PETA-Maple Syrup boycott

So I have just gone back to vegetarianism and have been doing a lot of research over the past few days.  I have heard a lot about PETA and thought I would check out their website. I was rather shocked to find a huge ad on the front page asking people to boycott Canadian maple syrup to stop the slaughter of seals. At first I asked my self what the heck does Maple Syrup have to do with seals? Then I read on and I guess the idea is that if everyone boycotts Maple Syrup produced in Canada the government will be forced to take action against the seal slaughter. Well, I live in Ontario Canada in an area where maple syrup is produced. I can guarantee my neighbours who benefit from the sale of Canadian Maple syurp are against killing seals as much as I am or they are. Geeeeesh  I am kind of disappointed in PETA right now. As an eager new vegetarian I was looking for some usefull information. This ad totally turned me off of this organization. I had to share this with someone and nobody at work wants to hear me complain about this today. So sorry guys I thought I would share my frustration with you. Is PETA always this way?

Yeah, from what I've seen, PETA is very extremist and is actually considered by some to be a terrorist organization.  In my area, there have been several incidents of arson attributed to PETA.

No, they aren't always that way sometimes they are worse: http://www.wptz.com/health/17539127/detail.ht ml

The PETA organization is hyperbolic, self-righteous and absurd. They are more interested in making headlines than doing anything useful for the the welfare of animals. Also they euthanize a large number of animals on an annual basis. Seriously, look it up.

Also, regarding Flonkar's post above. PETA isn't openly active in so-called 'terrorist acts' protesting animal cruelty. Those sorts of operations are usually the work of groups like the Animal Liberation Front. Some have accused PETA of supporting ALF but that hasn't been proven. They certainly are apologists for ALF.

Stop Clubbing Baby Seals

No need to apologize. As someone who works in an industry (I work on a ranch and am studying to be a horse trainer,) that often butts heads with PETA, I can appreciate your disappointment. One would think an organization established on premise to protect animal rights would use common sense, levelheaded means to advocate their goals.  What can you expect when wealthy, passionate people with lope-sided perspectives on the issue are the ones funding such campaigns?

Wow, that's bizarre. Is maple syrup Canada's biggest money maker or something? Sorry, I don't know much about us/canada.

Anyway... firstly I am not vegetarian, I eat non-farmed fish occasionally, but I do not eat any red 'meat' or chicken. I'm obviously not a vegan, but I don't drink milk due to the standards of dairy farming. I get called a 'peta freak' DAILY by meat eaters. It pisses me off because I know nothing about this organisation and have nothing to do with it.

Seal clubbing is evil but I don't really think trying to boycott maple syrup will do anything. Like the person above me said, these people maybe have their hearts in the right places but just have too much money to throw around on a whim and don't really know what they are doing. BESIDES, most westernized countries don't consume barely any maple syrup. Does that sound wrong? Well check out the bottles of pancake syrup, they are all chemicals, no actual maple syrup. It's cheaper. Did peta consider this?

The Canadian seal hunt is a necessary "evil". If those seals weren't killed, they would overpopulate and eventually eat all the fish and after the fish were gone, the seals would starve.

This maple syrup boycott is the stupidest thing I've ever heard.

Original Post by helloelloello:

Did peta consider this?

PETA rarely considers the reality of a situation before they launch a campaign.

Original Post by tia_lee:

I have heard a lot about PETA and thought I would check out their website. ... Geeeeesh  I am kind of disappointed in PETA right now. As an eager new vegetarian I was looking for some usefull information. This ad totally turned me off of this organization. ... Is PETA always this way?

I'm surprised that anyone that has heard anything about PETA would think that their website would have useful information.  Evidently you heard about PETA from the wrong people, i.e supporters of PETA's lunatic causes. 

Is PETA always this way?  Actually this is extremely mild for PETA.

I'm adding Canadian maple syrup to my grocery list.

I've seen enough PETA idiocy over the years, that on general principle, I make a point to do the exact opposite of whatever they are advocating in their champaigns. It will balance out one of the idiots in their organization, or who follows their lead.  It's not much, but I do what I can.

