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Hidden: The Truth about Animal Suffering

Hidden: The Truth about Animal Suffering

Hidden: Coffee Table Book

These Photos Show The Hidden Truth

They say a picture’s worth a thousand words, and that’s especially true when it comes to factory-farmed animals. This industry goes to great lengths to keep the truth hidden. By keeping consumers blind to the plight of these animals, carnistic privilege persists. Carnism, a word coined by Harvard-trained social psychologist Dr. Melanie Joy, is a dominant belief system that accepts the use and consumption of animals as a given, supported by questionable assumptions and rationalizations.

That’s where photographic documentation comes in.  We can all recall that one image that changed the way we think about our relationship with animals who are not fortunate enough to be our cherished companions.

Pig snout at a factory farm. Finland, 2015. Photo from https://weanimalsmedia.org/project/pigs/

A famed Canadian photojournalist and founder of We Animals Media, Jo-Anne McArthur uses the power of photography to bring attention to the hidden reality animals face. HIDDEN: Animals in the Anthropocene features the work of 40 photojournalists who document the exploitation and suffering that animals endure because of humanity’s sense of entitlement and privilege. It is a richly designed, exquisite, coffee table book that is sure to become a collector’s item. Click here to view it and purchase through the indiegogo campaign.

Jane Velez-Mitchell sits down with photojournalists Jo-Anne McArthur, Louise Jorgensen, Julie O’Neill and Bridget Laudien to discuss their unflinching work.

HIDDEN shines a light on the invisible animals in our lives, those with whom we have a close relationship and yet fail to see. They are the animals people eat and wear… the animals people use for research and entertainment, as well as the animals sacrificed in the name of tradition and religion.HIDDEN is a historical document, a memorial, and an indictment of what is and should never again be.  HIDDEN needs to be seen by as many people as possible, and this can only happen with your support.” ​Jo-Anne McArthur 

The Power of Photography

Jo-Anne McArthur found her inspiration for Hidden through her personal love of war photographer James Nachtwey’s Inferno. Nachtwey, a war photographer, explores human conflict through the gut-wrenching images in his book.

She realized that animals deserve to be documented with the same authenticity. “This is worthy of a book. These animals are worthy of this kind of visibility,” she says. “So, what you do with a book of this magnitude is create conversations globally in a media of all kinds.”

Hidden

Poignant Timing

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and the worst ecological crisis this world has seen, Hidden begs us to confront the reality of our relationship with animals.

“I think that it’s a really ripe time in our history to spin books like this that include many more messages in a way that people are responsible for looking at these images,” says Bridget Laudien. “Everybody wants to benefit and take all the things from the animals. But, they don’t ever want to see it.”

Photos produce undeniable evidence. Books like these put consumers in direct contact with the reality.

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Everyone’s a Photojournalist!

The powerful photojournalists behind this compelling book remind us that we all have the power to document the truth. Our cellphones enable us to document the cruelty we witness and share it with the whole world!

Getting people to see these images is key. We Animals Media states “Our target is to sell 1,000 books and we’re nearly there. If we reach our goal, We Animals Media will commit to sending 100 books across the globe to people and organizations of influence: politicians, chefs, journalists, podcasters, teachers, NGOs, and world leaders.”

Jane Velez-Mitchell purchased one of the books and asked that it be delivered to popular MSNBC host Rachel Maddow, who has done extensive coverage of the COVID-19 crisis amongst America’s slaughterhouse workers. By clicking here, you can purchase a book and ask that it be delivered to a different thought leader. 

 

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