Saturday, March 11, 2006

PETA goes dishoom

I may not agree with everything they say, but I do admire the way in which they say it. PETA - People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals - are probably the most PR savvy activist group on the planet.

They have a fairly constant message - be kind to animals, don't eat them or wear them - but they find a way to put across that message in a compelling manner. Time after time after time.


Sure, part of it is smart use of page 3 people. Aditi Govitrikar dressed in lettuce leaves, John Abraham bare chested - but practically every communication the send out is eye-catching and interesting enough to get printed, especially in daily papers with supplements to fill up.

Even their non-celebrity communication is imaginatively done. Here's a still from their current international campaign about 'KFC torturing chicks'. Instead of showing dead chickens (killed, PETA says, by inhumane methods such as live scalding, life-long crippling, and painful debeaking), the campaign features a human chick braving the bitter cold to stand up for her non-human counterpart.

"Volunteer activists have been battling freezing temperatures and extreme weather wearing nothing more than yellow bikinis and earmuffs to proclaim, "KFC Tortures Chicks," in front of KFC restaurants across North America."

No, you won't be seeing bikini clad women outside KFC stores in India... Instead PETA India came up with a "Cupid chicken" who stood in front of KFC restaurants before Valentine's day carrying a sign saying, "Have a Heart for Chickens, Boycott KFC!"

What's more PETA is always quick to grab on to any topical opportunity. Check out this amazing Cheney inspired t shirt!

PETA on the web
It goes without saying that PETA is extremely net-savvy. The mother site is a repository of information, but again not dull or boring at all. They have features, videos, factsheets, all the ad campaigns, a media centre and even shopping.

But here's the fun part - PETA has dozens of websites devoted to different causes. Such as CowsAreCool.com, FurIsDead.com and GoVeg.com.

That would explain why PETA India, which has a pretty cool website already, would launch a second site. This one is called petadishoom.com and aimed at the youth. Yup, the issues are the same but it's much funkier in terms of both design and content. PETAdishoom has contests, and sections like Fashion, Foodie and Campus which give gyaan on how to live a cruelty free life. And it's all really well written and interestingly showcased.

But like I said at the very beginning, I don't agree with all that they espouse. The 'Vegan' way of life, to be specific.

I have been a vegetarian all my life. Yes, I was born into vegetarianism but chose to stay that way. And I am bringing my daughter up as a vegetarian - though she is free to change her mind at a later date.

In India, being a vegetarian comes naturally and easily. You don't feel 'deprived', because there are plenty of wonderful veg things to eat. And it's no big deal because it's so common - you don't stand out as someone who's made a deliberate ideological choice.

Like many vegetarians I do eat egg, but not on an everyday basis. In fact, if someone asked me to give up egg altogether I would not mind. Of late, I am in fact quite unenthused by omlettes. To be honest, I find they 'smell'.

But milk? Cheese and butter and paneer? I can't imagine life without ALL of those things. The life that PETA wants a true vegetarian to live. The idea of going 'vegan' is so alien it sounds like living on another planet (Vegan distinctly reminds me of Dr Spock on Star Trek!)

Of course PETA runs a complete website on how to live life dairy-free. And on PETAdishoom they even list things you can buy in India which are 'vegan' .

You can even eat out. Like at Smokin Joes , says PETA: Try any veg pizza without paneer and cheese.

Aaaaaaaargh! I'm afraid I shall remain meat free but milk-friendly for the near future.

PETA India says "milk in India has also been found adulterated with gross things like earthworms and urea". But the thing is every fruit and vegetable in this country has some grossness attached to its existence....

And who's to say who's 'right'? TheJains go so far as not eating root vegetables like onions and potatoes ostensibly because it might kill tiny living creatures. But they never had a problem with milk.

That's because in the past Indians did revere the cow. Today it is the butt of jokes - the whole 'do not kill the cow, let her wander on the road' thing. But there was a time when every household had a cow, she was worshipped by Hindus as 'gomata'.

The first rotis from the kitchen were 'gai ki roti' - I remember my grandmother would give them to us kids to feed to any passing cow. Um, not in Bombay this was in my native place, of course.

So the deal was we treated the cow well and she gave us milk in return. No exploitation, a mutually beneficial relationship.

