Officials are scrambling to contain the beyond-massive oil spill that’s headed for the Gulf Coast and its wetlands and wildlife areas. At times like this, I know it’s popular to blame big business, and that’s fair enough. But in a free-enterprise system, business only gets big (and sloppy and greedy) because of consumer demand. This morning, PETA delivered that message to Alabama residents by flying a banner over downtown Mobile reading “Meat on Your Grill = Oil Spill.”
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Raising animals for food causes environmental devastation on a massive scale, and oil spills can be blamed in large part on the oil-guzzling meat industry—which owes its existence to the meat-guzzling public. According to a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, it takes more than 10 times as much fossil fuel to produce a calorie of animal protein as it takes to produce the same amount of plant protein.
This disaster will have a devastating, long-lasting impact on the region and its residents, including more than 400 animal species, but crying over spilled oil and blaming big corporations won’t make a difference. To ease tremendous animal suffering, safeguard human health, and help prevent oil spills, go vegan.
Written by Karin Bennett
