Group Proposes Paying to Keep the Streetlights Shining in Return for Pro-Vegan Message
For Immediate Release:
March 13, 2012
Contact:
Kristin Richards 202-483-7382
Racine, Wis. -- PETA has sent a letter to Racine Mayor John Dickert with an offer the group hopes he can't refuse: Allow PETA to place a banner featuring one of PETA's bikini-clad "Lettuce Ladies" and reading, "Get Lighter: Go Vegan," on two streetlights located on Jerome Boulevard, and PETA will foot the bill for keeping the lights on for an entire year. Currently, because of city cost-cutting measures, residents are shelling out the annual fee of $335 to keep the two streetlights operating. In its letter, PETA points out that in addition to causing animal suffering on a massive scale, the meat, dairy, and egg industries are making Americans sick and that studies show that people who've gone vegan are significantly healthier and slimmer than meat-eaters are.
"PETA's ad would help keep Jerome Boulevard residents safer, healthier, and 'lighter'—in more ways than one," says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. "And residents who heed the lifesaving message of PETA's lovely Lettuce Lady could also help keep animals safe from the clutches of the cruel meat, dairy, and egg industries."
For more information, please visit PETA.org.
PETA's letter to Mayor Dickert follows.
March 13, 2012
The Honorable John Dickert
Mayor of Racine
Dear Mayor Dickert:
I am writing on behalf of PETA and our more than 3 million members and supporters, including many thousands across Wisconsin, with an offer to help keep the household budgets of your constituents on Jerome Boulevard "in the black" while preventing their neighborhood from being left in the dark: PETA will foot the bill for the two street lights that the residents are now paying to keep lit in exchange for placement of our "Get Lighter: Go Vegan! PETA" ad on the light poles.
The ad, featuring one of PETA's iconic "Lettuce Ladies" could do more than keep residents of Jerome Boulevard safely bathed in light—it could help Racine citizens and visitors become radiantly healthy. Vegan food has none of the saturated animal fats or cholesterol found in meat and dairy products, which helps explain why vegans are less prone to heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and obesity.
In addition, each person who goes vegan saves more than 100 animals every year. Virtually all meat and dairy products sold in grocery stores and restaurants today come from industrialized factory farms and slaughterhouses. Chickens and turkeys have their throats cut while they're still conscious, piglets have their tails and testicles cut off without being given any painkillers, fish are suffocated or cut open while they're still alive on the decks of fishing boats, and calves are taken away from their mothers within hours of birth.
Allowing us to place our eye-catching ads on Jerome Boulevard's streetlights will help Racine residents keep the lights on and the weight off. I hope to hear from you soon.
Sincerely yours,
Tracy Reiman
Executive Vice President