Idioms like “Bring home the bacon,” “Taking the bull by the horns,” and “flogging a dead horse” are just as harmful as homophobic and racist language, according to animal rights organization PETA.
“Just as it became unacceptable to use racist, homophobic, or ableist language, phrases that trivialize cruelty to animals will vanish as more people begin to appreciate animals for who they are and start ‘bringing home the bagels’ instead of the bacon,” PETA wrote on Twitter.
PETA offered phrase substitutions for terms involving animals. Instead of using “kill two birds with one stone” say “feed two birds with one scone,” and instead of “being the guinea pig,” say “be the test tube.”
“Words matter, and as our understanding of social justice evolves, our language evolves along with it,” PETA added.
Many argued over the platform, and several were angered over the dramatic comparison to racism and homophobia. Some followers even said PETA is giving vegetarians and vegans a bad name.
PETA’s tweet comes after an argument made last month in the U.K that increased awareness of vegan issues could lead to new modes of expression.
“Metaphors involving meat could gain an increased intensity if the killing of animals for food becomes less socially acceptable,” Shareena Z. Hamzah of Swansea University wrote.
“If veganism forces us to confront the realities of food’s origins, then this increased awareness will undoubtedly be reflected in our language and our literature.”
It was announced this week that the British employment tribunal will decide whether veganism is a “philosophical belief” which should be afforded the same protections as religion.
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