If your kids are anything like ours, they love building things. They’ll build things out of boxes. They’ll build forts out of couch cushions and blankets. They’ll also build things out of actual toy building sets where building is the intended purpose.

One very popular toy building set is very well known, not just for the endless variety of sets, but also for how much it hurts if you happen to step on one of the pieces in these sets. Yes, we’re talking about LEGOs. Parents everywhere know just how painful it is to walk through a room when LEGOs are scattered all over the floor. We support our children’s creativity and building efforts, really we do; we just don’t love the way it feels to have a plastic brick under your foot. Pro tip – invest in a good pair of slippers.

It seems that there’s a LEGO set for just about any interest your children may have. Like Harry Potter? There are LEGOs for that. Like Disney Princesses? There are sets for that. Like farm animals? There are sets for that too.

One LEGO set currently on sale at stores like Target is called LEGO City Barn & Farm Animals. The box indicates that the set is appropriate for children ages 4 and older. It includes bricks to build a barn, tractor and other farm equipment. It also includes farm animals like pigs, sheep and cows.

PETA has a problem with this particular LEGO set. Actually, they have a problem with the name of the LEGO set. PETA wants LEGO to change the name of the set so that it is no longer called a farm but instead called an animal sanctuary. They believe the word “farm” is misleading children about the treatment of animals on farms.

Mimi Bekhechi, Vice President of International Programmes at the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), wrote a letter to Niels Christiansen, chief executive of the Lego Group. In the letter, Bekhechi explained why PETA believes it is important for LEGO to change the name of this set. Here’s an excerpt:

“These traditional farmed-animal toys whitewash the horrific reality of life and death for animals raised for food, and by the time children find out the truth, they’re so accustomed to consuming animals’ flesh, eggs, and milk that they often don’t question doing so. This rebrand would help children recognise that animals are sentient beings to be cared for, who feel joy, pain, love, and grief, not edible commodities to be used and abused.”

LEGO has yet to comment; however, in response to this letter, Neil Shand, chief executive of the National Beef Association, explained, “This is a misleading message from Peta. We have a responsibility to teach children where their food comes from through farm toys.”

Do you think LEGO will change the name of their farm toy set? Do you think they should?