Bikinied Beauties Honor Founding Father for His Wish to Designate the Turkey as the National Bird

Philadelphia -- Wearing nothing but strategically placed lettuce leaves and waving signs that read, "Turn Over a New Leaf--Go Vegetarian," PETA's Lettuce Ladies will hand out free, delicious soy-based faux-turkey sandwiches at the Benjamin Franklin National Memorial at The Franklin Institute on Thursday. The action marks the birthday of the beloved statesman, inventor, and wit, who thought that the turkey--not the bald eagle--should be our national bird and referred to turkeys as true American originals.

Why are PETA's Lettuce Ladies stripping to their bare essentials in the January cold? Eating turkeys and other animals causes enormous suffering for animals in factory farms, where animals are routinely mutilated, drugged, and abused. Turkeys in animal factories have their beaks and toes cut and burned off without any painkillers, and many are bred and drugged to grow at such a fast rate that they can barely walk. Thousands of turkeys are crammed into filthy warehouses--where disease, organ failure, and heart attacks are common--and millions die every year from heat exhaustion, freezing, or accidents during transport. Consumers pay a price too. Consumption of meat and other animal products has been conclusively linked to heart disease, strokes, diabetes, obesity, and several types of cancer.