Wendy’s Poultry Push Prompts ‘If COVID-19 Doesn’t Get You, I Might’ Warning Ad in Detroit

PETA Plans to Run ‘Go Vegan’ Ad Blitz During Pandemic Caused by Virus Transmitted to Humans From Confined Animals

For Immediate Release:
May 13, 2020

Contact:
Nicole Meyer 202-483-7382

Following reports that nearly 20% of Wendy’s locations nationwide are pushing chicken as a result of the beef shortage—caused by slaughterhouses shutting down in order to contain outbreaks of COVID-19 among workers—PETA plans to place a billboard near a Wendy’s in Detroit pointing out that a litany of deadly influenza viruses and other diseases originated in chickens.

“As long as animals are confined in their own filth at meat markets and on factory farms, we risk another pandemic,” says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. “PETA is offering free vegan starter kits, free vegan mentor services, and free tips on chicken substitutes to help people stay healthy and put an end to virus hotspots of blood and guts.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warns that approximately 75% of recently emerged infectious diseases affecting humans originated in other animals. PETA (whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”) notes that U.S. factory farms and slaughterhouses are as filthy as China’s “wet markets,” their floors covered with blood, urine, feces, and offal—and a meat shortage doesn’t mean a food shortage, because no one needs to eat meat and the vegan food supply is strong.

Resources on PETA’s website include vegan starter kits and a list of vegan-friendly restaurant chains, many of which are still offering takeout during the pandemic. PETA opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETA.org.