**Update! PETA replaced the billboard…but is the replacement any better? Jennifer Nicole weighs in here.
Hey PETA! We heard about your new ad campaign.
We also heard about your press statement (given by Ashley Byrne, a senior campaigner for PETA, to the Huffington Post) when legitimate news sources all over the country reported on the outrage:
“Our goal is help overweight Jacksonville residents – the best way to do that is to go vegetarian. We’re not trying to insult anyone. [...] If the billboard is shocking, hopefully it will gets people’s attention, and help them improve quality of life for themselves and their families… it’s designed to help people.”
And, in turn, we have a response: Bullshit.
PETA’s campaigning tactics are often shady, underhanded and over-the-top, and this campaign is no different. The billboard is all about shaming people into desperation to sell their product (in this case vegetarianism) without giving credence to health, overall lifestyle, and safe practices. This has nothing to do with helping people.
What’s more, these billboards are centered in Florida – the swimsuit-wearing, body-scrutinizing capitol of the country. Was that just a coincidence, PETA?
I’m all for unhealthy people putting down the fork, but that fork could just as easily hold a cheese-slathered baked potato (or Häagen-Dazs, or funnel cake, or pizza, or syrup-covered waffles) as it could a medium-rare steak, and shaming someone into weight loss is one of the fastest ways to destroy their self worth and whatever healthy habits they have, in favor of a smaller body and starvation diets.
And what about those that have PCOS, metabolic disorders or other diseases that cause an inability to lose weight? Is their shame at seeing these billboards merely a sad side effect when curing the world of its meat-eating ways?
Thanks, PETA, for reminding us just how far you’ll go to sell your agenda. I hope that this target audience – you know, those whales – see your ad and choose to eat more healthily…and I hope that, just as often as they choose a salad, they also choose a steak*.
**Update! PETA replaced the billboard…but is the replacement any better? Jennifer Nicole weighs in here.
*An organic steak from a locally-raised cow that hasn’t been stuffed with antibiotics, of course. I am a fan of conscious living.
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This angered me too when I saw it yesterday. For the simple fact that I know of A LOT of vegetarians — even vegans — who are STILL overweight, even with their meatless diets. So slamming vegetarianism in someone’s face isn’t likely to solve the problem. Especially if it means that they can eat potato chips for breakfast, lunch, & dinner. So while I can understand the direction they were going in, I can’t respect their approach, because it’s not accurate.
.-= Ev`Yan || apricot tea.´s last blog ..apricot’s closet: stripes & drop-crotch pants. =-.
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Posted by Ev`Yan || apricot tea. | August 18, 2009, 11:26 am“I hope that this target audience – you know, those whales – see your ad and choose to eat more healthily…and I hope that, just as often as they choose a salad, they also choose a steak*.
*An organic steak from a locally-raised cow that hasn’t been stuffed with antibiotics, of course. I am a fan of conscious living.”
Hell, effing yes.
**Aside: I am a fan of cows getting antibiotics in their lifetime, so long as it’s to treat legitimate injuries or common illnesses in their life. I like small & local farmers not to suffer because they’re treating their cows well. That’s not stuffing them, though. /off topic
.-= Ashe Mischief´s last blog ..IFB Presents: Links a la Mode =-.
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Jennifer Nicole Reply:
August 18th, 2009 at 11:42 am
Ashe: I totally agree. The antibiotic-stuffing is often done with milk cows: they get sick, and farmers load them up with antibiotics and keep them on the milking line. Organic milk requires that sick cows be taken off the line and come back to health before they’re milked again.
That’s what *really* turned me off to antibiotics in beef products and by-products.
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Posted by Ashe Mischief | August 18, 2009, 11:26 amJust by going vegitarian doesn’t make someone healthy. and I love how they admitted they basically did this just for attention.
.-= eyeliah´s last blog ..Lets Get On With This =-.
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Posted by eyeliah | August 18, 2009, 11:32 amAhhhhhhh I hate PETA. They’ve also done racist and sexist advertising in the past (one of the incidents, I vaguely remember, was two girls making out in front of a vegetarian billboard. yeah. because lesbians are only attention attracting ornaments!). They make all vegetarians and vegans just look insane.
.-= Michelle´s last blog ..New in the shop! =-.
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Posted by Michelle | August 18, 2009, 11:48 amI am a vegan and I appreciate a lot of the work that PETA and other rescue and animal welfare groups do. I even understand their mindset – they will do anything and go to any lenghts to ensure that animals are protected and to get their message face time. I actually share this mindset. If I had to defend one of my animals or speak up against animals being hurt, used or abused, not matter the cost, I probably would.
