Restaurant Faces Backlash for Hanging Cow

A restaurant in Australia has faced an online backlash after hanging a taxidermy cow from its ceiling over diners tables.

Etica Pizza in Adelaide, which serves both meat and dairy products, hung the preserved eight year old Fresian-Hereford to draw attention to “the true consequence of consuming dairy,” they say. The restaurant prides itself on the high welfare standards of its producers.

But it seems the message hasn’t quite got across, with many people taking to the internet to brand the installation ‘disgusting’ and ‘obscene,’ the BBC reports.

An online petition asking the restaurant to remove the cow, known as Schvitzy, has thus far drawn over 5000 signatures.

Co-owner Federico Pisanelli told the BBC that the the cow has provoked many positive responses too since it was hung three months ago, and that all of the meat was consumed following slaughter.

Read a statement below. 

 

We appreciate all the attention our new project is receiving. Our aim is to create thoughtful conversation. What does 'ethical' mean? It is a subjective term based on an individual's morals. Etica was created to promote animal welfare. This means that we work hard to select produce sourced from farms with the highest welfare standards. We never compromise on this. Importantly, there is a distinction between animal welfare and animal rights. Those who believe in animal rights do not believe in exploiting any animal for any purpose whatsoever. Etica has an agenda of authenticity and transparency. We understand that there is no kind way to kill an animal. As an animal welfarist institution, we ensure that the animals (and their products) we purchase are raised with care. Our purpose is to educate consumers on the origins of our food. It is designed to make consumers stop and think about the realities of the dairy industry. The project highlights information that is not readily available to consumers. More broadly, it is a challenge to the way in which our society tends to obscure from the origins of food. Visit our link at: http://etica.pizza/assets/84halifaxdoorsign.pdf We do not aim to influence on whether one should consume dairy, but rather, we urge our consumers to understand the origin of their food in order to make a conscious decision on whether to eat it. The pose of Schvitzy, as she was affectionately known, is purposely confronting. She has not been hung for decoration. The installation has a mission: it aims to draw a connection to the true consequence of consuming dairy. Schvitzy was eight years old. She was the by-product of a dairy farm in South Australia and belonged to a family at Mount Barker. We slaughtered her at her home. Her meat was entirely consumed and her skin was taken to hang in our venue. We are all at different stages of our own moral journey. It is easy to criticise others' ethics that do not align with one's own: Etica believes it is much more powerful to make an informed choice rather than adopt an ideology that one does not completely understand. Peace, love and pizza ☮️??

A post shared by Etica (@etica.pizza) on Sep 24, 2017 at 6:54pm PDT

 

Etica Halifax for @citybrief ? — @_christopher_morrison - - - #eticapizzeria #etica #adelaide #halifax #architecture #eticapizzaaaltaglio #pizza #bar #wine #cocktails #friday

A post shared by Etica (@etica.pizza) on Aug 31, 2017 at 4:25pm PDT

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