Zack Polanski Demands an End to Factory Farming at Vegan Campout

At Vegan Campout 2026, Green Party leader Zack Polanski delivered a talk and participated in an on-stage Q&A with Viva! founder Juliet Gellatley. Polanski began by emphasising that movement events serve as a necessary "recharge" for activists to build broader solidarity. He framed animal rights as inseparable from larger fights against systemic violence, corporate greed, and climate destruction. Addressing agricultural policy, he called for an immediate ban on factory farming while insisting that small-scale farmers must be treated as essential partners in resolving the biodiversity and water crises. Polanski criticized government inaction and systemic hypocrisy, citing his efforts to push for plant-based default menus in London's public institutions and calling out the government's continued subsidisation of fossil fuels and intensive animal farming. Joined by Juliet Gellatley, the discussion covered the political barriers to animal protection, specifically the influence of billionaire-owned media outlets, corporate lobbying, and legislative attacks on the right to protest. Concluding with a vision for the future, Polanski argued that society will eventually view current animal exploitation with the same horror as past historical injustices. He called for direct action, public transparency, and government subsidies redirected toward compassion and environmental resilience.