State Could Put Some Life Into Its Tourism by Highlighting Naturally Vegan Southwestern Cuisine, Says Group
For Immediate Release:
January 17, 2011
Contact:
Kristin Richards 202-483-7382
Santa Fe -- Scenic New Mexico may truly be the "Land of Enchantment," but state tourism department officials think the nickname is too pompous and are blaming it for a falloff in tourism that's cutting into the state's economy. So PETA has a slogan suggestion: "New Mexico: You've Bean Wantin' to Visit Us." Why beans? Because New Mexico is home to splendid Southwestern cooking—much of it naturally vegan.
"No beans about it—any diner would be enchanted by New Mexico's vegan tamales, calabacitas, and chili," says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. "The state's nickname should reflect its slimming and heart-friendly cuisine—just the ticket to attract the growing number of health-conscious and animal-friendly tourists."
For more information, please visit PETA.org.
PETA's letter to the New Mexico Tourism Department follows.
Monique
Jacobson
Cabinet
Secretary
New
Mexico Department of Tourism
Dear Ms. Jacobson,
When PETA staff heard that New Mexico's Department of Tourism is searching for a new slogan, we put our heads together and created a phrase that brings to mind your state's welcoming spirit, delicious state vegetable (the frijol), and authentic vegan-friendly cuisine: "New Mexico: You've Bean Wantin' to Visit Us."
New Mexico's traditional veggie-based dishes are delightful to everyone who craves flavorful food that is good for their waistlines, their hearts, and animals. In fact, in 2010, PETA named Albuquerque one of America's most vegan-friendly cities, thanks to delicious offerings like bean burritos with savory spices, veggie-stuffed tamales, corn and squash calabacitas, and spicy-hot bowls of bean chili loaded with your state's famous green chilies. Each of these dishes is bursting with flavor, not brimming with saturated animal fats and cholesterol as meat- and cheese-based foods are. And eating beans, rice, tortillas, and veggies doesn't contribute to the factory-farming industry, where cows, pigs, and chickens are kept in cramped, filthy conditions and mutilated without painkillers before being sent to terrifying deaths in slaughterhouses.
We make no beans about it—a trip through the Southwest has to include stopping off for a New Mexican vegan chili bowl. We think our slogan could be just the thing to spice up New Mexico's tourism campaign and encourage visitors and locals alike to savor your state's exciting meat-free eats. Please let us know what you think!
Very truly yours,
Ingrid E. Newkirk
President