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If you think kids’ movies are harmless fun, think again. Behind the cute animation and catchy songs, they’re selling something much darker: the idea that using and eating animals is normal, natural, and necessary.A new <a data-mce-href="https://doi.org/10.1080/1041794X.2021.1983013" href="https://doi.org/10.1080/1041794X.2021.1983013" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-mce-selected="inline-boundary">study</a> rips the mask off the industry, showing how children's films push animal-based foods onto young minds while scrubbing away any hint of what those foods really cost — to animals, to workers, to the planet. It’s not just lazy storytelling. It’s a lesson in supremacy, taught early. Marketing to Kids: It’s Not InnocentMarketing food to children is a multi-billion-dollar operation. Animated characters, bright colours, catchy slogans — it’s all designed to shape their preferences, their shopping requests, and ultimately, their values.And while researchers have spent plenty of time studying junk food advertising, hardly anyone has bothered to ask: what about meat, milk, and eggs? How do they slip through, looking wholesome and harmless, when they’re anything but?This study finally asked.Using framing theory, the researchers looked at how children’s films show animal-based foods — not just how often they appear, but how they're portrayed. The findings weren’t surprising if you’ve been paying attention, but they’re damning all the same. The Data: Normalisation in ActionThe study analysed 14 top-grossing kids' films from 1999 to 2019. Not obscure indie flicks — household names available on Netflix, easy to access, and easy to absorb.In the 68 food scenes they studied:- Plant-based foods showed up 60 times.- Animal-based foods showed up 49 times.Sounds balanced? It's not. A deeper look showed animal-based foods were pushed far more positively. Meat, dairy, and eggs were almost always shown as delicious, exciting, or part of some happy moment. Meanwhile, plant-based foods got shoved aside with grimaces or disgust nine times. (Because apparently eating a carrot is tragic, but eating someone's body is a celebration.)Statistical tests confirmed it: animal-based foods were wildly over-represented compared to even the USDA’s industry-friendly guidelines — which, by the way, still recommend 75% plant-based eating.&nbsp; The Hidden Lessons: Rich People Eat AnimalsThree key messages kept popping up across the films:1. Poverty Means Plants, Wealth Means Meat - Six movies pushed this idea hard. Poor characters ate sad bowls of cabbage soup; rich or newly successful characters feasted on chicken dinners. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory made it almost cartoonishly obvious: no meat until money comes in.The message to kids? If you want to be happy, important, or respected, you’ll need to put an animal’s corpse on your plate.2. Meat Is “Us” — Plants Are “Them” - Films like Kung Fu Panda 2 showed plant-based meals in Asian settings, framed as charming but foreign. Meanwhile, Western-coded characters in movies like The Croods were all about hunting, eating bugs, cracking eggs open with their teeth. Kids aren't just learning what to eat. They're learning who eats what — and who they should aspire to be.3. Meat Is Just Background Noise - In movies like Ralph Breaks the Internet and The Bee Movie, characters munch on burgers and chicken legs while the plot moves along, with no comment, no reflection. Meat becomes invisible — not a choice, not a cost, just part of life. No blood. No slaughterhouses. No desperate animals. Just a hamburger, magically appearing, as natural as breathing. Normalisation By DesignThis isn’t an accident. Industries that rely on animal use know full well that if children made the connection between what’s on their plate and who they’re eating, they’d start asking uncomfortable questions.They can’t risk that. So they teach obedience early. Make meat a reward. Make dairy a celebration. Make eggs part of being a happy family. Hide everything else.It’s marketing so deep you don’t even notice it happening — but your kids do. The Bigger PictureThis study only scratched the surface, looking at just 14 films. Imagine what a full analysis across books, TV shows, toys, and video games would reveal.Children are bombarded daily with images that normalise exploitation while making freedom, respect, and justice look weird, sad, or foreign. It's the perfect setup for another generation trained to see animals not as individuals with lives of their own, but as property, resources, and background props.If we want a world that actually respects animals, the first step is seeing the machine that trains us not to.

