The Problem: “Animal Advocates” Who Promote Animal Exploitation
Source Animal Rights: The Abolitionist Approach
By Gary L. Francione
Mercy for Animals, an animal welfare organization, claims that “The Problem” is “Animals suffering miserably on factory farms.”
Wrong.
The problem is identifying the problem as “factory farms” and not animal use or exploitation–wherever it occurs andhowever supposedly “humane” or “compassionate” or “merciful” it is.
Misidentifying the problem has absurd and speciesist consequences, such as declaring the McDonald’s “cage-free” egg announcement as a “victory” and identifying this:
and this
as “Progress!” and as representing “meaningful changes.”
McDonald’s sells the suffering and death of animals.
Groups like the Humane Society of the United States and Mercy for Animals act as partners with McDonald’s in selling that suffering and death.
McDonald’s gets “animal advocates” to promote them and their products.
In return, McDonald’s gives these “animal advocates” meaningless “victories” to use in fundraising.
HSUS declares the McDonald’s “cage-free” egg announcement as a “watershed moment.”
That statement is breathtaking.
Here’s a screenshot (click to enlarge) of the MFA statement in case you simply cannot believe that “animal advocates” would “applaud” animal exploitation.
Notice that, in addition to “applaud[ing]” the McDonald’s “cage-free” egg announcement, MFA tells its supporters to ask McDonald’s to continue it’s “praiseworthy progress by adopting meaningful standards for chickens killed for Chicken McNuggets.”
And that’s the problem.
Supporting these groups is supporting animal exploitation just as much as consuming a McDonald’s animal product is.
If animals matter morally, then we are obligated morally to embrace and promote veganism as a moral imperative and we are equally obligated to oppose the speciesist idea that imposing suffering and death on animals can ever be “praiseworthy.”
**********
If you are not vegan, please go vegan. Veganism is about nonviolence. First and foremost, it’s about nonviolence to other sentient beings. But it’s also about nonviolence to the earth and nonviolence to yourself.
If animals matter morally, veganism is not an option — it is a necessity. Anything that claims to be an animal rights movement must make clear that veganism is a moral imperative.
The World is Vegan! If you want it.
Learn more about veganism at www.HowDoIGoVegan.com.
Gary L. Francione
Board of Governors Distinguished Professor, Rutgers University
©2015 Gary L. Francione
Order a FREE vegan kit: http://www.peta.org/living/vegetarian-living/free-vegetarian-starter-kit.aspx
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Want to do more than go vegan? Help others to do so! Click on the below for nominal, or no, fees to vegan literature that you can use to convince others that veganism is the only compassionate route to being an animal friend.
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a quandary many activists see
in what appears to be a form
of hypocrisy
and yes it is,
we all agree.
but sadly progress
is slow for humanity
to take the next
step,
however small
is better than no step
at all.
so together the rest of
us can educate
others to keep ALL cruelties
off our plates.
a gentle mallet of
logic, compassion and reason
will bring and end to
the killing season!!!
Karen Lyons Kalmenson
Our Compass 
There is only one solution: not eat eggs and not eat sentient beings at all…
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Makes me sick.
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Sometimes it will take baby steps for these big food industries to change to more humane ways. It is the people buying their products that have pushed the demand and the disgusting practices of factory farming. Going cage-free with their chickens as McDonald’s is, is not the best way, but it is a better step in the right direction for the treatment of animals. I am vegan for ethical reasons and do not want anything to do with McDonalds myself, but sadly there are millions of people that do eat there that are either blindly ignorant or just dont care. Animal rights and protection is a movement that is taking hold and will continue as long as we are diligent, fight the good fight, educate, be the voices for the animals, and live by example,…we can and will change the world to be and live more compassionate, non violent lives that benefit all living beings and our planet, but to expect extreme changes to happen with the BIG darkness that we face in this day and age, over night is not realistic.
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But the horrific fact is that free-range is NOT some superior form of animal “kindness”. The pictures above identify that fact clearly. You can find more information on the sidebar at humanemyth.org or a related site http://freerangefraud.com/ . They are BOTH hideously cruel and inhumane yet people have this unforgiving misconception that free-range is ideal. The ONLY humane alternative is not to eat animals in the first place. I always liken these scenarios to hostages: is it kinder to not have restraints when the “process” and end result is an unnecessary, painful, and cruel death anyway? Or would the humane “alternative” be to just not take hostages?
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We have to spare the suffering of all creatures!
LikeLiked by 1 person
a quandary many activists see
in what appears to be a form
of hypocrisy
and yes it is,
we all agree.
but sadly progress
is slow for humanity
to take the next
step,
however small
is better than no step
at all.
so together the rest of
us can educate
others to keep ALL cruelties
off our plates.
a gentle mallet of
logic, compassion and reason
will bring and end to
the killing season!!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I am good with small steps as long as those steps result in less suffering and less death for animals. Positioning kindness and humane-ness with just-as cruel situations is no step for anyone except humans. 😦 Thanks, hon.
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You are so very welcome.
Human pretzelogic even thinks it is superior to other beings…and that arrogant misdirection is very frightening and dangerous.
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