Lent Observers: ‘I’m ME, Not MEAT,’ Proclaims Fish in New PETA Ads

Bus Ads Near Top Catholic University Urge Compassion for All God’s Creatures by Going Vegan for Lent

For Immediate Release:
February 7, 2018

Contact:
Audrey Shircliff 202-483-7382

Just in time for Lent—and because Fairfield University is one of the top-ranked Catholic colleges in the country—PETA is placing ads on Fairfield buses, encouraging Catholics and all others to keep animals, including fish, off their plates, both during and after the 40-day period of Lent. The ads, available here, show a fish’s face next to the words “I’m ME, Not MEAT. Go Vegan for Lent.”

“Just as humans do, fish feel pain and fear, have unique personalities, value their own lives, and deserve our compassion,” says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. “PETA’s ads urge everyone to protect animals from hell on Earth and choose merciful vegan meals during Lent and beyond.”

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—notes that more fish are killed for food each year than all other animals combined, yet they have no legal protection from abuse. Fish slowly suffocate or are crushed to death when they’re dragged from the oceans in huge nets, and the throats and stomachs of those who survive are cut open on the decks of fishing boats.

Vegan meals spare other animals suffering, too: In today’s meat and dairy industries, chickens’ throats are cut while they’re still conscious, piglets are castrated without painkillers, and mother cows are separated from their beloved babies shortly after birth. Vegans are also less prone to suffering from heart disease, obesity, cancer, and diabetes than meat-eaters are.

PETA offers easy vegan meal plans (available here and here) for people who go vegan for Lent, as well as a free vegan starter kit full of recipes, tips, and more.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.