Anonymous for the Voiceless - The Cube of Truth
I've been vegan for two years already. I usually only talk about it when someone asks me but today I'd like to share with you my very first experience with vegan activism (without you asking me 😊).
Many people think of meat, eggs or cheese as an item from the supermarket or a product from the local butcher or fresh-market. It looks good, is easy to buy and these days does not have to be very expensive. And above all, people know what they want to make of it and that thought alone often already creates nice memories and expectations.
Eating can be a social thing, but it can be just a quick necessity too to take in the much-needed nutrition on a daily basis.
Regardless of eating pattern and priorities, most people around us grow up eating meat, fish, eggs or cheese without really knowing about the suffering animals have to go through. Some people may be curious where these products come from and go and browse the internet or look for other means of information in books or magazines. But otherwise, there’s not really a trigger or perceived need to find out more about this.
The global organisation “Anonymous for the Voiceless” is making this more accessible to the public by what they call the “Cube of Truth”. Last Saturday was the first time ever that me and my husband have participated in this Cube of Truth in a nearby city.
A group of activists forms a square in a public place facing outwards and hold video equipment on which they show footage of slaughterhouses, factory farming, the egg industry and fur farms.
Passers-by can stop and watch the footage and other activists are available to engage with them and answer questions they may have about the footage.
This is a low effort but high impact activity since it is completely voluntary, none of the passers-by are approached, they determine whether they want to see it and if they are interested to know more about it. People of all kinds are attracted, young and old, couples and singles, families and friends, locals and visitors.
This footage was from Switzerland, a highly regulated country, with stringent laws for animal welfare. It shows practices from the slaughterhouses. I never watch it myself because it is just too much for me. Such practices are totally unnecessary today. Just the mere fact that nowadays we have access to so many products which we’ve never had before, there is no need any more for animals to get slaughtered to get the necessary nutrition.
There was quite a group of people, but we pretty much only knew the organizer. The action took three hours and we’ve had a lot of attention from curious people, despite the cold and gloomy weather.
One can imagine that not everyone who’s looking at the footage is shocked or interested, some may be looking away and move on, others start a confrontation and then there’s those who are vegan and just stop by for a chat.
The strength of this cube is that the activists standing in the square all wear masks, are dressed in black and don’t move or speak throughout the action. They just hold a laptop showing the footage or hold a sign that says “TRUTH” – which focuses attention on the faith of the actual animals instead of the people standing there.
Nevertheless, having people standing there sends a strong message of personal engagement and commitment of these activists to bring out the truth. After three ours of not moving at all and holding the sign I couldn't feel my legs anymore...
The group on Saturday was very diverse. There were die-hard activists who’ve done this and other activism for many years. Then there were some new starters, just like me and my husband. And there may have been also a couple of one-off participants who just wanted to try it out and see how this goes.
We had different nationalities as well, Swiss of course, then some Germans, a Spanish, English, Slovak (me) and Dutch (my husband).
Although the cube itself is not meant as a social event for activists, there was plenty of time afterwards for networking. I am even potentially looking to work with some of them when I am opening my restaurant but I have to see how this evolves.
I am so proud that we took part in the Cube and I'm sure that we will be doing it regularly now.
Thank you for reading,
Cheers,
Martina
The photos are not taken by me (as I was in the Cube) but are shared with the permission.
Thank you for sharing this, @delishtreats. I completely understand the move to veganism for ethical reasons and I confess that the disconnect between how animal proteins "happen" and then reach our tables is one I cultivate for myself. My husband was a stock farmer and is very concerned about the ethical management of livestock. Modern mass production does not promote that, as you have pointed out. As far back as the late 60s he worked for a multinational beef producer that, at the time, rejected using growth hormones in their cattle.
This brings me to the next thing: the world has so many people to feed that the world needs to find some equitable way of doing this. Too much food is dumped while in other parts of the world people starve, including in South Africa where I live. Children go to school having not eaten and, if they are lucky, get a meal at school. The only one for the day.
Tracts of land (and with it, delicate ecosystems) are being developed for agriculture - livestock less so than crops - and causing havoc, I agree. That said, small-scale and subsitence farming cannot feed the world or countries. It is such a conundrum.
Activists play such an important role in raising awareness, disseminating information and encouraging important discussion and debate on these issues, so thank you.
I was raised on a farm and I learned how an animal should be treated and this is why it makes me sad to see what the mass production is causing. I'm glad to hear that, at that time, they rejected using those hormones. I would wish such practices would be applied today as well..
