FYI.

This story is over 5 years old.

Food

Thousands of Vegans Are Trying to Convince Walmart to Ban This Toy

The petition was started by Veganoso, a Toronto-based vegan activist hoping to ending speciesism, who says that a toy livestock trailer currently sold by Walmart is “normalizing the enslavement and murder of animals to kids”.

When does a toy stop being a toy and become something else? Is there any sort of tangible line that separates a thing of play from a tool of propaganda? Can a toy still be considered one if it comes with an agenda, and at what point does a person's ideals cloud their ability to judge the potential harm of a toy?

These are just some of the questions that came to mind after catching word of a Change.org petition recently gaining traction among vegan activists across the nation. The petition—which was started only five days ago—currently has 11,379 supporters and calls for the multinational retail corporation Walmart to "stop selling toy slaughter trucks in Walmart stores." The petition was started by Veganoso, a Toronto-based vegan activist hoping to ending speciesism, who says that a toy livestock trailer currently sold by Walmart is "normalizing the enslavement and murder of animals to kids".

Advertisement

Please sign/share this petition to ask Walmart to stop selling toy slaughter truck #vegan https://t.co/vM6dCLOYzs pic.twitter.com/YPXMw9oPmE

— Veganoso Ⓥ (@veganoso) November 14, 2015

Although the petition doesn't specifically mention with which toy livestock trailer it takes offense, a picture posted with the petition seems to feature a still packaged ERTL Big Farm 1:32 Peterbilt Model 579 Semi with Livestock Trailer. It calls on like-minded vegans to send a message to Walmart's current CEO, C. Douglas Mcmillon, that the sale of the toy is morally reprehensible. Too bad some of the commenters leaving messages on the petition don't seem to agree with Veganoso's views in the least. The petition's top commenter, Dustin Matthews from Beverly Hills, said, "Why don't you all grow up? It's a damn toy. Not all cow wagons are slaughter rigs, just like not all trains are slave trains, not all ships are pirate ships, and not all of you goody two-shoes are all that perfect if you really think about it… If you wanna sign petitions, and throw a fit about something why don't you stand up to our corrupt-ass government!?"

Photo via Flickr user puppiesofpurgatory

Photo via Flickr user puppiesofpurgatory

Another commenter, Aaron S. from Kansas City, chose a slightly different route and stated that: "I wish Wal-Wart [sic] would sell a transport vehicle to take all of these fruit cake's [sic] away to their own private island so they can hug trees together till coconuts fall on their heads an [sic] knock some sense into them."

Well, then. Obviously, this seemingly harmless toy is eliciting some pretty strong feelings on both sides of the aisle.

MUNCHIES reached out to both Veganoso and Ertl Company, the company that manufactures the toy, but did not receive a comment from either as of press time.

Does the toy livestock trailer actually desensitize unwitting children to the horrors of the modern industrial slaughter of animals, and if so, would denying children said toys only shelter them from the world? Who can say for sure? Walmart doesn't seem to have any qualms about protecting children from certain items when they are convinced of their harm, just as Toys R Us didn't hesitate to pull drug-related Breaking Bad toys from its shelves in the past.

The bigger issue might be what the kids think of playing with a toy livestock trailer, anyway.