Video: Ice Cream Wars at 30 Rock! Things Heat Up Between Vendors and PETA Staff at Vegan Ice Cream Giveaway
For Immediate Release:
August 29, 2025
Contact:
Hannah Nelson 202-483-7382
PETA’s “I Scream for Vegan Ice Cream” truck had other food truck vendors screaming today as it parked at the corner of 49th Street and 6th Avenue to give locals and tourists a taste of how delicious dairy-free, cow-friendly ice cream can be. PETA has just filed a police report detailing harassment from an ice cream vendor whose meltdown in response to PETA’s giveaway included marshalling other food trucks and carts to box in PETA’s truck and attempt to block it from view—running over a PETA staff member’s foot in the process—and vendors knocking over PETA’s supplies and even shoving a PETA staff member. Photos are here and video is here.
While PETA’s staff and frozen treats stayed cool,the hot-tempered vendor refused to chill out, telling the PETA staff, “Wherever you move, we’ll follow you.” But PETA’s vegan ice cream giveaway persisted, with kids and adults lining up for the dairy-free delights—and over the holiday weekend, the truck will head to Times Square, the Museum of Ice Cream, Coney Island, and Central Park
“Many of New York City’s food carts are dishing up the same old meat-and-dairy-laden dishes, even as restaurants, bodegas, pizza places, and coffee shops have added a plethora of delicious vegan options,” says PETA President Tracy Reiman. “PETA encourages anyone who feels threatened by a vegan ice cream giveaway to take a look at their own menus, add some vegan choices, and watch their lines stretch like ours did earlier today.”
PETA’s truck is on a U.S. tour, giving out thousands of dairy-free delights nationwide to encourage ice cream parlors and patrons to embrace dairy-free desserts, which spare cows from immense suffering in the dairy industry, where female cows are forcibly impregnated and have their beloved calves stolen from them so the milk meant to nourish their babies can be sold to humans.
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. PETA’s free vegan starter kit—and guide to chains that offer vegan ice cream—can help anyone looking to make the switch. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.
