Cows’ Milk or California? PETA Holds Newsom’s Feet to the Fire, Demands End to Animal Ag Subsidies Burning California

For Immediate Release:
January 10, 2025

Contact:
Sara Groves 202-483-7382

As historic wildfires rage through Los Angeles, PETA today sent an urgent letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom along with a box of matches featuring a pointed message: Issue an executive order ending California’s mindless handouts to the planet-killing meat and dairy industries, or he might as well be lighting the match himself that will burn down the rest of the Golden State.

PETA points out that the meat and dairy industries are causing the climate crisis and the natural disasters—including these wildfires—that come with it, yet in California alone, they have collected more than $1.112 billion in taxpayer dollars from government subsidies in the last 30 years.

California is the country’s top dairy-producing state, pumping out 20% of the nation’s supply of cows’ milk—and emissions from dairy and other animal-exploiting industries more than offset the minimal good done by the sales of zero-emission vehicles that Newsom is so proud to promote.

“While people lose their homes, you’re propping up the very well-financed industries that are killing our precious state,” writes PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman, a Los Angeles resident who has been forced to evacuate her home this week. “Animal agriculture may be gasoline, but you are holding the match as long as California has dairy and meat subsidies.”

Multiple studies show that the climate catastrophe has led to an increase in the frequency and severity of wildfires—and pollution, deforestation, and greenhouse gas emissions from meat, egg, and dairy production are among its worst drivers. Methane emitted by cows is 80 times more powerful at warming the Earth than carbon dioxide, and the massive amount of water used in animal agriculture contributes to the dry conditions that allow wildfires to spread.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness and free vegan starter kits for anyone thinking of making the switch. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.

PETA’s letter to Newsom follows.

January 10, 2025

The Honorable Gavin Newsom

Governor of California

Dear Governor Newsom:

As a Los Angeles resident who is watching while my city burns, I’m writing on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals—PETA entities have more than 9 million members and supporters worldwide—letting you know that a custom matchbox is on its way with an urgent request: Please issue an executive order to end dairy and meat subsidies in California immediately. Though we appreciate your efforts to promote cars that don’t burn gas, what sense does it make if people who can afford electric vehicles are driving right past the real problem on the 5 – the massive, stinking, cruel feedlots that are causing the climate crisis before our very eyes? While people lose their homes, you’re propping up the very well-financed industries that are killing our precious state.

Let me explain again: Loading the grill with animal flesh topped with globs of cheese means firing up the planet, too, and California is getting charred. The warming planet drives extreme fires by increasing heat, worsening droughts, and drying vegetation, turning it into fuel. Greenhouse gases trap heat, creating more frequent and severe wildfires. Animal agriculture produces more greenhouse gas emissions than all the world’s transportation systems combined, according to some estimates. California is the country’s top dairy-producing state, pumping out one-fifth of the nation’s supply of cow’s milk.

As the mercury rises, so does extreme weather. The number of climate-related disasters has tripled in just the last 30 years. And the Earth is warming at an unprecedented rate, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The good news? Eliminating animal-derived products from our diet can reduce everyone’s food carbon footprint by 73%. And the United Nations has stated that a global shift toward vegan food is vital to combat the worst effects of the climate catastrophe.

Animal agriculture may be gasoline, but you are holding the match as long as California has dairy and meat subsidies. So, the choice is yours: cow’s milk or California? It is really that simple, and it is time to take drastic action.

Thank you for your consideration, and please act quickly.

Sincerely,

Tracy Reiman

Executive Vice President