City Named America's Most Violent—Group Says Reduce That Rating, Starting With Your Plate
For Immediate Release:
January 24, 2013
Contact:
Kaitlynn Kelly 202-483-7382
PETA sent a letter to Flint Mayor Dayne Walling with an offer that the group hopes he'll like: Place a banner that reads, "Stop the Killing—Starting With Your Plate. Go Vegan," on City Hall, and PETA will pick up the tab. The proposal comes on the heels of preliminary FBI data that found that Flint is the most violent city in the U.S. PETA's point? That violence begets violence and that going vegan may help reduce dangerous aggression. It is also, of course, a significant way to reduce the suffering of millions of animals who are killed every day in U.S. slaughterhouses—not to mention that meat-free meals can help foster empathy for all living beings.
"It's hard to talk about reducing violence if you are paying someone to kill animals for nothing more than a fleeting taste," says PETA Associate Director of Campaigns Lindsay Rajt. "If you're kind to pigs and chickens, it's a lot easier to show compassion toward your fellow humans."
PETA points out that violence and suffering are everyday realities for the billions of animals who are tormented on factory farms and endure painful and terrifying deaths in slaughterhouses every year. PETA also likens eating meat, eggs, and dairy products to hiring a hit man to provide you with food.
For more information, please visit PETA.org.
PETA's letter to Flint Mayor Dayne Walling follows.
The Honorable Dayne Walling
Mayor of
Flint
Dear Mayor Walling,
On behalf of PETA and our more than 3 million members and supporters, including thousands in Michigan, I am writing in response to Flint's recent FBI designation as the most violent city in the United States. May we offer a suggestion that could help curb violence against people and animals? Display PETA's banner at City Hall and other municipal buildings. It reads, "Stop the Killing—Starting With Your Plate. Go Vegan. PETA." (See attached.) PETA will happily pay to place this lifesaving ad in and on the buildings (perhaps kicking off a novel way for the city to raise some funds).
The violence inherent in producing meat, eggs, and milk today would shock all but the most hard-hearted person. Chickens and turkeys have their throats cut while they're still conscious, piglets are castrated 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 torn away from their mothers within hours of birth. Buying meat, dairy products, and eggs means paying for these practices to continue—effectively, hiring the hit man.
Recognizing what is done to animals can help us to think past our own impulses and bad habits and become compassionate consumers. In fact, some prisons have implemented vegetarian diet programs (along with other violence-reduction measures) and found that inner-prison aggression has been reduced. Also, promoting meat-free dining would prevent other premature deaths in Flint: Vegetarians are less likely than meat-eaters are to suffer from heart disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity, and strokes.
Displaying our pro-vegan banner on Flint's municipal buildings might just encourage residents to lay down their weapons—starting with the steak knife.
Sincerely,
Chris Holbein
Associate Director