Will Melania Trump Pass Out Vegan Candy at Easter Egg Roll?

PETA Urges the First Lady to Include Dairy-Free Kids in Festivities

For Immediate Release:
March 6, 2018

Contact:
Audrey Shircliff 202-483-7382

Today, PETA sent a letter to first lady Melania Trump—who has made anti-bullying her platform sworn off wearing fur—encouraging her to pass out creamy and delicious nondairy candies at the White House’s Easter Egg Roll so that all children, including those who avoid dairy “products” for health or ethical reasons, can enjoy the festivities.

“Children have a natural affinity for animals, so they’d be horrified to learn that calves are babies themselves when they’re torn away from their distraught mothers on dairy farms,” says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. “PETA is encouraging Mrs. Trump to show cows and kids a little kindness by handing out sweet nondairy treats at this year’s Easter Egg Roll.”

PETA’s motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat.” For more information, please visit PETA.org.

PETA’s letter to Melania Trump follows.

Dear Mrs. Trump,

I’m writing on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and our more than 6.5 million members and supporters worldwide. We appreciate and support your anti-bullying message—a big project of ours, too.

As one mother to another, may I ask you to do something special for all children who will attend this year’s Easter Egg Roll? You’ve said that no child should feel “isolated,” but some who are lactose intolerant or won’t drink milk because they love cows and know these animals miss the calves taken away from them on dairy farms feel isolated from other children because they eat only nondairy Easter candy. Would you please include them in the fun?

Cows produce milk only during and after pregnancy, so they’re artificially inseminated to force them to keep producing milk, and their calves are taken away right after birth. The mother-calf bond is very strong, and there are countless reports of mother cows who frantically call and search for their babies long after they’ve been taken away.

Most farmed cows today suffer from a painful udder infection called mastitis, which is exacerbated by the filthy conditions they live in and the growth hormones that farmers give them so that they’ll pump out milk like machines, not mammals.

As you may know, approximately 65 percent of the population suffers from lactose intolerance, and milk allergies are the most common food allergy in children. To help these children (and animals), will you please give out dairy-free candies at the Easter event? Doing so would allow all children—including those who don’t eat dairy “products” for health, ethical, or other reasons—to enjoy treats this year.

We’d be happy to send over samples and suggestions for vegan candies for you to try, such as Moo Free chocolate eggs and Lagusta’s Luscious cream eggs. We wish you and your family a very happy Easter and look forward to hearing back.

Sincerely,

Tracy Reiman
Executive Vice President