I glued my hand to a table during a committee hearing at the California Capitol. Here’s why

People have asked why I, a 50-year-old woman, would disrupt a legislative hearing by gluing my hand to a table. I would ask them: Why aren’t more people taking such action in response to legislators who fail to use their power to protect humans, animals and the planet?

Last week, I walked into an Assembly Agriculture Committee hearing at the state Capitol, sat down and glued my hand to a table. I proceeded to ask the legislators present why the original version of Assembly Bill 2764 — which would have prohibited commercial animal feeding operations and slaughterhouses from expanding — had been killed.

First they tried to talk over and silence me. Then they asked me to leave, which for obvious reasons I couldn’t immediately.

As members called a recess and got up to leave the room, I read aloud the names of every individual and organization that had signed on in support of the bill.

Former state Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher retweeted a video of my action, writing, “As a human/worker rights protester … it’s clear I need to up my game.” That’s the spirit we need if we’re going to challenge abusive industries and preserve a livable planet for the next generation.

I don’t have the money or influence of these corporate interests, but I do have my body, my voice and some cheap glue.

Because of my lifelong love of animals, I became a registered veterinary technician. My career took me to the University of Arizona, where I worked as a research scientist and manager of a mouse colony. I assisted with experiments that often resulted in the pain, suffering and death of animals — those I set out to protect. That transformed me from an animal experimenter into an animal rights activist.

This isn’t the first time I’ve protested at the Capitol. In 2020, I was arrested there along with 18 others, some of whom had chained themselves to the building. This was one of the first actions asking legislators to pass a moratorium on construction and expansion of factory farms and slaughterhouses.

Our efforts paid off in January, when AB 2764 was introduced. Over 150 businesses and organizations and over 1,500 individuals registered their support, including celebrities such as Anjelica Huston.

But the odds were stacked against us. Bills like ours are usually killed by the Agriculture Committee, which typically bows to the powerful meat and dairy industries. Committee members are heavily influenced by payments from animal agriculture interests.

Last week, the author of the bill informed supporters that it would be changed to enable only a study of commercial feeding operations and slaughterhouses. I was extremely disappointed because there are already plenty of studies showing their harmful effects.

I do what I can to shine a light on how desperately we need to stop violence against animals not just for the animals’ sake but also for our own. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recently reported that even if all fossil fuel emissions were immediately eliminated, our current food system alone would prevent us from limiting global warming to less than 1.5 degrees Celsius. That will mean irreversible effects leading to more extreme weather events, biodiversity loss, rising seas, decreased crop yields and more poverty and illness as soon as 2024.

The fate of this bill is a prime example of our politicians ignoring the will of the people without consequence. They take donations from corporate interests and squash bills at their request, and the agriculture lobby is among the most powerful in government, influencing both sides of the aisle.

Polite attempts to change this through conventional channels have failed. Activists must violate decorum and risk their personal reputations to reveal oppression and challenge injustice.