Your child's public education... brought to you by PETA

Schools in Montrose, Michigan, are hard-pressed for funding these days, but WCRZ reports that a well-known international not-for-profit organization is willing to help out.

With one catch:

That's right. PETA wants to sponsor Montrose schools in return for placing anti-dissection messages in the hallways.

PETA executive vice president Tracy Reiman says

"Encouraging students to cut up animals who often suffer a terrifying and painful death teaches them that the lives of others don't matter. Our offer is a win-win solution: The school district would receive needed funding, and students would receive invaluable lessons in compassion and good science."

Win-win? From a marketing point of view, perhaps. I covered another Michigan PETA effort against dissection in April, mostly because it involved Iggy Pop. It's a good issue for them to focus on, because it's easy for mainstream people to identify with unnecessary death and gore.

But will it end with dissection? PETA is not exactly an organization I want having a lot of influence in the halls of education.

The problem is that, once schools become dependent on non-public funding, they are susceptible to influence. And that influence could easily involve other PETA pet issues, such as promoting veganism by vilifying all animal products, even milk.



Oh yeah, and then there's the question of their track record of recruiting young women to get naked for the cause. Handy to have their URL right on the locker, eh?

But don't think I'm exclusively bashing on PETA. Corporate sponsorship of education is just a bad idea all around — whether it's bringing fast food into the cafeteria, pop machines to fund events, or even a non-profit with a passionate agenda. That's not the way public education is supposed to work.

Care about education? Vote for better public funding. When it comes to our future, we'll get what we pay for.

He's a straight talkin' PETA with a letter for the U of M...

Man is the village animal, united by the glue of our loathsome qualities
- "The Villagers", 1982

Iggy Pop has joined forces with PETA against animal testing at the University of Michigan. It's not as unusual a partnership as you might think. Iggy likes theatrics. He likes to get naked. (Don't click that link unless you actually want to see Iggy Pop nude.) And despite all the drugs he put into his body in the Stooges days, he's actually a health nut who has been on a strict macrobiotic diet for over 40 years.

This particular appeal is close to home, as well. Iggy (once known as James Osterberg) grew up in U Michigan's backyard of Ann Arbor, and even attended classes in Anthropology for a term before dropping out to make rock and roll history.

Ig writes:

"Mary Sue Coleman, President
University of Michigan                                                                                   
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1340

Dear Dr. Coleman,

As a former University of Michigan student, I was disappointed to learn from my friends at PETA that cats and pigs continue to be abused and killed in U-M’s survival flight course even though the same skills are taught using more effective non-animal methods in other medical training courses on campus.

It’s common sense that cutting apart pigs and maiming cats isn’t the best way to train people to treat humans. Just last year, U-M announced that it was replacing the animal labs in a trauma training course—one that covers the same procedures for which pigs are still being mutilated and killed in the school’s survival flight course—with a modern simulator. 

U-M should not be harming animals when better alternatives are available and already in use on campus. Judging by The Michigan Daily’s recent editorial in favor of replacing these archaic animal labs, the student body agrees. 

Please make the switch to non-animal training methods for U-M’s survival flight course.

Thanks for your time.

Sincerely, Iggy Pop"

While I am not a big fan of PETA in general, I am a huge Iggy Pop fan. So I'm happy his collaboration with PETA was a cause I can get behind. There are more humane alternatives to animal testing — especially in education.