Be Kind to Farm Animals

They deserve to Be Treated with Dignity and Kindness

In honor of National Farm Animal Awareness Week (which takes place the third week of September), I would like to take a moment and reflect on the plight of farm animals, and in particular, those innocent creatures that are raised for food in factory farms and those that are used in science laboratories. It is estimated that almost 10 billion animals are raised in the United States for food each year. National Farm Animal Awareness Week is a great time to think about ways to help these poor innocent animals that are used for human consumption.

You can help by taking action! Here are a few ways to help farm animals:

Although the plight of farm animals can seem overwhelming, there are small and simple steps that can be taken to improve the lives of farm animals. One of the ways to help them is to not support businesses and industries that profit from animal suffering. You can go vegan!! It’s that simple and although some of you might not be ready to go vegan all the way, there are small changes to your diet that can be made such as skipping dairy and meat a few days a week! Try #meatlessmondays as a start. You can start swapping a few dairy products such as milk for plant-based foods.

Another way to help raise awareness of the plight of farm animals is to get involved. There are plenty of advocacy organizations and rescues that speak up and save farm animals. For instance, Mercy for Animals is an organization that is dedicated to ending the suffering of farm animals by exposing the dirty secrets of the dairy industry. There are also smaller organizations and rescues that save and place farm animals that were saved from slaughter in sanctuaries. You can visit and get involved as a volunteer or donate to them as they rely on people’s donations. Most of them do not get funding from the government so they rely on private donations.

On a personal note, I will always remember my encounter with a precious rescue pig named Penelope. I met her when I visited a local animal rescue and sanctuary. I had met farm animals before but never had an experience connecting with a pig and realizing they are individual creatures with their own personalities. She had a desire to bond and displayed affection when she approached me, lay on her back, and rubbed her belly!! Penelope reminded me of my dog. I reminisce about my encounter with Penelope and other farm animals in my book, A Voice for Animals, and dedicate two chapters of my book to Farm Animals and Veganism. To learn more about ways to get involved, you can order my book which is on my website, or purchase it on Amazon, B & B, Bookshop.org. Happy #FarmAnimalAwarenessweek