Group Helps Café Made Famous by Obama/Biden Visit to Accommodate Health-Conscious Diners
 
For Immediate Release:
May 8, 2009
 
Contact:
Nicole Matthews 757-622-7382
 
Washington -- Following news reports about President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden's surprise visit to Ray's Hell Burger in Arlington on Tuesday, PETA learned that the café doesn't feature a veggie burger on its menu, so the group has sent a supply of delicious vegan burger patties to the restaurant. With a growing number of Americans eating more plant-based foods, many of the customers who will visit Ray's Hell Burger because of the recent publicity will no doubt want to order a veggie burger.
 
Why are more and more people choosing veggie burgers over beef? Not only do they taste great, they're also easier on animals, the environment, and our arteries than greasy hamburgers are: 
 
*  Factory-farmed cows are given antibiotics and hormones and are fed an unnatural diet of high-bulk grains and other "fillers," which can contain such things as expired dog and cat food and poultry feces. The cows are castrated and branded, and their horns are ripped out--all without the benefit of painkillers. At the slaughterhouse, cows are hoisted upside-down by their hind legs and are often dismembered while they are still conscious.
 
*  The consumption of animal products sharply raises the risk of heart disease, strokes, and certain types of cancer--three of America's biggest killers.
 
*  Factory farms require massive amounts of land, food, energy, and water, and their waste pollutes the air and waterways. According to a recent U.N. report, animal agriculture generates more greenhouse-gas emissions than all the cars, trucks, SUVs, and planes in the world combined.
 
"Ray's Hell Burgers are aptly named, but we think customers would be delighted to have something a little less sinful to munch on too," says PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk. "Veggie burgers are so heavenly that even certain heads of state might be persuaded to give them a try."
 
For further information, visit PETA.org.