NEWS – Rise Against’s Tim McIlrath: “Please Consider a Cruelty-Free Lifestyle”

Politics and music have long been bedfellows, from the anti-war protests of John Lennon to the modern angst of Manic Street Preachers and Rage Against the Machine, artists have spoken about their beliefs in both their music and through interviews. Rise Against, who formed in Chicago in the late 1990s and to date have released six studio albums (their latest being this year’s Endgame), have always been vocal about animal cruelty and have been supporters of organisations such as PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals).

In a plea issued through peta2.com, frontman Tim McIlrath has spoken out about cruelty to animals in all walks of life and what kind of changes can be made to reduce suffering; “I want to talk to you about the opportunity you have to be the architect of a new generation of a new tomorrow. I’m specifically talking about the ways that you can change your life to have an impact on the future and the world that we’ll go on to live in and our kids will certainly inherit. And I’m talking about some of the mindless traditions that have kept society eating meat in part and all kinds of consumption of animal products. I can’t stress how easy it is to leave these things out of your life and in some ways how important it is to leave these things out of your life. This is something that affects you, the world around you, the environment and even the economy. This is something that touches all of our lives. And so for the animals and for yourself and for the Earth, please consider a cruelty-free lifestyle.”