the problem

meat & dairy industry

Animal Rights is about believing that non-human animals have the right to be treated with kindness and compassion. That means if you’re going to eat these animals or wear their skin, let them have a good life before they are slaughtered.

Before they get to our plates or stuffed into our jackets, animals are often treated TERRIBLY by what is known as The Meat & Dairy Industry. These companies torture animals, mistreat their workers, and ruin the environment. Why? MONEY, of course! Watch these videos to learn more:

WARNING: DISTURBING!

Want to see what factory farms really look like?  Click HERE (Warning: Disturbing).  Click HERE for a full documentary. (Warning: EXTREMELY disturbing).

animal testing

Animal Rights also means not experimenting on non-human animals for dumb reasons– like testing out a new deodorant or lipstick. A ton of companies do this so they can release new flavors and smells and make more MONEY.

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Look for these symbols on packaging to tell you it’s CRUELTY-FREE:

Learn more about animal testing by watching these videos:

Animal captivity (zoos and aquariums)

solutions and project ideas

To fight for animal rights you can decide to take a day (or more!) off of eating meat– like having a Meatless Monday.

I gotta say– the Meatless Monday logo needs an UPGRADE. Can one of our Island School artists do it? If you do, make a T-shirt or stamp with the new design!

You might say: one person cannot make a difference in changing the meat and dairy industry. However, if all 42 million teens in the U.S. skipped eating meat once a week, it could make a huge difference! There are plenty of alternatives to meat and dairy– like these:

As you can see from this first chart, seeds, nuts, and beans have plenty of protein to keep building our muscles

Make a song!

Make a song that fights or animal rights or convinces others to take a Meatless Monday!

Click HERE for the full version

You can even make the song from the perspective of a cow, pig, or rabbit!

Get inspired to reverse roles by this film:

Here’s a tutorial on how to make a song:

Here’s how to add words:

Make a Movie

How about creating interviewing friends and family about whether they’ve considered being vegetarian? You could also film an experiment about what happens when you take a break from meat once a week. What does your family say at the dinner table (or wherever you eat)?

You could also create a video to teach others about how weird it is that we eat animals, drink their milk, and wear their skin.

Here are some films to inspire you:

What if you had to kill what you ate?

What if you ate what are usually pets? What if your pets were what we usually eat?

make jewelry

What about creating jewelry to speak up for chickens, cows, and pigs.

make cruelty-free cosmetics

As you’ve seen from these videos, there are many reasons to buy products that are cruelty-free. So instead of just talking about cruelty-free cosmetics, today we’re making our own perfume and cologne without hurting a single animal 🙂

To create a great-smelling perfume or cologne, one thing you’ll need to learn about is aromatherapy. Aromatherapy is when you use scents (called “essential oils”) to help people feel good mentally and physically. Here’s a little guide:

Once you create a cosmetic, you can sell it on our Etsy Shop!

Using the money you earn, you can donate to PETA– an organization that fights for animal rights:

Make art

Your artwork can speak of the pain and suffering these animals go through to fill the pockets of the greedy meat and dairy industry or heartless cosmetic companies.