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People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. PETA, a non-profit organization that aims to educate and protect animals from being worn, used for entertainment, eaten, products being tested on animals, etc. This issue is extremely prominent as animal abuse and overhunting of animals ruins ecosystems. However, with their controversial tabloids, PETA surely means good, but how honest is the non-profit? Who is PETA really? Can we trust them? We are going to break down who PETA is, their goal, and examine some of the slightly overblown articles.
Who is PETA?
“PETA educates policymakers and the public about animal abuse and promotes kind treatment of animals. PETA is an international nonprofit charitable organization based in Norfolk, Virginia, with affiliates worldwide.” (PETA). Overall, PETA has a good initiative and idea for protecting animals. However, one of the biggest problems with PETA is their overblown initiative and the way they choose to phrase things. First off, they often like to push an agenda on people. For example, in the image below, an article on them pushing for solely vegan meals is shown. The problem with that, if not apparent at first, is not everyone can afford the vegan lifestyle, whether that means through money, or healthwise. Some people are not going to get the nutrients they need just by eating solely plant based products, especially if they have additional allergies or medical issues that would be affected by eating a fully plant based diet. Another problem is, that aside from at the concert, they have on other occasions stated that people need to go vegan. While that may be something that has to happen in the near future, and surely people should try not to eat 3 different types of meat a day, some people simply cannot afford the vegan, or even vegetarian lifestyle. Plant-based food is extremely expensive. With prices for milk ranging from $3.19 for 128 fl oz for 4.72 for 2 64 fl oz of almond milk (Walmart). For some people, this price difference may not mean a lot, but $1.53 cents could mean the difference between buying plant based milk and sacrificing other needs (such as fruits, vegetables, hygiene products and any other food that's cheap and affordable for low-income families). However, to note, though they have downsides, they do have some good standards as well.
PETA appears to prioritize the health and safety of animals overall, which is an important initiative as fires continue to rage across the world, deforestation is never-ending, and animal abuse continues. PETA writes that “[h]uman beings create temporary and arbitrary boundaries to exclude beings who aren’t like them. Human beings have justified wars, slavery, sexual violence, and military conquests through the mistaken belief that those who are “different” do not experience suffering and are not worthy of moral consideration.” (PETA). This careful analysis of human beings may seem a bit blunt at first, however it is noteworthy to realize that the points made here (boundaries against people/beings who don’t reach the standards society/leaders want) are seen ever presently in modern day society in people and with animals. They also write about the Golden Rule (treat others how you would like to be treated) and that animals should be treated as such as well. (PETA). Applying this to animals now is a recurring issue, especially with abuse. The only problem with using this justification for treating animals is with food. While it is incredibly amazing and yet horrifying in which humans have farmed animals specifically for consumption, it is important to understand that asking humans to be vegan will, in some cases, be like asking lions to stop eating meat. While surely the meat industry (and animal product industry as a whole) needs to be reconstructed, it is unfair to completely dismiss the fact that each human being has different circumstances for which might not allow them to eat vegan foods. Their third point on the treatment of animals is similar, discussing veggie burgers and meat burgers, leather products and fabric (or faux leather). It is much harder for a society to completely transfer to just a vegetarian or vegan diet that it is to stop using leather products. The one problem with completely saying no leather products, is dismissing the fact of waste of an animal's body. When an animal is killed for meat consumption, there are times where certain organs are not used by the butcher or meat producer, and are taken for educational science classes. Similarly, the skin of certain animals from meat production may be used for leather. It is important to acknowledge how using all of the parts of an animal is better than simply killing it for one part, but when there are animal substitutes, those should be used more. It is disgusting and immoral to kill an animal simply for a single part of its body if you cannot find a use for the majority of it. Finally, their last point on animals is that humans and animals are all the same, and deserve the same respect. While some may view this as too much, this is a valuable trait that more people should try to exhibit in daily life. It is true that we are all part of the same planet, and get our resources from the same places. It is unjust to say that simply just because we as humans may be more advanced in our own terms, that other animals are not smart, are lower than us because of that, and that they don’t deserve respect because we cannot communicate with them and they cannot do what we can. PETA has saved thousands of lives which is also very necessary to acknowledge in this report.
A frequent and recurring problem within the PETA page, is phrasing. While the overall arguments organization are good/for a good cause there are issues concerning how things are written out, images used, and how professional things sound as an organization. An example of this is shown below. Although a good goal in terms of reporting on fake certified factories, the wording sounds unprofessional, and doesn’t completely reach its target audience. For example, when I see the below image, I do understand the point PETA is trying to make, but the wording makes it sound more like a tabloid.
Another issue commonly found across the page, and discussed above already, is the push for veganism. It is important to note that as an environmental organization, we are not denoting veganism, and even, if you are in a situation that can afford it, would encourage less animal products (check out vegan kit guide and vegetarianism vs veganism). However, unlike PETA, we will not force an agenda, or advertise statements that make it seem like if you are not vegan, you are doing everything wrong. It is great if you can switch to veganism, but even if you switch off animal product that's great too! Below is another one of PETA’s tabloids, people dressed in dinosaur costumes in Tokyo to promote veganism. While this is not inherently bad, and its a good thing to try to promote, oftentimes people promoting a plant based diet are not taking into account how much the vegan and vegetarian lifestyles cost or cultural foods that are naturally vegan. Alongside that as well is the way in which PETA yet again phrases things. The description of articles they choose to use can be unprofessional, making them seem less credible, but some of the work they have done is incredible.
If you are interested in vegetarianism and veganism, I highly recommend checking out our articles linked above. I would like to emphasize that this article was in no way trying to denote PETA as an organization, but instead analysing their choice of words used, and critiquing some of their motives and business as a non-profit organization.
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