Timeline of Direct Action Everywhere

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This is a timeline of Direct Action Everywhere (DxE), an international grassroots network of animal rights activists headquartered in Berkeley, California.

Big picture

Time period Development summary
2003 – 2013 DxE co-founder Wayne Hsiung investigates slaughterhouses for ten years prior to founding DxE with the goal of scaling up open rescue and other forms of non-violent direct action.[1]
2013 < DxE starts its operations beginning in the San Francisco Bay Area. Soon the organization would expand both nationally and internationally with chapters in a growing number of cities.
Present time As of date, DxE activists have held demonstrations in over 30 countries and over 160 cities worldwide.[2]

Numerical and visual data

Google Scholar

The following table summarizes per-year mentions on Google Scholar as of December 14, 2021.

Year "Direct Action Everywhere"
2013 4
2014 8
2015 7
2016 8
2017 10
2018 14
2019 19
2020 20
Direct Action Everywhere gscho.png

Google Trends

The image below shows Google Trends data for Direct Action Everywhere (Topic), from January 2004 to January 2021, when the screenshot was taken. Interest in the topic is also ranked by country and displayed on world map.[3]

Direct Action Everywhere gt.jpg

Wikipedia Views

The chart below shows pageviews of the English Wikipedia article Direct Action Everywhere on desktop, mobile-web, desktop-spider, mobile-web-spider and mobile app, from July 2015; to January 2021.[4]

Direct Action Everywhere wv.jpg

Full timeline

Year Month and date Event type Details Location
2013 January Demonstration DxE's first action is conducted with a demonstration at a Sprouts' supermarket.[5]
2013 August Demonstration DxE activists organize the Los Angeles side of an international multi-city protest, The Earthlings March.[6] They list activities involving Whole Foods Markets, Chipotle Restaurants, Costco and others.[7] Los Angeles, California
2013 October Demonstration In response to a viral video produced by Chipotle called The Scarecrow, DxE organizes in-store “die-ins” at three San Francisco Chipotle restaurants.[8][9] Within a few weeks, copycat demonstrations are executed in Chicago, Los Angeles, Phoenix and Philadelphia. DxE would respond by creating a platform for coordinated global days of action under the “It’s Not Food, It’s Violence” message.[10] San Francisco, California
2014 October 1 Demonstration DxE issues the #DisruptSpeciesism viral video challenge, which would go viral.[11]
2014 October Controversy American conservative political commentator Glenn Beck publishes comments about liberal animal rights activists going too far, and adresses a DxE #DisruptSpeciesism viral video where activist Kelly Atlas goes into a chicken restaurant and tells the customers that they're eating a murdered being. Glenn criticizes the Atlas' discourse for humanizing farm animals.[12] As a response, Kelly Atlas replies to Beck as hateful, "in perfect human supremacist fashion, though with an interesting acknowledgement of how he was taught speciesism".[13]
2014 December Expansion DxE's network grows to at least 90 cities in 20 countries.[14]
2015 January Investigation DxE publishes video showing shocking mistreatment of animals at a "humane" Whole Foods supplier.[15] The story is covered in the New York Times[16] and progressive American magazine Mother Jones.[17]
2015 March 13 Interview Nonprofit Animal Charity Evaluators interview Wayne Hsiung, as part of their investigation of undercover investigations and open rescue.[18]
2015 September Demonstration DxE issues the #DogMeatPlease viral video challenge.[19]
2015 November Investigation DxE releases the results of investigation, documenting a Whole Foods turkey supplier that is the only farm to achieve the highest “5+” rating on Whole Foods’ animal welfare scheme.[20][21] That story is covered in the Wall Street Journal[22] and Washington Post.[23]
2015 November DxE becomes one of the most visible backers of a new action known as the “Liberation Pledge,” with co-founder Wayne Hsiung authoring a piece in the Huffington Post announcing the pledge[24], which reads:

"The pledge is simple:

One: Publicly refuse to eat animals - live vegan.

Two: Publicly refuse to sit where people are eating animals.

