Will LEGO Turn Its Farm Set Into an Animal Sanctuary?

For Immediate Release:
May 31, 2022

Contact:
Megan Wiltsie 202-483-7382

Following the launch of LEGO’s new farm set, which offers an archaic depiction of animal agriculture, PETA U.K. sent a letter to the Denmark-based toy manufacturer’s CEO, Niels Christiansen, urging him to fix the misstep. PETA U.K.’s suggestion? Rebrand the set as a sanctuary, where animals are free to live out their lives in peace. The group points out that LEGO’s happy farm scene misleads children, as animals suffer in today’s meat, egg, and dairy industries, which are not only cruel but also a leading cause of the climate catastrophe.

“This rebrand would help children recognise that animals are sentient beings to be cared for, who feel joy, pain, love, and grief, not edible commodities to be used and abused,” writes PETA U.K. Vice President Mimi Bekhechi. “It’s time we all stopped misleading children about the horror and cruelty behind their dairy milkshakes and beef burgers, and by rebranding the farm as a sanctuary, I’m sure you’ll agree that LEGO would send a positive message not only about our relationship with other animals but also about the future of farming in harmony with the environment.”

Children playing with LEGO today are growing up amid a climate catastrophe—the worst effects of which the United Nations advises can be mitigated by a global switch to vegan eating. Every person who goes vegan not only helps the planet but also spares animals daily misery in squalid, crowded conditions and a terrifying death in a slaughterhouse. In the meat, egg, and dairy industries, cows are forcibly separated from their calves, chickens’ throats are slit while they’re still conscious, and piglets may be castrated and their tails cut off without painkillers.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat” and which opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview—offers a free vegan starter kit filled with tips, recipes, and more on its website.

The letter is available here. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.