“Mayor Gloria: Sign the Plant Based Treaty and We’ll Bring the Tacos,” Says PETA

For Immediate Release:
January 30, 2023

Contact:
Robin Goist 202-483-7382

San Diego’s sister city Edinburgh just signed the Plant Based Treaty, doing its part to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from animal agriculture by promoting a shift to vegan eating, so PETA sent a letter to Mayor Todd Gloria this morning with a tasty proposal: If he follows suit by also signing the treaty—which would help protect animals, the planet, and residents’ health—PETA will host a giveaway of crispy vegan fish tacos with all the trimmings.

“There are over a million potential vegans in San Diego, and each person who goes vegan saves nearly 200 animals a year and slashes their carbon footprint,” says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. “San Diego’s name on the Plant Based Treaty would be a win for the city, the planet, and everyone who wants to live a healthier, more energetic, and longer life, and PETA would help the city celebrate with a fish-friendly feast and free vegan starter kits.”

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.

PETA’s letter to Gloria follows.

January 30, 2023

The Honorable Todd Gloria

Mayor of San Diego

Dear Mayor Gloria:

I’m writing with a request from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals—PETA entities have more than 9 million members and supporters globally, including tens of thousands in San Diego—and everyone who is or is thinking about going vegan, whether for humane, environmental, religious, or health reasons. San Diego’s sister city Edinburgh just endorsed the Plant Based Treaty, which is designed to tackle greenhouse gas emissions from animal agriculture.

As Edinburgh Councillor Steve Burgess said, “Plant-rich diets are also a ‘win-win-win’ for society,” as they spare sentient animals horrific deaths in slaughterhouses and help protect both the environment and human health.

Wouldn’t it be terrific if San Diego, hailed as the greenest city in the U.S., followed that lead and encouraged vegan living? What do you say? We’d be happy to hold a giveaway of 100 tasty vegan fish tacos in town if you agree!

The most effective eco-friendly initiative would be shifting to plant-based foods. According to a study from New York University, “[D]rastically shifting agricultural production from animals to plant-sourced foods could remove more than a decade of our carbon dioxide emissions from the atmosphere.” Each person who eats vegan only one day a week saves about 1,100 gallons of water, nearly 40 pounds of grain, and 30 square feet of forested land each day. Endorsing the Plant Based Treaty would do a world of good for the city, the planet, and its inhabitants.

There’s another extremely compelling reason to endorse vegan eating: Our understanding of other species has evolved. Pigs, cows, chickens, and other animals commonly killed for food are smart, sensitive individuals who feel pain, love, joy, grief, fear, and loneliness. Yet most of them are raised on filthy factory farms, where they endure severe crowding and routine mutilations, such as castration and tail docking—often without any pain relief—before being sent on a terrifying journey to the slaughterhouse and a violent death. Each person who opts for tasty vegan meals and snacks can spare nearly 200 living, feeling beings this miserable fate each year.

Other cities around the world, including Los Angeles and Boynton Beach, Florida, here in the U.S., have already endorsed the Plant Based Treaty. We hope you’ll join them. Thank you for your consideration. We look forward to hearing from you.

Yours truly,

Ingrid Newkirk

President