Writing

Armenta 2

9/14/2020

ENGL 1302

Essay 2, Draft

Moo-ve On to Something Else

Imagine going through the hardships of pregnancy and having your baby ripped away from you just seconds after birth. It is not a fun thing to think about, is it? Well this is exactly just some of the torture that thousands of animals must go through daily. Go Vegan World is nonprofit organization that makes ads to highlight the different cruelties that many animals face. One of these many ads is pictured above and it that depicts the struggles of dairy cows. This ad by Go Vegan World uses pathos, suggestive lighting, and color to express the purpose of this ad: Animals deserve to be treated humanely.

Go Vegan World uses pathos in this ad by stating facts about the cruel lives of dairy cows. By referring to this cow as a “she” instead of an “it” as most people would do, the ad makers are personifying the cow. By having people read those pronouns, viewers may show more empathy to the cow. The ad refers to calves as “babies” which also seems to make the cow more humane and could gain sympathy for the cow. Calves produced in dairy farms are forcibly taken from their mothers just a few days after they are born. Cows and claves tend to create a bond in the few days that they are together and when they ae taken away, they scream and cry out. Unfortunately for these calves, they will either become dairy cows and live the same life or sold to veal industry. The ad also displays the how the cow will only be used for its body parts. By telling the viewers what the cow will be used for, while they must stare it in the eye, may bring some empathy from said viewers. The ad ends talking about how significantly low dairy cow’s actual life span will be. This is a life ultimately created just to be tortured and eaten.

The lighting in this ad forces to viewer to look directly at the cow in the photo. You can see a barbed wire closely in front of the cow’s face. There is nothing in the background, so the sole attention is on her. This dark background allows for the cows features to be the center of this photos. You can see that on the cow’s right ear she has an identification tag. The procedure for cows to get an ID tag is like that of an ear piercing. Although it may not cause them much pain, it is a unethical way to keep track of these animals. The ad makers also have important phrases in a white and pink color to have some contrast against the dark background. The title alone in in a huge pink bold font against a black background so it makes it stand out more. This ad has a great “hooking” statement that is also controversial so it may draw more attention to it.

The main purpose of this ad was to show the mistreatment of dairy cows. Dairy cows are artificial inseminated over and over again so that they can be constantly reproducing milk. This process of artificial insemination could be considered rape. They are forcing these dairy cows to constantly stay pregnant. The milk that the produce will not be for their babies but for ours. After a cow gives birth the calf will be taken away, sold, and even dehorned. This dehorning process is extremely painful and often uses hot irons, saws, or even caustic chemicals. These cows live a horrible, torturous life. On average other cows have a life span of about twenty-five years versus dairy cows who have an average life span of about four years. Go Vegan World uses there platform to make ads like this one and many more that speak up for animals.

Animals do not deserve to be breed just to die. This ad by Go Vegan World uses so many rhetorical elements to show how dairy cows are mistreated and given an unfair life. They use lighting and color to control how viewers physically see their message and information in this ad. Go Vegan World also uses pathos to get a sympathy and empathy from viewers as well. Many other organizations such as, Peta and Animal Equality also help back up Go Vegan World’s claims from this ad. You would not take a newborn from its mother so why do we do it to animals?

Works Cited

“Dairy.” Go Vegan World, 6 Oct. 2018, goveganworld.com/why-vegan/the-animals-we-use/dairy-take-babies-mothers/.

“18 Images Big Dairy Doesn't Want You to See (but PETA Will Show You).” PETA, 22 Jan. 2020, www.peta.org/features/dairy-industry-cruelty/.

“The Truth About The Dairy Industry.” Animal Equality | International Animal Protection Organization, 27 May 2020, animalequality.org/issues/dairy/.