While walking through campus today on my way to class, a girl suddenly approached me asking if I had had a chance to sign her petition yet. Overcome with curiosity, I replied "no, what is it for?" She quickly explained that it was simply a petition to offer more vegetarian and vegan friendly food options on campus, making sure to let me know that she was not implying that they stop serving meat altogether. Instantly, the thought of my vegetarian friends came to mind, and how difficult it often is to find a decent selection of food within their diet in public dining facilities. I told her sure, I would sign the petition, and only seconds after having written my name and e-mail address on her crisp and well-prepared piece of petition paper, she handed me a booklet and a page of stickers. The stickers were the first thing I noticed: bearing slogans like "McCruelty... I'm Hating It" in reference to McDonald's, and depicting the iconic clown Ronald McDonald with an evil sharp toothed grin, accusingly holding a blood drenched knife allegedly used to kill the dead chicken hanging from the symbolic M of the fast food franchise.
And I soon realized that that petition may have very well been more than just an innocent plea for more meat-free food options on campus. What a load of crap.
I proceeded to flip through the booklet she had handed me. It was filled with "did you know?" claims like: "pigs are smarter than small children and love to play videogames" and "if given an apple or small ball, turkeys actually play games together much like humans play football or soccer". These facts were proceeded by other information and graphic images involving the cruelty of factory-farms, the negative effect meat and dairy products have on the environment, the turmoils of animal testing and dissection, the horrors of the fur industry, and the sadism of the circus. While some of these things seem worthy of some attention, I can't help but feel that many of the followers are a little... brainwashed.
I had a long discussion with a co-worker of mine who grew up on a farm and many of the facts and statements that PETA had given in their booklet (which was underhandedly thrust upon me) were either twisted, untrue, or vastly overrated. While I do strongly believe that animals should be treated with a great deal of respect and affection, there is simply no denying that it is nature to consume meat. Not HUMAN nature but MOTHER nature.
As far as fur and the circus go... fur is unnecessary and disgusting, and the evil clowns alone (as depicted on the McCruelty sticker) are enough to scare anyone away, not to mention the obvious exploitation of exotic animals.
As for the apparent student seeking a larger variety on her university menu, her having not mentioned anything about the organization she was advocating makes me wonder if I had actually signed a petition to expand the campus's vegetarian menu... or something entirely different. If you have a strong opinion, at least stand behind it rather than cower behind it.
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