Weekly Leafleting Protests outside of Safeway grocery in SF, begi nning this Sunday!

[Guest guest]

Dear Friends,

 

The Food & Social Justice Project is pleased to be sponsoring weekly

leafleting protests of Safeway grocery stores beginning this Sunday, March

3rd, from 4 pm - 6 pm, and continuing every Sunday hence until the boycott

is called off. We've chosen the centrally located and easily accessible

Safeway store at Market & Church, in the heart of the Castro. The closest

BART station is the 16th & Mission Street BART station, which is a mere 0.69

miles away (12-15 minute walk through a really lovely neighborhood). Or, if

you ride the Muni, the N-Judah & the J-Church both go right by the Market &

Church intersection.

 

Everyone is welcome to join and participate in whatever nonviolent,

positive, friendly manner they see fit: (i) passing out leaflets - we'll be

passing out the specially made Shameway leaflets as well as copies of " Why

Vegan? " , " Vegetarian Living " and FSJP's own literature; (ii) holding signs

(general veg signs, along with other signs specifically targeting Safeway);

(iii) engaging passersby in discussion. After the leafleting, we'll head

over to a nearby veg-friendly restaurant (any suggestions?) to strategize,

tell jokes, exchange stories, and unwind.

 

In addition to the San Francisco protests at Market/Church, we are also

interested in coordinating protests in other parts of the Bay Area

(especially the East Bay, since Safeway is headquartered in Pleasanton) and

would be happy to support protests in other parts of the city. Please get in

touch with me if you'd like to help coordinate such efforts. Thank you.

 

As most of you are aware, PeTA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals)

launched the boycott of Safeway two and a half weeks ago, after 16 months of

negotiation with the corporation made it clear that Safeway was not serious

about improving conditions for the animals used in its Safeway Select,

Safeway and Lucerne products (meat, eggs, dairy). The boycott comes on the

heels of PeTA's immensely successful campaigns against fast food behemoths,

McDonald's, Burger King, and Wendy's.

 

From the press release announcing the PeTA boycott of Safeway:

" Despite the U.S. Senate's recent condemnation of slaughterhouse conditions,

Safeway has refused to take steps to ensure that its suppliers are not

dismembering fully conscious animals or engaging in other abuses.

 

Hens raised for Safeway are crowded into cages so small that they can't so

much as stretch one wing. To keep the hens from pecking each other due to

the stress of intensive confinement, suppliers slice off the birds' beaks

with searing blades. Breeding sows are confined to concrete stalls no larger

than their bodies, forcing the animals to lie nearly motionless for months

on end.

 

" We have undercover footage from one Safeway supplier showing pigs being

beaten, kicked, slammed to the floor, and bludgeoned with hammers, " says

Bruce Friedrich, PETA's Vegan Campaign coordinator. " We alerted Safeway to

these abuses, but the company continues to buy from the same cruel

supplier. "

 

Safeway, a Fortune 50 company, is one of the largest grocery chains in the

U.S. Safeway has U.S. sales three times greater than McDonald's and operates

1,750 stores in 20 states and four Canadian provinces. "

You can learn more about the boycott from http://www.shameway.com

Hope to see you all on Sunday!

Best regards,

Alka