PETA Global 2018 Issue 2

Vintage woman: © iStock.com/George Marks • Finger snap: © iStock.com/MicrovOne

They say: “Humans are at the top of the food chain.” You respond: “We’re at the top of the food

They say: “One person isn’t going to make a difference.” You respond: “What about Nelson Mandela,

chain that we’ve invented. If lions or sharks devised one, who do you think would be at the top? Just because we can kill and eat animals doesn’t mean that we should. If humans are truly intelligent, we should be smart enough to know that we can get all the nourishment we need without taking anyone else’s life.” They say: “Humans are smarter than animals.” You respond: “If being smart or attractive were the prerequisite for not being hurt, some people would be in a lot of trouble!” They say: “Jesus ate meat.” You respond: “We weren’t there, so we don’t know – but do you think Jesus would approve of slaughtering animals when we have the choice not to?” You respond: “Experimenting on rats and monkeys to get information about humans makes about as much sense as testing dog shampoo on a human baby. Improved nutrition and sanitation, not experiments on animals, have increased human life expectancy. Most important discoveries can be attributed to studies of humans, including the links between cholesterol and heart disease and between smoking and cancer, the development of the X-ray, and the identification of HIV. And drugs deemed safe and effective in animal tests fail to produce the desired results in humans 95% of the time.” They say: “Didn’t major medical advancements come from testing on animals?”

Florence Nightingale, and Mahatma Gandhi? One vegan saves the lives of about 100 animals every year. Every day, a vegan saves 1,100 gallons of water, 45 pounds of grain, and 30 square feet of forest, as well as preventing the release of 20 pounds of greenhouse gases. Imagine the number of animals spared the ordeal of being tortured in a laboratory because a group of individuals said, ‘I refuse to buy cosmetics tested on rabbits.’ Individuals destroyed the market for angora by refusing to buy it. Individuals add up.”

They say: “I only buy meat, milk, and eggs labeled ‘humane’ and

‘organic.’” You respond: “Unfortunately, those labels are just designed to make shoppers feel better about their purchases. Numerous investigations have found that animals endure the same conditions at ‘humane’ facilities as they would on factory farms – and they end up at the same slaughterhouses.”

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