The organization said people should take the phrases that involve animals and make them more animal-friendly.
"Words matter, and as our understanding of social justice evolves, our language evolves along with it. Here's how to remove speciesism from your daily conversations," PETA wrote in a tweet.
Words matter, and as our understanding of social justice evolves, our language evolves along with it. Here’s how to remove speciesism from your daily conversations. pic.twitter.com/o67EbBA7H4
— PETA (@peta) December 4, 2018
Some of its suggestions included "bring home the bagels" rather than bring home the bacon and "take the flower by the thorns" over take the bull by the horns.
After the tweet posted, Twitter users didn't hesitate to jump on the thread to comment their thoughts:
Irresponsible language to be encouraging flower picking, thorned or otherwise, in the midst of bee crisis. Language matters!
— Daniel Kreel (@Dkreel) December 5, 2018
"bringing HOME the bagels"?
— Dave HPT (@DaveHPT) December 5, 2018
could you be more insensitive to the plight of the homeless not to mention those with non celiac gluten intolerance.
Last time I checked, most people don’t eat cats. And if your cat is talking to you, you should schedule a meeting with a therapist...
— Matt From Philly (@GoJax_) December 5, 2018
And one suggestion is making a few people raise an eyebrow.
PETA said people should use the phrase "feed two birds with one scone," even though bread products can be harmful to birds.
One user took it a step further saying birds probably wouldn't want to eat their own eggs.
You advocate using scones? 2 cups cake flour, more as needed
— HEA-LibertyHawk (@HLibertyhawk) December 5, 2018
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
3 tablespoons sugar
5 tablespoons cold butter, cut into pieces
1 egg
½ to ¾ cup heavy cream ——- do you think that birds really want to eat their own eggs? GROSS!!
However, some Twitter users suggested their own animal-positive phrases.
Curiosity thrilled the cat! https://t.co/eAySyiwLQl
— Jesse Hawken (@jessehawken) December 4, 2018
Despite the backlash, PETA isn't giving in.
"Just as it became unacceptable to use racist, homophobic, or ableist language, phrases that trivialize cruelty to animals will vanish as more people begin to appreciate animals for who they are and start 'bringing home the bagels' instead of the bacon," PETA said in another tweet.
Just as it became unacceptable to use racist, homophobic, or ableist language, phrases that trivialize cruelty to animals will vanish as more people begin to appreciate animals for who they are and start ‘bringing home the bagels’ instead of the bacon.
— PETA (@peta) December 4, 2018
