We from the Alliance Gemeinsam gegen die Tierindustrie have decided to sign the “Pacto Ecosocial del Sur”. It stands for a social, ecological, economic and intercultural pact for Latin America and we share several values aiming at profound social and economic change for a better world. The whole text from the “Pacto Ecosocial del Sur” and all signees can be found here.
The 2020 virus pandemic exposed how global social inequalities further disenfranchise the most vulnerable people. Care work is routinely performed by women without adequate recognition, very often unpaid. Refugees are held in dreadful conditions overseas and in border camps while seasonal workers are flown to Europe to harvest asparagus. Indigenous populations struggle since centuries against diseases and predatory extractivism in their own territories brought by white settlers and modern economic practices, such as mining and soy monoculture production. In the German context, low-paid immigrants and irregularized people are subject to terrible working conditions in slaughterhouses, sanctioned by precarious and exploitative sub-contracts.
In addition to all these exploiting relations sanctioned by capitalism, environmental limits are being reached. An economy oriented towards the greedy extraction of natural resources is fostered by Global North actors, whose effects in the Global South include deterritorialization of local populations, outspread pollution and ecosystems destruction, increase in food insecurity and deepening of social inequalities.
Therefore, we from the Alliance Gemeinsam gegen die Tierindustrie sign the pact in solidarity, working for and supporting climate and social justice movements regionally and internationally. We understand that global solidarity is the first tool when working for dismantling structural power asymmetries. This fight includes post-colonial and racial struggles, gender equality as well as animal liberation and climate justice. It is our view that a pro-intersectional approach is crucial to work for a more just world.
Building upon the points outlined by the “Pacto Ecosocial del Sur”, an agricultural shift towards a solidary, ecological and plant-based production is critical, to be organized in a way that neither harms others nor is oriented on profit. Stopping the animal industry is in our view a crucial move when fighting against climate change and a global capitalism exploiting people, animals and nature. More information about us and our values can be found here.