How Kids’ Movies Train Children to Accept Animal Use

Another excuse fails to hold up to scrutiny.A new UK government <a data-mce-href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/processed-foods-and-health-sacns-rapid-evidence-update/processed-foods-and-health-sacns-rapid-evidence-update-summary#introduction" href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/processed-foods-and-health-sacns-rapid-evidence-update/processed-foods-and-health-sacns-rapid-evidence-update-summary#introduction" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> confirms what the meat industry would rather you didn’t know: plant-based meats are not associated with adverse health outcomes.That’s right. Despite the panic over “ultra-processed foods,” plant-based meat alternatives were singled out as not carrying the risks seen in processed animal products. The government reviewed years of research, clinical trials, and scientific papers. Their conclusion? The health concerns linked to ultra-processed products apply to processed meats and animal-based junk food - not to plant-based versions.Of course, the animal agriculture industry has been hoping you’d lump them all in together. Because once you stop pretending your bacon is a health food, what’s left?The lie was simple: “Processed = bad. Therefore, vegan meat = bad.” But like most smokescreens, it falls apart with the slightest scrutiny. The Meat Lobby's Favourite Label“Ultra-processed” has become the new buzzword for lazy health discourse. It’s vague. It’s subjective. And it tells you almost nothing about whether a food is actually good for you.Tofu, oat milk, hummus, wholemeal bread, fortified cereals - they're all technically “ultra-processed.” So is the vegan burger. But also: the bacon rasher. The hot dog. The beef lasagne. The greasy takeaway sausage roll.And somehow, only one of those gets marketed as dangerous.A <a data-mce-href="https://www.churchillfellowship.org/ideas-experts/ideas-library/processing-the-discourse-over-plant-based-meat/" href="https://www.churchillfellowship.org/ideas-experts/ideas-library/processing-the-discourse-over-plant-based-meat/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> titled Processing the Discourse Over Plant-Based Meat calls this out directly: the hysteria over UPFs is disconnected from science and being used as a political tool. A weapon. One aimed at the very foods that could replace the meat industry.It’s no coincidence. The backlash isn’t about nutrition - it’s about power. Meat Marketing, Not MedicineThe same industry that’s pumping animals full of antibiotics, selling cancer-linked products, and devastating the planet now wants to position itself as the guardian of public health.They have the audacity to push “five-ingredient rules” and fearmongering over additives while lobbying to keep warning labels off red meat. They’ll sell you a charred corpse in plastic packaging and claim the problem is… soy?But the science doesn’t agree. The UK government’s Office for Health Improvement &amp; Disparities states plainly: plant-based alternatives are not associated with negative health effects. Meanwhile, processed meat products are.This builds on earlier <a data-mce-href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanepe/article/PIIS2666-7762(23)00190-4/fulltext" href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanepe/article/PIIS2666-7762(23)00190-4/fulltext" target="_blank" rel="noopener">findings</a> from 2023, where no link was found between plant-based meats and risks like cancer, heart disease, or type 2 diabetes. The same can’t be said for the animal versions. Public Confusion Isn’t AccidentalTwo-thirds of Europeans now believe UPFs are bad for you. But most people still don’t know what “ultra-processed” even means. That’s the point.Confusion works in favour of the meat industry. If you think vegan food is just as unhealthy as meat, you’re more likely to keep choosing the version that props up their profits. You’re more likely to believe health is about labels, not systems. You’re more likely to ignore the real issue: the bodies behind the burgers. Let’s Not Forget the BodiesThis isn’t just about disease statistics and food pyramids. It's about who gets eaten.Billions of animals are killed every year for products that are now being directly replaced - often by healthier, tastier, more sustainable options. And yet those shelves stay full of corpses. Why?Because people still believe they need meat. That lie is holding everything up. And the “ultra-processed” panic is its latest costume.When the government’s own scientific advisers are saying these plant-based products are fine, and the meat industry is still shouting “but processing!” - you know this was never about your wellbeing. The Convenience MythYes, some plant-based meats come from factories. But so do most of the foods in your kitchen cupboard. Processing isn’t the problem - exploitation is.People aren’t sick because of tofu. They’re sick because they’ve been sold a diet based on flesh, fat, and dairy. A diet that’s linked to some of the most preventable chronic illnesses we face. A diet that’s propped up by culture, not evidence.And now that evidence is piling up. Even Taste Isn’t a Real Excuse AnymoreBlind taste tests <a data-mce-href="https://ko-fi.com/post/You-Cant-Taste-the-Difference-So-Why-Are-Animal-A0A81DUIJ4?fromEditor=true" href="https://ko-fi.com/post/You-Cant-Taste-the-Difference-So-Why-Are-Animal-A0A81DUIJ4?fromEditor=true" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-mce-selected="inline-boundary">now show</a> that people often can’t tell the difference between animal-based and plant-based versions of the same food. In many cases, they prefer the vegan one.So what happens when the taste is the same, the health risks are lower, and no one had to die?Apparently… people still reach for the dead one. Not because they’re addicted to flavour. Because they’re addicted to habit. So What’s Left?If processed vegan food isn’t dangerous, and processed meat is…If the taste gap is disappearing…If the climate cost is catastrophic…If the suffering is real…What’s left?Pride?Stubbornness?An identity so tied to domination that no evidence will break it?Because let’s be clear: the excuses are running out. And reports like this don’t just close one more loophole - they expose the mindset behind the whole mess.This was never about health. It was about control. Of animals. Of public perception. Of narrative.But the narrative is changing.And we’re not buying it anymore.

