I can't tell ...,,,...

[whyalloveragain]

Is PETA bad? I hear that they go to far, but I think you need to, to get your point across.
I always thought PETA was fighting in a good way.
What do you think?

Comments

[joe_fisher]

I'm pretty harsh on peta. I think they do more harm them good. As a vegan, nearly everything they do that garners negative press is an embarassment to me and be-littles my life style. They might have created quiet a few new veggies, but at the same time, they also created a wall so high between themselves and even moderates that they'll never be able to appeal to the 'bigger' crowd, the one that really needs targeted, 'Everyone'.

I've always felt the best tool for creating change is to personify your ideals and lead by example. And that is exactly what I do. And as result in a healthy and comfortable way I've opened alot of peoples minds to alot of things they never considered. But when I run into someone who peta rubbed wrong. They already have there blinders on. "oh, you dont eat meat huh? your one of those activists arent you?" I swear... that frustrates me to no end.

AND, there is another unfortunate fallout of peta's tactics, they scare young people (mostly women from my experiences unfortunately) into omiting animal products from there diet long before they even understand how to make a dietary change (let alone a massive one) in a healthy fashion. I've actually found myself in a position more then once were I, a STRICT vegan (I'm the no honey type even!) argued in FAVOR of animal product consumption for individuals who for a myriad of reasons werent ready for the swtich, and were facing health complications as result, or simply causing too much stress trying to avoid every single little thing, it was taking its toll mentally.

So, yeah. I think peta has good intentions, but I think they narrowly focus to much on their 'cause' instead the people who are helping make it happen.

just my 2cents, I'll live! :)

[annomalley]

Heh, thank you for that. This is a bit off-topic, but it was nice to read the last part of this comment after comments on a post of mine the other day from a vegan telling me she didn't understand why I found switching from vegetarian to vegan difficult.

[faerycake]

Thanks for that - it was really well expressed :)

I really do think the best way of going about things is to lead by example. If you're extreme people will inevitably react against you rather than listen to what you've got to say. The fact such a high profile organisation uses these tactics has such a negative effect on how people perceive vegans, it's really frustrating.

I can see that it's a difficult balance to strike between raising awareness and being offensive...but if you're not making people aware in a positive way, then you're just shooting yourself in the foot.

[rocktits]

Well said. I went vegan because of PETA (they were handing out pamphlets at a Cure concert I went to) and I had a friend who considered going vegan as well. Unfortunately, she heard from everyone right away how radical PETA is and promptly dismissed the stuff she heard as overexaggerations/lies. Luckily, I had the mind to look up the stuff I had learned at numerous other sites and so I was able to find that the stuff PETA said, although at times seeming sensationalized, were actually happening. Sadly, my friend didn't do the same, and is still one of "them." : P I just think PETA needs to be a little more careful about how they go about things.