PETA's 'Got Beer?' Campaign Taps Portland Pubs for St. Patrick's Day

Taverns and Liquor Stores Put Up Posters Advertising Official News: Beer Is Better for You Than Milk

For Immediate Release:
March 17, 2010

Contact:
Kristina Addington 757-622-7382

Portland, Ore. -- St. Patrick's Day revelers heading to their favorite pub or liquor store may be greeted at the door by a brand-new PETA poster that carries an important health message. The poster reads, "Got Beer? It's Official: Beer Is Better for You Than Milk," and cites scientific studies that make the case. PETA's poster is now up in over 10 bars and liquor stores throughout Portland, known as "the motherland of microbrews".

Scientific research backs up PETA's claim. An August 13, 2002, article in The Wall Street Journal reported that beer "delivers protection against major ailments such as heart attacks, stroke, hypertension, diabetes, and dementia." According to the Harvard Medical School Web site, moderate alcohol consumption protects the heart and circulatory system and may prevent gallstones and Type 2 diabetes. Milk, on the other hand, has been linked to heart disease, diabetes, certain types of cancer, and even osteoporosis--the very disease that dairy promoters claim is prevented by milk consumption. And the March 8 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine published a study that found that women who drink moderately--about one or two glasses of beer or wine per day--are significantly less likely to gain weight or suffer from obesity.

Drink a beer, and no cows get hurt! Drink a glass of milk, and you are responsible for subsidizing an industry that supports veal farming and the slaughter of aging cows. The udders of cows used for milk production often become painfully infected because the animals are forced to produce unnaturally large quantities of milk. Newborn calves are torn away from their mothers--causing acute distress to both--so that the milk intended for calves can be sold in the supermarket. Many male calves are relegated to tiny veal crates, which are so cruel that they have been banned in the U.K.

"Beer in moderation--whether blond, dark, or green--can be good for you, while even one glass of milk supports everything from notoriously cruel veal farming to the slaughter of worn-out cows," says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. "The fact is, you can drink beer responsibly. The same can't be said of milk."

For more information, please visit PETA.org.