For Immediate Release:
August 10, 2023
Contact:
Sara Groves 202-483-7382
Galveston, Texas – As visitors flock to the 36th annual American Institute of Architects (AIA) Houston Sandcastle Competition on Saturday, PETA will send beachgoers a sky-high message with its own design on building a positive future for all—pointing out that animal agriculture is a leading cause of the climate catastrophe with a flying banner that reads, “Hot You, Hot Planet! Go Vegan. PETA.” According to the United Nations, about a third of all human-caused greenhouse gas emissions are linked to food production and the largest percentage of these emissions come from the meat and dairy industries. Our futures will be washed away like castles in the sand if we continue to eat our way to an unlivable world.
“We humans must get our heads out of the sand and deal with the reality that meat and dairy consumption is a major driver of the climate catastrophe,” says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. “PETA is asking everyone to take personal responsibility for the planetary crisis by going vegan before it’s too late, and we have free vegan starter kits to help.”
PETA notes that growing water-intensive crops just to feed animals raised for food consumes more than half the water used in the U.S. and that up to 80% of deforestation in the Amazon is linked to meat production, either for grazing or for growing food for cattle. Vegan foods—such as fruits and vegetables, whole grains, beans, peas, nuts, and lentils—require less energy, land, and water to produce, and a widespread shift to vegan eating would drastically reduce humans’ negative impact on the environment.
Every person who goes vegan spares nearly 200 animals each year daily suffering and terrifying deaths, reduces their own risk of developing heart disease and cancer, and drastically shrinks their carbon footprint.
PETA’s banner will fly over East Beach at 1923 Boddeker Rd. for two hours, beginning at 12 noon.
PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETA.org, listen to The PETA Podcast, or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.
