Group Offers to Pay for Lifesaving, if Uncomfortable, Message That Can Change Travelers' Lives Forever

For Immediate Release:
August 18, 2008

Contact:
Ashley Byrne 757-622-7382

Dallas -- In light of Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport's (DFW) announcement that it is freezing its budget and looking for new sources of revenue, PETA has dispatched a letter to DFW CEO Jeffrey Fegan. The group is offering to buy space on airport bathroom stalls for its beef-industry parody ad, "Beef: It's What's Rotting in Your Colon." PETA's point? That one of the many health hazards of eating meat is an increased risk of colon cancer, as numerous studies have shown.

"With colon cancer a major concern for millions of Americans on the go, there's never been a better time to leave meat out of your diet," says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. "Putting PETA's provocative ads in every airport restroom stall could generate revenue for the airport and save passengers'--and animals'--lives."

For more information about the devastating effects of eating meat on health, the environment, and animals, please visit PETA's Web site GoVeg.com.

Visit blog.peta.org or click here to view a copy of PETA's proposed ad.

PETA's letter to Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport CEO Jeffrey Fegan follows.

August 18, 2008

Jeffrey Fegan, CEO
Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport

Dear Mr. Fegan:

We at PETA are sorry to hear that the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) is experiencing financial difficulties, but I have a proposal that might help. While DFW doesn't currently have bathroom advertisements, we'd like to suggest them as a new revenue source, and we'd like to be the first to buy space. The ad we'd like to run on bathroom stall doors (attached) promotes the health benefits of a vegetarian diet. The ad makes the point that one of the many health hazards of eating beef--as well as other meats and animal products--is an increased risk of colon cancer.

The scientific evidence linking meat to society's most severe health problems, including colon cancer, is extensive. A study in the American Journal of Epidemiology identified "red meat intake and white meat intake as important dietary risk factors for colon cancer …." The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition states that a "vegetarian and fiber-rich diet and a decreased risk for colon cancer has been reported in many studies." According to the American Dietetic Association, vegetarians have "lower rates of death from ischemic heart disease" as well as "lower blood cholesterol levels, lower blood pressure, and lower rates of hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and prostate and colon cancer" than meat-eaters do.

There are other important reasons to promote vegetarianism. In addition to being rotten for your health, meat-eating is also murder on animals and the environment. Chickens and turkeys often have their throats cut while still conscious and are scalded to death, pigs have their teeth broken off and their tails and testicles cut off without any painkillers, and cows are often skinned alive. Furthermore, a recent UN scientific study concluded that raising animals for food causes more greenhouse-gas emissions than all the cars, trucks, SUVs, ships, and airplanes in the world combined.

Bathroom advertising is an emerging trend in a variety of public places--restaurants, bars, and even airports, including JFK in New York. Will you please consider running our ad in bathroom stalls at DFW? Not only would the ad raise revenue for the struggling airport, it would also potentially help airline passengers stay healthy and able to travel for years to come. Please contact me as soon as possible to discuss pricing and how we can proceed with placing this ad. Thank you very much for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Tracy Reiman
Executive Vice President