Vegan Meals for Cannibal? PETA Reaches Out to Sheriff

Plant-Based Foods Can Help Control Violence, Evidence Shows

For Immediate Release:
September 17, 2014

Contact:
Alexis Sadoti 202-483-7382

Prior to his first court appearance this week, Joseph Oberhansley confessed to killing and dismembering his ex-girlfriend and eating parts of her body. That’s why PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—wrote to Clark County Interim Sheriff Brian Meyer today asking him to place Oberhansley, who is now being held without bail at the Clark County Jail, on an all-vegan diet.

PETA points out that we are all made of flesh and blood, that we are all animals, and that the violent acts to which Oberhansley has confessed are similar to acts that are commonly inflicted upon billions of farmed animals in the U.S. each year. PETA asserts that in addition to being healthy, cost-efficient, and easy to prepare, vegan meals promote nonviolence.Several correctional facilities have seen vegetarian diets help improve inmate behavior when used as part of a violence-reduction program.

“Switching to vegan meals will keep the blood off this man’s plate,” says PETA spokesperson Lindsay Rajt. “PETA is offering to help Interim Sheriff Meyer save lives and public funds by switching prisoners, especially violent ones, to a humane and cost-effective vegan menu.”

For more information, please visit PETA.org.

PETA’s letter to Clark County Interim Sheriff Brian Meyer follows.

September 17, 2014

Brian Meyer
Interim Sheriff
Clark County

Dear Chief Meyer,

On behalf of PETA and our more than 3 million members and supporters, including thousands across Indiana, I am writing to suggest, with all due respect, that you help alleged killer and cannibal Joseph Oberhansley swear off flesh by providing him with exclusively vegan meals while he is in your custody.

Some prison operators—including those at Alabama’s highest-security prison,William E. Donaldson Correctional Facility—have found that switching inmates to vegetarian meals can be a successful part of a violence-reduction program. If Oberhansley did, in fact, kill Tammy Blanton and eat parts of her body, opting to feed him only vegan foods could diminish that bloodlust and might even help protect staff and neighboring inmates. In fact, a meat-free meal plan could benefit all your inmates if you’d like to explore it.

Every vegan meal served at your facility would save animals from coming to a gruesome end. Chickens, cows, and pigs have their throats slit, often while they are still conscious, and their bodies are then dismembered and cut into pieces.

Vegan meals are healthy and easy to prepare, and they can be less expensive than meat-based dishes. Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Ariz., estimates that he will save $100,000 by eliminating meat from inmate meals and feeding them healthier and cheaper soy protein instead. PETA would be happy to help you design the perfect cruelty-free meal plan for the Clark County Jail.

Thank you for your consideration. I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Lindsay Rajt
Associate Director of Campaigns