Promoting Healthy and Eco-Friendly Vegan Fare Could Really Take Off With Passengers, Says Group
For Immediate Release:
February 28, 2012
Contact:
Shakira Croce 202-483-7382
Honolulu -- PETA today sent a letter to Mark Dunkerley, CEO of Hawaiian Airlines, urging him to consider making the airline's in-flight meals 100 percent meat- and dairy-free. PETA's request follows reports that Hawaiian Airlines is the first in its industry to qualify for carbon credits by reducing its aircrafts' carbon-dioxide emissions. In its letter, PETA points out that the airline's emissions reduction is equivalent to taking 700 cars off the road annually—but if Americans skipped just one meal of chicken per week and ate vegetarian food instead, the greenhouse-gas savings would be the same as taking more than half a million cars off U.S. roads. PETA also explains that the animal suffering and negative health effects associated with eating meat just don't fly with compassionate and health-conscious passengers.
"By becoming the world's first meat- and dairy-free carrier, Hawaiian Airlines could reach new heights in the industry and lead its effort to go green," says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. "When it comes to the health-, animal-, and environment-related benefits of going vegan, the sky's the limit."
For more information, please visit PETA.org.
PETA's letter to Hawaiian Airlines CEO Mark Dunkerley
follows.
February 28, 2012
Mark B. Dunkerley
CEO
Hawaiian Airlines
Dear Mr. Dunkerley,
I am writing on behalf of PETA and our more than 3 million members and supporters, including thousands in Hawaii, to commend you for your reduction of carbon-dioxide emissions and to offer an additional suggestion that will benefit your passengers, animals, and the environment: Offer exclusively vegan meals on your flights.
As you know, Hawaiian Airlines' emissions reduction is equivalent to taking 700 cars off the road annually. According to Environmental Defense, if every American skipped just one meal of chicken per week and substituted vegetarian foods instead, the carbon-dioxide savings would be the same as taking more than a half-million cars off U.S. roads. The United Nations has stated that raising animals for food is "one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global."
Meat doesn't just harm the planet, though—it takes a toll on the human body. According to the American Dietetic Association, meat-eaters are more prone to heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and obesity than their vegetarian counterparts are. And vegans spare animals from enormous suffering. In today's industrialized meat and dairy industries, chickens and turkeys have their throats cut while they're still conscious, fish are suffocated or cut open while they're still alive, and calves are taken away from their loving mothers within hours of birth.
The good news is that you have the power to help thousands of passengers protect the environment, take better care of their health, and alleviate the suffering of animals simply by not serving meat, eggs, and dairy products. Once your customers experience how delicious vegan food can be, they will be on board with this progressive change. You could even consider crafting a signature vegan dish called "The Green Goddess" as a nod to Pāpā, the goddess in Hawaiian mythology connected with a nurturing earth. Perhaps you could use a savory sandwich with tempeh bacon (tempeh is a delicious meat substitute made of soy) featuring pineapple and other Hawaiian fruits.
Thank you for your consideration. Please contact me with any questions, or for information on suppliers of quality vegan ingredients.
Sincerely,
Lindsay Rajt
Associate Director of
Campaigns