For Immediate Release: 
April 15, 2009
 
Contact:
Lindsay Rajt 757-622-7382

Springfield, Mass. - After learning that that the Massachusetts Department of Public Health is reportedly planning to start sending "fat report cards" to students' parents, PETA has sent a letter to school district superintendent Dr. Alan Ingram offering to help students trim down by educating them about healthy and humane vegetarian diets.
 
PETA points out that meat-eaters are nine times more likely to be obese and suffer from the debilitating and life-threatening consequences of obesity than vegetarians are. Researchers have found that children as young as 3 can already begin to show signs of coronary heart disease (hardening of the arteries). A vegan diet has been shown to reverse the symptoms of heart disease.

"Kids' addiction to hot dogs and chicken nuggets may be making them fat and increasing their risk for deadly diseases," says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. "Teaching kids about the benefits of vegetarian foods like PB&J and orange juice is as important as teaching them their ABCs."

For more information, please visit PETA's blog.

PETA's letter to Dr. Ingram follows.
 
April 15, 2009
 
Dr. Alan Ingram, Ed.D.
Superintendent
Springfield Public Schools
 
Dear Dr. Ingram,
 
On behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and our more than 2 million members and supporters--including many in the Springfield area--I'm writing with a suggestion. To help your students pass the Department of Public Health's newly mandated Body Mass Index screenings with flying colors, how about serving only healthy vegetarian meals in the Springfield public schools' cafeterias?
 
It's no coincidence that obesity and the health problems associated with it have reached a critical level across the Bay State. School lunches are heavy in fat- and cholesterol-laden meat and dairy products. The kids would be in great shape if you simply dropped the chicken nuggets, fish sticks, and cow's milk from your school menus and replaced them with healthy vegetarian foods, which contain no cholesterol and lots of fiber. Studies show that vegetarians are far less prone to obesity than meat-eaters are, as well as more resistant to other chronic diseases, including coronary heart disease, strokes, diabetes, and certain types of cancer.
 
Many young people already choose vegetarian foods because they are disgusted by the meat industry, which cuts pigs' tails and testicles off without any anesthetic, chops off baby chicks' sensitive beaks, and often even cuts animals' throats while they are conscious. Most kids want to be kind, and eating animals raised on filthy factory farms is the antithesis of that virtue.
 
PETA has a three-point plan to combat obesity at your school: First, we will gladly arrange for a vegan chef to help your catering staff create easy meals that kids will love, such as vegetarian shepherd's pie and buffalo wing–style "chicken" nuggets made from plant protein. Second, we will give free copies of our "Vegetarian Starter Kit" to the entire district. And third, we will provide your health and nutrition teachers with a curriculum that can help them explain the benefits of vegetarian foods to kids.
 
Please contact me if you would like to get started. Thank you for your consideration.
 
Sincerely,
 
Tracy Reiman
Executive Vice President