‘Just Say No to Pot (Roast)’ Billboard Raises Health Concerns
Marijuana Legalization Debate Lights Up Issue of Meat Addiction; Vegan Eating Can Avert Medical Conditions Like Heart Attacks, Strokes, Obesity
For Immediate Release:
April 24, 2017
Contact:
Sophia Charchuk 202-483-7382
As Nebraska lawmakers debate legalizing marijuana for medical use, PETA is negotiating with outdoor advertisers to put up a billboard near the state Capitol building that shows a cow next to the caption “Say No! to Pot (Roast). Don’t Be a Meathead. Kick the Habit! Go Vegan!” The ad’s message to residents and legislators is that no matter where they stand on the marijuana issue, clinging to a meaty diet is far more dangerous than lighting up a joint—and kicking the meat habit will help avert the nation’s top killers, including heart attacks, cancer, strokes, and more.
“While weed addiction is linked to snacking and binge-watching Netflix, meat addiction is linked to chronic illnesses like heart disease, cancer, and diabetes,” says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. “PETA urges everyone to blaze a better trail for animals and their own health by kicking the meat habit.”
PETA’s new ad will remind everyone that most meat is loaded with drugs and chemicals, including pesticide residues, hormones, and antibiotics. In addition to carrying a high risk of contamination from pathogens such as E. coli and salmonella, meat contains no fiber and is packed with artery-clogging saturated fat and cholesterol. According to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, vegetarians are far less prone to suffering from heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and cancer than meat-eaters are.
PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—notes that the meat industry is also linked to high emissions of greenhouse gases and the suffering and slaughter of billions of animals. In today’s industrialized meat and dairy industries, chickens’ and turkeys’ throats are often cut while they’re still conscious, piglets’ tails and testicles are cut off without being given any painkillers, and calves are taken away from their mothers within hours of birth.
For more information, please visit PETA.org.
