Rejected! DMV Bans PETA Ad Telling Drivers How To ‘Lose The Spare Tire’

Campaign Urges California Motorists to Go Vegan to Put the Brakes on Unwanted Fat and Steer Clear of Cruelty to Animals

For Immediate Release:
October 26, 2016

Contact:
Brooke Rossi 202-483-7382

A PETA ad reminding motorists that meat and dairy are driving obesity rates has been deemed not “classy” enough to be seen by visitors to California’s Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) offices. The ad, available here, shows a man with his stomach hanging over his belt next to the words “Lose the Spare Tire: Go Vegan.” The ad comes as California’s obesity rate has sprung into overdrive at 24.2 percent—up from 18.7 percent in 2000 and 9.9 percent in 1990—and points out that vegans are, on average, 10 to 20 pounds lighter than their meat- and dairy-eating counterparts.

“The DMV could have helped drivers steer their health in the right direction by promoting healthy, slenderizing vegan meals,” says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. “PETA reminds everyone that delicious vegetables, grains, beans, nuts, and fruits are high-octane fuel for your body and make it easy to go the extra mile on life’s highway.”

According to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, among other dietary experts, vegans are far less prone to obesity, heart disease, cancer, and diabetes than meat-eaters are. In addition, going vegan spares more than 100 animals every year daily suffering and a terrifying death in today’s industrialized meat, egg, and dairy industries, and the United Nations has concluded that a global shift toward vegan meals is vital if we are to combat the worst effects of climate change.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—notes that millions of people make the easy switch to meat-free meals every year, and to make it even easier, the group offers a free vegan starter kit full of recipes, tips, and more.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.