Pinky Cole and PETA Team Up to Fight for Food Justice
For Immediate Release:
September 30, 2021
Contact:
Moira Colley 202-483-7382
The fight against food deserts never tasted so good! On Monday, Slutty Vegan restaurateur Pinky Cole will dish up free vegan Buffalo chicken and bratwurst sandwiches at Charles L. Harper Memorial Park to kick off PETA’s new Food Justice Campaign, which calls on the government to redirect meat, egg, and dairy industry subsidies as incentives for grocers in low-income areas to stock fresh fruits, vegetables, and other healthy, humane vegan foods.
When: Monday, October 4, 3 p.m.
Where: Charles L. Harper Memorial Park, 61 Joseph E. Lowery Blvd. N.W., Atlanta
“We’ve made veganism fun and accessible at Slutty Vegan and are all about indulging in the little pleasures life brings,” says Cole. “We want to show that eating plant-based doesn’t have to be boring. With lines down the block at each of our locations, we’re honored to bring good, kinder food to Atlanta and are grateful for PETA taking up this issue on a national level.”
The U.S. government spends about $38 billion in tax money each year to subsidize the meat, egg, and dairy industries—the vast majority of which goes to big corporations, not American farmers—while only about $17 million is used to subsidize the fruit and vegetable industries. There are more than 35 food deserts in the metro Atlanta area, and prior to the outbreak of COVID-19, one in eight Georgia residents reported experiencing food insecurity, a statistic now exacerbated by the pandemic.
“Many families in food deserts have few grocery options beyond the unhealthy processed meat and packaged snacks at the local corner store,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA is calling on local, state, and government agencies to stop propping up the cruel meat, dairy, and egg industries and instead redirect those funds to provide healthy vegan food in underserved communities.”
At Monday’s event, PETA will also give away its new vegan meal starter kits (green grocery bags stuffed with vegan recipes, tofu, soup mix, fresh vegetables, and fruits). Stocking stores in food deserts with healthy vegan foods like these would save animals’ lives; help vulnerable communities reduce their rates of cancer, heart disease, and diabetes; benefit slaughterhouse employees, many of whom are immigrants who could lose their jobs if they report unsafe working conditions; and help the planet, given that animal agriculture is responsible for nearly one-fifth of human-induced greenhouse-gas emissions.
PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.
