PETA to Give Out Free McDonald’s Burgers at Hindquarter Bar & Grille—What?!

For Immediate Release:
March 24, 2022

Contact:
Megan Wiltsie 202-483-7382

PETA’s days of protesting outside McDonald’s locations may soon be over if the chain rolls out its McPlant burger nationwide, and to encourage that move—and introduce would-be meat-buyers to the delicious, animal-friendly new option—the group will be passing out the meat-free burgers outside Hindquarter Bar & Grille, whose slogan is “where the elite meat.”

When:    Friday, March 25, 2:30 p.m.

Where:    303 Soquel Ave., Santa Cruz

The group will then take its giveaway down the street to the busy intersection of Soquel and Pacific avenues, and on Monday—to get Mayor Sonja Brunner excited about the McPlant’s arrival in her city—it will deliver the burgers to her and her staff. It’s all part of PETA’s effort to distribute 10,000 free McPlants in 10 days through more than a dozen giveaways in California and Texas, where the McPlant is currently being trialed.

“Ordering a McPlant at the drive-through is no biggie to us, but it’s a matter of life and death for cows—and perhaps customers,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “Real meat clogs the arteries to the heart, so PETA’s gift to thousands of people may introduce them to a healthier way of eating and show how easy and delicious it is to grab a vegan meal these days.”

At the slaughterhouse, workers shoot cows in the head with captive-bolt guns, hang them up by one leg, and cut their throat—often while they’re still conscious. Each person who goes vegan saves the lives of nearly 200 cows, pigs, chickens, and other animals every year, and the demand for vegan cuisine is growing, with the global market for vegan food expected to reach $162 billion by 2030.

PETA has already given away thousands of McPlants—holding the cheese and mayo to make them vegan—in California (Oakland and San Francisco) and Texas (Dallas, Denton, Fort Worth, and Irving). Photos are available here. Next week, PETA will also deliver the meat-free burgers to the mayors of Dallas and San Francisco—where they’ll also give some away outside butcher shop Golden Gate Meat Company—and hold another giveaway outside the Fort Worth Stockyards in Texas ahead of a rodeo.

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 or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.