Activist Tattoos 40K Crosses to Honor Farmed Animals

Italian-born artist/activist Alfredo Meschi has completed a full-body tattoo of 40,000 crosses to represent animals—mostly fish, which are not counted individually in the animal agriculture industry—killed for food every second. “In the present moment,” Meschi told media outlet Konbini, “we all need to face the biggest challenge of our history—saving a planet that is dying, and interrupting a holocaust of sentient beings.” Meschi has been an activist for 50 years and a dedicated vegan for the past three. “The first step in accomplishing these two perspectives is becoming ethical vegans,” Meschi said. “And we can do it now. Every second counts.” Meschi—who used only vegan inks and tattoo aftercare—was first inspired to use his body as a form of protest by social justice group Poner el Cuerpo, Sacar la Voz. The activist uses his Instagram account as a platform to fight for animal-rights through moving photographs that depict him hanging by the feet (akin to a chicken) in a slaughterhouse, sunken into muddy, plastic-filled water (similar to a suffering fish), and cowering near a painting of bleeding pigs.