"Choose vegetarian" transit ads compare eating cows to eating dogs

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      This month, Vancouver transit riders will be confronted with the following question: why do people love cats and dogs, but eat chickens, cows, and pigs? Mercy for Animals Canada is placing three different poster-sized advertisements on the SkyTrain system as part of a cross-country campaign.

      Ads asking commuters to “choose vegetarian” will also run on transit in Calgary, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Ottawa, Montréal, and Halifax, beginning this week. Locally, MFA Canada is collaborating with the Vancouver Humane Society, Earthsave Canada, and Liberation B.C. on the campaign.

      These “Why love one but eat the other?” ads previously caused a stir in Toronto. On the MFA Canada blog, director of operations Stephane Perrais states:

      This provocative ad campaign is designed to get people thinking about their food choices in relation to animal suffering. The ad series draws attention to the similarities between the animals we call “family” and the animals we call “dinner” and then exposes the shocking cruelty that Canadian animals raised for food face on today’s factory farms.

      The ads direct people to ChooseVeg.ca, where they’ll find a vegetarian starter kit.

      Stephen Hui is on parental leave from his job as the Georgia Straight's web editor and technology editor. He blogs about vegan food at Veg Coast. You can follow him on Twitter and Facebook.

      Comments

      18 Comments

      DavidH

      May 13, 2013 at 12:38pm

      I agree with this campaign. Starting tomorrow, I'm going to "choose vegetarians".

      Sure, they will probably be a bit stringy and tasteless, but with enough sauce they'll be fine on the barbie.

      Yep. Choose vegetarians. Good plan. Eating anything else would be irresponsible.

      DavidH

      May 13, 2013 at 1:14pm

      We've also seen a huge increase in the number of US Tea Party dolts, conspiracy theorists, birthers, truthers, anti-immunizers, gluten-freebies, and gun rights defenders.

      How uplifting.

      bobo

      May 13, 2013 at 2:28pm

      I love dogs because they ALWAYS greet me with a friendly yelp and a wagging tail. Unlike my wife who almost always greets me with an unfriendly yelp and won't let me near her tail - except when she is in the mood. So yeah, I love dogs because they are great companions - and I eat cows because they taste good. Dogs make terrible bar-b-que and cows are lousy at playing fetch.

      RUK

      May 13, 2013 at 3:25pm

      Ethical qualms rise in proportion with the sentience of the animal. If we establish that it is certainly wrong to eat people and certainly ok to eat vegetables, then we have a sliding scale of intelligence.

      Fish are pretty dumb. Birds are not as dumb, but pretty dumb. Dogs are hella smart. Unfortunately, I have read that pigs are even smarter - I guess that means only turkey bacon from now on.

      Kourtney

      May 14, 2013 at 10:08am

      It's easy to make jokes on the subject, but the fact of the matter is meat is detrimental to the environment, ones health, and animals. Omnivores will be laughing themselves right into chemo, enjoy!

      DavidH

      May 14, 2013 at 2:39pm

      @ Kourtney: Please note my comment earlier about the dimwits who try to gain high ground by spouting utter nonsense.

      One day, perhaps, you will see yourself in a mirror. One of them shiny things that reflects back upon you.

      BeaElliott

      May 14, 2013 at 3:57pm

      The meat/dairy/egg industries spends hundreds of millions of dollars lying tothe public about their product. But no amount of false propaganda can sanitize meat. The facts are absolutely clear: Eating meat is bad for human health, catastrophic for the environment, and a living nightmare for animals. There's never been more compelling reasons or a better time to opt for a plant based diet.
      Want to create a better world? Eat like you mean it - Go Vegan
      http://www.nonviolenceunited.org/veganvideo.html
      http://10billionlives.com/
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GrbYVsK7vs

      Travis

      May 16, 2013 at 7:19am

      These ads are ridiculous, obviously the silly vegetarian who made them hasn't tried dog nor beef. There's no comparison in flavour between the two, beef tastes much better. That's why most people eat cows over dogs.

      Alan Ranta

      May 16, 2013 at 10:47am

      I like vegetarian food, and support anyone who chooses to live that way, but this ad is stupid. If it's not your own kind (i.e. cannibalism), it's fair game. The only reason not to eat any kind of meat is if it's endangered, but the last time I checked, there are lots of cows and dogs around.

      The only ethical dilemma involved in eating meat is how we treat the animals while they're alive. They should be treated with compassion and respect, not as product shoved into holes until slaughter. They should be able to live healthy, natural lives (i.e. organic, free range) until it's their time.