Survival at Stake by Poorva Joshipura

Survival At Stake by Poorva Joshipura

There is this thing with books written by any activist- be it environmental, girl’s rights, human rights, and a score of others. Either the books provide a mindboggling amount of facts (read: numbers), or they are fiery commentaries that give only one consolation- that the writer, at least, believes in the cause.


And then, there is this book. One which shows you the mirror, and then shoots- right between your eyes. And by the end of the book, you agree, that you deserved it!


The author, Poorva Joshipura is the Senior Vice President for International Affairs at PETA(UK). Obviously, she has been in this field, getting her hands dirty, and cleaning the filth for long. She knows what she is talking about. But what I admire this book for is how she lays out the facts, convincing us that we must stop cruelty to animals for our own well being.


The book begins with a quote from the ‘Joker’ star Joaquin Phoenix’s Oscar acceptance speech. I put out a part of it here:


‘I think, whether we’re talking about gender inequality or racism or queer rights or indigenous rights or animal rights, we’re talking about the fight against injustice. We’re talking about the fight against the belief that one nation, one people, one race, one gender, one species, has the right to dominate, use and control another with impunity. I think we’ve become very disconnected from the natural world. Many of us are guilty of an egocentric worldview, and we believe that we’re the centre of the universe.’


Now, for someone not too into animal rights, you might even wonder why it is a problem. Is it not survival of the fittest? Since humans are at the apex of the food pyramid, we get to choose whom to eat/wear/lab-test as per our needs. No?


Turns out, the answer is - No! And this, the book proves in every single chapter, by laying out bare facts in front of you.


The book takes you on a riveting journey, beginning with the Covid 19 pandemic. And how in the exotic animal markets of China, with animals taken in cages one above the other, the animals remained soaked in each other’s secretions. And how these animals became the ‘mixing vessels’ that let a virus primarily infecting bats mutate enough to infect humans. Infact, read the facts. Zoonotic diseases like these are at an all-time high. SARS to Swine Flu, and everything in between.


We then learn how the deadly HIV that infects humans has its origins in the wild monkeys of Africa and how we would have probably not had anything called AIDS if we had just let all wild creatures be.


And we graduate to learning how pigs, chickens and other farm animals are fed pulverized remains of the slaughtered animals of their own kind, along with faeces, to cut costs on feed. And how this diet spawns a variety of diseases in the slaughtered farm animal as well as its consumer.


Check out systems linked to animal agriculture—that is those related to the breeding, rearing and slaughter of animals for meat, eggs, dairy and other animal-derived products—occupy nearly half of the global surface area! in Brazil, an area larger than the size of all European Union forests combined is used to raise cattle for beef and leather. estimates that it takes over 15,000 litres of water to produce one kilogram of beef—with most of it for crops that are fed to cattle—as compared to 322 litres to produce one kilogram of vegetables. That is a tight slap to those who make silly arguments in favour of non-vegetarianism like- the world would run out of resources if one had to feed only vegetarian food to all!


The indiscriminate use of antibiotics as compensation for the overcrowding and lack of hygiene in both above-ground and underwater factory farms is leading to the emergence of several antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria in humans, the prime consumers! We might run out of medicines to cure many infections at this rate.


I could not even get through the chapter on dairy farms in one go! Calves being tied up, separated from their mothers, slaughter of male calves because well, they aren’t going to produce milk, and the same with older cows who have had their run….the grotesque cramped conditions in which these animals are kept, and often skinned and butchered alive, and squealing and kicking! The same goes for chicken and pigs and all others.


But if cruelty alone does not make your tummy roil- there is something called Bovine Leukaemic Virus and something about an increased risk of breast, prostrate cancers in dairy consumers! The fleecing of wools has added the hazards of chopping off their ears and tails and handling them most cruelly.


And there is way too much to say about the cruelty to animals in the leather industry. But it should also suffice to point out that the noxious chromium compounds, acid fumes and polluted water cause numerous cancers apart from lung, skin and neurological diseases. And this, is not just in the poor tannery workers, but in the residents of surrounding areas exposed to these effluents as well.


Lab tests cause not just psychological and physical stress/pain to animals, they often experience outbursts of violence against others and themselves. Also, with all the gene mixing/moulding/altering happening here, we might just engineer the next big catastrophic pandemic!


The book exposes us to scores of environmental problems linked to meat production. Among them, are land use and degradation, colossal water use, deforestation, methane emissions from ruminant animals such as cattle and sheep, and waste from farms polluting waterways and land.

Finally, the book talks about a lesser-known side effect of animal cruelty- it ingrains cruelty in our interaction with all living beings, even humans. Several spine-chilling examples have been given- where sociopaths and chain murderers have been found to have taken excessive interest in perpetrating cruelty on smaller animals in childhood. But their actions never merited a reprimand, let alone remedial measures. And the cruelty, like the child, grew. There is a beautiful quote in the book in this reference, and it goes thus:


‘Teaching a child not to step on a caterpillar is as valuable to the child as it is to the caterpillar.’


In summary, the book peels away layers of our ignorance, apathy and superiority complex, one at a time. The last chapter offers a lot of information on how we can make a difference in the world, however small our age or designation is. There are several online resources listed out as well- from animal rights activism to vegan food recipe sources to vegan leather and whatnot.


So, what are you waiting for? Pick up the book- it is a wake-up call. We must wake up and smell the (black) coffee. Because it is not the animals’, but OUR survival, that is at stake.