This new meditation app aims to foster empathy for chickens
Empathize, is the first-ever mindfulness app focusing on compassion for animals – starting with chickens.
Animal rights group PETA is launching a brand-new free iPhone app, Empathize, which is designed to guide users through a series of meditations and mindfulness exercises to connect on a deeper level with themselves and with other animals – namely one of the most abused species on the planet: chickens.
Narrated by vegan bodybuilder Torre Washington, Empathize introduces users to five chickens: Eleanor, April, Lilah, Zoe, and Henry.
The user then follows them as their happy lives unfold: the chickens roam freely, play with their young, and enjoy the sunshine.
The visualisations then introduce users to the suffering chickens just like these endure in the meat and egg industries.
Around 60 billion chickens per year are reared for meat each year, most of them spending their entire lives in the factory-farming system where they live in severe confinement, often in filthy sheds, and are denied of anything that makes their lives worth living.
A chick born on a factory farm will never have contact with their parents. Often, these animals are drugged to grow so large that their limbs and organs cannot keep up, causing deformities, heart attacks, and organ failure.
Male chicks born into the egg industry have no use to the trade, and are killed immediately after birth by being ground up alive or put into a bag to suffocate.
On average, a factory-farmed chicken lives around 40 days, whereas a chicken's natural lifespan lasts several years.
“Whether someone is a seasoned meditator or a beginner, Empathize by PETA can help open their hearts to others and recognize that even a little bird has inherent worth and is deserving of respect,” says PETA President Tracy Reiman. “Inner peace begins on our plates, and PETA invites everyone to tap into their compassion in the New Year and go vegan.”
Chickens have been known to form complex social structures, have dreams while sleeping, and experience emotions anticipation and anxiety. They communicate with a range of vocalizations, each with a unique meaning.
Mother hens defend their young, and chickens have been found to be more clever than human toddlers. Despite these fascinating traits, more chickens are killed for food than all other animals combined.
“Research shows that practicing loving kindness meditation not only improves our relationships with others, but can also significantly boost our own well-being,” PETA Multimedia Projects Manager Ryan Hajek told Yahoo!. “PETA’s new science-backed app can help anyone deepen their compassion and understanding toward others, starting with chickens, who are in desperate need of our help.”
The message behind PETA's app is that everyone who uses the app to cultivate empathy with these animals can help them starting today – simply by leaving them and their eggs off the menu.
PETA highlights that chicken wings and nuggets, as well as eggs, are all available in plant-based versions across today's bustling food offering.
Download the free Empathize app here.
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