I believe in protecting animals, but do you have to focus so much on vegetarianism?

As an animal protection group, PETA cannot in good conscience condone the murder of animals for their flesh, even if our nation’s current meat addiction was not at the root of a staggering number of health problems. (Similarly, the American Cancer Society, for example, could not in good conscience condone the “choice” of cigarette smoking.) The truth is, there is simply no way that animals can be humanely raised and killed for food. The sheer number of animals required to feed America’s current meat habit makes individual attention to their wants and needs impossible.

Ultimately, there is the simple moral principle that we do not have the right to manipulate and kill animals for our own purposes. Animals do not belong to us, and their lives are just as precious to them as yours or mine is to you or me.

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 Ingrid E. Newkirk

“Almost all of us grew up eating meat, wearing leather, and going to circuses and zoos. We never considered the impact of these actions on the animals involved. For whatever reason, you are now asking the question: Why should animals have rights?” READ MORE

— Ingrid E. Newkirk, PETA President and co-author of Animalkind