People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, is the largest global animal rights organization, but it also has a long history of problematic behavior that cannot be ignored.

PETA was founded in 1980 by Ingrid Newkirk and Alex Pacheco and has drawn criticism from those both within the animal rights community and outside of it.

Known for their adamant stance that everyone should become vegan, what PETA doesn’t realize is that going vegan isn’t an option for plenty of people, and shaming those who aren’t vegan is unacceptable.

Someone with food allergies such as gluten intolerance, or even conditions like low cholesterol or diabetes must be very mindful of what they eat. Going vegan means completely changing the way your body receives sustenance, and any long-term lack of vital nutrients can have drastic affects- protein deficiency, unintentional weight loss and digestion issues.

Taking a strictly vegan diet into account and adding in food allergies, diseases or other restrictions such as poverty and accessibility to vegan food, veganism simply isn’t an option for many. PETA, however, continues to shame those who don’t go vegan, sometimes to the point of harassment.

But PETA’s stance on veganism isn’t the real reason why you shouldn’t support the organization- it’s the disturbing ad campaigns that are completely lacking in taste.

PETA has done it all when it comes to offending audiences, but what they view as purely ‘shock value’ only hurts and disrespects the very groups the organization exploits. From likening Holocaust victims to animals in slaughterhouses to comparing rape victims with breeding practices in factory farms, it shouldn’t have to be explained how disrespectful these ads are.

Factory farms have disgusting conditions that no animal should have to suffer through; but exploiting rape victims just trivializes victims’ trauma. Slaughterhouses aren’t the prettiest of places, but in no circumstance should cows, pigs and chickens be compared to the 6 million Jewish people ethnically cleansed in the most brutal of ways from their homeland.

Animals deserve rights and protection, but human beings, both abroad and at home, deserve these basic rights first.