Molly Elwood, a vegan, created Elwood's Organic Dog Meat, a satirical farm that raises dogs for meat. The project has drawn death threats and 3.9 million unique website visitors since its launch. Elwood uses the satire to expose the cognitive dissonance in how society treats dogs versus other farmed animals.
From Hunter to Vegan
Elwood grew up in a rural area, fishing by age 6 and hunting by age 12. But on her first hunting trip, she couldn't shoot a deer. "I watched through the scope, and she was so pretty in the morning light," Elwood recalls. She never hunted again. Despite loving animals, she ate meat without question until traveling abroad made her uncomfortable seeing animal parts in dishes. She eventually tried dog meat and found it tasted like other meat, but the experience led her to go vegetarian and later vegan after learning about the egg and dairy industries.
The Satirical Farm
In 2021, Elwood launched Elwood's Organic Dog Meat, a fake farm that markets dog meat as local, organic, free-range, and humanely raised. The content mirrors real farms but features dogs instead of chickens, pigs, or cows. The website eventually reveals its satirical nature, but many visitors don't read that far. "I receive countless hate emails and voicemails, including death threats," Elwood says. "What kind of person do you have to be to openly slaughter dogs and eat them?" someone asked.
Viral Impact
The farm went viral within a month. Facebook posts reached 1.1 million in September and 10.4 million over the past year. Volunteers have created hyper-local dog meat farms in eight countries. Some people attack activists' dog meat tasting tables. Even animal welfare hero Temple Grandin tore up one of Elwood's brochures. The satire forces people to question why eating dogs is taboo while eating other animals is acceptable.
Trump's Debate Claim
Elwood's project gained new relevance after Donald Trump's claim during a presidential debate that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were eating dogs and cats. The claim sparked widespread condemnation, bomb threats, and hatred. "Across the political spectrum, the idea that dogs and cats are being eaten is so outlandish, so horrific," Elwood notes. "But tens of billions of animals other than dogs die for food in the U.S. every year, and barely anyone bats an eye."
Reframing Animal Agriculture
Elwood's satire exposes the mental gymnastics people use to justify eating animals. "When applied to dogs, humane washing like 'free-range' or 'cage-free,' or the concept of 'one bad day' are clearly preposterous," she says. "Why should we accept them when it comes to other animals?" Elwood hopes the project acts as a mirror, prompting people to think deeply about eating animals without feeling publicly called out. "Not every person who contacts Elwood's does so to yell at or threaten us. Sometimes Elwood's prompts people to think about their own food choices."
