Eating Tofu: The Original Patriot Act?

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Here’s the skinny: Pennsylvania was the second state to ratify the Constitution, but it has yet to ratify an official state food. Well, PETA has a suggestion that the “Keystone State” can really sink its teeth into: tofu. Why bean curd? Because it was first promoted in the U.S. by Benjamin Franklin, Pennsylvania’s most famous Founding Father.

We wrote to Gov. Tom Corbett and suggested that he could help to quell the state’s obesity epidemic and honor his predecessor in the governor’s seat by getting Pennsylvanians to eat more tofu and less meat. And in this tough economy, because legislative decisions have to be all about the Benjamins, tofu is the perfect choice: Not only is it cheaper than meat and therefore easier on constituents’ wallets, making the switch can also lower rates of heart disease, diabetes, and cancer, saving the state money on healthcare.

You don’t need bifocals to see that patriotic tofu should be first in the second state—and in the rest of the country.

Written by Michelle Kretzer