PETA to Give Out Free McDonald’s Burgers at Stockyards—What?!

For Immediate Release:
March 24, 2022

Contact:
Brooke Rossi 202-483-7382

PETA’s days of protesting outside McDonald’s locations may soon be over if the chain rolls out its McPlant Burger nationwide, and to encourage that move—and introduce would-be meat-buyers to the delicious, animal-friendly new option—the group will be passing out the meat-free burgers ahead of the rodeo and in between “cattle drives” this weekend at the Fort Worth Stockyards.

When:    Saturday, March 26, 2:30 p.m.

Where:    131 E. Exchange Ave., Fort Worth

Nearby in Dallas, PETA sent a letter to Mayor Eric Johnson to get him excited about the McPlant’s arrival in his city and plans to deliver the burgers to him and his staff. It’s all part of the group’s effort to give away 10,000 free McPlants in 10 days through more than a dozen giveaways in Texas and California, where the McPlant is currently being trialed.

“Ordering a McPlant at the drive-through is no biggie to us, but it’s a matter of life and death for cows—and perhaps customers,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “Real meat clogs the arteries to the heart, so PETA’s gift to thousands of people may introduce them to healthier way of eating and show how easy and delicious it is to grab a vegan meal these days.”

At the slaughterhouse, workers shoot cows in the head with captive-bolt guns, hang them up by one leg, and cut their throat—often while they’re still conscious. Each person who goes vegan saves the lives of nearly 200 cows, pigs, chickens, and other animals every year, and the demand for vegan cuisine is growing, with the global market for vegan food expected to reach $162 billion by 2030.

PETA has already given away thousands of McPlants—holding the cheese and mayo to make them vegan—in Texas (Dallas, Denton, Fort Worth, and Irving) and California (Oakland and San Francisco). Photos are available here. In California, PETA will also deliver the meat-free burgers to San Francisco’s mayor this week and give some away next week in the Cow Hollow neighborhood and on the city’s historic trolley, turning it into a traveling vegan McDonalds.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.