While walking to lunch today I passed a group of PETA folks protesting animals in the circus. One lady was painted like a tiger and hunched over in a cage. After eating a few beef tacos for lunch, I started thinking about PETA and fair trade coffee (I was sitting at Starbucks). I personally like animals. I’ve had pets throughout the years — rest in peace, Skittle. I also enjoy the circus, own leather shoes, and like my steaks well-done.
My issue with groups like PETA isn’t their opposition to animal cruelty but their elevation of animals to the same level as humans. Animals aren’t human; that’s why they’re called animals.
This is where the fair-trade part of the subject line comes in. Fair-trade products/companies seek to pay workers in developing countries a fair wage, rather than taking advantage of them for the companies gain. It elevates humans to the level of, well, human. You might pay a little more for your coffee beans, but the farmer also makes a little more for his efforts.