‘Say No to Cheese’ Billboard Calls Out Gov. Brown

PETA Asks Governor to Pull Support of Water-Draining Dairy Industry as Historic Drought Ravages State

For Immediate Release:
July 22, 2015

Contact:
Sophia Charchuk 202-483-7382

Courtesy of PETA, a new billboard featuring Gov. Jerry Brown’s face superimposed on a cheese round with the words “Gov. Brown, Ease the Drought: Say No to Cheese” is turning heads on Highway 99 in Bakersfield. As PETA points out, California is one of the largest producers of cheese in the U.S. and cheese production is an increasingly unsustainable industry, as the state’s historic drought dries up reservoirs.

“When it comes to wasting water reserves, the dairy industry is one of the prime offenders,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA is calling on Governor Brown and anyone who is serious about conserving water to say no to cheese.”

The facts are alarming. In 2014, cows on dairy farms in California required a whopping 4.79 trillion gallons of water. That’s enough for all California residents to continue their normal outdoor water use for three and a half years. Just two slices of cheese require 55 gallons of water, and the production of a single pound of beef requires more than 1,500 gallons of precious water. PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—encourages anyone who’s concerned about the environment to go vegan.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.