No doubt modern dairies do not follow those practices. But can't we look at more humane milk - rather than give up milk altogether?

Tofu butter masala? Soya milk rabdi?? Kuch hazam nahin hua.

But it has worked...
One final point about the 'effectiveness' of PETA. Sometimes, given the mileage they get, one is tempted to dismiss it as a mere publicity mongering outfit. Or an organisation which is attempting to create education and awareness. Which in itself is a good objective but PETA has achieved far more.

Internationally, PETA's efforts have led to some historic breakthroughs, esp regarding use of animals for testing cosmetics and in scientific labs.

"PETA’s animal protection work brings together members of the scientific, judicial, and legislative communities to halt abusive practices. Such cases, aided by thorough investigative work, congressional involvement, consumer boycotts, and international media coverage, frequently result in long-term changes that improve the quality of life for, and prevent the deaths of, thousands of animals".

The organisation is yet young in India and may not have really managed to impact policy. As regards the ban on performing animals at circuses, for example, I am unsure how much credit goes to PETA and how much to our animal-loving aunty Maneka Gandhi.

Take corporates. Note not a single Indian cosmetic company is listed as 'animal-friendly' or cruelty-free on the PETA Dishoomwebsite.

But I guess the only way to change that is to get consumers to demand cruelty-free products. And targetting the youth is the smart thing to do. They are, after all, the ones who are more likely to passionately espouse such a cause.

PETA, being an activist group, do tend to become overzealous at times. But as long as they don't come across as cranks - it's OK. People will get sensitised, pick and choose how cruelty-free they wish to be. And hopefully, even that change in behaviour and lifestyle will have a considerable impact.

Of course, in this country we also have a long way to go as regards the ethical treatment of human beings... But that, is another cause, a whole different story!

18 comments:

  1. Thats an interesting take on PETA. The kind of image this organization has created for itself over the years; sort of attracts the overzealous kind. The cause is noble, but the path has to be convincing, not intimidating. Hopefully it matures in a different way in India.

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  2. For people who support these groups it's easy and conveninet to take a stand in life,but for lesser mortals its not a choice but compulsion.

    Although I'm a veggie but would never go around giving gyan ,as these folks do...I guess that just another way of staying in news....sometimes these pg 3 folks suck..

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  3. I often dont agree with such groups, because they are always too extreme in their views. I think more moderate ways are necessary for modern society. Yet, i still believe that groups such as PETA are essential, because you might not agree with their extreme views, but they help tilt society's balance slightly to their side, thus bringing about a good equilibrium.

    Just one small thing, I think that it was cow's milk that was the reason that indians considered them sacred. A live cow was far more valuable than the meat of a dead one. It provided milk everyday, and a way to plough the fields. That is the main reason why indians deemed them sacred, so as to protect the benefits we derived from cows.

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  4. "our country has a long way to go as regards the ethical treatment of human beings..."

    It's very true. When people can't treat their own species properly, how can the government expect them to be considerate about the poor animals. And, talking about the stoppage to the intake of dairy products, it is unimaginable.

    Moreover, we aren't killing or ill-treating animals for thier milk. If somebody is doing that, let PETA go and stop them.

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  5. No "Tofu Butter Masala" either! Butter is milk fat remember? Instead, have a "Tofu Margarine Masala" :D

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  6. Hi Rashmi,

    Thanks for giving so much information this org. I was never aware of PETA and nor what it does.

    Nicely presented.

    Balaji

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  7. Rashmi,
    You have nicley presented how PETA's ads for the cause are so well presented and motivating.... But did you realize that the people who they use as models for their ads, are themshelves meat eaters.
    I had myself written about this about an year ago... read this and you will know what i mean.
    http://umeshagarwal.blogspot.com/2005/03/peta-and-these-celebs.html

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  8. hi Rashmi,
    the arlicle was well written and nicely documented..
    regarding the presence of urea in milk i undertook a project during my masters on the same topic and infact made a biosensor to test as well as quantify the presence of urea in milk.. you can find some more information on it on my blog..memorylanz.blogspot.com http://memorylanz.blogspot.com/2006/03/sayani-rani-says.html
    infact my work has been accepted for presentation at the Annual PITCON conference presently going on...
    regards

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  9. If you know your history beyond the "cow is sacred" era, you wouldnt really espouse vegetarianism. Primitive man hunted animals for food and animals were the primary source of food, clothing, medicine, weapon parts etc. Although we're not primitive men, we should realize that today there still are people who live only on animals because the regions in which they live have sparse or no vegetation and soils are not fertile enough for agriculture. I'm talking about the Eskimos, the Bushmen, the Lapps and the like. Are these people being cruel to animals?

