NOT HUMAN

Illustration of a woman with her dog on a leash, paying a slaughterhouse worker to kill the pig that sits next to him
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AN INTRODUCTION TO SPECIESISM


This illustration was posted on Instagram by Peta on February 18, 2022.

The illustration shows a woman holding her dog on a leash, saying “I love animals”, while paying a butcher to kill a pig.

Speciesism is a form of discrimination based on species, where one species is ranked higher in value than another. Within the illustration, the hierarchy of value is clearly visible: the dog ranks higher than the pig, and the owner ranks higher than the abattoir worker. She claims to love animals, yet holds one on a leash and pays to kill the other, believing that as long as the “product” didn’t suffer at her hands, she maintains her position as a good and valuable individual. Meanwhile, others pay the toll.

LITTLE WHITE LIES

This ad is part of the ‘Happy Cows Make Better milk’ campaign from the American dairy company Organic Valley, published on Youtube February 7th, 2022. The company is known for its sustainable practices and high care for its animal welfare, often showcasing these USPs in its advertising.

In the ad, cows are filmed happily jumping around, encouraged by the woman who seems to be filming them. At the end, the packaging shows a cow with a human child, instead of a calve.

Rarely, if not ever, a calve is seen within dairy ads or on its packaging. Quite weird, if you think that all mammals only produce milk naturally when there is a baby who needs it. When passing the grasslands of grass-fed dairy farms, calves are only spotted for short periods of time, disappearing within a few days after.

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THE TRUTH BEHIND


This video was posted on Instagram on March 8, 2022 (International Women’s Day) by the non profit organization ‘Vegan for the Animals’.

The video shows a newborn calve being driven away, with the mother following closely behind.

The practice of separating calve and mother is standard practice in the dairy industry. The mother’s milk is not enough for the both of us, so the calves are taken away within only a few hours or days after birth. They’re replaced by milking machines, of which the best in the business mimic the baby’s sucking to comfort the mother. Male calves are disposed of or slaughtered to be sold as veal. Female calves face the same fate as their mothers: being forcefully impregnated each year, losing each baby, until her body can’t make any more, and she’s brought to slaughter. We don’t see a mother, but a machine of money and produce that we don’t even need.

A POETIC CONFESSION


9 years ago, on March 21, 2015, this video was posted on YouTube by M.E. King, the man in the video himself.

Within the video, the British farmer’s son poetically informs its viewers about the blindness that causes the pain and suffering of so many, both human and animal.

He talks about the invisible becoming more and more visible, while disapproval grows as people dislike what they are starting to see. The hierarchy is changing, slowly, but surely. Positions are rising and falling, to hopefully end up next to each other. The negative links between agriculture and the welfare of humans, animals and the planet as a whole are being made. Now that we know what’s happening, we have the chance to change it. So, tell me, what do you hope to change the most?

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