"Ultra-Processed" Is Just a Distraction

Everyone knows chickens are the most slaughtered land animals on the planet. But ask even seasoned animal advocates who comes second, and you’ll hear guesses like pigs or cows. Wrong. It's ducks. And hardly anyone talks about it.In 2023 alone, <a data-mce-href="https://faunalytics.org/global-animal-slaughter-statistics-and-charts" href="https://faunalytics.org/global-animal-slaughter-statistics-and-charts" target="_blank" rel="noopener">over four billion ducks were killed</a>. That’s more than ten times the number of cows, more than five times the number of sheep, and twice the number of pigs. Ducks are being mass-executed on a scale most people can’t even comprehend — and yet, they’re invisible.Why? Because ducks don’t fit into the neat categories the Western animal advocacy movement knows how to exploit. They aren’t packaged into everyday convenience foods like chickens, romanticised like cows, or infantilised like lambs. They exist awkwardly between “wildlife at the park” and “niche culinary product.”&nbsp;&nbsp;And so, they’re ignored. Their lives written off. Their deaths unmentioned. One notable exception being <a data-mce-href="https://www.animaljusticeproject.com/campaigns/gressingham-duck-farms" href="https://www.animaljusticeproject.com/campaigns/gressingham-duck-farms" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Animal Justice Project</a>, but they're very lonely in their advocacy.&nbsp;The industry does what it always does: it capitalises on cognitive dissonance. In the West, ducks are an afterthought. In Asia, duck flesh is a staple — but because most advocacy, money, and media come from the West, the billions of ducks raised and killed every year barely register in our conversations. It’s not that ducks suffer less. It’s that their suffering is easier for the movement to sidestep.Even where ducks are farmed in the West, the conditions are horrifying: crammed into filthy sheds without access to water, mutilated without anaesthetic, forced to live in dust when their bodies are made for water. Toughness isn’t the same as wellbeing. Ducks are hardy animals — and that resilience is weaponised against them.When ducks do get mentioned, it’s usually through <a data-mce-href="https://www.peta.org.uk/features/ducks-and-geese-are-tortured-to-produce-foie-gras/" href="https://www.peta.org.uk/features/ducks-and-geese-are-tortured-to-produce-foie-gras/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">foie gras campaigns</a>. Force-feeding makes easy footage. Outrage is guaranteed.&nbsp;&nbsp;But foie gras accounts for just 1% of the ducks slaughtered each year.&nbsp;&nbsp;Focusing only on foie gras is like campaigning against whaling while ignoring industrial fishing. It’s a distraction that leaves billions of ducks betrayed and forgotten.If the animal movement is serious about confronting animal exploitation, ducks cannot stay hidden.&nbsp;&nbsp;They must be named. They must be seen.That means:- Better data — because what isn’t measured gets ignored.- Global inclusion — because advocacy built only for Western diets will always leave billions behind.- Integrated campaigning — because ducks are not a niche issue; they are the second most slaughtered land animal in the world.- Shattering psychological filters — because empathy isn’t just for the big-eyed and fluffy.Billions of ducks have been reduced to commodities, erased from the conversation even by those who claim to fight for animals.We owe them better.&nbsp;&nbsp;We owe them justice. Inspired by Faunalytics article, <a data-mce-href="https://faunalytics.org/why-dont-more-animal-advocates-talk-about-ducks/" href="https://faunalytics.org/why-dont-more-animal-advocates-talk-about-ducks/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-mce-selected="inline-boundary">Why Don’t More Animal Advocates Talk About Ducks?</a> Written by Karol Orzechowski.