I don’t always agree with they way they send their message. They do try to be shocking. And that shock value is almost necessary. If you saw Super Size Me you know how much money is spent by the dairy industry, the beef industry, agricultural companies, fast food companies and more. Without being shocking it would be hard to get the exposure anywhere NEAR what the “other” side pays for.
Some of their campaigns are going to fail, as in this case, because they are aimed at people personally. Some I think are more strategically sound. In this case, you are all correct – just because you don’t eat meat or animal secretions doesn’t mean you are going to be skinny or healthy.
I will still support PETA (as well as other groups) because I feel they do many other great things to help animals. They do alot of the hard work – going undercover to expose abuses, putting together lists of what companies test on animals and great vegetarian starter kits and recipes. But I will also try to be the type of (vegan) person who exemplifies the joy and compassion and peace that I feel by aligning my eating and lifestyle habits with my beliefs. I don’t have to contribute to the death or suffering of any animal*.
*Any animal meat or product you buy anywhere is going to have abuses connected to it. Marketing terms like free-range, etc. are just – that marketing speak to make you feel good about what you are buying and have no validity. Plus, even if they are local, grass fed, etc., you are still killing an animal or confining an animal just to eat it. Something that is not physically necessary.
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Posted by Princess Poochie | August 18, 2009, 1:31 pmAre you fat? Full-figured? Plus size? If so, PETA wants to save you…because you’re a whale. http://bit.ly/3Sql18 (New at The Demoiselles)
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Posted by Jen | August 18, 2009, 4:16 pmRT @TheDemoiselles: R U fat? Full-figured? Plus size? If so, PETA wants 2 save U…because U’re a whale. http://bit.ly/3Sql18 (Outrage!)
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Posted by lawjick | August 18, 2009, 4:20 pmI think the problem with PETA lies in the fact that they don’t know where the line is. What they do, under normal circumstances, is good. I like the fact that they’re getting word out about animal mistreatment. But this?
Listen, I’m a vegetarian. I have been for eight years and while I did go veg for weight reasons, it’s not the ideal “diet” for people and it shouldn’t be marketed as such. It is, however, a lifestyle. It works for some, not for others… and this is the wrong way to get people on board.
Sorry, PETA, you’re wrong on this one.
.-= Jaime´s last blog ..Denim Deal of the Day: Men’s Edition =-.
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Posted by Jaime | August 18, 2009, 4:28 pmi’m totally over peta and i have been for quite some time.
.-= thefatandskinny´s last blog ..Start Spreading The News… =-.
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Posted by thefatandskinny | August 18, 2009, 4:32 pmRT @TheDemo\iselles: Fat? Full-figured? Plus size? If so, PETA wants to save you, you’re a whale. http://bit.ly/3Sql18 (Article Outrage!)
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Posted by lmpenner | August 18, 2009, 5:10 pmArticle Outrage: Save the Whales, Screw the Rest of Us | The …: “Our goal is help overweight Jacksonville resi.. http://bit.ly/195C0
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Posted by Casey RawAndFit | August 18, 2009, 5:48 pmThis is not provocative, just cruel. Speaking as someone who gained 30 pounds on a necessary medication then lost it when I went off the meds (without any dietary changes), I wait for the day when the medical community will admit that not everyone who is overweight overeats or is inactive. And I’m SICK of society equating overweight with lazy, fat and stupid.
This pisses me off. I think I’ll eat a big steak tomorrow.
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Elle Reply:
August 18th, 2009 at 9:05 pm
ATTA GIRL! I’m glad that we have a community of conscious, strong women who can see through the BS!
.-= Elle´s last blog ..Article Outrage: Save the Whales, Screw the Rest of Us =-.
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Posted by Lisa | August 18, 2009, 8:36 pm@thecoveted Yay for blogher! I posted about it this morning too at @TheDemoiselles: http://bit.ly/3Sql18 The whole ‘verse is in an uproar!
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Posted by Jen | August 18, 2009, 9:24 pmEating a “big steak” in revenge or retribution doesn’t punish the PETA peole. It is killing a cow. How does that make a positive statement?
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Elle Reply:
August 18th, 2009 at 9:55 pm
It’s not for “revenge or retribution” – it’s because she wants one. And just because PETA says that she shouldn’t have one (even if its ethically raised, etc) does not mean that it’s spiteful or “in your face meat eating”, etc. I was simply applauding her independent thought in the face of exceptionally patronizing advertising.
.-= Elle´s last blog ..Article Outrage: Save the Whales, Screw the Rest of Us =-.
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Elle Reply:
August 18th, 2009 at 10:09 pm
We should be able to applaud independent thought regardless of which way it goes. My commendation of Lisa’s decision does not equate to my disapproval of the opposite decision.
