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Why Does PETA Use Graphic Imagery?

Written by PETA

Posted 03-03-2008

41 Comments

This is pretty rad. It's a website that gives experts in various fields a forum to explain their point of view on a wide array of topics related to their specific area of knowledge. PETA President Ingrid Newkirk has a page of video responses to questions that run the gamut from what the biggest misconceptions are about the animal rights movement to where human rights and animal rights diverge. I've posted a video below on the topic of why PETA uses graphic imagery to get the message across, and you can see the rest of Ingrid's video interviews (there are, like, 30 of them) here. Good stuff.

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animal rights, graphic, interview, huskies, Ingrid Newkirk, Georgia, of, North, White Rain Carolina, UNC, tar heels, wildcats, sparty, 40, watt

Recent Comments

Brandon Becker commented:

3-14-2008 3:36 PM

Images are one of the best tools we have in the animal rights struggle. We can make the philosophical argument and describe the reality of animal exploitation but sometimes it takes the power of picturesvideo to move someone to take action. Watching "Meet Your Meat" was the turning point in my decision to quit consuming animal flesh milk and eggs and become vegan. I encourage everyone who has not yet seen this powerful video to go to httpwww.meetyourmeat.com or httpwww.meat.org and watch it.
lynda downie commented:

3-6-2008 1:50 AM

I appreciate the comments by Halv Jaclyn Susannah Derek and others who recognize that it takes all of us to fight for animals. Just like cognitive ethologists who reveal the real natures of animalsfor example PeTA reveals the real lives of animals in factory farms labs etc. PeTA's use of graphic images of animal abuse is utterly indispensable in our fight for animal liberation. Thanks to Ingrid for recognizing the power of the image. What a lovely person she is.
Mike Quinoa commented:

3-5-2008 3:20 PM

Christopher As I mentioned in this instance I'm referring specifically to the meat industry. Their use of euphemisms and spin here is in fact entirely calculated as evidenced by the passage "Words like debeaking hanging and detoeing used in the poultry industry give extra fodder to groups that seek its destruction he Cummings said."
Maya, CVT commented:

3-5-2008 2:49 PM

Chris I'm not too well informed about bald eagles but due to global warming we may see certain predators concentrated into specific areas which can decieve one into thinking there has been an increase in population. This will be due to their prey like salmon being forced into whacky migration patterns. It's hard to qualify. ps I forgot to mention I love the name Oliver. What a great name for a dog
Christopher Cochran MD commented:

3-5-2008 12:43 PM

Mike The use of Latinate words in the sciences especially medicine is a common convention. We don't even say nosebleed epistaxis and we use exsanguinate all the time for bleeding out. My all time favorite has to be "expire" like people are cartons of milk. If this form of doublespeak is a crime then we are all guilty. The binomial nature of meatonthehoof vs. meatonthetable has nothing to do with euphemisms rather the people who grew the meat spoke Germanic English and the people who ate the meat spoke Norman French thereby the convention evolved.
Mike Quinoa commented:

3-5-2008 12:15 PM

Christopher The meat industry is certainly not above the use of euphemisms though "Stop talking about debeaking a chicken. Instead lets call it beak conditioning. Thats a suggestion from Timothy Cummings a clinical professor and poultry veterinarian at Mississippi State University in Starkville Miss. who spoke to poultry producers here Friday. Words like debeaking hanging and detoeing used in the poultry industry gives extra fodder to groups that seek its destruction he said. Cummings offered other suggestions The backup killer in a poultry plant the worker who kills birds missed by the automatic killer should be called knife operator. Rather than saying a bird has been bled to death call it exsanguinated.
Christopher Cochran MD commented:

3-5-2008 10:23 AM

Jessie The reason we have different words in English for the animal and the meat goes back to the 11th century when the Normans French Speakers conquered the AngloSaxons who spoke a primarily Germanic form of Old English. The Normans became the landed gentry and did not deal with the livestock first hand by convention. The AngloSaxons continued to raise the animals and call them by their "English" names. Over time the convention evolved that the animal in the field was referred to with it's English name and the meat on the Norman table by the French word. These words evolved over time to the words we know now. Examples SheepMutton DeerVenison CowBeef PigPork. This is a simplified explanation keep in mind. I agree with you that people are disconnected from their foods otherwise we wouldn't eat all the processed glop with which we continue to ruin our health and environment. You should probably avoid food that a chemist helped develop. Like any category of foods though there are good and bad meats despite what you might read on this site. Maya I enjoy pleasant interchange with you that sound a little dirty sorry. The last time I went salmon fishing in BC I saw more bald eagles than salmon and I saw a lot of salmon! I agree the current administration is not top notch on conservation issues though. As hunters and fishers learn more our practices change in order to ensure a sustainable environment. This has always been in our best interest and we get better all the time.
Ana commented:

3-5-2008 9:12 AM

Hello Maya!!! You explained it well. Pain fear bleeding and loss of life is all the same for every being. I also have witnessed horrible deaths for cats and other species and it is all horrible especially when you see them fight for their lives. All beings want to live and feel the sun and raise their young. We as humans have no right to take that away from any creature. Humans have the power but that doesn't make it moral or right. Peace!
Ana commented:

3-5-2008 9:05 AM

Sorry Derek I meant to address my comment to Kurk K. My fault for doing so many things at once. KurtK my comment is in response to yours to me.
Ana commented:

3-5-2008 9:00 AM

Derek Read what I wrote carefully. I did not compare the suffering of nonhuman animals with that of human animals. I stated that graphic photos are used to make a point. That point is make others sensitive to the suffering of others. In regards to the suffering of nonhuman animals being less important that is totally speciesm. To me all suffering is equally important irregardless of species. All beings bleed suffer feel pain and fear so we are all connected. Also nonhuman animals are being slaughtered by the billions in unspeakably brutal ways. That's an indictment against the human animal.

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