{"id":1519523,"date":"2022-06-16T19:05:03","date_gmt":"2022-06-16T23:05:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1519523"},"modified":"2022-06-16T19:05:13","modified_gmt":"2022-06-16T23:05:13","slug":"animal-rights-protesters-still-gathering-at-plant-in-california-set-to-close-down","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/animal-rights-protesters-still-gathering-at-plant-in-california-set-to-close-down\/","title":{"rendered":"Animal Rights Protesters Still Gathering At Plant In California Set To Close Down"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fanimal-rights-protesters-still-gathering-at-plant-in-california-set-to-close-down%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1519523&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p class=\"p1\">Despite Smithfield Foods recently deciding to close its Farmer John meatpacking plant in Vernon, California, animal-rights protesters <a href=\"https:\/\/kfiam640.iheart.com\/featured\/la-local-news\/content\/2022-06-15-more-protests-at-farmer-john-slaughterhouse-in-vernon-despite-plan-to-close\/\">continue<\/a> to protest outside the plant.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The plant has been the center of activist protests in the past, as the Animal Alliance Network has put together vigils, speaking out against how piglets are being treated and brought up in confined situations until they are put onto trucks headed for slaughter.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">As the Los Angeles Times <a href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/local\/california\/la-me-col1-farmer-john-vigil-la-animal-save-20190305-story.html\">reported<\/a> in 2019, vigils were a common occurrence and had the approval of local law enforcement and the facility itself.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cThey\u2019re respectful of the city, and they\u2019re respectful of Farmer John,\u201d Officer Marissa Velez told the outlet at the time.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cDuring any demonstration, [we] work with local law enforcement and protest leaders to ensure the safety of the protesters, our employees, our animals, and the public,\u201d Smithfield Foods said in a statement at the time. \u201cBecause of these coordinated efforts, the public demonstrations do not impact Farmer John\u2019s production process or our ability to serve our customers and consumers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">Last week, Smithfield Foods, which bought the plant in 2016, announced it will be closing it down, pointing to the difficulty of carrying out business in California.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">In an announcement, the company <a href=\"https:\/\/www.smithfieldfoods.com\/press-room\/2022-06-10-Smithfield-Foods-to-Close-Vernon,-CA-Facility-Reduce-Hog-Production-in-Western-Region\">said<\/a> it will stop \u201charvest and processing operations in Vernon, California in early 2023 and, at the same time, align its hog production system by reducing its sow herd in its Western region.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">It is also planning to reduce its sow herd in Utah and is looking into strategies to leave farms in Arizona and California.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The company explicitly said it is \u201ctaking these steps due to the escalating cost of doing business in\u00a0California.\u201d It will also help the workers who are affected by the closure.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cWe are grateful to our team members in the Western region for their dedication and invaluable contributions to our mission. We are committed to providing financial and other transition assistance to employees impacted by this difficult decision,\u201d\u00a0Smithfield\u00a0Chief Operating Officer\u00a0Brady Stewart said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The facility itself is known for its mural and artwork on the building, and what will happen to the structure is not yet known.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cWe are exploring all our options,\u201d Jim Monroe, vice president of corporate affairs at Smithfield, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/california\/story\/2022-06-11\/farmer-john-plant-to-close\">told<\/a> the Los Angeles Times last week. \u201cFarmer John is alive and well, and we will be providing the great, healthy, nutritious products that Farmer John customers have come to expect,\u201d but from a different area, he added.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">The city, however, will feel the impacts.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cWe are saddened,\u201d City Manager Carlos Fandino said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cFarmer John\u2019s closure announcement represents another nail in California\u2019s coffin, indicative of yet another prominent business set to leave the state,\u201d Vernon Chamber of Commerce President Marisa Olguin said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">\u201cMy heart goes out to the workers who lost their jobs,\u201d Agust\u00edn \u00c1lvarez, manager of a Mexican diner near the plant, said. \u201cThey come in, maybe about 50 or more a day, so it\u2019s a big loss all around.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\">An employee told the Times that the company had talked about an \u201call hands on deck\u201d meeting, and workers were told not to talk to the press. He said Smithfield and the union had faced difficulties in their negotiations, noting, \u201cI guess Smithfield thought it was easier to close the plant.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Despite Smithfield Foods recently deciding to close its Farmer John meatpacking plant in Vernon, California, animal-rights protesters continue to protest outside the plant. The plant has been the center of activist protests in the past, as the Animal Alliance Network has put together vigils, speaking out against how piglets are being treated and brought up &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":95,"featured_media":1519588,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1519523","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1519523","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/95"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1519523"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1519523\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1519588"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1519523"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1519523"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1519523"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}