In an interview with Fox News Digital, Ingrid Newkirk, the President of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), announced a surprising amendment to her last will.
Her final request, reflective of her lifelong commitment to animal rights activism, involves having her body used posthumously to deliver a powerful, if unsettling, message about meat consumption.
Newkirk elaborated on her intentions, stating, "I am deathly serious." She desires to have her flesh barbecued with onions, drawing parallels between human flesh and animal meat to challenge predatory consumption practices. "You can barbecue my flesh, and you'll smell it cooking with those onions, and you'll think, 'Oh, I want some of that.' But it will make you think," she declared.
Founded in the 1980s, PETA began as a small group of activists. Since then, it has grown into a global organization with over 9 million members and an annual budget surpassing $80 million, as stated in its 2022 tax documents. Newkirk, one of the organization's co-founders, has been hailed by the New Yorker as "The woman behind the most successful radical group in America."
Underlining PETA's stance against "speciesism" or "a human-supremacist worldview," Newkirk has laid out provocative plans for her body after death. She intends to transform her skin into leather items like a belt or a purse. Moreover, she wishes to have her eye shipped to the National Institutes of Health as a protest against animal experimentation. As a symbolic echo of the inhumane treatment of elephants, her foot will be fashioned into an umbrella stand.
The intricate details of her post-mortem activism have already been arranged. Newkirk stated, "I have an executor, I have a lawyer, and I have a pathologist." She added that it will be PETA's responsibility to utilize her body parts "to try to get people to behave in a more civilized and kind way towards animals." She believes the spectacle of human flesh being prepared for consumption could provoke a sense of empathy among the viewers and encourage more compassionate dietary choices.
While Newkirk doesn't anticipate her flesh will be eaten, she views it as a critical symbolic act. "I don't think anybody will consume it. And we wouldn't encourage them to do so, only because, I mean, we don't think that it would be good for them to do that. They would feel very sick," she explained. Her core message is a straightforward plea: "All flesh is flesh, and please don't eat any flesh."
The world's largest animal rights organization, PETA, commended Newkirk's commitment, stating, "the will ensures that even after her demise, Newkirk will continue to help animals and honors her commitment that 'my body be used in a manner that draws attention to needless animal suffering and exploitation.'" The organization also hoped Newkirk's posthumous plans would awaken those still oblivious to speciesism.
PETA's activism methods have frequently sparked controversy, but the organization has remained steadfast. On its website, PETA countered the criticism: "Is PETA extreme for pointing out that more than 29 million cows suffer and die in the meat and dairy industries every year?"
Newkirk labeled industrial farming as an "abomination" after numerous investigations into slaughterhouses uncovered rampant animal cruelty. When asked if comparing humans to animals is dehumanizing, she responded, "Well, we are animals I am an animal. I'm flesh and blood. I'm a primate."
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