Group Proposes Paying to Keep the Streetlights Shining in Return for Pro-Vegan Message
For Immediate Release:
March 26, 2012
Contact:
Shakira Croce 202-483-7382
Pittsburgh, Penn. -- PETA has sent a letter to Baldwin Borough Mayor Alexander R. Bennett Jr. and Borough Manager John M. Barrett with an offer the group hopes he can't refuse: Allow PETA to place a banner featuring one of the group's bikini-clad "Lettuce Ladies" and reading, "Get Lighter: Go Vegan," on several key streetlights, and PETA will help foot the bill for keeping those lights on. The suggestion follows reports that Baldwin Borough officials are discussing the removal of 376 streetlights in order to save more than $66,000 a year on the borough's electric bill. 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 Baldwin Borough 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 Bennett and Manager Barrett follows.
March 26, 2012
The
Honorable Alexander R. Bennett Jr.
Mayor
of Baldwin
John
M Barrett
Borough
Manager
Dear Mayor Bennett and Manager Barrett,
I am writing on behalf of PETA and our more than 3 million members and supporters, including thousands across Pennsylvania, with an offer to help keep Baldwin Borough "in the black" while preventing residents from being left in the dark: PETA will foot the bill for several key street lights in exchange for placement of our "Get Lighter: Go Vegan! PETA" ad.
The ad, featuring one of PETA's iconic "Lettuce Ladies" could do more than keep residents of Baldwin safely bathed in light—it could help citizens and visitors become radiantly healthy. Vegan food has none of the cholesterol or saturated animal fats found in meat and dairy products, which helps explain why vegans are less prone to heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and obesity.
Vegans also save more than 100 animals a year from the intensive confinement and horrors of factory farming. In today's industrialized meat and dairy industries, millions of chickens and turkeys suffer broken wings or legs and have their throats slit while still conscious, piglets have their tails and testicles cut off without any painkillers, fish are gutted alive on the decks of fishing boats, and calves are dragged away from their loving mothers within hours of birth. As Sir Paul McCartney has often said, "If slaughterhouses had glass walls, everyone would be vegetarian."
Allowing us to place our eye-catching ads on Baldwin's streetlights will help keep the lights on and the weight off residents while providing a healthy and humane message to any passersby. I hope to hear from you soon.
Sincerely,
Tracy
Reiman
Executive
Vice President