Dairy-free cheese giveaway on Saturday to accompany sky-high plea for the planet

(Submitted/PETA)

As rising sea levels put the Outer Banks in jeopardy, this Saturday PETA will send beachgoers the message that animal agriculture is a leading cause of the climate catastrophe with a flying banner that reads, “Getting Hot? So Is the Planet. Go Vegan.” To help everyone “wean” themselves off animal-derived foods, giant inflatable babies will give out free Babybel Plant-Based cheese snacks by the shore and point locals in the direction of vegan-friendly restaurants nearby today, Saturday, August 19, at the intersection of Byrd Street and N. Virginia Dare Trail in Kitty Hawk.

“Raising and killing animals for food drives the climate catastrophe and raises sea levels, shrinking areas of the Outer Banks by several feet every year,” says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. “PETA is asking everyone to secure a future for Kitty Hawk’s coastline with eco-friendly vegan eating.”

According to the United Nations, about a third of all human-caused greenhouse gas emissions are linked to food production and the largest percentage of those emissions come from the meat and dairy industries. PETA notes that growing water-intensive crops just to feed animals raised for food consumes more than half the water used in the U.S. and that up to 80% of deforestation in the Amazon is linked to meat production, either for grazing or for growing food for cattle. Vegan foods—such as fruits and vegetables, whole grains, beans, peas, nuts, and lentils—require less energy, land, and water to produce, and a widespread shift to vegan eating would drastically reduce humans’ negative impact on the environment.

Every person who goes vegan spares nearly 200 animals each year daily suffering and terrifying deaths and reduces their own risk of developing heart disease and cancer. PETA’s free vegan starter kit can help those looking to make the switch.

PETA’s banner will launch at 12 noon and circle Kitty Hawk Beach for two hours.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visitPETA.org, listen to The PETA Podcast, or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.

 

 

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