I completely agree with you. There is no balance in regards to food anymore. There is such a huge gap between people who can afford food and waste so much of it and people who have no resources to get their food and starve very often to death. This is the issue that should be looked at first. The world population is growing but how are we going to feed all those people? It's a very controversial question as like you say small-scale and subsitence farming can't feed the world but the mass production is destroying the environment.. there is not a good solution for this in my opinion..
Activists play an important role but sometimes they might discourage people too by being too pushy and too persistent. This is why I like The Anonymous for the voiceless. You stand there, show what is happening and wait for people to come to you and show the interest in the issue.
Thank you for your insightful comment.
You are welcome. Awareness, facts and honest debate are so important
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Thank you for sharing this @delishtreats! You're absolutely correct; there's a total disconnect for many regarding how their food actually gets to the supermarket. I grew up on a small farm and believe in the loving treatment of animals and their humane demise for human consumption. Big business farming and corporations now of course focus on profit over what is considered humane.
I applaud your choices and your activism. I used to make my students aware of all the "food" documentaries that revealed where their food was actually coming from ... and then let them make their own choices. I'm hoping that with education comes a big change in practice!
Thanks again for this!
I was raised on a small farm too and I learned how animals should be treated. It's nothing like what is happening in the companies working for profit so I completely agree with you.
Thank you Lynn! This is the best way of activism for me. You let people see what is happening and wait for them to come to you and ask questions. And it happened all the time. I was surprised by the interest that people showed in the topic.
I like your practices! I am a promoter of a free will and I'm not trying to convince anyone about my beliefs. The only thing I always say is that they should try to look for information and then they will maybe reconsider their action. I think that everyone should have access to information and make their own choices so I applaud you for your teaching techniques :)
Thank you for stopping by Lynn! :)
Good for you Martina! For getting out and doing something new that fulfills you. And, that you could do it with your love makes the experience more worthwhile.
Unfortunately, there is a huge disconnect between the source of our food and what is on our plates or wrappers as the case may be. And, even sadder then that is mass production of food. I feel this for both animals and plants. Plants can be so easily abused and undervalued as can animals. Fortunately, i was raised on a farm. We grew a lot of our own food and raised the animals too. They lived well and were cared for and killed in a good way. Which really helps with understanding exactly what you're doing when taking food to support your own life.
For me the biggest thing is mindfulness and appreciation for both the spirit of the plant or animal as well as as much as i can knowing each life is raised and sacrificed in a good way. Also, taking only what is needed and not any more. For me i tend to lean more towards plant based meals but also sense and appreciate the sustanance in what animals offer. Maybe it is my northern heritage, our long cold winters and lack of sunshine. But, i will always endeavour to question and feel out what is right for me. And, go forward in a good way. Treating myself and others, and our environment with kindness and love every breath i take.
Of course it is always a work in progress! One step at a time. ❤
I believe that the disconnect between the source of our food and what is on our plates is the biggest issue. People see a piece of meat nicely wrapped in a supermarket and they don't question how it got there. Why would they? We are brainwashed all the time by the mass media. Seeing happy cows chewing fresh grass, happy chicken running around, pigs in the mud.. but is this true? I've seen somewhere that many kids think that milk is coming from the box in the supermarket. Is this right? Why don't they know the truth? We are led in the direction that the biggest players want us to go. UNLESS we start investigating ourselves..
I was also raised on a farm. We raised our animals and grew our veggies and fruits as well. I learned to appreciate the source of my food while many people never get to see it. And this is sad. The mass production makes is so easy for us to purchase everything we can even think of right now. How is that possible? How is it possible that so many supermarkets are stocked with so many products each day of the week? The toll is being paid somewhere else.. and as you said this is not only in regards to animals but all other products as well. The waste that we produce could feed so many people who have nothing to eat.. Taking only what you need and not any more is crucial in my opinion.
It is important to question what is right or wrong. If you do this you're on the right way :)
Thank you for your insightful comment :) It was a pleasure to read :)
I love everything about this. I saw this same display in Cleveland some time ago. At that time, I wasn't familiar with it. I was quite surprised by the reactions of my meat-eating friends though. They all expressed that these people should not make such vulgar demonstrations in public.
Weird, right?
I've been mostly vegan for several years now and this demonstration took place right outside of a venue where you can buy an entire dead pig if you like. That showing video of their slaughter was considered vulgar, but not the killing and eating of the animal itself was quite surprising to me.
