With a World Cup aesthetic, stadium murga, giant red cards, and a VAR that marked a “flagrant foul,” the organization Sinergia Animal Internacional staged its largest performance to date in Plaza de Mayo. The goal: to demand that the food chain adopts a cage-free policy for its egg supply.
More than seventy activists from Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Brazil, Peru, Thailand, and Indonesia joined forces to give a red card to Mostaza. The intervention transformed the iconic public space into a symbolic soccer field, where a three-meter flag simulated the playing field where the match between animal welfare and corporate indifference was played.
To the rhythm of drums and stadium chants, dozens of people held up signs with clever slogans like “Mostaza, the only one backing down is you”, “Stop wasting time with animals”, and “#RedCardForMostaza”.
Lack of dialogue and the contrast with the competition
“Today we brought together people from different corners of the world to highlight a situation that cannot continue to be ignored. One of the most important companies in the Argentine food sector continues to fail to make a basic commitment to animal welfare,” said Carolina Galvani, founder of Sinergia Animal.
Over the past seven years, the organization has tried to establish communication channels with the company on numerous occasions without receiving a response. Currently, Mostaza is the second-largest burger chain in Argentina and the only major one that still does not have a cage-free supply policy.
Direct competitors like McDonald’s, Burger King, Subway, and Carne Hamburguesas have already announced public commitments in that direction.
The demand behind the red card
The protest seeks to raise awareness about a reality invisible to consumers:
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In Argentina, around 62 million laying hens are used by the industry.
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The vast majority remain confined in battery cages, a system that prevents them from performing basic natural behaviors such as walking, spreading their wings, or nesting.
The choice of soccer aesthetics was no coincidence. The organization points out the contradiction that Mostaza invests millions in marketing using National Team figures while lagging behind global responsibility standards.
“Argentines are used to competing at the highest level and we do not agree with animal cruelty. They do marketing saying they ‘don’t back down’ and promoting burgers with double eggs, but their actions show otherwise. What we are asking for is simple: a concrete commitment to leave cages behind,” said Romina Viscarret, director of Sinergia Animal Argentina.
With this massive action, the organization assured that it will continue to push public campaigns until it receives an official response from the company.
