Categories: Culture

Vegans Want To You To Stop Saying ‘Bring Home The Bacon’ Because It’s Offensive

Because there's more than one way to skin a cat, or rather, more than one way to peel a potato.

People probably don’t think twice about using sayings like “bringing home the bacon” or “beating a dead horse.” However, vegans want everyone to stop using these offensive phrases. Instead, they are promoting a more “animal-friendly language” around children.

The idea was introduced by Shareena Z. Hamzah, a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Swansea University. She published her thoughts about how “meat is more than just a form of sustenance, it is the very king of all foods.” According to Hamzah, meat is “a source of societal power” but the use of meat-based metaphors could change soon.

Vegans believe that ‘letting a cat out of the bag’ is also offensive.

In her article, Hamzah suggested that vegans and their animal-free lifestyle could push to replace offensive phrases with an ethical option.

“The increased awareness of vegan issues will filter through our consciousness to produce new modes of expression – after all, there’s more than one way to peel a potato. At the same time, metaphors involving meat could gain an increased intensity if the killing of animals for food becomes less socially acceptable.

“The image of ‘killing two birds with one stone’ is, if anything, made more powerful by the animal-friendly alternative of ‘feeding two birds with one scone’. 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.”

An example of the animal-friendly idioms.

Source: PETA

This isn’t a new idea at all. PETA has already been promoting “animal-friendly idioms” that teachers should introduce to their students.

The phrases include an option for “beating a dead horse” (“feeding a fed horse”) as well as “put all your eggs in one basket” (“put all your berries in one bowl”). They also suggest saying “spill the beans” instead to “letting the cat out of the bag.”

The new phrases might not be as catchy as the ones we’re used to. Nevertheless, it should make vegans happy.