‘Cow’s Milk Is the Pits!’ Ad Goes Up in Time for Indy 500
PETA Points Out That Dairy ‘Products’ Are Bad for Mother Cows, Human Health and Dropping Them Is Even Better for the Environment Than E-Cars
For Immediate Release:
May 21, 2018
Contact:
Audrey Shircliff 202-483-7382
In advance of the Indy 500—and the dairy industry–sponsored milk-drinking event in Victory Lane—PETA has placed a billboard near the Indianapolis Motor Speedway that shows cows standing ankle-deep in their own waste next to the words “Caution: Cow’s Milk Is the Pits! Fuel Up With Soy or Almond Milk.” The ad is located at 1349 W. 16th St., facing west, in Indianapolis.
“The saturated animal fat and cholesterol in cow’s milk are sure to slow anyone down, so having a driver guzzle down a glass of milk is like asking an Olympic athlete to attach a 50-pound weight to his or her feet,” says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. “PETA’s ad encourages all racing fans to do as vegan racing champ Lewis Hamilton does and fuel up with delicious dairy-free beverages.”
When asked in an interview why he went vegan, four-time Formula One World Driver’s Champion Hamilton told the BBC, “The cruelty is horrible and I don’t necessarily want to support that and I want to live a healthier life.”
PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat or abuse in any other way”—notes that the consumption of cow’s milk has been linked to an increased risk of suffering from heart disease and prostate, breast, and ovarian cancer. In contrast, milks made from soy, hemp, almonds, cashews, and other nondairy ingredients are free of harmful saturated animal fat and cholesterol, and some soy milk brands contain 50 percent more calcium than dairy milk.
In addition to being responsible for a huge output of greenhouse-gas emissions, the dairy industry is the cause of tremendous animal suffering. Mother cows are repeatedly forcibly impregnated, and their calves are taken away from them shortly after birth so that their milk can be consumed by humans instead. Females are kept in intensive confinement, sometimes mired in their own waste, and used as milk machines until their bodies give out, at which point they’re slaughtered for cheap meat.
A previous version of the ad, which showed a driver spewing out cow’s milk, was rejected by the billboard company.
For more information, please visit PETA.org.
