PETA Launches New Humane Food Campaign: Take the Vegan ‘Persuasion Pledge’ for Thanksgiving

For Every 100 Pledges, PETA Will Donate a Vegan Dinner to the Border Action Network

For Immediate Release:
November 8, 2018

Contact:
Audrey Shircliff 202-483-7382

In the lead-up to Thanksgiving, PETA has launched a new incentive that offers compassionate people a way to help save hundreds of animals and feed families in need, with its vegan “persuasion pledge.” Those who take the pledge commit to helping their friends, family, colleagues, and others go vegan simply by bringing vegan dishes to any holiday gathering—or by hosting their own animal-free feast—and are encouraged to post a photo of their meal to social media using the hashtag #VeganThanksgiving. For every 100 people who sign up, PETA will donate a delicious vegan dinner to the Border Action Network, a Tucson-based nonprofit organization that assists and advocates for immigrants and border communities in southern Arizona.

“This Thanksgiving, PETA is giving thanks for every person who takes our persuasion pledge, preventing gentle birds from being slaughtered for the meal’s centerpiece and giving food to those who need help,” says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. “Our pledge campaign will motivate kind people to put vegan roasts, meat-free stews, and veggie dishes on the holiday table—and that will benefit everyone, regardless of species.”

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—notes that more than 46 million turkeys are killed in the U.S. every year for Thanksgiving. In nature, turkeys are protective and loving parents as well as spirited explorers who can climb trees and run as fast as 25 miles per hour. Turkeys in the wild can live up to 10 years, but those raised for food are normally slaughtered when they’re between 12 and 26 weeks old. The young birds are hung by their feet from metal shackles and dragged through an electrified bath that can cause them to have full-body tremors. They’re often still conscious when their throats are slit and they’re dumped into scalding-hot water to remove their feathers.

The St. Louis Animal Rights Team and the Pittsburgh VegFest have both shared the link to PETA’s pledge on social media to help raise awareness and encourage caring people to celebrate a vegan Thanksgiving.

PETA offers a free vegan starter kit full of recipes, tips, and more, and a roundup of recipes for delicious vegan Thanksgiving dishes is available here. For more information, please visit PETA.org.