Adventures of Sweet Pea the Pig

In October 2009, FACT kicked off a new humane education program for youth in Chicago.  Our goal is to cultivate compassion for animals that are raised for food among young people.  

Many children raised in urban settings have never seen, let alone learned about animals raised for food.  They are disconnected from farms and do not know where their food comes from.  Moreover, children need to be taught an attitude of compassion and respect for other creatures. This is not an innate behavior and therefore must be cultivated through educational efforts.  FACT seeks to address both of these issues as part of our humane education program.

The centerpiece of FACT’s ground-breaking program is a lesson for children called The Awesome Adventures of Sweet Pea the Pig.  It tells the story of a pig who escapes from a factory farm and finds a home on a family farm where she is treated humanely.  Sweet Pea’s story is designed to foster positive character traits such as kindness, perseverance and respect among children aged five to seven.  FACT’s brand of humane education relies on a creative mix of animal stories, puppetry, and movement.  Additional stories featuring farm animals are under development.  We plan to create a series of lessons that expose young people to the struggles faced by food-producing animals in creative and interactive ways. 

We currently offer these workshops free of charge to students across the Chicago metro area.  To date, FACT has established partnerships with Namaskar Yoga, Bloom Yoga Studio and the Irving Park YMCA.  If you live in near Chicago and would like to bring Sweet Pea to your community, school, library or recreation center, please contact Larissa McKenna at lmckenna@foodanimalconcerns.org or (773) 525-4952.   

BENEFITS OF HUMANE EDUCATION

FACT’s humane education program benefits both students and their families in a number of concrete ways, including:

·     Students learn key character development traits such as kindness to oneself and all creatures, patience, gentleness, gratefulness, self-control and perseverance;

·     Students gain knowledge about farm animals and how they should be raised with respect and care; and

·     Students participate in supervised physical activity.

FACT’S EXPERTISE:  FACT staff members Lisa Isenhart and Larissa McKenna are both Certified Humane Education Specialists through the Humane Society University.  Larissa is also certified as an Advanced Yoga Instructor and teaches at several studios in Chicago.