Billions Slaughtered, Barely Mentioned

You’d think the biggest driver of deforestation, ocean dead zones, water pollution, biodiversity collapse, and emissions would be front and centre in every environmental campaign. But when it comes to animal agriculture, most NGOs would rather talk about fossil fuels, plastic straws, and the Amazon... without mentioning what’s actually being done to it.Animal farming is the elephant in the climate room. A methane-spewing, forest-clearing, water-sucking, ocean-killing machine that’s conveniently ignored by the very organisations claiming to protect the planet.<a data-mce-href="https://go.mercyforanimals.org/l/939853/2023-11-30/4945y/939853/1701366193YwINkysU/Willing_but_Uncertain.pdf" href="https://go.mercyforanimals.org/l/939853/2023-11-30/4945y/939853/1701366193YwINkysU/Willing_but_Uncertain.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-mce-selected="inline-boundary">This study</a> tried to figure out why. Everyone Knows. No One Acts.Researchers contacted hundreds of environmental NGOs across 48 U.S. states. Out of 111 responses, only 70 gave enough information to analyse properly.Here’s the punchline:&nbsp;&nbsp;92% of the people working in these organisations agree that addressing animal farming is vital for tackling climate change.&nbsp;&nbsp;But only 11% say it’s a top priority in their campaigns.&nbsp;&nbsp;Read that again. Nearly everyone admits it matters. Hardly anyone is doing anything about it.So why the silence? It’s Not “Their Job”Turns out, many of these organisations don’t see animal agriculture as part of their mission. They’re working on air quality, soil conservation, emissions, renewable energy. You know, the stuff animal farming destroys.Some claimed they didn’t have the “expertise” to talk about animal farming. Others feared it would be controversial or distract from their messaging.It’s not that they don’t care. It’s that they’re scared to say it out loud.This isn’t a knowledge gap. It’s a courage gap. Quiet Acknowledgement, Rare ActionSure, 86% of NGOs say they mention animal agriculture. But for most, it’s a passing nod.&nbsp;&nbsp;61% admitted it comes up infrequently, if at all.They might quietly slip it into a factsheet or a blog post, but there’s no front-page coverage, no campaigns, no real push. Meanwhile, entire forests are flattened to grow soy for pigs and chickens. Oceans are emptied. Rivers run brown with manure.But yeah, let’s talk more about banning balloons. Meat Reduction: Still TabooEven when it comes to reducing meat intake - not going plantbased, just eating less - most groups won’t touch it.Only 11% had ever advocated for a plantbased or vegetarian diet. And just 2% are currently doing so. Another 2% might consider it someday.Yet when asked, 40% said they’d be open to promoting lentils, beans, or tofu. 41% said they could get behind pushing Beyond or Impossible products.So they’re not morally opposed. They’re just... hesitant. Apathetic. Afraid of annoying donors or alienating bacon fans.Which makes one thing clear:&nbsp;&nbsp;It’s not the science holding them back. It’s the optics. What Would Make Them Speak Up?When asked what would help them talk more about animal agriculture, the answers were revealing:- Better materials: Clear data, engaging visuals, education packs. Basically, “Give us something ready-made.”- Standardised messaging: Campaigns they could adapt locally.- Cultural/political opportunities: Like public outrage over new factory farms or highlighting traditions of plant-based eating.In short: “We’ll speak up when it’s easy, popular, and someone else does the heavy lifting.”Also telling? Nearly all respondents - 98% said the best motivator would be increasing public awareness of the environmental impact of animal farming.They’re waiting for society to catch up, not leading the charge. The Opportunity for AdvocatesThis isn’t a closed door. It’s an unlocked one most people are too timid to push.Environmental NGOs might be tiptoeing around the issue, but they’re open to change - if someone else breaks the silence first. If someone shows them the path and hands them the tools.This is where the vegan movement comes in. Not to politely nudge. Not to whisper. But to demand accountability. To provide the messaging. To frame animal agriculture as the environmental catastrophe it is - and to name those who stay silent.Because silence is complicity. And when you’re letting slaughter and ecocide slide because you’re scared someone might unfollow you on Instagram, you’re not an environmentalist. You’re a brand manager. Injustice Is InjusticeLet’s not pretend this is just about climate targets or emissions graphs.Animal agriculture is a system built on supremacy. It treats sentient beings as resources. It commodifies life. It destroys not only individuals, but entire ecosystems.&nbsp;Any justice movement that ignores this is failing at the most basic level. No More ExcusesSo here’s the callout:If you’re an environmental NGO and you’re not naming animal agriculture as a major threat to the planet, you’re not doing your job.If you’re unwilling to say the word “vegan,” then you’re prioritising comfort over truth.And if you’re waiting for someone else to lead, then step aside - because the animals, the forests, the oceans, and the atmosphere don’t have time to wait for your rebrand.The planet’s on fire. And your silence is fuelling it.

