Jo-Anne visits factory farms, live markets, fur farms, and slaughterhouses around the world, where animals live and die at our whim. Her photos highlight the paradox of how billions of animals exist, yet are shut away in windowless sheds far from cities, some protected by “ag-gag” laws that make it illegal to shoot photos or videos of animals, whose individuality and identities are rendered invisible in commodities—“pork,” “beef,” “cutlets.” In Jo-Anne’s experience, the media are often unwilling to show her photos for fear they may upset not only the public but the companies that advertise animal products on television, in print, and online.

Mia tries to focus policy makers’ attention on how the globalization and scale of industrialized animal agriculture threatens not just the environment, public health, biodiversity, and climate change, but deeply compromises animal welfare. For years, her questions to those in international forums about changing the food system to reduce animal consumption and halt the expansion of monocultures of feed-crops were dismissed—if they were recognized as questions at all. Until recently, many environmental groups mostly ignored the issue of meat, and economic incentives and compliant policy-makers pushed further consolidation of animal agriculture in countries around the world.

Yes, some of these stubborn realities are changing. Meat and dairy consumption is now entering international discourse around solutions to the climate crisis and biodiversity loss, plant-based meat and dairy options are growing popular, and more municipalities and legislators are confronting the exploitation of some animals in circuses, laboratories, and fur production or sale.

Yet, animals are still on the periphery of our vision—even on issues directly affecting them. For instance, the journal Science reported that North America had lost three billion birds since 1970. Yet, in 2016 alone, the U.S. slaughtered nearly three times that number of chickens for food. Some animals remain unseen even in statistics: fish aren’t counted individually, but measured by the ton.

Secondly, animals must be present in public policy. Sidelining industrialized animal agriculture in our efforts to decarbonize the economy and curtail greenhouse gas emissions is no longer possible. Increasing antimicrobial resistance, the loss of topsoil, destruction of forests, and ocean acidification—all results of industrial animal agriculture—indicate that the “animal question” is central to the future of the planet. Surely it must be our responsibility to extend public policy beyond our survival to that of the millions of other species dependent on us for theirs, too.

Thirdly, homo sapiens needs to recall that we once saw the animals: they were our guides, ancestors, totems, and companions. For many indigenous peoples today, they remain signifiers of value and meaning. But modern economies’ relentless commodification of animals (domesticated, wild and semi-wild) has led to their vanishing from our sight, our concern, and our social structures. Yet, from the largest cetacean to the smallest phytoplankton, they’re all hostage to human actions, or inaction.

By seeing animals, we can reduce our exploitation of them and free up precious land and sea for rewilding and restoration. By seeing animals, we can better secure their habitats and natural behaviors and promote the goals of “one health,” which links the well-being of human societies, animals, and the environment. In seeing animals, it’s clear we not only give them a chance to survive, but ourselves one, too.

Mia MacDonald is the executive director of Brighter Green, which works to advance public policy on environmental, animal and global development issues.