'F as in Fat' Report Prompts New PETA Billboard Ad

'You Are What You Eat' Message Shows Missouri Eaters Why Not to Pig Out

For Immediate Release:
September 20, 2012

Contact:
Kaitlynn Kelly 202-483-7382 

Jefferson City, Mo. -- The Trust for America's Health just released its 2012 F as in Fat: How Obesity Threatens America's Future report—and Missouri currently ranks among the top 15 states with the fattest citizens in the nation. If current trends do not change, it will have an obesity rate of more than 60 percent in 2030. But Missourians can avert this dire prognosis simply by changing their eating habits—and to help them do it, PETA is planning to run a billboard in Jefferson City that features an image of an obese man's stomach rendered to look like a pig and reads, "You Are What You Eat: Go Vegan."

"Going vegan doesn't mean skimping on taste, and it's the easiest and healthiest way to lose unwanted pounds and keep them off," says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. "PETA's billboard will remind Missourians that they can save their health—and animals—simply by picking up fiber-rich, heart-healthy plant-based meals instead of stuffing themselves with meat, eggs, and dairy products."

Meat, eggs, and dairy products contain no fiber and are loaded with artery-clogging saturated animal fat and cholesterol. According to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, vegans are less prone to heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and cancer than meat-eaters are—and they weigh 18 percent less, on average, too. Each person who goes vegan saves more than 100 animals a year from immense suffering on factory farms, in slaughterhouses, and on the decks of fishing boats.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.