Why Are Environmental NGOs Still Silent on Animal Agriculture?

Non-vegans don’t hate on vegans because of what vegans do. They do it because of what veganism reveals - about themselves.It’s not about tofu. It’s not about almond milk. It’s not about protein, iron, or B12. It’s about ethics. About justice. About complicity. Veganism doesn’t just ask people to look at what’s on their plate - it forces them to ask why it’s there, who it belonged to, and what it cost.And that makes people deeply uncomfortable. Veganism Isn’t a DietLet’s get one thing straight: veganism isn’t a food trend. It isn’t a lifestyle. It isn’t personal. It’s political.Veganism is a justice movement - a principled rejection of the idea that some lives exist for others to exploit. But most people don’t see it that way. They think it’s a diet. A preference. An inconvenience.And when you mistake a demand for liberation as a dietary restriction, your whole response changes.If veganism is just a quirky food choice, then vegans are annoying. Preachy. Holier-than-thou. But if veganism is a fight against systemic exploitation, then your bacon sandwich stops being lunch - and starts being a violent statement. The Mirror Nobody WantsMost people consider themselves decent. They say they love animals. They say they hate cruelty. They say they support fairness.Then they eat someone’s flesh. They drink someone’s milk. They wear someone’s skin.Enter the vegan. Saying nothing. Doing nothing. Just existing. And suddenly, the mirror is up. The contradictions are exposed.The vegan becomes the mirror - and people don’t like what they see.This is cognitive dissonance: the discomfort of holding two conflicting beliefs. It’s not vegans who create the conflict. They just reveal it. And instead of resolving the contradiction, many people choose to attack the mirror. Because smashing a mirror feels easier than fixing yourself. “You Think You’re Better Than Me”This is the emotional engine behind the mockery. The eye-rolls. The hostility.When someone says “you think you’re better than me,” what they usually mean is, “you make me feel worse about myself.” They flip the guilt around. They cast the vegan as arrogant, extreme, or self-righteous - not because the vegan is, but because that’s easier than admitting the truth: They know they’re supporting something indefensible.That’s ego defence. The less someone wants to confront their own actions, the more they’ll demonise the person who reminds them. It’s Not Just a SandwichFood is culture. Food is identity. Food is family. The Sunday roast, the Christmas turkey, the birthday cake - these aren’t just meals. They’re rituals.So when a vegan opts out, it doesn’t feel like a personal choice. It feels like a rejection of the group.The vegan isn’t just skipping the roast - they’re condemning it.That’s how it’s seen. Whether they say it or not. Whether they mean it or not. Because deep down, everyone knows the truth: if what vegans are doing is right, then what everyone else is doing is very, very wrong. The Meat ParadoxPeople love animals. People eat animals. People don’t want to think about that.To survive the contradiction, they rely on denial:- “Chickens are dumb.”- “These ones are treated well.”