Apr16
Eat The Whales
Posted at 03:40 PM | Permalink
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Comments (32)
You know what was sweet? PETA's "Eat The Whales" Campaign. For those of you not familiar with it, the concept behind this campaign was to encourage people who just "can't do without meat" to limit themselves to really, really large animals in order to minimize the number who had to die for their flesh addiction. I always bring that point up when people say "I only eat white meat." As if eating more chickens were somehow better than eating a combination of chickens and cows.
"Eat The Whales" was launched outside the 2001 International Whaling Convention by PETA activists "distributing 'Eat the Whales' leaflets," as the press release puts it, "displaying a colorful 'Eat the Whales' banner, and serving 'whale meat' to nonvegetarians, pro- and anti-whalers alike," and it made (excuse the pun) a really big splash. I've always thought of "Eat The Whales" as one of the best things of its kind that PETA has done. The campaign immediately grabs your attention, because, well, why in God's name would PETA be encouraging people to eat whales? But it also raises some really important questions about the arbitrary lines we draw when it comes to what kind of killing is acceptable to us. Why do some of the same people who get up in arms at the notion of a whaling ship harpooning a whale have no qualms whatsoever about eating a ham sandwich?
I know this one is controversial, and I know that not all animal activists share my enthusiasm for it—but my attitude towards "Eat The Whales" has always been this: I can guarantee you that whether people took it seriously or not (the “whale meat” PETA handed out was vegan after all), there wasn't a single person who actually ate more whale because of the campaign. But a lot of people who were outraged at the very suggestion that anyone would kill and eat these wonderful creatures were also forced to ask themselves whether, just maybe, they shouldn't be eating any animals at all.
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Comments
Jack, it reminds me of that psychology ethics experiment where they asked participants: if a train was headed towards 5 people standing on a track, and you could pull a lever and make it kill only one person standing on another track, would you do it?
"Kill the Whales" seems to suggest that killing only one is better (and that was the most popular answer in the experiment).
However, I tend to think that taking "just one" life is no different than taking thousands. I know this is controversial too, but if that one life is, say, your own sister, or your own cat, we may begin to think differently.
Thanks for sharing this interesting campaign idea.
Posted by: Maya | April 16, 2007 07:18 PM
Hey Jack,
I just came to this blog after clicking a link on LoveFromJack.com (great stuff). I can't help but respond to Maya's comment.
There is an obvious difference between the loss of one life and the loss of more than one life. That difference is one by a factor of however many additional lives are lost, minus one. Death is bad, but more death is worse.
Anyway, I love the "Eat The Whales" Campaign! It's a great example of PETA's ability to use tongue-in-cheek concepts to grab people's attention for long enough to impart a little bit of information about factory-farmed animals. Wonderful.
Posted by: Chris | April 16, 2007 11:55 PM
Eat The Whales? Aw.. but one whale values his or her own life just as much..
The first thing that came to mind was killing one for the greater good is no more morally acceptable.. which is an issue I know PETA takes sides with.
I'm not too crazy about this campaign.. I don't think people will understand the concept (although it is an interesting one) coming from PETA.
Posted by: K | April 17, 2007 12:37 AM
I think this is a pretty hilarious campaign. And...that's basically the only comment I have right now.
Posted by: Canaduck | April 17, 2007 12:40 AM
Stupid, I was considering doing an undercover investigation into a cosmetic testing lab when I've finished getting my veterinary degree, but I'd rather do it independently than with PETA now. How do you expect to be taken seriously with this lunacy? And how do you expect co-operation with environmental organizations. Offcourse you're not serious but you say this crap and then you expect environmental groups to sign an agreement by you stating they won’t test on animals? There's a difference between fun loving young people and morons and you have just crossed the line. No wonder so many people hate PETA, you carry on like children. I understand that you're trying to make people think, but like I keep saying, you've lost touch with the common man and that's why you get so many enemies. Normal people won't understand this, it's just ludicrous. How do you expect to be taken seriously? Talk about a big step backwards for the entire organization.
Posted by: AnimalLib | April 17, 2007 02:52 AM
I remember when I first read about the "Eat The Whales" campaign. I was mortified! Then I realized that no sane PETA member or activist would actually go out whaling and start eating whale because PETA said so. Those who take offense to the campaign need to realize this.
Posted by: Benjamin | April 17, 2007 03:07 AM
right, seriously, fuck animals... its their own fault for being so damn tasty.
Posted by: Matt | April 17, 2007 04:23 AM
Yep I remember this campaign! Of course PETA doesn't support whaling, but it sure as hell would be much less cruel than factory farming
Posted by: Curtis | April 17, 2007 05:43 AM
This reminds me of when, after staring at a plate of shrimp creole, I realized 12 lives had been sacrificed for my lunch. I gave up shrimp, the last holdout in my increasingly vegetarian lifestyle, and have never regretted it.
One whale at a time.
Posted by: KathyF | April 17, 2007 05:59 AM
long life to Moby Dick!!!
Posted by: animalfriend | April 17, 2007 10:07 AM
AnimalLib, I felt the same way when I saw this, but let me say this: I thought about it for a while and realized the campaign was not literal.
To respond to it literally is missing the point. I think they're being ironic and figurative. Geez that sounds lame but obviously they're not wanting people actually killing whales.
I don't like the campaign, but I have to give them some credit for not LITERALLY pointing to some person and calling them a slut or dumb or something. At least here they're just being provocative, although a bit too much so.
MOST IMPORTANT POINT: if people comment on this type of post, and not on the poor turtles below (who only got 1 comment so far), it will only reaffirm to PETA that the most provocative campaigns get the attention.
