Dear Readers,
Pigs are well known in North America for one thing in particular: bacon. If people knew that pigs are kept in tiny gestation crates their entire lives, they might take a second look at what they are about to eat. If people knew that pigs are smarter than the pet dogs they cherish and love, they might think twice before taking that first bite. If people knew the environmental impacts of eating bacon, they would most likely cut it out of their diet.
The Toronto Pig Save takes place in Toronto Canada three times a week, and regardless of the freezing snow or roaring heat animal activists show up to participate. Three time a week people gather at the entrances of various slaughterhouses, awaiting the fateful truck carrying America’s addiction to meat inside it. The pigs are thirsty, and lots of them are too exhausted to stand up. The activists give water to the pigs, pouring it through the tiny holes in the truck into the pigs’ mouths. Pigs usually go up to three days without food or water before being slaughtered. After watering the pigs, the activists say their goodbyes as the truck makes its final turn through the closing gates. There is a silent vigil held as everyone reflects on the fact that these smart animals were bred just to become bacon.
The people who attend the Toronto Pig Save are mostly people who at one point in time ate bacon. Once they realized the suffering it takes to produce bacon, they decided to make a change. The point is they all started out like you, but once they realized how easy it was to make a change and save animals’ lives, the choice was easy. Luckily, there are many things you can do to help the animals that suffer inside factory farms besides attending The Toronto Pig Save. You can consider cutting meat out of your diet, replacing it with great plant based meat alternatives like Beyond Meat, Impossible Burger, Field Roast, and Tofurky, to name a few, all which you can get at your local grocery store. If giving up meat entirely seems like too daunting of a task, you can consider doing a Meatless Monday pledge. And remember...
“The question is not, can they reason? Nor, can they talk? But, can they suffer?”- Jeremy Bentham
Sincerely, Natalie Sienicki
The Humane League Campus Coordinator
EMU student
