Proposal Would Help Haverhill Beat the Budget Blues and Benefit From Lower Health-Care Costs
For Immediate Release:
March 21, 2011
Contact:
Kristin Richards 202-483-7382
Boston--Something doesn't smell right at Haverhill City Hall, but it's not politics in this case. It's the carpets. After tripping over a snag of carpeting a few weeks ago, Councilor Dave Hall wants to replace the smelly, worn-out carpets, but Mayor James Fiorentini has entered the fray with objections that the estimated $150,000 it could cost for new rugs will break the cash-strapped city's budget. So today, PETA sent a letter to Hall with an offer that should have the lawmaker smiling: PETA will help pay to replace the funky old carpets if the city allows the group to place its racy pro-vegan ad on the new ones. The ad features one of PETA's bikini-clad Lettuce Ladies and reads, "Tread Lightly: Go Vegan." In its letter, PETA points out that, in addition to saving the lives and preventing the suffering of more than 100 animals a year, every city employee who goes vegan can significantly improve his or her health, thus saving the city money on health-care costs.
"Smelly carpets might cause some people to feel sick to their stomach, but a diet based on fat- and cholesterol-laden meat, eggs, and dairy products could land residents in the hospital for emergency heart surgery," says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. "Our offer would help the politicians to stride with pride on plush new carpets and help keep city employees fit, trim, healthy, and happy."
For more information, please visit PETA.org.
PETA's letter to Haverhill Councilor Dave Hall follows.
March 21, 2011
David Hall
Councilor
Haverhill City Council
Dear Mr. Hall,
On behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and our more than 2 million members and supporters, including thousands across Massachusetts, I am writing with a proposal that would help the city not only replace the aging carpets in Haverhill City Hall but also save money by reducing the cost of health care for city employees. We would like to help enable the city to buy new carpets by paying to place an ad on them featuring an image of one of our Lettuce Ladies along with the words "Tread Lightly: Go Vegan." (A copy of the ad is attached.) By encouraging Haverhill employees to adopt a healthy vegan diet, the City Council could help ground both high employee health-care costs and cruelty to animals.
Overwhelming scientific evidence shows that compared to meat-eaters, vegans are far less likely to be overweight and far more likely to be in better overall health. The American Dietetic Association, the nation's largest group of nutrition professionals, reviewed hundreds of studies and concluded that vegetarians have lower rates of obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and cancer than do people who eat meat. Haverhill residents can get all the nutrients that they need to thrive—and avoid carpeting their arteries with the cholesterol and saturated animal fats found in meat and dairy products—by eating a healthy vegan diet.
In addition to becoming healthier, every Haverhill resident who sees PETA's ads and goes vegan will save more than 100 animals a year from the cruelty of the meat and dairy industries, in which 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.
Our offer is a win-win solution for Haverhill: Not only will it help replace the smelly old carpets in City Hall, it also will remind Haverhill residents that, when it comes to nutrition, meat stinks. Please contact me to discuss this exciting opportunity.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Tracy Reiman
Executive Vice President