    And of course, we depend on animal hide for the leather for our jackets, belts and shoes. So please stop being hypocrites by claiming to be animal friendly when atleast one aspect of your daily life involves animals.. dead animals. Dead animals are also a part of our life. You can either believe that truth or just continue to be a hypocrite like John Abraham, who is seen pretty often in his leather jacket, leather belt and leather shoes in the movies but still is seen on PETA ads.

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  10. as far as i know, vegans have some reasons to be animal friendly..

    1. Human digestive system and other systems are 'desinged' for veg food items. teeth, tracts e.t.
    c.
    2. Human is the only animal who drinks other animal's milk.

    So be freindly with ur self and nature. In simple words be more close to nature rules..

    I am a pure non-vegie..I am 'designed' to be like that :-). Whos mistake ?

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  11. peta video on treatment of animal at slaughter houses

    watch this and yet any non-veg feels okay, go ahead and consume meat.

    PETA has a reason to say what they say, even I drink milk, but the reasoning not to drink on the lines of 'yuk, without milk, duh!' doesn't help. meat eater can say that too, and it's a long way before we all are vegetarian. but after knowing what happens (video) i would have assume meat eaters to be incompassionate too.

    btw, nothing wrong in eating meat, if you do it nature's way - hunt, kill yourself, cook and eat. or atleast push for more humane pain free slaughterhouses, which i would be fine with.

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  12. I am all for animal rights and treating them well. Somehow I don't like peta too much, with their Hypocrisy and holier then thou attitude. I would rather support other organisations that actually do better work for animals in Mumbai. [And just for the record I have]

    If you really want to know what I am talking about, go to http://www.petakillsanimals.com/

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  13. Animals for ethical treatment of people

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  14. I'm a vegan. But I've often wondered if the food chain would maintain its stability in case humans quit eating non-vegeterian food.

    PETA comes up captivating slogans and ads now and then through which it has been able to deliver the message effectively. They've done a good job so far. I also remember campaigns where hotshot models posed nude saying I'd rather go nude than wearing fur. The kind of efforts they upt o reflects how they explore every nook and corner in order to make their mission successful.

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  15. I thin if we dont eat chicken ..
    they will eat us one day..!!!

    World without Chicken......
    Give me a break... not possible..

    By the way Good Info..

    All the best PETA..!!!

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  16. Meat puts much more strain on the environment as compared to vegetarian food - say grain or potatoes. For instance, to produce 1 kilo of wheat, 1000 liters of water is required. To produce 1 kilo of meat, it would require 5-10 times more. Not to mention, the forests that need to be razed to produce animal feed. The planet cannot support 6 billion people consuming meat. Being vegetarian is less about the morality and more about trying to preserve the environment - enlightened self interest for the more cynical of us. If you have studied history, you would know that human population started to explode only after agriculture, not when humanity consisted of hunter-gatherers. It had a lot to do with the amount of food available and the certainty of food supply.

    Also, PETA is not just about not having meat. In my limited interaction with these guys, I have come under the impression (which could be wrong) that they are also trying to preserve natural habitats and wildlife. The tiger or the rhino are not dying out due to natural causes - like the dinosaurs did - but because they are being poached for hides/body-parts and their habitat is being destroyed by constant human encroachment - for agriculture and cattle feed.

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  17. The grapevine has it that the meat-eating community is amalgamating its supporters to form the new organization - People for the EDIBLE Treatment of Animals (PETA). Thodi si pet-pooja.

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  18. good going mate!
    u generate just the right kind of debates...
    i m much like u, an egg eating vegetarian... it has mostly to do with my upbringing, but i remember little piglets being dragged about in the streets, taken to slaughterhouses... these are terrifying memories from my childhood :(

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