.-= Elle´s last blog ..Article Outrage: Save the Whales, Screw the Rest of Us =-.
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Posted by Poochie | August 18, 2009, 9:28 pmWhy doesn’t PETA do a little bit of research before putting out ridiculous ads like these? I guess that would be asking too much. It’s just that statements in ads like these can easily be rebutted (as they are now and should be) and loses its effectiveness. Plus, it turns me off. I’m all for being healthy and trying to lose my unhealthy eating habits and I have plenty, but I know that I won’t necessarily become healthy if I go vegetarian. All I have to do is look at my friend who inhales an entire cheese pizza in one sitting or my vegan friend who can’t put down her vegan cake. Each of us are unhealthy in our own right and we ain’t skinny minis. Good job, PETA.
.-= Sheena´s last blog ..Breathtaking: Alaïa F/W 09 =-.
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Posted by Sheena | August 19, 2009, 12:04 pmFYI, I’m an animal lover. I rescue dogs and cats and donate my $ and time to animal rescue groups. While I’m not a vegan, I do restrict my purchases to farms where animals are ethically raised.
But I dislike PETA for several reasons:
1) They use celebrity sponsors in protest ads when those same celebrities have no problem wearing leather or buying the latest leather “it” bag.
2) They promote kindness to animals but deny the same to overweight humans by name calling and mocking.
3) They patronize anyone who does not agree 100% with them.
They will gain more respect and win converts if they learn to be authentic and caring for all living creatures.
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Posted by Lisa | August 19, 2009, 3:49 pmThat is absolutely sickening. I can’t even wrap my mind around how a company would think that advertising like that would reach ANYBODY. I’m sure that it must be a huge put-off to vegetarians, too, because there is a lot more to that than getting “skinny” – and, as Ev’Yan pointed out, going veggie isn’t the way to a perfect figure.
It’s stuff like this that makes me so sick. And I’d really, really like to find one person who looked at that billboard and thought, “Hmm. That makes sense! I think I’ll become a vegetarian now!” Seriously. I can’t think of one demographic that wouldn’t be offended by this.
I have little to no respect for anything PETA has done recently. It’s too bad they can’t find a peaceful and non-insulting way to prove their points.
.-= wishcake´s last blog ..on a video blog (AKA: my wicked attempt at using iMovie)… =-.
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Posted by wishcake | August 19, 2009, 8:41 pmAs a vegan I’m so embarassed by PETA! Grrr! They are such assholes.
.-= anardana´s last blog ..Lemon Macadamia Wedding Cake =-.
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Posted by anardana | August 19, 2009, 9:22 pmMe either!! Rt @wishcake I have little to no respect for PETA right now: http://bit.ly/dST2P
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Posted by Michelle | August 20, 2009, 1:54 amI have little to no respect for PETA right now: http://bit.ly/dST2P (via @wishcake) brutal
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Posted by FabBrunette | August 20, 2009, 1:59 amI thought you guys might like this:
http://whatswrittenonmybody.blogspot.com/2009/08/standing-up-to-fat-phobia-peta-style.html
I can see where Princess Poochie is coming from, but I just don’t agree. Human rights are more important to me than animal rights and there is NO excuse for sexism, racism, or sizism, especially when our society already quietly condones those standards. Not to mention, how much money must they spend on these ad campaigns? They could have donated that money to a no-kill shelter or a home for rehabilitated farm animals, but instead they’re using it for shock value that doesn’t bring ANYONE around to their cause. Way to go, PETA.
.-= Michelle´s last blog ..Guest Post at the Demoiselles! =-.
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Posted by Michelle | August 20, 2009, 1:46 pmAnd another good post about racism and sexism via PeTA:
http://www.feministe.us/blog/archives/2009/02/10/peta-racism-goes-into-overload/
I just don’t think what they do is excusable – if it was just THIS ONE TIME, it might not be as big of a deal (though still reprehensible), but it’s a systematic series of sexist, racist campaigns. You know what? Women of all sizes and people of all colors deserve just as much compassion as animals tortured at factory farms.
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Posted by Michelle | August 20, 2009, 2:08 pmThis is a joke, right?
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Posted by MY Fashion Frenzy | August 20, 2009, 4:42 pmFor PETA, women are indispensable, whether they are plus size or slim. They caged bikini-clad slim women to “save chicken”. I labelled it as strip chicks, save chicken.
.-= Freya´s last blog ..Just some quickies =-.
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Posted by Freya | August 20, 2009, 11:38 pmhow about i gained 20 pounds when I became a vegetarian.
this billbord is terrible and degrading.
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Posted by blackediction | August 28, 2009, 7:16 pm