Three: Encourage others to take the pledge."[25]

2016 January Demonstration DxE activists interrupt a speech by Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf at the 100th anniversary of the Pennsylvania Farm Show, saying that there is no reason to confine and kill pigs, chickens, and cows when it is not okay to do that to dogs or cats.[26] Pennsylvania
2016 February 25 Investigation DxE releases a video and investigatory report showing criminal confinement and animal abuse at "humane certified" JS West, a major egg supplier. During numerous visits, DxE investigators entered JS West's flagship facility in Atwater, California, which has been celebrated by The New York Times as giving hens "the good life". Activists report having found shocking conditions including grotesque lesions on the birds’ heads, severe injuries and mutilation, and crowding so severe that hens could not move. [20] Atwater, California
2016 February 27 Demonstration DxE conducts anti-fur protest in a Sports Direct store in British seaside resort Brighton, which sells real fur-trimmed jackets.[27] Brighton, England
2016 March 31 Lewis Bollard at Open Philantropy Project publishes blog explaining how battery cages cause severe suffering, and cage-free systems are much better. Bollard mentions a disagreement with DxE on their view on the benefits of cage-free systems, and cites a Wayne Hsiung blog post which identifies four welfare indicators that Hsiung thinks are worse in cage-free systems than in cages: mortality, air quality, stress, and overcrowding.[28] Bollard also states that DxE's counterarguments are not compelling, showing for instance how many studies contradict what Hsiung claims is “a consensus in the literature” that mortality rates are worse in cage-free systems.[29]
2016 June Investigation DxE releases an investigation into dog meat farms in Yulin, China on ABC’s Nightline, and compares the violence against dogs in Yulin to violence against animals on farms in the United States.[2] Yulin, China
2016 July Investigation Baywatch actress Alexandra Paul and Last Chance for Animals (LCA) founder Chris DeRose join DxE's Open Rescue Network DxE which conducts investigation into Farmer John, a Hormel subsidiary and supplier to Costco, Safeway Inc., and the LA Dodgers based just outside of Los Angeles. The investigation documents the use of carbadox, an antibiotic identified by the FDA as a carcinogen and recommended for removal from the market. The activists argue that similarity between animal and human biology would inevitably lead to potential crises like antibiotic-resistant bacteria.[30]
2016 July Organization The Berkeley Animal Rights Center opens in Berkeley, California, as a center aimed at organizing community events and trainings for animal rights.[31][32] DxE regularly operates meetings at the center.[33] Berkeley, California
2016 September DxE publishes The Forty-Year Roadmap to Animal Liberation, a text envisioning a future in which slaughterhouses are abolished and non-human animals are granted legal personhood.[34][35]
2016 November 18 Investigation DxE's Open Rescue Investigators enter Jaindl Farms, famed supplier to the White House, and find disfigured faces and rotting bodies.[36]
2016 December Expansion DxE open rescue projects begin expanding beyond the Bay Area when members in Toronto release an investigation of a pig farm.[37] The project would be followed up by an internationally coordinated rescue with animal advocates in Sweden, Germany, and Australia.[38] Toronto, Canada
2017 February 9 Investigation DxE releases an investigation into a “Certified Humane” cage-free egg supplier to grocery chain Safeway. The investigation at Rainbow Farms in Denair, California finds chickens so densely crowded to the point of being crushed to death by other birds , in stark contrast to Safeway’s “Certified-Humane” requirements for all of its cage-free and organic egg suppliers.[2][39] Denair, California
2017 April Investigation DxE activists in Colorado conduct an investigation of a cage-free Sprouts Farmers Market cage-free "humane" egg farm, and find dozens of dead bodies and hundreds of hens starving to death.[36] Colorado
2017 August 3 Benny Johnson of the Independent Journal Review calls DxE's protest tactics in Berkeley "bullying" in regards to graphic Berkeley protests.[40] Berkeley, California
