Cory Booker, Norman Rockwell, and Free Vegan Roasts? PETA Brings ‘ThanksVegan’ to Town!

For Immediate Release:
November 19, 2021

Contact:
Brooke Rossi 202-483-7382

Newark, N.J. –

Now that 47% of Americans want to incorporate more vegan foods into their meals, this Thanksgiving is poised to be the most vegan one in history—and PETA is marking the occasion by plastering city bus stops with a modern twist on Norman Rockwell’s famous painting “Freedom From Want,” featuring New Jersey’s own famously vegan Cory Booker. The painting by “artivist” Nikkolas Smith shows the senator enjoying a delicious “ThanksVegan” meal alongside Ava DuVernay, Jermaine Dupri, Tabitha Brown, and a bevy of other prominent vegans— and to help his constituents enjoy a bird-friendly holiday themselves, PETA will hand out free Gardein holiday roasts on Saturday:

When: Saturday, November 20, 12 noon

Where: Outside Whole Foods, 633 Broad St., Newark

“When people realize that turkeys love their families, feel pain and fear, and value their lives, they’re eager to put a Tofurky on the table,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA offers recipes, shopping tips, and more so that everyone can enjoy an all-American ThanksVegan meal that leaves gentle birds in peace.”

Turkeys can live up to 10 years, but those raised for food are usually slaughtered when they’re babies—between 12 and 26 weeks old—and a recent PETA exposé of Plainville Farms (a supplier to Wegmans) caught workers kicking, stomping on, and beating turkeys sold by companies with “humanely raised” labels.

Major grocery chains across the country—including Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, and Target—are showcasing vegan holiday fare, and everyone can find delectable holiday recipes in PETA’s ThanksVegan menu guide.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.

PETA’s painting appears on bus stops at the following locations:

1048 Broad St. (two shelters at this location)
1191 Raymond Blvd.
63 Market St.
29 Springfield Ave.
847 Broad St.
678 Broad St.
61 Rte. 510
773 Broad St.
798 Broad St.

Note: PETA supports animal rights, opposes all forms of animal exploitation, and provides the public with information about those issues. PETA does not directly or indirectly participate or intervene in any political campaign on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate for public office or any political party.