Case study: Writing for chickens, turkeys and ducks

More than 80 billion chickens are killed each year. And in the US, more than 200 million turkeys die each year, along with 26 million ducks.

These are horrific numbers. And yet it’s hard to see any end to the endless ads for chicken wings and chicken patties on TV ads.

So how do you advocate for these animals in a world where they are almost exclusively viewed as food?

It’s not easy. So I focused on one particular audience — birders.

Birders love birds, just not all birds, a point I emphasized in this essay in The Revelator.

When writing for animals one strategy to use is that of connecting dots. Such as “You love this animal and yet you eat this other animal.” Why? And how can we evolve to protecting all animals?