2017 August 20 Investigation Activists with DxE Phoenix investigate a pig farm in Arizona where they uncover filthy conditions. All of the pigs on the farm are found terrified of humans due to the abuse they face and the ground is found littered with the bones of their siblings. Activists manage to rescue a piglet and name her Charlotte. They bring her to the vet and to sanctuary where she now lives. This is the first open rescue by DxE in Arizona.[36] Arizona
2017 August 30 Investigation DxE Toronto activists investigate a rabbit farm in Ontario and find hundreds of rabbits languishing in filthy conditions. Many of the rabbits are found laying dead on the ground including one mother, with her babies shivering alone nearby. The activists rescue the babies and bring them to safety.[36] Ontario, Canada
2017 September Rescue operation DxE organizers attend a small-scale poultry processing class at Long Shadow Farm, a 6-acre farm in Berthoud, Colorado specializing in pasture-raised chickens. Led by DxE Organizer Aidan Cook, under the name of "Denver Baby Animal Save" the group enters the property masquerading as volunteers[41] and takes three chickens, after asking to hold some of the birds and being assisted in doing so by the farm owners' 8 year old daughter. Opinions on the actions vary, with DxE organizers and members claiming to have "rescued" the birds, while the farm owners considered it "theft". A DxE spokesperson would state that "even if the animal rights group could have saved more chickens by purchasing them, the group opposes buying into a system that hurts animals."[41] Two of the chickens that were taken were carriers of mycoplasma, a highly infectious respiratory disease in poultry.[42] Berthoud, Colorado
2017 October 22 Rescue operation Over 200 activists entered Saba Live Poultry slaughterhouse in Oakland as part of the DxE California Convergence. They bear witness to the suffering of the animals inside and plead with management to release all the animals. Police arrives and shuts the slaughterhouse down with 22 activists inside who refuse to leave, but not before the activists are able to openly rescue a lamb, a quail and a rabbit. The activists remaining inside are eventually arrested.[36] Oakland, California
2017 November 7 Rescue operation DxE activists investigate Zonneveld Dairy Farm, a member of the Land O'Lakes cooperative, located near Fresno, California. The investigation reveals row upon row of small, wooden hutches, each housing a single baby cow. The calves are found to be provided with no bedding, no enrichment, no space to move, and no love from their mothers. Many are found sick and some already dead. The activists manage to rescue one of the calves.[36] Fresno, California
2017 November Review DxE declines to be reviewed/published by Animal Charity Evaluators, stating that they were too busy during ACE's evaluation season to participate in the review process.[43]
2017 December 12 Rescue operation 22 activists with DxE Melbourne walk into a slaughterhouse in broad daylight and stay between the animals and the blade, openly saving seven chickens.[36] Melbourne, Australia
2018 March 5 Rescue operation Thirteen activists from three different continents and four organizations unite to save the lives of 15 animals to observe International Open Rescue Day. DxE Phoenix contributes to this collaboration by releasing two fishes.[36]
2018 March 15 Investigation DxE activists report having discovered piles and piles of feces at a Trader Joe's egg farm. Many birds are found trapped in their waste, forced to eat their own excrement to survive.[36]
2018 May 8 Investigation DxE activists investigate a Smithfield pig farm in North Carolina, a state which has one of the most repressive "ag gag" laws in the United States. Despite promises to phase out gestation crates by 2018, the activists find the majority of mother pigs in crates and manage to rescue a baby piglet named Rosie.[36] North Carolina
2018 May Legal Wayne Hsiung and four others are charged in Utah with burglary, livestock theft, and engaging in a pattern of illegal activity (felonies); and engaging in a riot (misdeameanor). They are identified after posting high-quality video online of taking pigs from a Smithfield Foods facility in Beaver County, Utah.[44] Utah

