Group of ‘Dinosaurs’ Urge Kochi Residents to Eat Modern, Eat Vegan, Ahead of Earth Day
Ahead of Earth Day (22 April), a group of PETA India supporters wore inflatable dinosaur costumes and held signs reading, “Eat Like It’s the 21st Century! Please Go Vegan!” and “Happy Earth Day!” and urged Kochi residents to do away with animal- derived foods and eat plants —a decision that would help animals, the planet and benefit their health.
Meat, egg, and dairy production is a leading cause of pollution, ocean dead zones, habitat destruction from land use, and species extinction. It uses one-third of the world’s freshwater resources and, by some estimates, creates more greenhouse gas emissions than all the world’s transportation systems combined. Researchers at the University of Oxford found that every person who goes vegan lowers their food-related carbon footprint by up to 73%, making it conceivably the single biggest way to reduce one’s negative impact on the planet.
Vegan eating also helps animals. As PETA India reveals in its video exposé “Glass Walls,” chickens used for eggs are confined to cages so small they cannot even spread a wing. Cows and buffaloes are crammed into vehicles in such large numbers that their bones often break before they’re dragged off to the slaughterhouse, and pigs are stabbed in the heart as they scream. On the decks of fishing boats, fish suffocate or are cut open while they’re still alive. New-born male chicks in the egg industry are ground up, burned, or buried alive since they cannot lay eggs along with other unwanted chicks, while male calves in the dairy industry are commonly abandoned, left to starve, or killed since they cannot produce milk.
Each vegan person spares the lives of up to nearly 200 animals per year. In addition, people who eat vegan reduce their risk of developing heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. Raising animals for food is also a leading cause of water pollution and water and land use, and a United Nations report concluded that a global shift towards vegan eating is necessary to combat the worst effects of the climate catastrophe. PETA India offers a free vegan starter kit for those ready to switch.
