Acts of Religious Intolerance Prompt ‘Give Peas a Chance’ Billboard

PETA Calls for Nonviolence and Compassion for All Living Beings

For Immediate Release:
August 1, 2017

Contact:
Sophia Charchuk 202-483-7382

In recent weeks, three Qurans have been defaced, including one submerged in pork lard and mailed to Sacramento’s Council on American-Islamic Relations, and an imam in Davis was accused of calling for the “annihilation” of Jews. That’s why PETA plans to place its “Give Peas a Chance: Go Vegan” billboard in the area in the hope of promoting peace for every living, feeling being—regardless of religion, nationality, or species.

The billboard features images of peas arranged to represent different religious symbols—including the Jewish Star of David, the Hindu Aum, the Muslim crescent and star, and the Christian cross.

“PETA’s billboard reminds us all that ending suffering and fostering empathy can start with choosing a nonviolent meal,” says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. “If we can learn to relate to who is on our plate, we can certainly relate to our fellow human beings.”

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—points out that animals used for food experience joy, pain, fear, love, and grief and value their lives, just as humans do. But in today’s industrialized meat industry, chickens’ throats are cut while they’re still conscious, piglets are castrated without painkillers, and fish are cut open while they’re still alive on the decks of boats.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.