As anthrax strikes Tamil Nadu, PETA is warning consumers all over India to stay away from meat, reminding them that meat kills.

Meat Is Bad for Our Health
Anthrax, which can be fatal, can be transmitted to humans if they consume products derived from an animal who has the illness. Despite the latest occurrence of anthrax in Tamil Nadu, meat is still being sold to consumers. Moreover, both sporadic cases and outbreaks of anthrax have been reported over recent years in various parts of India, affecting both humans and animals.

Veterinarians are rarely present at live animal markets in Tamil Nadu or elsewhere in India, and when they are present, they almost never take the initiative to identify and confiscate animals for treatment, no matter how severely sick or injured they may be. Veterinarians rarely check animals for health before transport, though law requires it, and they rarely reject any animals for slaughter for human consumption at municipal slaughterhouses, no matter how ill the animal.

And people who consume meat have plenty more to worry about than contracting anthrax and other livestock diseases from animal products. Heart disease, cancer, strokes, diabetes, osteoporosis, obesity and other diseases have all been linked to meat and dairy consumption. According to Dr T. Colin Campbell, nutritional researcher at Cornell University, "The vast majority of all cancers, cardiovascular diseases, and other forms of degenerative illness can be prevented simply by adopting a plant-based diet."

Meat Is Bad for Animals
Cattle and other animals used for meat undergo horrific abuse in meat production. They are crammed into vehicles in such high numbers that they often suffocate, their bones break or many die on the way to the slaughterhouse. Those who survive typically have their throats slit in full view of one another and are often dismembered and skinned while still conscious.

Meat Is Bad for the Environment
Producing meat generates billions of pounds of manure a day, contaminating our rivers and drinking water. The world's cattle, purposely bred to produce milk or to be killed for meat, consume a quantity of food equal to the caloric needs of 8.7 billion people—more than the entire human population. Meanwhile, more than a fifth of India's population suffers from chronic hunger.