For Immediate Release:
December 22, 2009
Contact:
Bruce Friedrich 757-622-7382
Washington -- This morning, PETA sent a letter to Pope Benedict XVI commending him for his statement in which he linked world peace to preserving the environment and urging him to lead by example by going vegan and serving only vegan meals in Vatican City, including at the papal residence. The pope's statement for the World Day of Peace, which will be observed on January 1, called for "[moving] beyond a purely consumerist mentality." In the letter, PETA points out that raising animals for food is the leading source of greenhouse-gas emissions, that eating meat, eggs, and dairy products has been conclusively linked to leading killer diseases, and that meat production has a more devastating impact on the environment than any other human activity.
"The pope was right when he said that humans consume too much, but in particular, people consume too much meat," says PETA Vice President Bruce Friedrich. "The best thing that anyone can do for the environment--not to mention for animals and their own health--is to go vegan."
For more information, please visit PETA .org or PETA's blog.
PETA's letter to Pope Benedict XVI follows.
December 21, 2009
His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI
Apostolic Palace
Vatican City
Most Holy Father,
On behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and our more than 2 million members and supporters worldwide, we applaud your strong exhortations for environmental protection, and we urge you to consider the fact that the most effective action an individual can take to fight climate change is to go vegan (which means not consuming poultry, fish, meat, eggs or dairy products).
In light of the overwhelming scientific evidence showing that human consumption of animal products is degrading the environment, we urge you to go vegan and only serve vegan meals in Vatican City and at all Papal events.
As you may know, in the groundbreaking 408-page report, Livestock's Long Shadow, UN scientists concluded that raising animals for food generates more greenhouse-gas emissions than all the cars, trucks, ships, SUVs and planes in the world combined. The report also points out that the meat industry is "one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global". A 2009 report by long-time World Bank agricultural scientists contended that the total greenhouse-gas emissions of animal agriculture are far higher than the UN reported. According to these scientists, raising animals for food constitutes a majority - 51 per cent - of global greenhouse-gas emissions. The official handbook for the global Live Earth concerts, which Al Gore helped organise, states that not eating meat is the "single most effective thing you can do" to reduce your climate change impact.
Of course, a global shift toward plant-based diets would also have major benefits for humans - vegans have lower rates of heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and cancer than meat-eaters do, and tens of billions of animals would be spared the horrors of being intensively confined on filthy factory farms, mutilated without any pain relief, and slaughtered while still conscious.
Going vegan and serving only vegan meals at the Vatican would help ensure a bright future for all. Please don't hesitate to contact me to discuss this further. Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Bruce Friedrich
Vice President
December 22, 2009
Contact:
Bruce Friedrich 757-622-7382
Washington -- This morning, PETA sent a letter to Pope Benedict XVI commending him for his statement in which he linked world peace to preserving the environment and urging him to lead by example by going vegan and serving only vegan meals in Vatican City, including at the papal residence. The pope's statement for the World Day of Peace, which will be observed on January 1, called for "[moving] beyond a purely consumerist mentality." In the letter, PETA points out that raising animals for food is the leading source of greenhouse-gas emissions, that eating meat, eggs, and dairy products has been conclusively linked to leading killer diseases, and that meat production has a more devastating impact on the environment than any other human activity.
"The pope was right when he said that humans consume too much, but in particular, people consume too much meat," says PETA Vice President Bruce Friedrich. "The best thing that anyone can do for the environment--not to mention for animals and their own health--is to go vegan."
For more information, please visit PETA .org or PETA's blog.
PETA's letter to Pope Benedict XVI follows.
December 21, 2009
His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI
Apostolic Palace
Vatican City
Most Holy Father,
On behalf of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) and our more than 2 million members and supporters worldwide, we applaud your strong exhortations for environmental protection, and we urge you to consider the fact that the most effective action an individual can take to fight climate change is to go vegan (which means not consuming poultry, fish, meat, eggs or dairy products).
In light of the overwhelming scientific evidence showing that human consumption of animal products is degrading the environment, we urge you to go vegan and only serve vegan meals in Vatican City and at all Papal events.
As you may know, in the groundbreaking 408-page report, Livestock's Long Shadow, UN scientists concluded that raising animals for food generates more greenhouse-gas emissions than all the cars, trucks, ships, SUVs and planes in the world combined. The report also points out that the meat industry is "one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global". A 2009 report by long-time World Bank agricultural scientists contended that the total greenhouse-gas emissions of animal agriculture are far higher than the UN reported. According to these scientists, raising animals for food constitutes a majority - 51 per cent - of global greenhouse-gas emissions. The official handbook for the global Live Earth concerts, which Al Gore helped organise, states that not eating meat is the "single most effective thing you can do" to reduce your climate change impact.
Of course, a global shift toward plant-based diets would also have major benefits for humans - vegans have lower rates of heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and cancer than meat-eaters do, and tens of billions of animals would be spared the horrors of being intensively confined on filthy factory farms, mutilated without any pain relief, and slaughtered while still conscious.
Going vegan and serving only vegan meals at the Vatican would help ensure a bright future for all. Please don't hesitate to contact me to discuss this further. Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Bruce Friedrich
Vice President
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