Buffalo’s Merge Scores Big in PETA’s First-Ever Chicken-Free Wings Survey
Group Asks Super Bowl Partiers to Bench Animal Abuse and Keep the Aches and Pains Confined to the Gridiron
For Immediate Release:
January 28, 2014
Contact:
Allison Lakomski 202-483-7382
Who says that you need a chicken in order to enjoy great wings at your Super Bowl party—or any other time? Certainly not the die-hard fans of the restaurants across the country named to PETA’s first-ever ranking of the Top 10 Vegan Wings in the U.S. And the spectacular meat-free wings at Buffalo’s Merge, including the hot or barbecue Seitan Wings (a wheat-based protein that has the texture of meat), have snagged the number two spot—a fitting tribute to the town that gave the world Buffalo wings.
“Chickens need their wings—we don’t,” says PETA Associate Director Ryan Huling. “Even some of the worst examples of unnecessary roughness are a walk in the park compared to what chickens raised and killed for food are forced to endure.”
Taking first place is The Chicago Diner, and third place goes to California-based chain Veggie Grill. Rounding out the winners are Smoke and Barrel in Washington, D.C.; Green New American Vegetarian in Phoenix and Tempe, Ariz.; Stella’s Lounge in Grand Rapids, Mich.; City O’ City in Denver; Vertical Diner in Salt Lake City; The Remedy Diner in Raleigh, N.C.; and Blackbird Pizzeria in Philadelphia. Receiving honorable mentions are Vita Café in Portland, Ore., and New World Bistro Bar in Albany, N.Y.
All the winners will receive a congratulatory letter and a framed certificate from PETA. The group has previously ranked the top 10 vegan BLTs, vegan mac ‘n’ cheese dishes, veggie dogs, faux-chicken sandwiches, and more.
Chickens on factory farms are crammed into dark, filthy sheds and drugged and bred to grow such large upper bodies that their legs often become crippled under the weight. In slaughterhouses, chickens’ throats are cut while they’re still conscious, and millions of birds are scalded to death in defeathering tanks every year.
For more information, please visit PETA.org. To view photos of all our winners’ faux wings, please click here.
