Activists Protest for Animal Rights

  
Dozens of people rallied against Farmer John's meat packing plant Tuesday afternoon in protest of their treatment of animals.

"I'm going to cry, I love the animals," said Professor Linda Handelman. "I think what they are doing is completely wrong."

Holocaust survivor, organizer and founder of the Farm Animal Reform Movement (FARM), Alek Hershaft, said Farmer John's posts misleading signs similar to ones he saw in Auschwitz. He claims that Farmer John's is the largest producer of meat products in the West Coast.

"People need to be aware you can live a happy and healthy life without meat," he said. "There are signs or murals outside of Farmer John's that show happy pigs. Auschwitz had similar signs: 'Work is Freedom.'"

"I'm not saying that animals and people are the same but they have similar qualities," Hershaft said.

Several protestors claimed inhumane treatment of the animals, one man doesn't agree.

"I love bacon, I eat it everyday," said bystander Johnny Chinga. "We absolutely need it to grow and be healthy."

Farmer John's responded the protest saying, "Producing the highest quality brand-name foods and meat products for consumers throughout the world starts with industry-leading animal care practices. Since 1931, Farmer John has focused on treating animals humanely, simply because it is the right thing to do."

At the protest, Deanna Dylan Scott explained why she brought her child to Farmer John's.

"I think it is insulting to my intelligence. I brought my baby here to show her this mural is a lie," she said. "This is not how animals are really treated."

 World Animal Farm Day began in 1983 and is held annually to honor and celebrate the birth and non-violence ideals of Mahatma Gandhi. Protesters said Gandhi's message applies to and for the treatment of animals.