‘Mind Your Melons!’ Eye-Popping PETA Campaign in Newark Says Go Vegan to Reduce Breast Cancer Risk

For Immediate Release:
October 6, 2025

Contact:
Hannah Nelson 202-483-7382

In time for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, PETA is serving up some food for thought in New Jersey—a state with one of the highest breast cancer incidence rates in the U.S.—plastering bus shelters near hospitals and meaty eateries in Newark with a reminder that one of the best things an individual can do to lower their cancer risk is to say “ta-ta” to meat, eggs, and dairy.

Extensive research has shown that consuming meat and dairy increases a person’s risk of cancer. The American Institute for Cancer Research has long promoted plant-powered eating for cancer prevention, breast cancer surgeon Dr. Kristi Funk has warned that “the cellular response to basically all animal protein and all animal fat is nothing but detrimental to your health,” and Dr. Susan Tannenbaum, an expert in breast cancer care, has stressed that an individual’s diet should be made up of “unprocessed, plant-based foods—things like legumes, fruits, vegetables, seeds, whole grains, and nuts.”

“Meaty meals are a killer of both animals and the humans who consume them,” says PETA Founder Ingrid Newkirk. “PETA encourages everyone to boost their chances of living out a healthy, full life by keeping animals off their plate, and stands ready to help with free downloadable vegan starter kits.”

PETA notes that going vegan not only reduces a person’s risk of suffering from cancer and other diseases but also spares animals from a lifetime of misery and a violent death. Pigs are soothed by music, cows have best friends, and chickens dream when they sleep, just as humans do—but in today’s meat, egg, and dairy industries, the animals are raised in filthy, crowded conditions, trucked to slaughterhouses, and violently killed.

PETA’s campaign can be seen on bus shelters throughout Newark. The appeals will also run in Albany, New York, and Madison, Wisconsin.

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.