Animal Rights Activists to Chipotle:

Every Animal is “Someone, Not Something”

Activists Nationwide to Protest Company’s Violent Practices

Berkeley, November 17, 2013 – Today, animal rights advocates in eleven cities in the U.S. and Canada held choreographed displays to protest Chipotle’s violence against animals. Activists with the grassroots animal liberation network Direct Action Everywhere converged in Chipotle restaurants and displayed images of individual animals with the words, “Someone, Not Something.” As part of a recently launched campaign, “It’s Not Food. It’s Violence,” the animal liberation group seeks to shift public perception so that animals are seen as individual beings who have thoughts, feelings and desires, not just objects and food sources.

“Chipotle makes many claims about how much they care about the animals they exploit and kill for food,” protester Mina Pham said. “But would you kill someone you cared for and respected as an individual, and then sell their body?”

Chipotle has marketed its food as “unconditionally loved” and made “with integrity.” The activists call this “humane washing,” a reference to “greenwashing” by corporations who market their products as environmentally friendly, when in reality they are not. Recent press scrutiny, the activists say, has noted that Chipotle’s marketing is inconsistent with its actual practices. Further, they point out that even meat industry publications have reported that, despite its professed concern for animal welfare, Chipotle purchases meat from the same concentrated animal feedlot operations (so-called “factory farms”) as other buyers.

Activists in the Bay Area, San Diego, Phoenix, Chicago, New Jersey, Los Angeles, Houston, Santa Cruz, Vancouver and other cities joined the protest against Chipotle, demanding the company end its support for violence against animals and its misleading marketing.

In the United States alone, approximately 10 billion animals (not including fish and other sea animals) are killed annually for food and millions more for leather, fur, and other “textiles.” Thousands of animals are held captive in zoos and other entertainment industries. The number of animals used annually for vivisection is at least 1 million, according to the USDA, but the industry is not required to report its use of rodents, which comprise 80-90 percent of the animals used.

Direct Action Everywhere is a network of animal rights activists working to challenge speciesism throughout society. We use creative protest to challenge the use of animals for food, clothing, experimentation, and entertainment. Visit Direct Action Everywhere on facebook and at directactioneverywhere.com . Follow us on Twitter @DxEverywhere.

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