Tag Archives: sentient

Human insect use and consumption – a compilation

Posted on September 27, 2022 by There's an Elephant in the Room

I was shocked to read recently that around 1 TRILLION (1 trillion = 1,000,000,000,000) individual insects are currently raised for consumption and killed on farms every year. It’s a staggering number, all the more so for the fact that it’s … Continue reading →

Posted in insects, Uncategorized, Victims in the shadows | Tagged African palm weevil (Rhynchoporus phoenicis), cricket (Acheta domesticus), domesticated silkworm (Bombyx mori), environment, honeybee (Apis mellifera), insects, invertebrate, mopane caterpillar (Imbrasia belina), sentience, sentient, yellow meal worm (Tenebrio molitor) | 2 Comments

‘To finish’; looking at language

Posted on April 10, 2020 by There's an Elephant in the Room

‘Finishing’ is yet another of the words with which the animal use industry glosses over the monstrous activities of our species. ‘Finishing’ is part of the practice of making victims out of gentle and defenceless individuals for nonvegan consumers to … Continue reading →

Posted in Terminology | Tagged consumer, consumer demand, euphemism, feel-good, finish, finished, finishing, glossy, sentient, slaughter, slaughterhouse, welfare, welfare standards | 3 Comments

Speciesism and the welfare of property

Posted on February 15, 2019 by There's an Elephant in the Room

Sometimes we are told that someone ‘loves’ ‘their’ animals, or that they ‘treat them well’, but the claim that is always shouted from the rooftops is the one about ‘high welfare standards’. These claims may come from people in a … Continue reading →

Posted in property status, welfare | Tagged autonomy, business asset, commerce, commercial assets, companions, consent, feelings, guidelines, individual, property, regulations, rescue, respect, sanctuary, sentience, sentient, speciesism, welfare, welfare standards, well-being, wellbeing | 16 Comments

‘What are cows for?’

Posted on December 17, 2018 by There's an Elephant in the Room

A recent comment on a post read, ‘What do you think cows are for?’ The writer was raging against the facts relating to dairy use and consumption. It was clear that they saw nothing wrong with their question as a line of … Continue reading →

Posted in FAQ, Nonhuman family members | Tagged breast milk, cats, chickens, Chickens and eggs, childhood, companions, consumer demand, cows, dogs, milk, pigs, sentience, sentient, sheep, vegan, veganism, violence | 4 Comments

Inspiring veganism

Posted on August 26, 2018 by There's an Elephant in the Room

If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people to collect wood and assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to yearn for the endless immensity of the sea. ~ Antoine De Saint-Exupery Today I read … Continue reading →

Posted in Advocacy | Tagged commitment, compromise, consumer demand, environment, farming, health, passion, plant-based, sentience, sentient, tick list, trade off, vegan, veganism | 3 Comments

Don’t fall for the hype, ‘veal’ is not a stand-alone industry

Posted on June 5, 2016 by There's an Elephant in the Room

A recurring theme on social media is the subject of ‘veal’. It’s a topic guaranteed to cause feelings to run high amongst ‘animal lovers’. As an animal rights advocate, I can only marvel at the sleight of hand by which … Continue reading →

Posted in Advocacy | Tagged breast milk, butter, cheese, commodification, consumer demand, dairy, lactation, milk, resources, rights, sentience, sentient, separation, slaughter, veal, veganism, vegetarianism, violation, waste, yogurt | 9 Comments

Users and losers – looking at ‘exploitation’

Posted on September 1, 2015 by There's an Elephant in the Room

Originally published 1 September 2015, updated 22 January 2019 The word ‘exploitation’ is frequently used in connection with our behaviour towards other animal species. Like many others, ‘exploitation’ is a word we seem to save specially for this circumstance, perhaps … Continue reading →

Posted in Awakening to veganism, Terminology | Tagged animal lovers, breast milk, brutal, brutality, Chickens and eggs, cow, dairy, exploitation, harm, health, hen, honesty, labour, loser, pig, sentience, sentient, sheep, slaughter, slaughterhouse, speciesism, user, vegan, violence, violent, words | 11 Comments