For Immediate Release:
12 May 2003
Contact:
Poorva Joshipura (0) 98201 22602, PoorvaJ@PETA.org
Mumbai — It’s not always easy to tell whether comedian
Devang Patel is serious or joking, but there’s no missing the
meaning of his brand-new ad for People for the Ethical Treatment of
Animals (PETA), the largest animal rights organization in the world.
Shot by ace photographer Dabboo Ratnani, the ad shows Devang—a
lifelong vegetarian—grimacing as he holds a chicken drumstick
at arm’s length, under the tagline, ‘Meat Stinks! Go Veg!’.
A copy of the ad and footage from the shoot can be seen on PETA’s
Web site PETAIndia.com.
Devang has brought joy into the lives of millions
of his fans with his comic videos and outlandish
lyrics put to popular tunes. Now he hopes to spread
some of that happiness to the lives of animals, who
suffer by the billions as more and more Indians adopt
the unhealthy, environment-damaging meat-laden eating
habits of Western cultures.
‘
It’s a wacky ad about a serious issue,’ says
Devang, who shot to fame with his rendition of the
song ‘Meri Marzi’. ‘Sometimes humour
is the best way to get people thinking about a serious
message like how animals suffer for their dinner.’
From vegetarian burgers served in the White House
to vegetable curry, which has replaced roast beef
as the most popular food in Britain—millions
of people worldwide are making the switch to vegetarianism
as they recognise the cruelty involved in meat production,
the link between meat-eating and the burgeoning rates
of certain diseases and meat production’s impact
on the environment. In the US alone, more than 1
million people make the switch to a meat-free diet
every year.
Unfortunately, while the Western trend is moving
towards vegetarianism, developing countries are now
seeing the results of increased meat consumption.
India now has the highest rate of coronary heart
disease in its history and is expected to have the
highest rate in the world by 2020. Increased cardiovascular
illnesses are blamed largely on the ‘wide adoption
of the high-fat, hamburger-lifestyle’. Meat
consumption is also linked to diabetes and certain
cancers. India is the world leader in diabetes.
While European nations like the UK and Germany are
beginning to clamp down on factory farms because
of their devastating effects on human health, the
environment and animal welfare, animals in India
are increasingly raised on cruel factory farms, where
they are treated like machines. Chickens spend their
brief lives in crowded conditions; many of them so
cramped that they can't even turn around or spread
a wing. Many do not get a breath of fresh air until
they are prodded and crammed onto lorries for a nightmarish
ride to the abattoir, often through suffocatingly
hot weather and always without food or water. The
animals are hung upside down and their throats are
sliced open, often while they are fully conscious.
India is Asia’s most polluted country. Intensive
animal farming and abattoirs foul water with blood
and animal excreta, which contains nitrates, antibiotics,
parasites, heavy metals and pesticides. Untreated
waste is often dumped into streams and rivers and
seeps into groundwater. Many villagers have reported
that blood from nearby abattoirs spills out of the
hand pumps they depend on for drinking water.
Poorva Joshipura, PETA’s director of Asian
Campaigns who has conducted numerous investigations
of abattoirs in India, explains how meat in India
literally stinks, ‘Most animals in India are
killed in nauseatingly smelly abattoirs awash with
blood, guts, urine and feces. Many of these facilities
hardly have access to water and are rarely, if ever,
cleaned. Hardly any meat in India is ever rejected
by so-called “inspectors” for public
consumption no matter how diseased the animal or
filthy the flesh. People who consume this meat would
probably be better off licking public toilets.’
Devang joins a growing number of Indian celebrities
who are vegetarians, including Amitabh Bachchan,
Hema Malini, John Abraham, Yana Gupta, Juhi Chawla,
Mahima Chaudhary, R Madhavan and Anil Kumble. They
know the best and easiest thing to do for their health
and for animals is to stop eating meat. Many Western
stars have jumped on the veggie bandwagon as well.
Sir Paul McCartney, Martina Navratilova, Kim Basinger,
Pamela Anderson, Alec Baldwin, India Arie, Joaquin
Phoenix, Moby, Angela Bassett, First family favourite
Lauren Bush, Jude Law and NBA star Anthony Peeler
are just a few of the famous faces that are choosing
veggies over animal flesh.
For more information, please visit PETAIndia.com.
