Today we’d like to introduce you to Erin Wing.

Hi Erin, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I was born into a history of generational poverty, with one side of my family being based in the affordable housing complexes of Manhattan, NY and the other side being first-generation immigrants from Peru. I grew up living in unsafe environments and witnessing and experiencing violence toward vulnerable individuals incapable of defending themselves, like myself at the time, as I was subjected to abuse at the hands of my father throughout my life. After my mother and father separated, I was raised primarily by my mother in low-income areas in different states across the country and while I frequently found myself also fantasizing about a life of peace and happiness, and what that would look like., when I looked all around me, my reality didn’t reflect that. Instead I saw hardship and lack of access to basic necessities.

As I got older and became the primary provider for myself, my mother and two younger brothers, I was very attuned to the suffering of others, as I understood what it was like to struggle myself. Even while working three jobs and feeling very much like the typical disenchanted millennial, I was jaded, somewhat cynical, but never apathetic. I wanted to help others and make the world a better place. I held onto hope that despite the odds, perhaps I would be able to do contribute to a reduction of harm somewhere. I just had to find my place. Luckily enough, I found an opportunity to put my experience as a hard worker, my passion to help others and my resilience to good use as an undercover investigator for animal cruelty at Animal Outlook, a national non-profit animal protection organization. And since then, I’ve been able to shed light on the abuse of animals, exploitation of farm workers and environmental harm that stems from the farming of animals for food. In my current role as the Deputy Director of Investigations, I am able to pursue that dream I had as a child to contribute to a future of peace and happiness by advocating for animal rights and all other issues that intersect with that cause.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The road for me was very rocky, very rough terrain to tread. There were very few opportunities afforded to me as a descendant of immigrants, as someone who inherited a lot of generational trauma and faced the challenges of systemic poverty. I wasn’t able to attend the best schools, the areas I lived in were oftentimes very dangerous. Most of the time, I didn’t feel comfortable going outside to play. There were days when I wasn’t able to eat three meals a day, and when I could, the food wasn’t nutritious.

Fast food restaurants were on every corner where I lived. I had never really had fresh vegetables before because the nearest grocery stores were usually over an hour away. My family couldn’t afford a car to drive anywhere, so corner stores with canned vegetables were the closest we came to eating healthy. Mass produced, poorly regulated animal products masquerading as these cheap alternatives in urban food deserts were very tempting for desperate caregivers like my mother, who worked long hours and sought out quick ways to feed hungry kids. So fast food naturally became a staple in my diet, and it was a lot more common in low-income neighborhoods than in more affluent areas.

That was the sort of inequality that stood out most to me, and as the animal agriculture industry are huge partners in fast food production, it’s interesting to note that connection that had persisted throughout my life between myself and fellow members of my community having food that was harmful to our health consistently advertised to us and that industry profiting in a way from that hardship.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am very passionate about my work as the Deputy Director of Investigations at Animal Outlook, and I’m very grateful to show up to work everyday, managing undercover investigations into farms and slaughterhouses throughout the country.

During investigations, our brave undercover workers document any abuse and mistreatment that animals are subjected to in animal agriculture facilities, in addition to any health hazards that may come up in the food production process and other violations, and we pursue justice through the legal system to hold farm sites accountable. Our legal work helps farmed animals as we work to increase protections for farmed animals and challenge law enforcement and courts to hold any major corporations profiting off of any mistreatment we document on farm sites accountable as well for abuse or violations we uncover during our investigations.

I believe what sets me apart is my ability to tackle this important work through a multi-optic perspective, understanding and shedding light on how animal farming impacts not only the well-being of animals but overworked and underpaid migrant workers who are exploited by farms and slaughterhouses and lower-income communities being forced to purchase the unhealthy animal products advertised to them in areas where healthier alternatives are scarce or non-existent. My background and upbringing was not one that would have propelled me into becoming an animal rights advocate, but I know firsthand the impact that animal farming can have on vulnerable individuals in our country and worldwide.

Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
One of the most exciting and more recent programs we’ve started at Animal Outlook is our Farm Transitions program, which helps farmers transition away from farming animals to farming plants. We are very enthused about having the ability to offer this support to farmers, who are often taken advantage of in the animal agriculture industry through predatory contracts used by large companies that produce animal products and otherwise feel trapped in the system, are disenchanted with the harm they perpetuate towards animals and want a way out.

Large, concentrated, animal feeding operations are major polluters in rural areas where the waste-runoff from the thousands of animals kept in captivity at those operations can negatively affect environments primarily inhabited by lower-income communities. If we can contribute to more operators of farming operations of that magnitude one day transitioning away from such operations, that would mean we are contributing to a future where members of those rural communities can look across their yard and see green fields of fresh vegetables instead of confined animals standing in their own waste. How amazing would that be?

Contact Info:

• Website: https://animaloutlook.org/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/animal.outlook/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AnimalOutlook
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/animaloutlook
• Twitter: https://x.com/AnimalOutlook
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@AnimalOutlook