When Feelings Attack: How Animal Rights Activism Hijacked Science

This one’s personal.

If you’ve followed Culture Consumed for a while, you know I talk a lot about media, agriculture, and consumer perception — but this episode dives into a topic I am deeply passionate about: how anthropomorphism and animal rights activism are reshaping our food system, and not for the better.

From Disney-fueled childhoods that taught us animals have human thoughts and feelings … to the Instagram era of dogs in strollers and pet cupcakes… we’ve created a culture where we treat animals like tiny people. And while that might make us feel good, it’s distorting reality — and it’s hurting us, our pets, our farmers, and yes, even the animals we claim to protect.

In this episode, we talk about:

• The Anthropomorphism Trap → How treating animals like humans leads to rising pet obesity, dog bite incidents, and unrealistic expectations in companion animal ownership.

• The Animal Rights Marketing Machine → How groups like PETA and HSUS weaponize emotions — sad music, baby animal eyes, and guilt-driven campaigns — to influence laws and public opinion.

• Humans vs. Nature → Why humane farming is far kinder than the brutal realities of the wild, and why using animals for food, work, and companionship is what they were created for.

• California’s Proposition 12 → The perfect example of feelings over facts: a law built on emotional marketing, skyrocketing food prices, and regulations that disrupt farmers nationwide while doing little to actually improve animal welfare.

• And yes… we’re going to talk about wolves in Colorado pastures and why urban-driven wildlife policies are leaving rural communities to pick up the pieces.

This episode is honest, a little uncomfortable, and unapologetically pro-science and pro-farmer. I care about this topic because it impacts everything: how we raise food, how we view animals, and how we make decisions as a society. So, if you’re ready for some hard truths about pets, pigs, policies, and propaganda… buckle up.

Rabobank report: https://agnetwest.com/rabobank-report-pork-supply-chain-faces-challenges-with-prop-12/

Food Policy study: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0306919216300045