Activists with In Defense of Animals and Free from Harm staged a protest at the AgriPulse West Summit, at the Sheraton Grand Hotel in Sacramento, California on June 4, 2024. We took action to oppose the billion-dollar bailouts for animal agribusiness that continue to exploit and torment animals while putting us all at risk for another pandemic. Watch the video to see our disruption!

We intended to confront Karen Ross, Secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, during her speech. Word had gotten out to legislators and animal agribusiness executives about the numerous recent speak-outs on this issue around the country, like our previous action in San Francisco, California, and so this time we were unable to enter the ballroom. Thus, we did our disruption in the lobby and outside the hotel.

We are determined to raise awareness about the cruelty and corruption of all animal agribusiness. The breeding, confinement, and killing of animals for profit have led to this latest dangerous strain of H5N1 bird flu. Affecting 26 different kinds of mammals, it has not only jumped to dairy cows and wild animals, but has now infected several humans, killing at least one human so far.

In attempts to curb the spread of the virus, “ventilation shutdown” has now been used to “cull” over 66 million birds and counting by sealing off oxygen and pumping in heat, leaving the animals to slowly suffocate, roast, and die agonizing deaths over hours. The meat industry did the same to pigs in 2020. Now animal agribusiness is being given billions more in subsidies, paid by American taxpayers, to continue its cruel and destructive industry.

All of this is a symptom of the larger, underlying problem — viewing animals as resources for us. Regardless of how large or small the farms are, all animals used for food products are exploited, mutilated, and sent to slaughterhouses, or killed on the farms, at a fraction of their natural lifespans.  

Meanwhile, the largest body of nutrition experts in the world has stated that a whole-food, plant-based vegan diet is healthy and beneficial for all stages of life.

You can help support whistleblowers and activists using civil disobedience to stand up to the power holders of an unnecessary and unjust system. 

Sign our alert opposing harmful provisions in the Farm Bill to make your voice heard by Congress, and demand a slaughter-free, plant-based food system!

Prioritize compassion, non-violence, and justice; go vegan for the animals, yourself, and the planet. Download our Free Vegan Starter Guide.