PETA's Pro-Vegan Proposal for Machu Picchu

Group Blames Meat-Eaters for 'The Lost City of the Incas' Landing on List of the Most Threatened Wonders of the World

For Immediate Release:
June 17, 2010

Contact:
Amanda Schinke 757-622-7382

Cusco, Peru -- With the ancient Incan city of Machu Picchu in Peru in danger of being ruined by the constant pounding of trekking tourists, PETA sent a letter to María Cecilia Bakula Budge, the director of Peru's National Institute of Culture, with a proposal: Allow PETA to prominently display a pro-vegan banner in the renowned attraction, and it could--literally--lighten the tourists' devastating footprint. The banner shows an obese tourist grinning as he obscures the ancient Incan city with his size. It reads, "Is there too MACHU you?" and "Obese tourists are trampling Machu Picchu to dust. Take a step toward a lighter life: Go vegan." In the letter, PETA points out that vegans weigh significantly less, on average, than meat-eaters.

"The 'Lost City of the Incas' could be lost forever if it continues to come under attack by the heavy feet of fat American meat-eaters," says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. "Tourists could do Machu Picchu and themselves a big favor by ditching the double bacon cheeseburgers and going vegan. 

For more information, please visit PETA.org.

PETA's letter to Maria Cecilia Bakula Budge, the director of Peru's National Institute of Culture, follows.

June 17, 2010

Maria Cecilia Bakula Budge
National Director
National Institute of Culture

Dear Ms. Bakula Budge,

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 offer our help in staving off further degradation of Machu Picchu. We know that the daily stampede of footsteps from U.S. tourists is partially responsible for the erosion of the international icon, and we want to be part of the solution. That's why we would like to offer, free of charge, a banner to be placed throughout the ancient city reading, "Is There Too MACHU You? Obese Tourists Are Trampling Machu Picchu to Dust. Take a Step Toward a Lighter Life: Go Vegan." By adopting a vegan diet, overweight visitors will slim down and thus do less damage to this important landmark.

People who follow a vegan diet (one that includes no meat, poultry, fish, eggs, or dairy products) weigh, on average, 10 to 20 pounds (4.5 to 9 kilograms) less than their meat-eating peers. In addition, vegans are less prone than meat-eaters to heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and obesity than meat-eaters are. A vegan diet also benefits the animals who suffer and die at the hands of the meat, egg and dairy industries. Chickens and turkeys have their throats slit while still conscious, and fish are suffocated or cut open while still alive on the decks of fishing boats. Pigs and cattle often have their throats cut and are dismembered while they are still conscious and struggling. By encouraging tourists to go vegan, we can help save human and animal lives alike, as well as restoring the beautiful Incan city.

We apologize for the weighty effect of obese meat-eating American tourists on Machu Picchu, and we hope that you will accept our help in lightening the load on the ancient city by encouraging chubby tourists to adopt a healthy, humane vegan diet. Thank you for your consideration.

Very truly yours,

Ingrid E. Newkirk
President