Hopewell Junction Native Leads Protest of Anti-Female ‘Milk Marathon’

For Immediate Release:
November 21, 2024

Contact:
Sara Groves 202-483-7382

On Saturday, November 16, Hopewell Junction native and mother-of-three Shannon Blair led a protest of the dairy industry-funded Every Woman’s Marathon in Savannah, Georgia, to point out the hypocrisy of a women’s race organized by the dairy industry—which systematically sexually assaults female cows and steals their newborn babies so that the milk meant to nourish them can be sold to humans. Accompanied by other women in shirts reading “Milk Marathon: Using Women to Exploit Cows,” 37-year-old Blair delayed the race’s start by dropping  “dead” in front of the starting line. Photos and video footage of the disruption are available here.

Others in the crowd unfurled a banner showing images of the abuse inflicted upon female cows in the dairy industry—including being repeatedly forcibly impregnated, having their beloved calves taken away from them, and being slaughtered once they no longer lactate. A mobile billboard circled the event, showing attendees heartbreaking footage of anguished mother cows chasing after their stolen babies.

“Stealing a mother cow’s baby from her is no more acceptable than if someone kidnapped my children, but that atrocity is business as usual in the disgraceful dairy industry,” says Blair. “This shameful race makes a mockery of female cows’ suffering and exploitation, and we made sure everyone knew it.”

Blair—a vegan for nearly ten years—has felt called to help animals since she was nine years old and watched a video about how they suffer in the food industry. She graduated from Main Street Vegan Academy as a Certified Vegan Lifestyle Coach and Educator and now works as the Plant-Based Community Coordinator for Solid Rock Community School in Florida, one of only two all-vegan schools in the country.  In her role, she teaches students how to become effective activists and how to cook delicious, nutritious vegan meals (some of her own go-to’s include japche noodles, cashew cheese quesadillas, and “clam” linguine made with hearts of palm).

In her current hometown in the Space Coast of Florida, Blair has played a pivotal role in halting the development of two proposed slaughterhouses, and she recently succeeded in saving a pair of chicks who were surrendered to her during a slaughterhouse protest; the birds are now living and thriving at the animal sanctuary on her school’s grounds. In her spare time, Blair and her three children, Evan, Saige Justice, and Rylan Noble, enjoy swimming, cooking, exploring local parks, and visiting animal refuges.

PETA notes that female cows produce milk only when they’re pregnant or nursing, for the same reason human women do—to feed their babies. Given the chance, mother cows form deep bonds with their young. In the dairy industry, cows are repeatedly forcibly inseminated (raped)—workers insert an arm into the cow’s rectum and a metal rod to deliver semen into her vagina. Newborn males are routinely slaughtered for veal, while female calves endure the same fate as their mothers until their bodies wear out and they’re sent to slaughter.

Each person who goes vegan spares nearly 200 animals every year, dramatically shrinks their food-related carbon footprint and slashes their risk of suffering from cancer, heart disease, strokes, diabetes, and obesity. PETA’s free vegan starter kit is filled with tips to help anyone looking to make the switch.

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. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.