Respond to the clever, unoffensive ones too.
Posted by: Maya | April 17, 2007 12:06 PM
wow!
this campaign is such a good idea and it reinforced my views as a veggie and peta member.
it really is a good idea and hopefully knocked some sense into others.
keep working hard
Posted by: danielle | April 17, 2007 12:42 PM
I don't get it. You want us to kill and eat whales. Everyday Peta's actions are turning me away.
Posted by: Michelle Siriani | April 17, 2007 04:06 PM
I think what makes me sad about this is that while many people know about how pigs suffer, marine mammals like whales are deeply misunderstood.
Whales are anatomically, physiologically and mentally very unique and extremely challenging to understand.
Please please read Tora Johnson's Enganglements about how whales conflict with fishermen.
(at least go to a bookstore and read the 3-page introduction - you'll learn volumes!!)
Posted by: Maya | April 17, 2007 04:35 PM
Wow, this campaign should be brought back!
Posted by: Sarah | April 17, 2007 06:23 PM
Why do some of the same people who get up in arms at the notion of a whaling ship harpooning a whale have no qualms whatsoever about eating a ham sandwich?
>>>>>>> YES! Love this campaign. It is one of PETA's best and most memorable. Keep up the good creative work.
Posted by: vegan4animals | April 17, 2007 08:55 PM
Wow, Jack. Wow.
Posted by: Chris | April 17, 2007 08:58 PM
I would eat a whale.
Posted by: Larry Buck | April 17, 2007 09:52 PM
The point being made here is that from an animal rights perspective, it is arbitrary and speciesist to place a whale's life higher than that of the pig or chicken. They all have a right to live on their own terms, free from human exploitation.
From an ecological perspective, however, it may be more detrimental to eat whales, especially if it leads to their extinction.
Posted by: Brandon | April 17, 2007 11:36 PM
You missed the point completely, Michelle.
Posted by: Canaduck | April 18, 2007 12:05 AM
Michelle.. you are one of the people we talk about when we say some people are too dumb to get the point. They are not speaking literally.
This is why there is controversy over the campaign, because people know that there are people like you that aren't intellectually capable of processing information that doesn't say EXACTLY what it means... you know, information that you have to actually THINK about.
Posted by: Kacie | April 18, 2007 08:50 AM
Michelle is certainly not "dumb". I mean, the campaign does kind of remind me of some "jokes" in hollywood that PETA did not find at all amusing.
Whales evoke very strong emotions in the general public; PETA has an excellent point that some people respect whales more than pigs - it's just that the message is a bit confusing. :)
Posted by: Maya | April 18, 2007 02:10 PM
This campaign is total bullshit. Quantifying death doesn't prove anything. How many plants do you have to kill to get the protien of one chicken? How much land is torn up for monocrop agriculture to grow soy (very water intensive) and if you ask me isn't worth its weight in shit. And before I get a slew of people telling me that raising animals is unsustainable, you don't know anything. I don't agree with feedlots and I don't agree with caged chickens. But I also would never agree with a diet of supplements and pills to go along with a process meal of soy burgers. I would rather wear a fur coat then gortex any day of the week because it has less impact on the environment. so before you go and cast stones, think about it all. We are omnivore's. We only have one stomoach. eating grass isn't an option. We work ideally on a mix of foods. You want to improve an animals way of life, keep doing what your doing petitioning to make the treatments of animals better isn't a problem, but also try giving your dog or cat something fresh, try cooking a meal for yourself from unprocessed foods. Get yourselves out of the cages and then worry about something else. These microviewpoints are dull and show a lack of insite.
Posted by: TuPac | April 18, 2007 05:07 PM
Whale tastes good i have had yummy
Posted by: Steven Cochrane | April 18, 2007 07:54 PM
spaking of whales, there was a freak incident in Brooklyn
www.anywayaround.com
Posted by: piggy | April 19, 2007 02:09 PM
What an unbelievable stupid idea. I'm vegan and you've just put me off ever being involved with Peta. As endangered species any harvesting of whale populations is completely unsustainable. The method of killing whales is barbaric, involving prolonged suffering. This is incomparable to the quick bolt to the head involved in killing pigs. Much as I deplore the killing of any animals for food - I find encouraging people to eat meat derived from even more inhumane and unsustainable sources really unhelpful.
Posted by: Louise Sales | May 2, 2007 08:18 PM
Whether this is the case or not, this comes across as a convenient and disingenuous way for PETA to sidestep criticism for taking a stance against the practices of an "ethnic" culture.
Cruelty is cruelty, regardless of the face behind it.
Posted by: Commentary | June 15, 2007 03:42 PM
idiots.
Posted by: christie rhode | September 10, 2007 04:20 PM
you make me sick, whales are not to be eaten
Posted by: Jamie | June 23, 2008 04:21 AM
Right on. We need to eat everything equally.
Best idea I got from this article: Whale Bacon.
Can it be done?
Posted by: Joe Callan | July 29, 2008 01:34 PM
Perhaps we should not hunt whales but why not humanely kill and eat beached whales? Until recently coastal communities presented with a beached whale would have considered that God was blessing them with free food etc. Have we all gone bonkers?
Posted by: Chris | January 2, 2009 08:12 AM
THIS is bad .I thought killing any animal is bad.Anyhow Tonight 6/5/09 on ANIMAL PLANET everyone (if you have time) show watch the Sea Shepherd program on how they are stopping the japanese to HUNT WHALING. Hey Peta I am shocked at you.
Posted by: Ozzie | June 5, 2009 02:08 PM