Will Pittsfield Police Scream for Vegan Ice Cream?

PETA Makes Arresting Offer to Serve Up Missing Funds for Ice Cream Truck—if It Dishes Up Nondairy Treats

For Immediate Release:
March 30, 2018

Contact:
Megan Wiltsie 202-483-7382

As the Pittsfield Police Department launches Operation Copsicle—a fundraiser to purchase its own ice cream truck—PETA has an offer to help the department truly serve (nondairy frozen treats) and protect (residents’ health). In a letter sent to the department today, PETA offers to donate the remaining balance needed to purchase the truck if the department agrees to serve only vegan ice cream and place PETA’s “Not Your Mom? Not Your Milk! Choose Vegan” ad on the truck’s side.

“PETA hopes the Pittsfield Police Department scoops up this sweet deal to make its ice cream truck dreams come true without causing any harm to cows or residents’ health,” says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. “By dishing up nondairy treats, Pittsfield Police can serve all residents, including those who have dairy allergies, are lactose intolerant, or care about mother cows and their calves.”

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

PETA’s letter to Michael Wynn, chief of the Pittsfield Police Department, follows.

March 30, 2018

Michael Wynn

Chief of Police

Pittsfield Police Department

Via e-mail: [email protected]

Dear Chief Wynn,

On behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and our more than 6.5 million members and supporters worldwide, including thousands across Massachusetts, I am writing in response to news reports that Pittsfield wants to buy an ice cream truck. As you probably know, a lot of kids are lactose intolerant—as are some adults—and there is growing concern over the separation of mother cows from their calves and other cruel practices in the dairy industry, as well as worries over the environmental impact of factory farming. We have an idea that could make your ice cream truck dream come true, without the flak!

We’d like to donate the remaining balance needed to purchase the truck if you’d agree to serve only vegan ice cream and put our “Not Your Mom? Not Your Milk! Choose Vegan” ad on the side. To sweeten the deal, we’ll also send a starter shipment of So Delicious nondairy ice cream bars. They’re just the ticket to help all residents—including anyone who steers clear of dairy “products” for health, ethical, or religious reasons—beat the heat.

Our ad will protect residents’ health by encouraging them to dump dairy “products,” which are loaded with cholesterol and linked to an increased risk of developing a host of health concerns, including acne, food allergies, bloating, constipation, and ear infections. With an all-vegan ice cream truck, Pittsfield’s residents could also enjoy extremely delicious and healthier frozen desserts.

Like all mammals, cows produce milk only to feed their babies. To take their milk in order to produce ice cream, dairy farms forcibly impregnate mother cows—like the one pictured in our ad—over and over and then take their deeply beloved babies away from them within hours of birth. Tasty nondairy options, such as soy and coconut bars, are widely available and don’t contribute to cruelty.

Considering that 6 percent of Americans now identify as full-on vegans, 75 percent of the world’s population experiences symptoms of lactose intolerance, and 36 percent of U.S. consumers prefer nondairy foods to dairy-based ones, it makes sense to cool the demand for cow’s milk ice cream this summer and serve rich and creamy vegan varieties instead.

We hope to hear that you’ll scoop up our offer. Thank you for your consideration.

Very truly yours,

Ingrid E. Newkirk

President