Text from Simone's speech at Shareholder Meeting

[Guest guest]

Dear Friends,

 

As promised, here's the text from the statement that Simone delivered at the

Safeway shareholder meeting last Thursday. Go, Simone!!

 

For the animals,

Alka

 

Statement for Shareholder Meeting

 

My name is Simone Spearman and I represent the Bay Area Food and Social

Justice Project - we are responsible for the cheerleaders in front of the

Marriott. I am a teacher and tutor of children who love animals and a

mother to a four-year old who adores animals.

 

The mainstream consciousness is changing on the issues of animal rights and

animal welfare. The Washington Post, in just the past few years, has done

front page stories on slaughterhouse and factory farm animal abuse.

 

The Washington Post reported on the fact that slaughterhouses in this

country routinely skin and dismember conscious animals who are screaming in

pain and fear as their skins are ripped from their backs and their limbs are

hacked off.

 

Later on, the Post tackled other issues, like the tiny crates that mother

pigs are forced to endure for their entire lives and the awful conditions

that egg-laying hens are forced to endure-as many as 11 crammed into sheds,

their beaks seared off with hot blades, their bodies starved for up to 14

days to shock them into another laying cycle.

 

The public consciousness is changing. Even the U.S. Congress passed

resolutions, in both the house and senate, has passed resolutions condemning

the USDA's refusal to implement humane standards for even cattle and pig

slaughter, which is its mandate.

 

Unfortunately, there are no Federal laws to protect animals on factory

farms, during transport, nor at slaughter. We hope that will change, but

until it does, it is up to large retail corporations to implement plans to

improve conditions for farmed animals.

 

On behalf of the Bay area based Food and Social Justice Project, I would

like to praise Safeway for being the first grocery chain, and the biggest

U.S. Corporation, to implement such standards.

 

In 1991, Safeway was the first grocery chain to promise not to test its

products on animals. Now, it's the first to promise humane standards for

farmed animals. The humane community is very pleased.

 

Thank you.