Global Citizenship and Fur Farming?

Photo Credit: Unesco

For an assignment in one of my classes I had to give a presentation on global citizenship.  Let me be honest and say I had no idea what global citizenship was and what a good topic to present would be. After lots of research I finally figured out what a global citizen is. Being a global citizen is about being active in the community to help build up that community’s value and practices.

So, I know what global citizenship is, but what would I present? I didn’t want to be like everyone else in the class and present on a topic that 10 other people would present on. At first I wanted to present on the issues concerning Donald Trump, but I felt that wasn’t a highly global citizenship issue, so instead I decided to present on fur farming, as it deals with the environment and has been around for centuries.

Fur farming is the practice of breeding animal for their fur and more than 85% of the industries fur comes from fur factory farms. I felt this would be a great topic to present on because deep down people know what they are wearing, but they don’t stop and think about the process these animals go through. I spent nights researching on everything fur farm related; celebrities who wear fur, what the animals go through, fur free retailers, etc. To be able to inform the class on the harsh reality of fur farming, I had to gather plenty of information to persuade my classmates not to buy fur or from fur-retailers.

Now I don’t know about you, but I’ve never been much of a persuasive person. After reading what happens to the animals whose fur is used to make fashionable clothing, I wanted to make sure I could convince my classmates. These animals go through horrible and unfit living conditions just for fashion, and that isn’t right.

The day of my presentation came, and I was obviously nervous but I stood in front of the class and presented the findings of my research. After I was done giving my presentation, my teacher admitted she didn’t know much about fur farming. I’m glad that this simple assignment turned out to be an opportunity for me to help raise awareness for an issue that has been ongoing for a long time now. In the end, I’m happy with the topic I chose and I’m glad that I had the chance to speak out on it.