By comparing milk and beer, our aim was not to promote beer-drinking. We made a point of stressing that PETA recommends juices, soy milk, and mineral water—even soda—over milk OR beer. We invoked beer simply to make the point that milk is so awful that even a glass of beer—certainly no health food—is a better choice than a glass of milk! Had we used soda instead of beer, there would have been no media interest in the campaign, of course. As it stands, the widespread media interest allowed us to draw attention to the downside of dairy, something that many people had previously heard little about. In the media interviews generated by this campaign, after the criticism we were able to address these facts, and we stressed that PETA urges everyone, beer-drinkers included, to drink responsibly. Where milk is concerned, there’s no such thing!
