A LITTLE LESS LONELY IN MY CORNER OF THE WORLD
Executive editor at The Dodo
I was seven years old when I decided to reduce my meat consumption to help farm animals. It was 1993, a lonely time to embark on such an endeavor in my small town. The experience is different today. The rise of social media has pieced together those in many corners of the world who are passionate about animal welfare, the environment, and human health.
These online platforms are helping create a global community that can chip away at some of the loneliness many of us experienced: First graders clamoring for Big Mac toys surrounded me two decades ago. When I unwittingly ate a pepperoni-stuffed calzone, the entire lunchroom pointed and laughed. (Okay, it was possibly just the handful of first graders at my table who laughed. Or, maybe, it was even just one kid. But it felt as if the entire world were laughing at me.) I was fortunate to have an understanding family, but there were few resources and community support was scarce.
Now, we can Instagram veggie snacks, pin tasty dishes, and “like” a cauliflower casserole. We can pledge to join health challenges, blog our concerns for animals, and join meatless Twitter chats. Heck, we can even brag more. Tenth burger free Tuesday? Shout it from the rooftops! (Rooftops = Facebook status update.) And we can support each other’s goals: comments, retweets, and likes are simple ways people are encouraging friends, family, and strangers to improve their health and the planet.
A decade ago, my (incredible!) mother would stock up on bags and bags of the only gelatin-free marshmallows we could find when we visited Washington, D.C. . . . six hours from home. These treats were so hard to come by that when I was roasting one marshmallow over a campfire and saw it melting into the flames, I lunged in and grabbed it with my bare hand. If only vegetarian marshmallows were an Amazon order away back then, I might have avoided wearing a burn bandage through the summer of 1999.
Access both to alternative products and to information have improved. We can find and share recipes online. Veggie-friendly restaurants are searchable by zip code. My friend on a budget wanted to reduce his meat consumption, so I sent him a Reddit thread of cheap vegan meals. We have easy access to advice from experts, like those at the Mayo Clinic encouraging meatless meals and the Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) fruit and veggie recommendations. We can calculate our carbon footprint with the click of a button—and then realize that what we put in our mouth impacts the planet. When a family skips steak once a week, it’s like taking their car off the road for almost three months.
Like all tools, those available in the digital age can be used for ill as easily as goodwill. The illegal wildlife trade and puppy mills have taken advantage of the Internet to the detriment of animals. Some viral videos even unknowingly promote the illegal pet trade, like of the slow loris. And cameras shut off when those “teacup pigs” suddenly start growing. Meanwhile, misinformation is rampant, and it’s difficult to mine for the reputable animal care advice.
Demand for the newest, hottest, shiniest tech products to engage with our social media platforms are also demanding a lot from our planet’s resources. Twice as many electronic products were sold in 2009 as in 1997, the EPA estimates—the sale of mobile devices increased nine times over.1 Americans throw out millions of electronics every year, often without regard for proper e-waste disposal. This toxic waste threatens the health of millions of people around the world.
But it’s far from all bad. Whistle-blower sites like WildLeaks, online resources to report animal cruelty, and access to tools protecting animals are helping out the good guys. It’s easier to donate to reliable welfare groups. Undercover animal footage spreads rapidly (when it’s not banned).
We’ve come a long way when it comes to getting big businesses to take notice.
I handwrote a letter to a major soup company in 1997, bemoaning their frequent use of animal stock. About two months later, I received coupons in the mail for beef soups. Now, thanks to online petitions, Twitterstorms, and calls to action, a company, politician, or influencer hears the concerns of thousands instantaneously. Digital advocacy and online campaigns can make it easier at times for voices to be heard.
For those who have never seen the faces before the meat, we now can. Stunning photos of cows helping their calves, videos that reveal a chicken’s intelligence, Vines that capture the emotions of pigs—these can all now be found through sites like The Dodo, focused on helping the online community fall in love with animals.
Ultimately though, the lifestyle choices that affect our health, our animals, and our planet occur offline. Real-life interactions, be they of the human-human, human-animal, or human-nature variety, are invaluable.
Social media and online resources can help build communities, foster education, and spark empathy. But then let’s look up from the screen, and share our experiences with those we can look straight in the eye and reach out to support.