...boycotting maple syrup will have absolutely no effect on seal clubbing. It'll jsut make the tree farmers sad. Maple syrup is not a huge enough industry in Canada to get government attention over this unrelated issue.

PETA is typically extremist, offensive and totally thoughtless. When that kid was decapitated on a greyhound bus here in Canada PETA ran a campaign comparing the violent murder and mutilation to slaughtering chickens for food. It was tasteless. They ran "sexy vegetable" adds during the superbowl showing mostly naked people in erotic situations with vegetables. Families watch that crap. When Mary Kate and Ashley wore fur they ran a smear campaign depicting them as ugly, hairy, unhygenic smokers that tortured kittens. There were little flash games you could play with them. The native peoples of northern Canada hunt seals for furs and food, so PETA runs a boycott of Canadian maple syrup and sells tote-bags depicting the olympic mascots as blood-crazed violent yetis torturing fluffy looking seal pups. Pretty run-of-the-mill.

The only thing they ever did that I supported was the Iams boycott to stop brutal and unnecessary animal testing performed by the company. Most of the pet stores in my area participated in that. It was a rare occassion where the organization did something right.

Original Post by sharz96:

I'm adding Canadian maple syrup to my grocery list.

I've seen enough PETA idiocy over the years, that on general principle, I make a point to do the exact opposite of whatever they are advocating in their champaigns. It will balance out one of the idiots in their organization, or who follows their lead.  It's not much, but I do what I can.

 

 

Why don't you go club a baby seal, that would really show them. 

Original Post by viyahn:

They ran "sexy vegetable" adds during the superbowl showing mostly naked people in erotic situations with vegetables. Families watch that crap.

No they didn't. Peta can't afford adds during the super bowl, so they made an add they knew wouldn't be approved to air but would still become a 'news' story and get them lost of free publicity.

Original Post by viyahn:

When Mary Kate and Ashley wore fur they ran a smear campaign depicting them as ugly, hairy, unhygenic smokers that tortured kittens.

Aside from the torturing kittens, what have they said that isn't ture?

PETA is stupid, and the seal hunt is no more "evil" than any other food industry.

well I understand the seals may over populate but that is no reason to beat them with a club and cause a slow agonizing death while their young watch and wait for their turn. That is very evil and senseless to me.

Original Post by helloelloello:

well I understand the seals may over populate but that is no reason to beat them with a club and cause a slow agonizing death while their young watch and wait for their turn. That is very evil and senseless to me.

That's they way native hunters have done it for thousands of years, and that's the way they continue to hunt.  It's not slow and agonizing, it's instant. 

Original Post by flonklar:

Original Post by helloelloello:

well I understand the seals may over populate but that is no reason to beat them with a club and cause a slow agonizing death while their young watch and wait for their turn. That is very evil and senseless to me.

That's they way native hunters have done it for thousands of years, and that's the way they continue to hunt.  It's not slow and agonizing, it's instant. 

The commercial seal hunt is not a traditional indigenous activity.

It's amazing to me how many apologists for the most blatant brutality there are on a vegetarian board. The Humane Society also strongly condemns the commercial seal hunt and has called for a boycott of Canadian Seafood:

http://www.hsus.org/protectseals.html

Original Post by leaf_eater:

Why don't you go club a baby seal, that would really show them. 

Hahahahah, this is dangerous later you'll be depicted as a crazy seal killer in an ad  and your face will go international :p

but i am buying maple syrup too,coz its good for my diet

hahaha peta.

aka terrorist group

It makes no sense at all.  How could boycotting a natural product affect a cruel practice?  It can't.  I've visited a maple farm in Vermont, and was amazed at the way the sap is harvested, not harming a single tree.  It's a very labor intensive process and the people who make maple syrup harm no one.

It would make more sense to call for a boycott of fish, since the reason the seals are killed is to protect the supply of fish. 

I am also a resident of Ontario and long-time vegetarian interested in activism. I found this to be totally bizarre.

Not only is it bizarre, but it won't work. Asking Canadians to boycott maple syrup is almost as ridiculous as asking them to boycott Tim Hortons.