PETA isn't as great when it's not a type of bread.

To start this off, I want to mention that I know that this is a fairly sensitive and controversial subject.  I know, I'm totally being pretentious and didactic and whatnot.  When am I ever not?  I just thought I should point out that I recognize how I sound, I guess...

I'm a vegetarian, so most people assume that I like PETA.  I do not.  I support their stance on animal rights, but they are completely and disgustingly sexist.  They put forward images that are offensive and are ultimately damaging- both to our highly gendered society, and to the vegan cause.  Not eating meat does not equal hating women.  Or perpetuating the myth of the submissive women in western culture.  And advocating violence against women, even if it is not directly stated as such.

You can tell people not to eat meat without a picture of a naked lady next to it.  It's entirely alienating, and is not the message that most of us who don't eat meat associated with us.  Women are not pieces of meat, and animals shouldn't be either. I get it.  But when you're relying solely on that message, and the attractiveness of the women in the advertisement, you cannot pretend to hold the moral high ground.  The effect on these images on our society are profoundly damaging.  But that's a rant for a different time.

If someone wants to eat meat, that's okay with me.  If the person has read the information, realized that they have a choice, and are knowledgeable about their reason for making the choice, I absolutely respect that.  You can do what you feel is best for yourself, the animals, and the larger community.  But when you're going on the argument of "meat tastes good," I don't feel like that's fully valid.  Some people know and don't have the willpower.  I just feel like, if you realize that you are eating an individual being, who lived a life in darkness and was killed in a painful, inhumane manner, willpower stops being an issue.

Anyone thinking about becoming a vegetarian should not look at PETA first.  I know, it's what comes up on google.  They're the largest and most well-known organization. For a clear, unbiased view, I recommend Jonathan Safran Foer's Eating Animals.

 Bad, bad advertisements.