Our Treatment Of Animals Is Critical For Human Existence: PETA’s Poorva Joshipura Explains Why

Do you ever question how our treatment of animals is tangled with the survival of humanity? As we face mounting global crises, Poorva Joshipura, PETA UK’s Senior Vice President of International Affairs, dives into this pressing issue in her groundbreaking new book, Survival by Stake. She not only explores the complex link between animal welfare and human survival but also provides a comprehensive roadmap for connecting the dots and forging a path towards altering these disturbing and destructive patterns. 

SheThePeople sat down with Poorva Joshipura to discuss her journey and her groundbreaking book in depth. Joshipura, an authoritative voice in animal rights, is also the author of For a Moment of Taste: How What You Eat Impacts Animals, the Planet, and Your Health (2020). 

Link Between Animal Rights, Climate Crisis And Human Welfare

"I started working for PETA at age 23," Joshipura recalled. "But I joined the PETA family much earlier as an intern and, before that, as a volunteer and supporter when I was 16. That’s when I first got a copy of PETA’s Animal Times magazine. I’m now 41. So I’ve been part of the PETA family for more than half my life."

Joshipura's experiences with bullying as reported by PETA, extend back to her school days when she faced racist and sexist harassment. These early encounters with injustice fueled her determination to fight against all forms of discrimination, including speciesism. "Growing up, I faced racist and sexist bullying in school. These experiences made me determined to spend my life fighting injustice. They also led me to see what’s wrong with all negative ‘isms,’ not only racism and sexism but speciesism, too," she explains.

Her resolve has been tested in male-dominated environments, such as slaughterhouses and laboratories in Asia. "During my visits, I was usually the only female for what felt like miles around. The male workers, armed with knives and even axes, would stare at me and try to intimidate or harass me, waggling animal guts in my direction and so on. At these times, I would think of the other PETA women who have done investigations or faced abusers, and it would give me the strength I needed to disregard those men and carry on," she says.

Reflecting on her efforts to end jallikattu, a brutal bull-taming sport in India, Joshipura recounts the intense backlash she faced. "When I spoke out against this practice, I received death and rape threats—some protesters burned me in effigy and called me a whore on social media. But having my PETA family strong around me and the support of other women in the organization—and men, too—gave me even more confidence to fight for the bulls’ rights," she recalls.

Now, as the Senior Vice President of International Affairs for the PETA Foundation UK, she oversees numerous global PETA operations and projects. Her extensive resume includes roles as the former CEO of PETA India and the former director of PETA UK, as well as various positions within PETA US early in her career. She serves on the board of directors for PETA India and has been an advisor to organizations like Animal Rahat and the Petra Veterinary Clinic.

"I've been helping animals for the last 25 years, working with different PETA entities around the world," Joshipura begins, her voice resonant with conviction born from experience. "A lot of times, people say, 'Don't you think we should fix human problems first?' Every time I hear that question, I realize that people see these issues as distinct when they aren't."

Animal rights, she passionately argues, are inseparable from human rights and environmentalism. "To establish how that is," she continues, "I start my book out by relaying that we are animals too." This perspective is not just a philosophical stance but is rooted in evolutionary biology. Humans share a common ancestor with all vertebrates, and even with some invertebrates. The similarities are not merely historical but present in our current physiology and behaviours. For instance, scientists have found that bees, much like humans, exhibit complex behaviours such as dreaming, playing, and even displaying post-traumatic stress disorder-like responses to danger.

These discoveries highlight a kinship between humans and other animals, suggesting that the way we treat other animals directly impacts us, extending to emotional and cognitive similarities, with animals like chickens and pigs showcasing intelligence and cunning comparable to that of humans.

One of the most striking examples of this interconnectedness is the role of bees and other pollinators. Joshipura emphasizes that bees are crucial for the pollination of many plants that humans consume. The decline in bee populations due to climate change, pesticide use, and habitat destruction directly threatens human food security. "If bees are extinct, then the human population will eventually be extinct," she warns.

The chapters of her book dedicated to oceans and insects delve deeply into the concept of interdependence and biodiversity. Pollinators, including bees, mosquitoes, and houseflies, are indispensable for the pollination of crops. The human activities that jeopardize their survival—such as deforestation and the use of pesticides—are simultaneously jeopardizing our future.

Drawing parallels with bees, Joshipura explains further. "Bees, as I discuss in my book, are not just crucial pollinators; they exhibit complex behaviours akin to human cognitive processes. Their decline due to human activities—climate change, pesticide use, habitat destruction—affects not only their survival but ours as well."

Her book also explores themes of interdependence and biodiversity, stressing the vital role insects play in sustaining ecosystems. "Meat, egg, and dairy production," she reveals, "consume nearly half of the global surface area, a third of cropland, and a significant portion of freshwater resources." These alarming statistics, she argues, highlight the deep impact of animal agriculture on environmental degradation and climate change—affecting all species, including our own.

"One-fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions are linked to animal agriculture," Joshipura states solemnly. "Our addiction to meat, eggs, and dairy not only exacerbates climate change but also leads to global food inequities and water scarcity."

For instance, the deforestation and clearing of land for cropland, predominantly for corn and soy used to feed livestock, significantly reduce habitats for insects and other wildlife. This loss of habitat, in turn, impacts pollination and, consequently, human food production.

Moreover, the resources devoted to animal agriculture could be redirected to alleviate human hunger. "Imagine if we used all of that land, all of those resources to feed humans, not to feed the animals who in turn give us a little bit of meat, egg, and dairy at the end," Joshipura suggests how this shift could address issues like water scarcity and human hunger while mitigating climate change.

