PETA U.K. Asks Golfer Andrew ‘Beef’ Johnston to Consider Becoming Andrew ‘Tofu’ Johnston

For Immediate Release:
August 2, 2016

Contact:
Moira Colley 202-483-7382

Tofu steaks and soy sausages are on their way to golfer Andrew “Beef” Johnston, courtesy of PETA U.K. The animal rights group hopes the delicious meat-free fare will inspire him to adopt a kinder, healthier vegan lifestyle and a new nickname: Andrew “Tofu” Johnston.

PETA U.K., whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat,” notes in a letter to Johnston that a vegan lifestyle has been shown to help protect people against heart disease, diabetes, strokes, and cancer. In addition to staying lean, golfers can also keep their consciences clear by putting their meat-eating habits behind them. In today’s industrialized meat industry, pigs, turkeys, cows, and chickens are crammed into filthy windowless sheds and wire cages, where they live and die in misery. These are just some of the reasons why a growing number of top athletes—including boxer David Haye, tennis champ Novak Djokovic, and ultra-endurance athlete Rich Roll—have stopped eating animal-derived foods.

Johnston will also receive a vegan starter kit, packed with tips and recipes to drive him in the Race to Dubai. PETA U.K.’s letter to Johnston is available below.

Andrew Johnston

c/o Shaun Dermot

Red Golf Management

39–41 Lantern House

High Street

Potters Bar

London EN6 5AJ

2 August 2016

Dear Andrew,

Congratulations on all your success this year! Like many others, we’ve been enthusiastically following your career, and we thought we’d send you a gift of delicious vegan steaks and burgers in the hope that you’ll consider adopting a kinder, healthier vegan lifestyle, which would pave the way for a new nickname: Andrew “Tofu” Johnston.

Along with tofu, veggie burgers and soya steaks are readily available, high in protein, and low in artery-clogging saturated fats and cholesterol. By ditching beef and other animal-derived foods, you could reduce your risk of developing heart disease by a long shot (actually, by a whopping 32 per cent, according to a study from the University of Oxford). And if that’s not enough, consider that vegetarians and vegans live, on average, six to 10 years longer than meat-eaters do. Just think how many more championships you could win during that time. Replacing beef burgers with bean burgers would also save many animals a year from the routine cruelty of the meat industry – including painful mutilations such as branding and castration without anaesthetics.

Your new nickname would also raise awareness of the urgent need to move towards a cruelty-free lifestyle to offset the worst effects of climate change. According to the United Nations, animal agriculture is “one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global”.

I hope you’ll agree that going vegan is a hole in one for your health, animals, and the environment.

Sincerely,

Kate Smith

PETA U.K. Celebrity Liaison