On October 2nd, animal activist Maria Leonardi from the Detroit area gave an impassioned and memorable speakout about the lives of chickens in the chicken industry during a roadblock in front of the Tyson Headquarters in Chicago as part of a Week of Action that involved a coalition of groups including Slaughter Free Chicago, Animal Rebellion, PETA and DxE. She also produced a video of the event that we are presenting here.
On this day, we embarked on a march that included stops at four major animal agriculture corporate headquarters and ended at Chicago City Hall. While we were marching toward Tyson Food headquarters, two activists were doing a banner drop on the highway overpass that intersected the street in front of the building. As we stood outside of the Tyson Foods headquarters in Chicago, we were in the heart of a city that used to promote itself as the “slaughter capital of the world.” 15 slaughterhouses and live markets remain operating in the City. But, it is time that the City of Chicago divest from animal agriculture, as there has never been a more urgent time than the present in the midst of a pandemic that stems from our unnecessary exploitation of animals.
We are calling on city officials like the Chicago Department of Public Health Commissioner Allison Arwady, and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot to act on the urgent need to end the funding of animal agriculture in Chicago, as it endangers communities, workers, animals and the planet.
Please contact Dr. Allison Arwady at [email protected] and ask that she do her job and close down the slaughterhouses that have a track record of violating Chicago health codes. Then please contact Mayor Lori Lightfoot at [email protected] and ask her to quit ignoring these same slaughterhouses which are breeding grounds for zoonotic diseases within the City and close them down for the greater good of all of us.
