‘I’m Me, Not Meat’: Turkey And Pig Make Vegan Plea On New Airport Ads

PETA Campaign Urges Holiday Travelers to Opt for Animal-Free Feasts

For Immediate Release:
November 19, 2018

Contact:
Brooke Rossi 202-483-7382

Just in time for the holiday travel season, PETA has placed ads throughout Rapid City Regional Airport, some featuring an inquisitive-looking turkey and others a sad-eyed pig, alongside the words “I’m ME, Not MEAT.” The turkey ad goes on to recommend, “Kids: Ask Your Parents About Going Vegan,” while the one with a pig implores, “See the Individual. Go Vegan.” The ads are part of a series of similar ones being placed in cities across the U.S. leading up to Thanksgiving, including inside an airport in Akron, Ohio, as well as on billboards in Minneapolis, Boston, Las Vegas, Houston, Denver, and Fort Myers, Florida.

The ads debuted on November 12 and will remain in place on Thanksgiving and throughout some of the busiest travel days of the year.

“These ads will inspire people to consider who that Thanksgiving turkey or Christmas ham really is—and that’s a frightened young animal who didn’t want to die,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA is encouraging families to enjoy animal-friendly vegan stews, roasts, and casseroles or time-savers like Field Roast’s Hazelnut Cranberry Roast En Croute.”

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—notes that Americans purchase tens of millions of turkeys and hams for the holidays alone. In nature, turkeys are protective and loving parents as well as spirited explorers who can climb trees and run as fast as 25 mph. Pigs are good-natured, playful, sensitive, social, and smart. When in their natural surroundings, they are affectionate animals who bond with each other, make nests, relax in the sun, and cool off in the mud—and they’ve even been known to sleep in “pig piles,” much as dogs do.

On today’s farms, turkeys and pigs are confined to cramped, filthy warehouses. Turkeys’ upper beaks and parts of their toes are cut off, and pigs’ tails and parts of their teeth are cut off, all without painkillers. The animals are still youngsters when they’re killed: Pigs are just 6 months old on average, while turkeys are only 12 to 26 weeks old. During slaughter, pigs and turkeys are hung upside down and their throats are slit before they’re dumped into a bath of scalding-hot water to remove hair or feathers, often while still conscious.

For more information, including free vegan recipes and a free vegan starter kit, please visit PETA.org.