Part of the reason animal products are even affordable to consumers is because they are subsidized by the government. 63% of US government food subsidies go directly or indirectly to the meat and dairy industries, while less than 1% goes to fruit and vegetables, and less than 2% to nuts and legumes. These subsidies are funded by consumer taxes, and so even if you don’t eat cows or pigs, a portion of what you pay in taxes goes toward making their flesh and fluids cheaper for others to purchase.

Not only do these subsidies cost you money in the form of taxes, they also contribute to the inaccessibility of healthy, whole foods like fruits and vegetables to low-income earners. If the money for these subsidies were reallocated to plant foods like fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes, healthy food would be considerably more affordable to those who need it most and can least afford the cost of healthcare. Meat subsidies allow companies such as fast food chains to open a disproportionate number of stores in low income socio-economic areas in order to become the cheapest, most accessible food to people in those areas. Without subsidization, unhealthy, cruel, unsustainable foods like these simply wouldn’t be affordable.

Learn more about the subsidization of animal products here and here.

Animal Abuse = Human Abuse

Why is making the connection important?

As animal advocates, we are often met with the claim that our advocacy for animals is somehow less important because human suffering is a priority. We won’t address the hypocrisy of this claim here. However, by clearly illustrating the connection of how animal abuse also leads to human abuse, this not only counteracts this quick dismissal of animal suffering, but it can also make our message easier for others to relate to from a human rights perspective.

This is the sixth release of our new series “Animal Abuse = Human Abuse” designed to help expand the reach of our advocacy for animals to new audiences.