PETA’s ‘Go 100% Vegan’ Message Heads to Hormel’s Boardroom
For Immediate Release:
January 25, 2021
Contact:
Nicole Meyer 202-483-7382
“When will Hormel spare animals, protect human health, and meet rising consumer demand by producing only vegan meats?” That’s the question a PETA representative will ask the company’s executives at its virtual annual meeting tomorrow.
PETA purchased stock in Hormel—which already produces vegan brand Happy Little Plants—early in the COVID-19 pandemic. The group notes that the novel coronavirus originated in a Chinese “wet market,” where live and dead animals are sold for human consumption; swine flu began on a U.S. factory farm; and other deadly influenza viruses have been traced to chickens. The filthy, crowded conditions and frenzied line speeds in slaughterhouses make virus transmission nearly unavoidable—tens of thousands of slaughterhouse workers have tested positive for COVID-19, and hundreds have died from it.
The cost of raising animals for meat is rising, while the demand for vegan meats is skyrocketing, and the market is predicted to be worth more than $4.15 billion by 2026.
“PETA is urging Hormel to save animals, protect its profits, and help prevent future pandemics by becoming a 100% vegan company,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “With its experience producing Happy Little Plants, Hormel is perfectly positioned to make the switch and lead the meat industry into a vegan future.”
PETA has also purchased stock in Tyson, Sanderson Farms, Maple Leaf Foods, Kraft Heinz (parent company of Oscar Mayer), and Chinese-owned WH Group (owner of Smithfield Foods) to urge them to switch to producing vegan meats.
PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—opposes speciesism, which is a human-supremacist worldview that fosters violence toward other animals. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.
