Former President Bill Clinton Gets Special Birthday Gift From PETA

A Rescued Hen’s Sanctuary Care to be Sponsored in Honor of Vegan Leader and PETA 2010 Person of the Year

For Immediate Release:
August 19, 2013

Contact:
Moira Colley 202-483-7382

Washington — Former President Bill Clinton is turning 67—and as he has proudly proclaimed, he’s feeling healthier and looking better than ever, thanks to his much-buzzed-about decision to go vegan. To celebrate his birthday, PETA has sponsored a hen named Ellen—who was rescued from an egg factory farm and is now thriving at Kindred Spirits Sanctuary in Florida—in Clinton’s name.

“Since he became an outspoken vegan three years ago, Bill Clinton has saved his own health and the lives of countless hens like Ellen,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA named him our Person of the Year in 2010 for his commitment to spreading the word about the health benefits of vegan meals, and we’ll enjoy celebrating his birthday for many more years to come.”

A brush with emergency heart surgery first prompted Clinton to go vegan. “I just decided that I was the high-risk person, and I didn’t want to fool with this anymore. And I wanted to live to be a grandfather,” he explained in an interview with AARP. “So I decided to pick the diet that I thought would maximize my chances of long-term survival.”

According to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, vegans are less prone to heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and cancer than meat-eaters are. They also spare chickens and other animals immense suffering on factory farms, where virtually all chickens have a part of their sensitive beaks cut off with hot blades. Egg-laying hens spend the rest of their lives crammed into filthy wire cages, where most will never be able to extend their wings. Also, because male chickens are useless to the egg industry, male baby chicks are discarded at birth—often by being tossed into high-speed grinders while they’re still alive.

Clinton is part of a long list of public figures—including Anne Hathaway, Carrie Underwood, Alicia Silverstone, Joaquin Phoenix, Woody Harrelson, Natalie Portman, Casey Affleck, and Newark, N.J., Mayor Cory Booker—who enjoy healthy, humane, eco-friendly meat-free lifestyles.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.