Guest Blog: Protesting Cargill in the Cold

Yesterday, protesters gathered outside an event where Cargill CEO David MacLennan was speaking. One of those protesters, Jonas, has contributed a guest blog post about the experience:

We rolled past four squad cars on our way into the parking lot of the Interlachen Country Club. We’re not members, but David MacLennan was speaking, and we came to hold him accountable for the incalculable damage he’s facilitated as CEO of Cargill. The spots of rust peeking out of our car’s wheel wells made us easy to identify in contrast to the sleek manicured vehicles of Interlachen’s more regular patrons. The police, anticipating our attendance, didn’t have a hard time picking out protestors and relocating us to the streets further off the property.

Everyone’s got a good reason to be outraged with Cargill; human rights violations, injury to the planet, unrestricted exploitation, their recent role in the destruction of the Amazon Rainforest. I was called in particular to Cargill’s naked contempt for the Indigenous peoples of Brazil, whose lands, homes, and lives are being destroyed to make room for Cargill’s soy and meat industry. And I was in good company this 20°F morning. The members of MN350, Extinction Rebellion, and NAL3 are no strangers to Minnesota cold. The chanting kept us warm as we stood in solidarity with the Indigenous nations fighting for their lives in Brazil. 

The scope of David MacLennan’s damage might look isolated to South America, or lost in a maze of supply chains, but they have a real effect on all of us. I want Indigenous sovereignty. I want a sustainable future. The patterns of colonization and eco-genocide that Cargill is playing into must end. 

[aesop_gallery id=”60163″ revealfx=”off” overlay_revealfx=”off”]

Jonas