Smithfield Plaintiffs to Get Vegan Pork Present From PETA

$473.5 Million Awarded in Lawsuit Over Farm Waste—Now, PETA Piles on With Sham Ham, Soy Cracklins, a Vegan Pork Cookbook and Other Savory Vegan Pig-Out Presents to Plaintiffs

For Immediate Release:
August 7, 2018

Contact:
Brooke Rossi 202-483-7382

In the latest lawsuit against Smithfield Foods over the waste generated by its subsidiary’s filthy North Carolina pig prisons, the jury has awarded a whopping $473.5 million to the plaintiffs—and PETA is adding to it by sending gift baskets of bacon-flavored vegan jerky, sham ham, barbecue soy cracklins, and a vegan pork cookbook, Baconish, to each one of the plaintiffs, along with a plea to them not to eat any more pigs or pig parts, as all of them come from houses of horror like the ones in their neighborhood.

In the letters accompanying the presents, PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—encourages recipients to combat factory farm filth and cruelty by leaving the unlucky animals off their plates.

“Smithfield’s neighbors are familiar with the stench of cesspools on pig prison farms,” says 40-year vegan and PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. “PETA is encouraging these victorious litigants to keep this disgusting and cruel industry out of everyone’s backyard and let pigs live.”

For more information, please visit PETA.org.

PETA’s letter to the plaintiffs in the Smithfield case follows.

August 7, 2018

I’m writing on behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and our more than 6.5 million members and supporters worldwide to congratulate you on your win against notorious Smithfield Foods, whose greedy and cruel practices have caused immense suffering in the Pender County community. Since you’re fed up with the stench of meat production, we’re sending along delicious vegan pork products to show that the best way to move forward is to eat healthy, delicious vegan food.

Meat stinks. Top public-health experts have been issuing warnings for years that the meat industry’s practices—including forcing tens of thousands of animals to live inside cramped and filthy crates, pens, or sheds in which their urine and feces collect beneath them or is channeled into stinking outdoor waste lakes—lead to devastating human illnesses. As pigs on North Carolina’s farms produce about 10 billion gallons of feces and urine ever year, flies can also become a significant problem, spreading bacteria from one area to another. On most of today’s factory farms, the tails of pigs are chopped off, their teeth are cut with pliers, and males are castrated—all without painkillers. At the slaughterhouse, they’re hung upside down—sometimes while they’re still conscious—and bled out.

We’re sending along packages of Louisville Vegan Jerky Co.’s Maple Bacon Vegan Jerky, May Wah’s Vegan Ham, Snacklins’ Barbeque Cracklins, and a vegan pork cookbook, Baconish, to celebrate your victory and show that we can all enjoy the foods that we love—but without cruelty to animals, environmental devastation, and cholesterol. By eating vegan food, Pender County residents can prevent immense suffering and help keep this disgusting and cruel industry out of everyone’s backyard.

Sincerely,

Danielle Katz

Director

PETA