PETA Offers to Help Save Crumbling Great Wall of China With Ad That Encourages Fat American Tourists to Go Vegan

For Immediate Release:
May 11, 2010

Contact:
Michael Lyubinsky 757-622-7382

Washington -- This morning, PETA sent a letter to Cai Wu, China's minister of culture, offering to place an ad on the Great Wall that could help save the iconic structure, which has been crumbling partially because of the continuous stampede of tourists--including countless overweight Americans--at the site. The ad shows a huge American tourist, who's visible from outer space, next to the words "It's the Wall That We Should See From Space, Not You. Go Vegan." In the letter, PETA points out that vegans are significantly trimmer than meat-eaters are and that a plant-based diet is animal-friendly.

"Fat, meat-eating Americans aren't just breaking down their bodies, they're also helping to break down the ancient Great Wall of China," says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. "A slimming vegan diet protects your health, the environment, and animals, and it could help prevent overweight tourists from turning what's left of the Great Wall into a pile of rubble."

For more information, please visit PETA.org.

PETA's letter to Cai Wu, China's minister of culture, follows.

May 11, 2010

The Honorable Cai Wu
Minister of Culture

Dear Mr. Cai:

I am writing on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and our more than 2 million members and supporters worldwide to express our concern about the deteriorating condition of sections of the Great Wall of China. We know that overweight American and European tourists are partially responsible for this, as their often enormous bulk puts enormous strain on this magnificent structure. We want to be a part of the solution by placing an ad (enclosed) on the wall. The ad would read, "It's the wall that we should see from space, not you. Go vegan. PETA." By adopting a vegan diet, obese visitors will trim down, and lighter tourists mean a stronger wall. Just as vegans live longer lives, less wear and tear will mean that the wall will last longer too.

A vegan diet has been shown to help people lose weight and improve their health. The only healthy weight-loss plan that has proved to take weight off and keep it off is a vegan diet. In fact, vegans, on average, weigh about 10 to 20 pounds (4.5 to 9 kilograms) less than their meat-eating peers. And a vegan diet has dramatic long-term health benefits. The American Dietetic Association--the largest group of food and nutrition professionals in the U.S.--has found that vegetarians have lower rates of heart disease, diabetes, and cancer than their meat-eating counterparts.

A vegan diet also benefits the animals who suffer and are killed in the meat and dairy industries, an unpleasant and cruel business that weighs on many people's consciences.

Please contact me to discuss this proposal, which could save the Great Wall as well as the lives of tourists and animals. Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

Tracy Reiman
Executive Vice President