Thanks for taking part in this. I'm glad to know a little more about the motivations of the group. I didn't realize it was an international organization.
I think they realize that this is the truth but they are still in the denial phase. Which is normal.. we are fed with the information all our life, so when we see that we're doing something 'wrong' (and we learned it was right) we naturally start fighting against it. I have hope for your friends :) Denial is the first stage of acceptance so they will get there :)
Being vegan is a way of life and some people will do everything not to accept it as it's different and they don't have all information. Even after two years people ask me what I eat BUT they still think it's only about the food. This is not true. It's about everything in your life - not using leather, fur, any animal products in cosmetics, fight animal cruelty, etc. If someone tells you that you should change everything what you've done until now you freak out, don't you? :)
The project started in Australia but then spread worldwide quickly. Nowadays, there are cubes everywhere in the world. I wanted to join for a long time and I was happy to see that it came here as well. You can even purchase their branded material :) I'm going to get a hoodie :)
Thank you for your great comment Jennifer! :)
Yes, it would certainly be difficult to change an entire world view under pressure from an outside influence rather than internal desire. I think it takes multiple exposures to new concepts before you can begin to internalize them, so even though my friends pushed back against the idea - it still made a little headway in their psyche. :-)
I don't typically do branded goods, but I might check out the Cube products. I love the low-key approach to activism.
A strong and powerful message and my hats off to you. It is a good thing to make a stand and show what happens in the background.
Thank you! I'm glad that you see it this way :)
I haven't heard of or seen these cubes before @delishtreats. But what a powerful way to bring the issue of cruelty to animals in the fish, meat, dairy and egg industries to the public.
The cube composed of masked humans, dressed in black ~ Standing silently and motionless, in unity, regardless of the cold ~ Would have such an immediate visual impact. Enough to make people start to question. ♥︎♥︎⚖️♥︎♥︎
Like you, I wouldn't be able to watch any filmings of the slaughter of animals or of the pain they endure in their day-to-day situations ~ It's more than enough to know this inhumane treatment is still ongoing.
I'm glad that you got to see something new today :) Yes, the cube has a great impact because of the way it is organized. It catches the attention of passers-by and it is very interesting to see how their facial expression changes when they see the videos. It's enough when they start to question.. with questions you naturally wants to look for more information to get proper answers and this is a step in the right direction..
I agree with you. It's more than enough to know what is happening. I don't need to see to believe :)
Thank you for stopping by and for your great comment!
Kudos! You've done a great thing here. There are so many reasons to go vegan or at the very least, substantially cut back meat and dairy consumption.
I have significantly cut back over the years, but i'm looking to cut back entirely and give a vegan diet a try next week, specifically juicing.
That is such a great idea!! Let me know if you would need any support during next week :) I hope it will actually stay with you for longer than just a week Jeremy :)
Thank you for stopping by!
That's an incredibly creative, and ultimately powerful, way to get a message across. In the US, our laws are not that good: if a pet is treated the way food animals are, the owner is arrested. In contrast, we now have laws banning photos and videos of factory farms. The US is increasingly a pretty terrible country to live in.
Proud member of #powerhousecreatives
I've heard about this nonsense in some states in the US. But I've also heard that there are 'forces' fighting against it. It's just a propaganda in my opinion. They ban photos and videos of factory farms so that they can do whatever they want in there. It's so obvious. They were able to hide it for years. Now when there are people coming inside of the farms and documenting what's happening there they are afraid that people will see it and question WHY.
It's so sad that there is such a difference between a pet and a 'food' animal. They all are living beings that just want to live..
I hope that the situation will change there.. were you born in the US?
Yes, born and raised in the US... not one of those Americans who think US is somehow exceptional. There are problems everywhere, many more than here, but the US is going downhill, especially now that Trump is in office. My hope is that younger generations will demand change and turn things around.
As to the ban on photos and videos in factory farms, I'm afraid big Agri-business has way too much money and influence in DC to overturn it.
Martina I take My hat of for you ! You are a true advocate for Being vegan and the meat-truth.
Loved the lay-out and the story
Gr. Britt
Thank you Britt! It's very motivating to hear something like that! :)
I'm just trying to help spreading out the word..
Have a good day!
Same to you dear
So awesome!! Animals shouldn't be murdered. It's so sad what happens to so many of them.
I agree with you! And it's important that people know about what is happening so that they can decide if they want to take part in such horrible thing.