Upstream | October 28, 2011 | 11 comments

"Why Love One But Eat the Other?" Billboards Stir Controversy in Toronto Subway System

source: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2011/10/why-love-one-eat-other-ads-stir-controversy-toronto-...

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EthicalVegan
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"Why Love One But Eat the Other?" Billboards Stir Controversy in Toronto Subway System

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They are pretty careful about who gets to put ads up in the Toronto subway system, and animal rights activists usually don't make the cut. But through September and October, subway riders have come face to face with a powerful campaign to convince people that if they like cute kittens and puppies, then they shouldn't be eating chickens and pigs. Kimberly Caroll, an organizer of the campaign says:

Pigs, cows and chickens are remarkable beings," says campaign spokesperson Kimberly Carroll. "Cows will walk for miles to reunite with a calf after being sold at auction. Pigs have intelligence beyond that of a 3 year-old human. Chickens mourn the loss of their loved ones. We hope that in connecting with these animals and the grievous suffering that is behind every burger, omelette, and hot dog, people will be motivated to make more compassionate food choices.

I was surprised that the campaign got approved at all; Kimberly explained:

We ran a similar campaign back in 2009 on the TTC at about a quarter of the size of the current one. At that point the ad had to go through various levels of approval while we waited on pins and needles, but it was approved! This time around, it seems there were no concerns. We've been very impressed with the TTC for this. We believe this is the first animal rights campaign to run on the TTC.




While the puppy and pig comparison is probably not a stretch for most people, the kitten and chicken one is probably a bit more difficult. But they make a case that chickens are "inquisitive, affectionate and personable."




It is not a new message, that animals are animals and it is crazy to treat one kind so differently from another; the British Vegetarian Society did it decades ago. But it is new, seeing it in Toronto plastered all over the subway, where the TTC says it will be seen by 5.7 million people every week. Kimberly says that it is effective; she is getting "several emails, posts, and twitters a day from folks saying they're going veg after seeing the ads."

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11 comments // "Why Love One But Eat the Other?" Billboards Stir Controversy in Toronto Subway System

  • Pacard
    • +1
      Pacard  

    • Why Love One But Eat the Other? Because we fucking can. Humans can make this world whatever they want, whether it's right or not.

    • 5 months ago
  • GENERALNATTY
  • Varex_Sythe
  • freehit
    • +1
      freehit  
    • Varex_Sythe:

      If my mother were still alive, she would loudly disagree with your opinion on their value as pets. Back during the great depression when she was a little girl she had a pet chicken that she raised from a little fluff ball. She would tell us how it would follow her around like a puppy were ever she went. (kinda like Mary and her lamb). One day the chicken was gone and on the dinner table that night was a chicken dinner. When she put two and two together and saw her pet being served for dinner, she had such a fit that NOBODY could stand to eat it, even though they were hungry. Moral to the story, don't serve your child's pet for dinner if you expect to eat it too. True story.

    • 7 months ago
  • Varex_Sythe
    • +1
      Varex_Sythe  
    • freehit:

      Had a friend of the family do something similar with a pig. The family raised the pig like a family pet and named it Pizza, yes it was a really morbid name. Eventually they butchered it and every time pork was served there would be an inquiry as to whether or not the pork was Pizza, and the answer was always no. I'm pretty sure that they had to sell Pizza to the butcher.

    • 7 months ago
  • OlBlue
  • OlBlue
    • +3
      OlBlue  

    • I would pet both, eat neither. Saw a similar ad on a bus a few years ago on the west coast showing a cat and a pig: "Who do you pet, who do you eat? Why?." No true environmentalist eats meat.

    • 7 months ago
  • EthicalVegan
  • GENERALNATTY
  • EthicalVegan
  • PressCore
    • +1
      PressCore  
    • EthicalVegan:

      Your point isn't lost on me. Dogs & cats are on the dinner menu in some
      Asian countries, but I would no more want to eat them than I would chickens
      and pigs. I was brought up on eating meat, for which having the taste of
      blood & flesh gives me irresistable cravings, often making me miserable,
      because I am an ethical person who mostly abstains. I do eat animal flesh,
      but only sparingly. I prefer cold blooded creatures like fish which have
      immense health benefits. And even then I would rather drink hemp juice
      for my daily dose of Omega 3 lipids, though I mostly mix flax seed meal
      in with my wheat germ & yogurt. I could never bring myself to kill any of
      the animals pictured above. I'd have to be ravenous even to be tempted.
      They haven't harmed me in any way, or supported those who have, so
      I say live & let live-to innocent animals anyway. It's an animal planet, no ?
      You know ethical vegan, it astonishes me how irrational the average homo
      sapiens is. All of us had to have taken Biology in high school to pass, yet
      whenever I tell another we humans are all part of the animal kingdom, they
      look at me offended, as if I said instead we 're all part of Marlin Perkins'
      Wild Kingdom TV show of bygone years. I'm not ashamed to admit the truth.

    • 7 months ago
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