- “It’s just nature.”But the paradox persists. And when a vegan refuses to play along - refuses to pretend flesh is food - the lie starts to unravel. The justifications fall apart.So instead of re-evaluating their values, people get angry at the one person who won’t lie with them. Human Supremacism on DisplayVeganism threatens more than tradition. It threatens hierarchy.In a world built on domination, veganism dares to suggest that maybe we don’t have the right to own, use, or kill others just because we can. That doesn’t sit well with people who believe in power as a virtue.To them, veganism looks like weakness. Cowardice. Naïveté.But that’s projection. What they’re actually seeing is a challenge to their own perceived supremacy - the idea that humans are the centre, and everything else exists for their use.When that worldview gets cracked, the backlash can be vicious. The Freedom Illusion“Don’t tell me what to do.”This is the reflexive response in cultures obsessed with personal freedom at the expense of someone else's. Even if no one’s actually telling them what to do, the very existence of a vegan becomes a threat. A moral standard. A challenge to unexamined choices.So people push back. Loudly.- “I love bacon!”- “I could never give up cheese.”- “Plants feel pain too!”It’s psychological reactance - the instinct to resist perceived control. The irony, of course, is that most people aren’t making free choices at all. They’re following habits handed down by culture, advertising, and convenience. The Outcast EffectHumans are tribal. And vegans are seen as outsiders. People don’t just disagree with them - they other them:- They’re extreme.- They’re radical.- They’re unnatural.Mockery becomes a bonding ritual. A way to reaffirm the in-group. A way to reassure each other that they’re still normal. Still part of the herd.But let’s be clear: this is about insecurity, not superiority. Pleasure vs. PrinciplesMany people associate veganism with loss:- Loss of taste.- Loss of tradition.- Loss of ease.And they don’t want to lose those things. So they shoot the messenger.But deep down, they know pleasure doesn’t justify everything. We don’t accept that excuse in any other context.The truth is, people aren’t confused. They’re just comfortable. Blame the MediaThe media doesn’t help. Vegans are cast as:- Angry protestors.- Elitist influencers.- Joyless scolds.These caricatures prime people to hate vegans before they’ve even met one. So when someone calmly says, “I don’t want to use animals,” they’re already battling a dozen strawmen.And every time a newspaper runs a “but bacon!” headline or a supermarket puts a cow’s smiling face on a packet of sliced flesh, the fantasy is reinforced. The Real ThreatThis all comes back to framing.If veganism is a diet, it can peacefully coexist with other diets. You have your salad, I’ll have my steak. Live and let live.But veganism isn’t a diet.It’s a moral position that says some lives should never be reduced to meals, materials, or machines.That position doesn’t sit quietly at the table. It doesn’t blend in. It exposes. It accuses. It refuses to go along with the lie that this is all just a matter of taste.And that’s the real threat.Because once you realise veganism is about justice, you’re forced to ask a different question:&gt; Not: what do vegans eat?&gt; But: what side am I on?And that’s why non-vegans hate vegans. Not because we’re extreme. Not because we’re annoying. But because we’ve stopped pretending this is fine.&nbsp;&nbsp;And deep down - they know it isn’t.

