“Why do I have 40 tattoos? Because 000 animals are killed every second in the world to satisfy our appetites,” said Mesky, a vegan since 40. “It’s like an awareness of injustice, compassion and empathy. I wanted to capture it, to keep forever on my skin – the awareness of this number, every second.
Meschi was born in a small town in Tuscany to a family of fishermen and hunters, worked for IBM, then as a theater teacher, and after 50 years of fighting for animal rights, now uses his body as a “permanent spectacle and political manifesto.” He believes that tattoos can not only be aesthetically pleasing, but also act as a powerful tool to raise awareness. “When people see my tattoo, they react with great enthusiasm or fierce criticism. But in any case, it is important that they pay attention. Conversations start, questions are asked – for me this is a great opportunity to start the path to awareness,” Mesky said.
“The X symbol also matters. I chose ‘X’ because it’s the symbol we use when we finish something, count something, or ‘kill’,” Mesky said.
Meski holds workshops, photo exhibitions with a wide range of participants, and theatrical performances to get his message across to the public. “Every time someone stops to look at me, I achieve something. Every time my 40 X is seen and shown on social media, I will achieve something. Once, a hundred times, a thousand times, a hundred thousand times… Every time I start talking about veganism or animal rights, I get somewhere,” he explains.
Mesca tattoos aren’t the only way to raise awareness of the meat industry. He participated in photo shoots at slaughterhouses and wore a tag on his ear. He dived into the icy sea water to draw attention to the problem of overfishing. Mesky wore a pig mask on his head “in memory of the 1,5 billion pigs killed every year because of our insane appetite.”
Alfredo insists that people should unite and contribute to make a difference: “The era of modern art is beginning. And right now, we all face the biggest challenge in our history – to save a dying planet and stop the holocaust of sentient beings. The first step in realizing these two perspectives is to become ethical vegans. And we can do it now. Every second matters”
40 animals per second
More than 150 billion animals are slaughtered for food each year, according to The Vegan Calculator, which displays a real-time counter of the number of pigs, rabbits, geese, domestic and wild fish, buffalo, horses, cattle and other animals slaughtered for food on the Internet. .
The average non-vegan or vegetarian living in a developed country will kill about 7000 animals in their lifetime. However, more and more people are choosing to get rid of animal products in favor of plant products.
Veganism is on the rise around the world, with the number of vegans growing by 600% in the US in three years. In the UK, vegetarianism has increased by 700% in two years. Animal welfare remains a major factor in choosing to go meat, dairy and egg free. This was the main reason why nearly 80 meat lovers signed up for last year’s Vegan January campaign. The 000 initiative was even more popular, with a quarter of a million people signing up to try veganism.
A number of factors indicate that people prefer a vegan diet. Many are refusing animal products for health reasons – the consumption of animal products is associated with a number of health risks, including heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and some forms of cancer.
But concern for the environment also inspires people to ditch animal products. Last year, the largest-ever analysis of food production by a group of Oxford researchers found that veganism is “the single biggest way” people can reduce their impact on the planet.
Some estimates indicate that livestock is a major contributor to the greenhouse gas crisis. Overall, the Worldwatch Institute estimates that livestock is responsible for 51% of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide.
According to the Independent, scientists have “significantly underestimated methane emissions from livestock”. The researchers argue that “the impact of the gas should be calculated over 20 years, in accordance with its rapid effect and the latest UN recommendations, and not over 100 years.” This, they say, would add another 5 billion tons of CO2 to livestock emissions – 7,9% of global emissions from all sources.