MP Is Hit with Chicks

As part of World Food Day on 16 October 2009, we were joined by Liberal Democrat MP John Leech and Chorlton councillor Paul Ankers in our office on Oldham Street. In this unique indoor picnic event, Mr Leech was invited to strike a blow against intensive farming by hitting an egg-shaped piñata. This giant papier-mâché egg contained hundreds of animal-shaped postcards which had been signed by his constituents in support of our Food Chain Campaign.

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John Leech MP has a smashing time cracking the
food chain, no yolk

During the course of the evening, guests were invited to savour delicious vegetarian and vegan dishes which were prepared by our volunteers using organic and Fairtrade ingredients. A short film was also shown, ʻKilling Fields: the battle to feed factory farmsʼ, which reveals the true cost of growing soy in South America. The film was produced by a coalition of campaign groups including Friends of the Earth, Food and Water Watch and Via Campesina.

Following the film screening, a lively discussion took place where guests talked about what actions the UK government and the EU must take in order to reduce the global environmental and social impacts of factory farming. The Food Chain Campaign highlights the link between factory farms and rainforest destruction to grow animal feed, and calls on MPs to fix the food chain by supporting small farmers and spending taxpayersʼ money only on planet-friendly farming.

We want each political party to promise to fix the food chain by including their commitment to planet-friendly farming in their election manifesto. The piñata event was the finale of our groupʼs summer of action, during which weʼve raised awareness at many of Manchester’s summer festivals and collected 672 postcards from local people who support the campaign.