Meta information on the timeline

How the timeline was built

The initial version of the timeline was written by User:Sebastian.

Funding information for this timeline is available.

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What the timeline is still missing

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See also

External links

References

  1. ↑ "Conversation with Wayne Hsiung, Direct Action Everywhere". Retrieved 9 July 2018. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "PRESS KIT: BIRDS CRUSHED TO DEATH AT CAGE-FREE SAFEWAY SUPPLIER". directactioneverywhere.com. Retrieved 10 July 2018. 
  3. ↑ "Direct Action Everywhere". Google Trends. Retrieved 15 February 2021. 
  4. ↑ "Direct Action Everywhere". wikipediaviews.org. Retrieved 21 February 2021. 
  5. ↑ "It Starts With You...". YouTube. January 8, 2013. Retrieved 9 July 2018. 
  6. ↑ Goff, Kelly (August 24, 2013). "Animal Rights Activists March in Downtown LA". Los Angeles Daily News. Retrieved 9 July 2018. 
  7. ↑ "Garcetti's Activist Commissioners Invite Radical Animal Terrorism to LA … Again". citywatchla.com. Retrieved 10 July 2018. 
  8. ↑ [tps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUtnas5ScSE "The Scarecrow"]. YouTube. September 11, 2013. Retrieved 9 July 2018. 
  9. ↑ {{cite web |url=http://directactioneverywhere.com/theliberationist/2013/10/21/the-new-frontier | title=The New Frontier | accessdate=9 July 2018}
  10. ↑ "Activists in Six Cities "Die-In" at Chipotle" (PDF). Retrieved 9 July 2018. 
  11. ↑ "#DisruptSpeciesism - Kelly". youtube.com. Retrieved 10 July 2018. 
  12. ↑ "This woman really, really loves her chicken". glennbeck.com. Retrieved 3 August 2018. 
  13. ↑ "DRAMATIZE THE ISSUE (BY KELLY)". directactioneverywhere.com. Retrieved 3 August 2018. 
  14. ↑ "Stop the Violence - DxE December Day of Action". YouTube. January 20, 2015. Retrieved 9 July 2018. 
  15. ↑ "Truth Matters: DxE Investigators Expose "Humane" Fraud at Whole Foods". youtube.com. Retrieved 11 August 2018. 
  16. ↑ "Animal Rights Group's Video of Hens Raises Questions, but Not Just for Farms". nytimes.com. Retrieved 9 July 2018. 
  17. ↑ "What Does "Cage-Free" Even Mean?". motherjones.com. Retrieved 9 July 2018. 
  18. ↑ "CONVERSATION WITH WAYNE HSIUNG, DIRECT ACTION EVERYWHERE". animalcharityevaluators.org. Retrieved 17 August 2018. 
  19. ↑ "Animal Rights Activists Stormed a Toronto Steakhouse to Protest Society's Meat Lust". vice.com. Retrieved 10 July 2018. 
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 "PRESS KIT: EGG EXPOSÉ REVEALS CRUELTY, CRIMINAL VIOLATIONS AT TRADER JOE'S, SAFEWAY". directactioneverywhere.com. Retrieved 9 July 2018. 
  21. ↑ "Where does the Whole Foods turkey really come from?". youtube.com. Retrieved 9 July 2018. 
  22. ↑ "Video Shows Abuse at Whole Foods Turkey Supplier, Activists Say". wsj.com. Retrieved 9 July 2018. 
  23. ↑ "Whole Foods Thanksgiving turkeys endure 'horrific conditions' at Calif. farm, activists say". washingtonpost.com. Retrieved 9 July 2018. 
  24. ↑ Hsiung, Wayne (2015-11-06). "How Animal Lovers Are Transforming Thanksgiving". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 9 July 2018. 
  25. ↑ "The Liberation Pledge". www.liberationpledge.com. Retrieved 9 July 2018. 
  26. ↑ "Animal activists escorted out of 2016 Farm Show". PennLive.com. Retrieved 9 July 2018. 
  27. ↑ "Direct Action Everywhere - DXE Anti-Fur protest: Sports Direct - 27-02-2016". youtube.com. Retrieved 19 August 2018. 
  28. ↑ "HOW CAGE-FREE EGGS ARE HURTING HENS". directactioneverywhere.com. Retrieved 3 August 2018. 
  29. ↑ "Initial Grants to Support Corporate Cage-free Reforms". openphilanthropy.org. Retrieved 2 August 2018. 
  30. ↑ Rosenberg, Martha (2016-07-01). "Are You Eating These Products? They Contain Carcinogenic Antibiotics, Activists Charge". Op-Ed News. Retrieved 9 July 2018. 
  31. ↑ "VICTORY: BERKELEY UNITES TO KEEP ANIMAL RIGHTS CENTER OPEN". directactioneverywhere.com. Retrieved 19 August 2018. 
  32. ↑ "BERKELEY ANIMAL RIGHTS CENTER". berkeleyarc.com. Retrieved 19 August 2018. 
  33. ↑ "CALENDAR". berkeleyarc.com. Retrieved 19 August 2018. 
  34. ↑ "The Forty-Year Roadmap to Animal Liberation". docs.google.com. Retrieved 19 August 2018. 
  35. ↑ "THE ROADMAP TO ANIMAL LIBERATION (PART I: PLANT THE FLAG)". directactioneverywhere.com. Retrieved 19 August 2018. 
  36. ↑ 36.0 36.1 36.2 36.3 36.4 36.5 36.6 36.7 36.8 36.9 "LIBERATION IN ACTION". directactioneverywhere.com. Retrieved 10 July 2018. 
  37. ↑ "They Saw This Baby Pig And Knew They Had To Save Her Life". The Dodo - For Animal People. 2016-12-16. Retrieved 9 July 2018. 
  38. ↑ Cal, Cassie King | Special to the Daily (2017-03-07). "Animals should be rescued from unsafe farm conditions". The Daily Californian. Retrieved 9 July 2018. 
  39. ↑ "SAFEWAY: STOP CRUSHING ANIMALS TO DEATH!". directactioneverywhere.com. Retrieved 10 July 2018. 
  40. ↑ Johnson, Benny (9 July 2018). "Mom and Pop Butcher Shop Bullied by Vegans Until They Agreed to Post This Sign in Their Store". IJR - Independent Journal Review. Independent Journal Review. Retrieved 25 February 2018. 
  41. ↑ 41.0 41.1 "Denver animal rights group says it 'rescued' chickens from Berthoud family farm". Retrieved 9 July 2018. 
  42. ↑ "Animal rights group steals chickens from farm to 'free' them". USA TODAY. Retrieved 9 July 2018. 
  43. ↑ "DIRECT ACTION EVERYWHERE". animalcharityevaluators.org. Retrieved 3 August 2018. 
  44. ↑ "5 animal rights activists charged with pilfering pigs in Utah". ksl.com. Retrieved 9 July 2018. 
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