Challenging Speciesism

"Speciesism is a bias in favour of our species," Joshipura explains, "whereby we arbitrarily assign moral worth to animals based on our perceptions of their utility or similarity to us." Drawing parallels to racism and sexism, she stresses how speciesism justifies practices that lead to immense cruelty towards animals, often hidden behind cultural norms and convenience.

"We are conditioned to normalize forms of cruelty towards animals," Joshipura claims, highlighting everyday actions that sustain suffering, from animal-tested cosmetics to leather shoes and meat-heavy meals. "Most people," she asserts, "are not inherently cruel but lack awareness of the impact of their choices." 

She explains with an example close to home, pointing out the paradox of worshipping elephants like Lord Ganesha while confining real-life counterparts to chains in temples. "It's about raising sensitivity," she insists, "educating people on the needs and rights of animals, urging us to reconsider what we accept as normal."

With last year's COP28 spotlighting climate change, Joshipura strongly underlined how the meat, egg, and dairy industries significantly contribute to rising greenhouse gas emissions. "Reducing meat and dairy consumption can drastically cut one's carbon footprint," she states, citing a UN recommendation for global veganism to mitigate climate impacts.

Role of Animal Abuse in Zoonotic Disease Emergence

COVID-19, like its predecessor SARS, is believed to have originated in a wildlife market where live and dead animals were kept nearby under unsanitary conditions. Joshipura explains, “It first infected humans through a wildlife meat market, where live and dead wildlife were kept. This is the leading theory as to how that first infected humans. That's very similar to how SARS first infected humans.” These markets, not confined to China but present in parts of India, Africa, and South America, create an environment where diseases can easily jump from animals to humans.

In these markets, animals are often kept in cramped cages, suffering from injuries and illnesses. “These animals are often wounded, have broken bones and so on, are sitting in their waste, are bleeding. These bodily fluids often mix. This allows species of animals who may otherwise not even meet in the forest to be in close contact and that allows disease to spread from one animal to the other or even viruses to combine to form another virus altogether,” Joshipura elaborates.

The rise in demand for meat, eggs, and dairy has led to the proliferation of factory farms where animals are raised in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions. Joshipura points out, “Because of the huge demand for meat, egg, and dairy, we are increasingly raising animals in more crowded conditions, more filthy conditions. That in and of itself is a breeding ground for disease. The disease spreads on these farms like wildfire and new diseases emerge.”

One of the most pressing threats currently is bird flu, particularly the H5N1 strain, which has a 60% mortality rate in humans. Joshipura notes, “This bird flu has now started infecting minks on farm farms. So minks are mammals. They're more close to us than chickens. So now the World Health Organization is worried that the virus H5N1 bird flu is now mutating to more easily infect mammals and it can mutate to more easily infect human beings.” The spread of swine flu from intensive farms in the United States has also been a significant concern, illustrating how factory farming practices contribute to the emergence of deadly diseases.

Antibiotic Resistance and Public Health

The widespread use of antibiotics in factory farming to prevent disease in overcrowded conditions has led to the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Joshipura highlights the dual threat posed by this practice: “Sometimes what happens is because of the antibiotics, the virus mutates and becomes a stronger virus. At the same time, because so many antibiotics are used they are becoming less effective even in human beings.”

The World Health Organization has issued warnings about the overuse of antibiotics in animals, linking it to the broader public health crisis of antibiotic resistance. Joshipura stresses that addressing this issue requires a reduction in the demand for animal products: “To address the antibiotic crisis, we have to reduce the demand for meat, eggs and dairy.”

She argues that our treatment of animals is at the core of many of these issues: “We do talk about all of these issues, right? We talk about pandemics, epidemics, antibiotic resistance, climate crisis, pollution, and other public health threats... But what I felt was missing was the understanding of a commonality that links all of them, which is our treatment of animals.”

Feminism, Climate Crisis And Animal Rights

Joshipura's argument is straightforward yet compelling: one cannot truly support feminism while turning a blind eye to the exploitation of female animals in industries such as dairy, egg production, and meat production. She explains, “As women, it's very important for us to recognize that so much of what happens in the food industry affects females' bodies because they are female. Milk is an example of that exploitation.”

In the dairy industry, cows and buffalos are subjected to continuous cycles of pregnancy and birth to ensure a steady supply of milk. “Their bodies are manipulated to produce more milk. They're forced to have calf after calf because they have to have calves for their bodies to produce milk. Every single time those calves are kidnapped away from them so that humans can steal the milk. Ultimately they are killed,” Joshipura reveals. The process of artificial insemination, a standard practice in the dairy industry, is not only invasive but also deeply traumatic for these animals.

The exploitation is not limited to the dairy industry. Joshipura highlights similar practices in the egg and meat industries. Chickens, for example, are kept in conditions so restrictive that they cannot spread their wings or turn around. Their bodies have been bred to produce an unnaturally high number of eggs, leading to severe health issues. “Their ancestor produces about 15 eggs a year. Today, the chickens used for eggs produce about 250 eggs per year. That is so hard on their body that it leaches calcium from their bones. They end up with osteoporosis. They end up with broken bones,” she says.

Pigs in the meat industry face a similarly grim reality. Female pigs, used for breeding, are confined to crates so small they can barely move. “They're kept like that their entire pregnancy, then they're moved to another crate, which is also just as restrictive to give birth. Then again, they're back in that first crate. That's how they live their life from this crate to that crate until they die, or until they're killed, I should say. All of that because they're female,” Joshipura explains.

The exploitation of female animals is not just an animal rights issue; it is a feminist issue, a climate issue, and ultimately, a human issue. "We must recognize that our actions have far-reaching consequences," she urges. "By making more compassionate choices, we can help alleviate the suffering of animals, support gender equality, and contribute to a healthier planet."