Will Judge’s Ruling Mean a Green Light for PETA’s Cheeky ‘ILVTOFU’ License Plate?
Previous Bid for Pro-Tofu Plate Was Rejected as ‘Vulgar’
For Immediate Release:
November 25, 2020
Contact:
Nicole Meyer 202-483-7382
A California federal judge’s recent ruling that enforcing a ban on “offensive” license plates violates freedom of speech has led locally based PETA staff member Lewis Crary to submit an application today to change his license plate to read, “ILVTOFU.” The action is part of PETA’s campaign encouraging people to save animals’ lives and help prevent future pandemics by going vegan and embracing delicious, versatile foods like—you guessed it—tofu!
“Crary has every right to show off his love for tofu and give other motorists food for thought about eating vegan,” says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. “PETA’s goal is, of course, to drive home the message that while animal-borne diseases thrive in filthy, cruel meat markets and slaughterhouses, tofu has never caused a pandemic.”
Not only is tofu cheaper than meat, it is also packed with protein, contains zero cholesterol, and can lower one’s risk of suffering from heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and numerous other health issues. COVID-19 is believed to have originated in a live-animal market in China where live and dead animals were sold for food. Previous influenza viruses have originated in pigs and chickens.
PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat” and which opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview—offers a variety of delicious tofu-based recipes on its website, such as General Tso’s Tofu and Buffalo Tofu-Scramble Breakfast Tacos.
PETA staffers previously sought approval for license plates reading “ILVTOFU” in Colorado, Florida, and Tennessee, which rejected the message in 2014 for being “vulgar,” leaving PETA to assume that the Department of Revenue missed the intended soyful message and misread it as the far steamier “I-LV-TO-F-U.”
For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.
