‘Be a “Veggiesaurus,”’ PETA Prods Dinosaur Bar-B-Que Diners
For Immediate Release:
June 9, 2023
Contact:
Sara Groves 202-483-7382
This barbecue season, PETA is calling on diners in the city known for its Dinosaur Bar-B-Que restaurant to embrace “Veggiesaur Bar-B-Que,” with a new campaign reminding everyone that vegan eating is healthier, it’s better for animals, and it could prevent humans from going the way of the dinosaurs—since animal agriculture is driving the climate catastrophe.
Instead of ordering meaty dishes, hungry patrons at the locally based chain can opt for the BBQ Mushroom Reuben, stuffed with smoked portobello “burnt ends,” tangy onions, and red slaw; the zesty Bar-B-Que Bowl with black beans and rice, mixed greens, toasted pumpkin seeds, and smoked portobello; or the plant-based Bar-B-Que Burger, topped with caramelized BBQ onions, pickles, and smoked plum tomatoes (just hold any toppings or sides with dairy or egg). Diners can also enjoy vegan restaurants in Syracuse, such as Razzle Dazzle, which offers vegan ribs and wings slathered in barbecue sauce, and Strong Hearts, with standouts that include the Wild West Burger, topped with barbecue sauce, tempeh bacon, and French-fried onions on a brioche bun.
“If humans keep reaching for meat, eggs, and dairy, this planet will soon blaze hotter than wood pellets in a smoker,” says PETA Senior Vice President Colleen O’Brien. “PETA is asking everyone to catch up to the 21st century by choosing options that are both kind and delicious, from juicy mushroom Reuben sandwiches to battered cauliflower barbecue wings.”
PETA notes that growing water-intensive crops just to feed animals raised for food consumes more than half the water used in the U.S. and that up to 80% of deforestation in the Amazon is linked to meat production, either for grazing or for growing food for cattle. Animals who are raised for food are crammed into filthy sheds and tiny cages. Pigs’ tails and chickens’ beaks are cut off, and cows’ horns are burned or gouged out without painkillers—and they’re often still conscious when their throats are slit at the slaughterhouse. Each person who goes vegan saves nearly 200 animals a year from daily misery and a terrifying death.
PETA’s campaign will run on 10 buses with routes throughout the city until July.
PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat” and which opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview—offers a free vegan starter kit and recipes for vegan barbecue, such as “pulled pork” jackfruit sliders and BBQ “ribs.” For more information, please visit PETA.org, listen to The PETA Podcast, or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.
