‘Grim Reaper’ to Haunt Local Grocery Store

On ‘World Day for the End of Speciesism,’ PETA Will Remind Shoppers That ‘Flesh Foods Are Death Foods,’ Since Pandemics Trace Back to Animal Markets

For Immediate Release:
August 28, 2020

Contact:
Megan Wiltsie 202-483-7382

To mark World Day for the End of Speciesism tomorrow as the world battles the deadly COVID-19 pandemic, which is believed to have originated in a meat market—and because slaughterhouses are recognized as virus hot spots—PETA is sending a “Grim Reaper” to haunt a local Giant Eagle grocery store to urge shoppers to increase their chances for a long and happy life by going vegan. “Speciesism” is the archaic belief that humans are superior to all other animals and makes people think it’s OK to confine them on filthy factory farms and then send them to slaughterhouses.

When:    Saturday, August 29, 12 noon

Where:    Outside Giant Eagle, 5550 Centre Ave. (at the intersection with S. Negley Avenue), Pittsburgh

“All animals, humans included, want to live and experience happiness, and going vegan is a vote for life—theirs and ours,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA is asking shoppers to push their carts right past the meat aisle, for animals’ sake and their own.”

The novel coronavirus is believed to have originated in a Chinese “wet market,” where live and dead animals are sold for human consumption; swine flu began on a U.S. factory farm; and other influenza viruses have been traced to chickens. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns that approximately 75% of recently emerged infectious diseases affecting humans originated in other animals.

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