Activists Occupy San Francisco Whole Foods Grocery Store

BAY AREA, CA -- Dozens of animal rights activists occupied a Whole Foods Market in San Francisco on Monday to protest alleged abuse that they claim is happening at factory farms that supply products to Whole Foods owner Amazon.

Several people chained themselves together to block the entrance to the location at 3950 24th St. in the Noe Valley neighborhood, while others took to the building's roof and more gathered in the parking lot.

According to activists with Direct Action Everywhere, the organization behind the protests, a handful of other protesters also showed up to the Amazon office at 545 Sansome St.

According to organizer Cassie King, the group has been investigating several farms linked to Amazon and Whole Foods for years, and is calling on Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos act to stop the alleged abuse.

"We've found repeated evidence of animal cruelty," she said. "They've done nothing in response to the animal abuse."

In response, Whole Foods said that the protesters' action jeopardized the safety of it's customers and employees.

“Whole Foods Market caters to customers with a wide variety of diets, and we’re proud to provide transparency in animal welfare and growing practices through third-party certifiers like Global Animal Partnership," the grocer said in a statement. "Our high quality standards, including a commitment to animal welfare, have established us as an industry leader for nearly 40 years."

"We respect everyone’s right to voice their opinion," the statement concluded, "but our responsibility is to provide a safe environment for our customers and our Team Members.”

According to police, more than 30 activists were taken into custody after occupying the store for more than three hours.

Bay City News Service contributed to this report.