The Psychology Behind Anti-Veganism

People light fireworks to celebrate. But celebration for one group should never mean devastation for another.For other animals, fireworks are bombs. No warning. No explanation. Just terror. Panic You Can HearTo us, they’re dazzling and exciting. To birds, dogs, foxes, deer, and everyone else with ears, they’re explosions in the sky. Noise that triggers pure, biological panic. Their world doesn’t come with calendar invites.Some run. Some freeze. Some try to fly Some don’t make it.Wild animals often flee so far they end up disoriented, starving, or killed. In the Netherlands, hundreds of thousands of birds were recorded fleeing fireworks on a single night. Many never returned.Birds have been found dead en masse, scattered across cities like confetti. Arkansas. Rome. Pick a place, pick a year.You probably won’t see the bodies. But they’re there. Their Stress Isn’t FestiveFor days after, animals have to forage more just to recover what the fireworks stole from them: rest, energy, a sense of safety. Their immune systems weaken. Juveniles die more often. Some are left lost or alone.The noise doesn’t just scare. It injures. Some studies suggest the shock wave itself can hurt. Others show animals crash into buildings or trees trying to escape.And for those living with us - cats, dogs, horses - people have already seen the effect. Shaking. Screaming. Hiding. Urinating. Escape attempts. Even jumping through windows. And yet, somehow, people still argue animals are “fine” once the party’s over.Fine isn’t cowering in a corner. Silent Suffering, Toxic FalloutThe smoke clears, but the particles stay.Air, water, and soil get spiked with heavy metals, perchlorates, and other toxins after a display. They enter lungs, food chains, waterways. If it harms us, imagine what it does to animals who don’t get to close the windows and stay inside.This is poisoning the world so we can go “ooh” and “aah.” How Many Are Harmed?We don’t know exactly. But if a single firework can be heard up to 10km away, and large events launch hundreds, the numbers spiral quickly.Birds. Deer. Foxes. Bats. Rodents. Insects. Frogs. Fish. Companion animals.Each display likely harms thousands. New Year’s celebrations could reach millions. Maybe billions.But they’re invisible to us, so we pretend they don’t count. It's Not About PerfectionEven if we made fireworks quieter, or “greener,” we’d still be gambling with lives. There’s no solid data proving these options are harmless. Just marketing. And even the quieter ones can still scare or disorient animals - 60 decibels might be less than 150, but it’s not silent.“Eco-friendly” fireworks still burn. Still explode. Still pollute. Slapping a green label on them doesn’t change that.We don’t need better fireworks. We need different thinking. Better Options Already Exist- Drone shows: Impressive. Quieter. Reusable. But not risk-free. Best used far from habitats.- Light kites: Genuinely low-impact. Quiet, slow, and spectacular. Should be used everywhere now.- Anything non-explosive: Projectors. Laser shows. Lanterns. Music. Dancing. Fire rituals. Joy isn’t limited to bangs and flashes.Let’s stop acting like blowing things up is the only way to celebrate. What Are We Actually Celebrating?You can still mark your wedding, your win, your new year. But if your good time requires other beings to flee, suffer, and sometimes die, it’s not a celebration. It’s domination with a glittery finish.And if you wouldn’t set off explosives in a sanctuary or outside a hospital, don’t do it outside a forest, lake, or someone else’s home - human or not. A Simple PrincipleIf someone suffers from your entertainment, it’s not harmless fun.Fireworks are marketed as magic. But to the rest of the living world, they’re just another human indulgence that ignores everyone else.And the worst part?&nbsp;They’re entirely optional.

Herbivore Club

ARTICLES

How Kids’ Movies Train Children to Accept Animal Use

"Ultra-Processed" Is Just a Distraction

Billions Slaughtered, Barely Mentioned

Why Are Environmental NGOs Still Silent on Animal Agricul...

The Psychology Behind Anti-Veganism

Your Party Isn’t Worth Their Panic