Pinkathon Kolkata Went Vegan, Partnered With PETA India in Fight Against Cancer

Posted on April 5, 2019 at 11:52 am by PETA

On World Health Day, more than 3,500 women took to the streets of Kolkata for the city’s third annual Pinkathon, India’s largest women’s run, which raises awareness of breast cancer and other women’s health issues. And this year, the race’s Healthy Eating Partner was PETA India. A 100 per cent vegan menu was served to the runners of the 21K as well as volunteers, government officials, police officers, and other attendees.

At PETA India’s booth, representatives gave away free samples of Nutriva‘s dairy-free buttermilk and Good Dot‘s vegan meat and shared literature explaining how going vegan can help safeguard women’s health. PETA India’s cute “carrot” encouraged runners to use plant power to help reduce the risk of developing cancer.

Pinkathon kolkata peta india vegan marathon 2019

According to a study in the British Journal of Cancer, removing dairy from one’s meals can lower the risk of suffering from breast and ovarian cancers. A study funded by the US National Cancer Institute found that those who ate the most American, cheddar, and cream cheeses were 53 per cent more likely to develop breast cancer, and the Iowa Women’s Health Study found that women who drank more than one glass of milk per day had a 73 per cent greater risk of developing ovarian cancer.

Vegans are also less prone to heart disease, strokes, diabetes, and obesity than meat-eaters are, and going vegan can help protect men’s health as well as women’s. According to the World Health Organization, consuming processed meat is a major contributor to colorectal cancer, and studies have found that people who ate 1.5 eggs per week had almost five times the risk of developing colon cancer as those who ate fewer than 11 eggs per year. A Harvard Physicians’ Health Study also found that men who consumed 2.5 servings of dairy per day were 34 per cent more likely to develop prostate cancer than those who consumed less than half a serving daily.

In addition, vegan meals spare animals immense suffering: as shown in our “Glass Walls” video exposé, cows and buffaloes are crammed into vehicles in such large numbers that their bones often break before they’re dragged off to slaughterhouses, where many are dismembered while they’re still alive. Chickens’ throats are cut while they’re still conscious, 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.