PETA Offers to Help Ease Brantley County School District's Financial Woes by Donating Vegan Food

Group Pledges Gift of Veggie Burgers and Veggie Hot Dogs If Superintendent Institutes a Countywide Meat-Free Monday Policy

For Immediate Release:
May 4, 2010

Contact:
Amanda Fortino 757-622-7382

Nanhunta, Ga. -- This morning, PETA sent a letter to Dr. Drew Sauls, superintendent of the Brantley County School System, offering to help the district offset a debt that has accumulated from unpaid student lunches. The offer came following reports that the school district has hired a collection agency to recoup the losses and will charge parents a 40 percent interest rate on their children's lunch debt. The group is asking the superintendent to establish a Meat-Free Monday policy for school lunches countywide in exchange for a delicious, protein-packed veggie burger or veggie dog for each student.

"Our proposal is a win-win solution for Brantley County schools, students, and parents," says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. "Students would get a healthy and delicious meal, and schools and parents would get some help to ease financial problems--free of charge and free of animal suffering."

For more information, please visit PETA.org.

PETA's letter to Dr. Drew Sauls, superintendent of the Brantley County School System, follows.

May 4, 2010

Dr. Drew Sauls
Superintendent
Brantley County School System

Dear Dr. Sauls,

I am writing on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and our more than 2 million members and supporters--including thousands across Georgia--regarding the recent report that the Brantley County School System has hired a collection agency to collect money from parents for unpaid school lunches. We have an offer that would give a financial boost to the county and parents while improving students' health and saving animals: Institute a Meat-Free Monday policy for school lunches countywide, and PETA will provide every student the first Monday's entree--a delicious veggie burger or veggie dog (both made of healthy plant protein and spices).
 
School systems around the world are offering exclusively vegetarian meals every Monday as school boards and administrators learn about the enormous benefits of meat-free dining for students' health, the environment, animals, and school systems' finances (plant-based meals are usually cheaper than meat and dairy foods). By serving vegetarian meals, schools are teaching children to make smart choices that will set them up for a lifetime of good health. According to the late Dr. Benjamin Spock, "Children who grow up getting their nutrition from plant foods rather than meats have a tremendous health advantage. They are less likely to develop weight problems, diabetes, high blood pressure, and some forms of cancer." The Institute of Medicine of the National Academies has urged school lunch programs to offer fewer animal fats so that children aren't exposed to so many dioxins--cancer-causing toxins found in meat and milk.

Children will also learn that the best way to help animals is by keeping them off their plates. On factory farms, chickens and turkeys have their throats cut while they're still conscious, piglets have their tails and testicles cut off without any painkillers, and mother cows have their calves taken away from them almost immediately after their birth so that the milk meant for the newborns can be sold. Fish fare no better--they are suffocated or cut open while still alive on the decks of fishing boats.

By instituting Meat-Free Mondays in your county, students will be encouraged to choose healthy meals, the county and parents will save money, and the lives of countless animals will be spared. What could beat that?

Please contact me to discuss our proposal. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,
Tracy Reiman
Executive Vice President