This past weekend, 80 concerned citizens were seen blocking downtown Kelowna traffic, in the name of “Canada’s Climate Crisis.”
In intervals of 7 minutes, climate activists occupied several main intersections in the downtown Kelowna core. They wore bright green shirts and held signs saying messages like, “less meat = less heat”.
It’s no coincidence that this climate protest landed on the same weekend of Kelowna’s Ribfest. The protestors held small signs reading “Boycott Ribfest” and “Canadian Climate Crisis” and spoke about how environmentally damaging events like Ribfest are, given the state of our planet.
Canada’s House Of Commons passed a motion, declaring a National climate emergency this past June. “The science surrounding our environment, and the correlation between animal farming and climate change, is solid. There is no debate anymore, animal agriculture is killing this planet, polluting our air, destroying our forests, using insane amounts of water, land, and resources, and emitting more greenhouse gas emissions that all transportation combined” stated Mika, an organizer with Kelowna Climate Save.
Amidst honking, yelling, and even a few thumbs-up’s, the group managed to successfully blockade the highway (Richter and Harvey) and an intersection downtown, right outside of RibFest’s main sponsor – Interior Savings (on Richter and Bernard).
The activists say that extreme times call for extreme action. “We are facing a climate emergency, and we need to act like it. The United Nations has stated that we have one year to reduce emissions or it’s over, but right now emissions are still increasing. We need to eliminate animal products from our diets for any of us to have a future. So long as we keep consuming meat, dairy, and eggs, our climate goals will be out of reach” stated an environmental protestor.
The group hopes that this weekend will be the last year that Ribfest will be coming to Kelowna. “Animal agriculture is rapidly and drastically heating our planet. The ice is melting, the oceans are rising, and we are facing the worse fires, floods, and droughts of recorded history. We need to make serious changes, including discontinuing Ribfest. We can choose to eat animals and contribute to environmental destruction, or we can choose to eat a vegan plant-based diet. Our choices matter,” says Mika.
The group says they will continue radical actions, like traffic blockades, so long as climate change is still an issue. “This year we had record-breaking water shortages, famine, and extreme weather on every continent. If we don’t do something now, we will reach the point of no return. We are desperate, and this planet is desperate. We will no longer tolerate events like Ribfest in our city, and we will continue to raise awareness and educate the public on what is happening. Our children’s future depends on it,” another protestor added.