PETA, Please Enjoy This Advertisement.

This is an advertisement poster showing an obese boy in Merthyr Tydfil claiming feeding burgers to children is a form of abuse. PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) is the group behind this ad campaign. The animal rights group posted the picture to raise awareness of Merthyr Tydfil’s obesity problem. Local authorities have spoken saying the labeling of the poster is both offensive and inaccurate.

A spokeswoman for Merthyr County Borough Council said: “We offer many healthy living projects and initiatives that aim to address the issue of child obesity, and will continue to do so. Unfortunately, the message conveyed in this advert is portrayed as stereotypically offensive and is blatantly inaccurate. PETA admits to placing the ad where it did to target the overweight children in the area. The ad also displays a “Fight The Fat: Go Veg” slogan at the bottom.

PETA is known for having controversial ads, but this one doesn’t clearly say that eating meat means killing animals. Some of their other ads are pictures of famous celebrities, usually naked women posing with the words of ‘I’d Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur. More recent ads are of male celebrities with tattoos next to the words “Ink Not Mink”. So this controversial type ad is not unusual for PETA to put up.

When asked about the validity of the statement in this ad, Tracy Reiman, CP of PETA and mother said the following: "The potential for damage caused by a meat-heavy diet is like a ticking time bomb in kids. Vegetarian and vegan kids are, on average, slimmer and enjoy all-around better health than their meat-eating peers. 'Eat your veggies' has become more than just off-the-cuff parental advice— it can mean the difference between a healthy, happy kid and one who's overweight and sick." There is no scientific backing to this statement, or any sources whatsoever. Meat can make individuals fat and unhealthy but so can multiple other things.

As far as child abuse goes, wordnetweb.princton.edu defines child abuse as the physical or emotional or sexual mistreatment of kids. So it isn’t clearly marked that feeding kids meat is child abuse-the argument can go both ways. If one were to feed a child nothing but meat products with a lot of fat, some could consider that child abuse. If one were to feed a child a chicken breast once a week, that is less likely to be child abuse.

PETA works through public education, cruelty investigations, research, animal rescue, legislation, special events, celebrity involvement, and protest campaigns. On PETA’s website, is reads PETA “focuses its attention on the four areas in which the largest numbers of animals suffer the most intensely for the longest periods of time: on factory farms, in the clothing trade, in laboratories, and in the entertainment industry.” Not once in there does it say the well being of humans.

According to The Legal Dictionary, Animal Cruelty is the crime of inflicting physical pain, suffering or death on an animal, usually a tame one, beyond necessity for normal discipline. It can include neglect that is so monstrous (withholding food and water) that the animal has suffered, died or been put in imminent danger of death.

A less controversial organization of animal rights activist is the ASPCA, American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. They focus more on helping abused animals than promoting an animal product free lifestyle. In the “about us” section on their website the ASPCA was founded in 1866, and the ASPCA was the first humane organization in the Western Hemisphere. Their mission, as stated by founder Henry Bergh, is “to provide effective means for the prevention of cruelty to animals throughout the United States.” The ASPCA works to rescue animals from abuse, pass humane laws and share resources with shelters nationwide. The ads put out by ASPCA don’t encourage living an animal free lifestyle, they just want to provide care for all the animals. The only advertisement that ASPCA puts on is the television commercial with sad looking animals with a sad song, asking for help.

A new animal rights topic in culture today is the horse slaughter ban lifted by congress. A PETA spokesperson said that while the group continues to oppose the slaughter of horses, the congressional ban had some unintended consequences, particularly the shipment and housing of horses at foreign facilities where U.S. humane slaughtering protections do not apply. To reduce suffering, there should be a ban on the export of live horses, even if that means opening slaughterhouses in the U.S. again. There hasn’t been any funding implemented for the ban so it is unclear what will happen

In the Journal of Law and Health, there is the following argument : Congress Must Adopt Legislation That Creates Humane Living Standards for Animals Raised for Food in Order to Alleviate the Burden of Food-Related Illness on the Healthcare System. This article covers four main topics. 1. Food-Borne Illness, Antibiotic Resistant Infections, and Environmental Pollutants Increase Health Care Costs. 2.Inexpensive Meat Promotes Excessive Consumption of Animal Products, Which Increases Chronic Disease and Associated Health Care Costs 3. Small Increases in the Price of Meat May Improve Health By Discouraging Excessive Consumption of Animal Products 4.Small Increases in the Price Of Meat Will Allow Producers to Employ Humane Procedures That Will Create Healthier, More Nutritious Meat That Reduces the Risk of Chronic Diseases. I think that not only does this article address the animal abuse issue, but it also covers the human-health issue as well. It isn’t the best option, but it is plausible.