home of Safeway HQ, and where they will > feel the heat the most!). The leafleting actions will be similar to those > conducted on a weekly basis outside of the Burger King at Market & Powell. > We will be polite, respectful, and entirely nonviolent. People will be > invited to participate as they please (you may leaflet, engage passersby in > conversation, or simply hold a sign). If you do not wish to participate in a > public demonstration, please write to Safeway corporation (you can get > contact info/addresses, etc. from http://www.Shameway.com). Safeway > executives need to know that there is a groundswell of support for the PeTA > boycott right here in the Bay Area. > > And, of course, you can offer your support by taking your consumer dollars > to places other than Safeway. In San Francisco, vegetarian co-op Rainbow is > not only a wonderful place to purchase groceries - it's also a social haven > where one can run into friends and comrades! In Berkeley, Berkeley Bowl has > the best variety and abundance of fabulous produce anywhere. Albertson's, > Bell Market, Trader Joe's, farmer's markets, and the myriad of independent > neighborhood grocery stores that constitute the backbone of our communities > are all fantastic alternatives to Safeway. Remember, every dollar you take > away from Safeway is a vote for the animals who truly cannot advocate on > their own behalf. > > Thanks so much. > > Best regards, > Alka Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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