Ireland is the largest exporter of bovine flesh in the Northern Hemisphere, outstripping the US, Canada and Mexico. It is the 10th largest dairy export nation in the world. It has a large vivisection industry, closely tied to its pharmaceutical industry and it is the largest breeder of thoroughbred horses in Europe, most of them used in the horse racing industry.
Amidst the darkness of animal use on this tiny island, a vegan sanctuary began life in 2008. Eden Farmed Animal Sanctuary started when two orphaned lambs and a few hens escaped slaughter and made Eden their home. It is now home to more than 100 residents.
Sanctuary is vital for the individual residents who live at Eden. But vegan education will create a world where other animals are regarded as our sentient equals and the need for sanctuary from human use will stop. This is the aim of Go Vegan World, the world’s largest and longest running animal rights advertising campaign.
The campaign is inspired and informed by the residents of Eden, many of whom feature in its ads. It has a simple aim: the end of animal use by humans.
Its execution is equally simple: the animals we objectify, harm and kill to meet our trivial desires confront us with who they are and what we do to them, highlighting the greatest barrier to a vegan world: human speciesism.
The campaign is determinedly focused on the animals on whose behalf it advocates and it presents veganism as the only rational choice for those who want to live non-violently. This adherence to the rights of other animals saw Go Vegan World win a landmark ruling by the Advertising Standards Authority in the UK to label dairy production inhumane, regardless of adherence to welfare guidelines.
In this talk Sandra Higgins discusses the function and execution of Go Vegan World from her perspective as a psychologist with over twenty years experience of working with human minds and how they effect social change.
It includes one hour of Q&A addressing the queries of activists in Toronto, Canada.
The event was live streamed by Hugh Reilly of ThatChannel.com
Grateful thanks to Nikki Hayes and the activists in Toronto for organising the event and their warm welcome to Go Vegan World.
