Activists Storm Office of U.K. Hedge Fund to Protest Cargill
Activists Storm Office of U.K. Hedge Fund to Protest Cargill
(Bloomberg) -- Animal rights activists stormed the London offices of credit hedge fund CarVal Investors to protest the environmental practices of agribusiness giant Cargill Inc.
A video posted by Animal Rebellion on Twitter showed demonstrators streaming into the lobby of CarVal on Thursday. The activist group incorrectly claimed they were at Cargill’s head office in London, calling it “the worst company in the world for environmental destruction.”
Cargill’s main U.K. office is in Weybridge, Surrey, about 30 miles from London. It founded CarVal in 1987, but agreed to sell it in a management buyout last month. Cargill remains invested in the funds. CarVal oversees about $10 billion in corporate securities, loans, structured credit and hard assets.
Climate change activists have organized demonstrations across London this week, disrupting flights and paralyzing traffic in the city. The groups are calling for immediate and drastic action to cut fossil fuel emissions and overhaul environmental policies in response to what they see as a “climate emergency.”
“We went to the offices to protest about the huge amounts of money that goes into supporting animal agriculture,” said Alex Lockwood, a spokesman for Animal Rebellion, a group that wants the government to end livestock farming and transition to more sustainable plant-based foods. “Our food system is broken. We need to reinvent it.”
Meat producers are facing increased pressure as scientists say the industry is a major contributor to methane emissions and deforestation. In July, Cargill said it intends to reduce its climate footprint and cut greenhouse gas intensity by 30% across its North American beef supply chain by 2030.
Cargill said disruption caused by the CarVal protest was minimal. “Cargill is committed to conducting our business in a safe, responsible and sustainable way,” according to a statement released by the company. A representative for CarVal wasn’t immediately available for comment.
--With assistance from Richard Bravo.
To contact the reporter on this story: Agnieszka de Sousa in London at atroszkiewic@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Lynn Thomasson at lthomasson@bloomberg.net, Rakteem Katakey
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