‘Hens Pay the Highest Price’: PETA Appeal Hits Phoenix with Vegan Egg Sandwich Giveaway
For Immediate Release:
September 4, 2025
Contact:
Hannah Nelson 202-483-7382
With egg profiteers like those at locally-based Hickman’s Egg Ranch bracing for a fall surge of bird flu—which has already resulted in the killing of 95 percent of the operation’s egg-laying hens in Arizona—PETA’s “Tommy Tofu” mascot will remind everyone that it’s a shell of a good time to go vegan by dishing up free vegan “egg” sandwiches in Phoenix on Monday. The giveaway coincides with PETA’s striking new visual pleas in Phoenix and Chandler, pointing out that the high price of eggs is nothing compared to what eggs cost hens: their lives.
Bird flu is running rampant through the poultry and dairy industries—since the beginning of this year alone, over 38.7 million chickens have been killed due to the rapidly spreading virus, and about 173 million birds have been killed nationwide since the outbreak began. Dozens of human cases have been reported, one man has died, and over 1,000 herds of cows have been infected.
“There’s no retirement home for hens in the egg industry, who spend their entire lives in misery and filth before they’re killed over bird flu fears or by a slaughterhouse knife,” says PETA President Tracy Reiman. “PETA is showing everyone how easy it is to make the switch to tasty, affordable vegan eggs that leave hens in peace.”
Where: At the intersection of East Jefferson Street and S. First Street, Phoenix
When: Monday, September 8, 12 p.m.
What: Chickens form complex social structures, dream when they sleep, and worry about the future, just as humans do. But hens used for egg production are crammed together inside crowded, filthy sheds where they don’t even have enough room to spread their wings. Once their egg production drops, they’re sent to slaughterhouses, where mechanized blades slit their throats—often while they’re still conscious—and many are scalded to death in de-feathering tanks. PETA’s free vegan starter kit is filled with tips to help anyone looking to make the switch.
PETA’s billboards are located at 18605 N. Cave Creek Rd. in Phoenix and at 15600 Gilbert Rd. in Chandler.
PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.
