I stumbled upon this searching for vegetarian recipes, but I was almost offended enough to go eat a turkey sandwich! PETA, the world’s largest animal rights organization, put up a billboard in .jpg)
Jacksonville, Florida depicting an obese woman in her bikini with a call to “Save the Whales. Lose the blubber: Go vegetarian.” Maybe I am being too sensitive, but I was offended by this advertisement. I feel like this implies that overweight people are overweight because they eat meat, further implying that meat is the reason people are fat, which is misleading. I realize PETA has a certain agenda, but I feel this misleads dieters and turns them off to the idea of a vegetarian diet rather than on.
I am fully on board when it comes to decreasing our consumption of meat in this country. I feel that meat is over consumed and that individuals, overweight or not, should make an effort to include more vegetarian meals in their diet. But when PETA comes out with ads like this, however, I feel it makes a vegetarian or largely vegetarian diet look “high and mighty”. It shames people into wanting to lose weight. I feel the snobbery permeating from the billboard and this acts as a road block when it comes to encouraging people to embrace a mostly meat-free lifestyle.
It is also worth mentioning that just because you go vegetarian does not mean the weight will fall off of you. Vegetarians can have just as much difficulty dropping the weight as meat eaters do. Many times when people go vegetarian, they will replace the meat in their diet with more bad food. Instead of having chicken parmesan, they will have eggplant parmesan. Both dishes include a breaded or fried item, lots of cheese and lots of bread which is more than likely not whole wheat! Also, that eggplant acts like a sponge for oil, so it may be possible to take in more calories from the eggplant than the chicken! They also have an added obstacle of having an entire food group proven to be effective for weight loss off limits to them. A vegetarian diet can be a fantastic health choice if done correctly, much like a meat eater’s diet.
In short, I love vegetarian meals and am constantly throwing around the idea of going vegetarian. I am not, however, considering this diet for purposes of weight loss or calorie maintenance. People can be fat or thin regardless of their meat consumption. It is advertisements such as this that gives the people at PETA a bad name.
Comments
I use to support PETA & totally believed in everything it stood for NOT NOW. Animal rights are VERY important and I agree, meat consumption is way out of control, HOWEVER, HUMAN FEELINGS ARE IMPORTANT TOO. I'm not supporting an organization who has now become the BULLY in the school yard picking on the fat kid to prove thier point. PETA should take the money they spend on this "BULLY" type of advertising and donate it to over weight Americans so they can afford to be Vegetarians. Or how about they shut their mouths and GROW veggies to donate to lower income families and homeless shelters. Ever been to a "soup kitchen"? There's hardly ever fresh vegetables donated to these poor people. There is always a better way then to attack another human being and make them feel bad. How can you love animals but not humans? How can you preach compassion yet not show it? You guys have become hypocritical Bullies-SHAME ON YOU !!!!
I'm not offended by the ad. I agree with your viewpoint overall. I know fat vegans and fat vegetarians. I know skinny omnivores. That said, the whole fat-contingent (whatever) is way too sensitive and way too, I don't know, whiny. It's not healthy to be overweight. Period. The ad, yes, is misleading. But I don't hate PETA for it, as you and the other commenter seem to.
Business Skills Examiner... do you know how many deaths have been directly related to just being fat? None. Being fat is a symptom of a bigger problem, like having elevated blood sugar because you eat a high starch diet. Statistically, people who are clinically "overweight" live longer than skinny people. The billboard is offensive and is meant to be. They, along with other government organizations want you to look down on fat people because they're "lazy" when even if they followed the government guidelines for a healthy diet, the would be even worse off. The government recommends you have 300g of carbohydrates a day which equals out to a cup and a half of sugar. If that much sugar entered your blood stream at once it would kill you.
Maybe we do consume too much meat but being a vegetarian has no health benefits to it, people actually end up having more health complications because of it. We're hunter gatherers and need protein to survive, not the substitute, but animal protein.
I say go for it! Animals, humans, the economy, and the earth would be so much off if more people were vegetarians. Weightloss and health is an added bonus. Ditch the hamburger helper.
I thought eating fish was healthy.
Eating fish is healthy, and so is eating chicken and beef. People like Dawn and the woman who wrote the article completly dismiss the fact that we've lived off of animals for our whole existence. How would the world be better off if we all turned vegetarian? People would become flabby balls of fat if that happened, because a vegetarian diet doesn't support any muscle. Not only that but your also cutting out saturated fats, which fuels things like i don't know you brain. And by doing that you're replenishing your cholesterol levels either, which also happens to run some pretty important things in your body like your Nervous System.
But at least you had some reliable information and didn't sound like a cheerleader for becoming vegetarian and not knowing anything... or wait...
If you want heart disease by the time your 50 and to be depressed because your restricting your body from foods it's survived on for forever, that Go Vegetarianism!
Let me start by saying I wrote an article about this ad and I too agree it's untrue and offensive. Most people in the animal rights movement agree. Eating animal products is not healthy. A vegan diet is best for your health, the environment, and most importantly, the animals.
Even if it weren't healthier, the fact is that humans do not need to eat animals to survive. The American Dietetic Association clearly states that a vegan diet is not only adequate, but beneficial for ALL stages of the life cycle. Why kill, when we can thrive from a plant-based diet? Animals exist for their own reasons and no longer need be exploited by mankind. We may have "survived" by using animals in the past, but this is not the past, it's the present where using animals is no longer necessary.
eatingconsciously.blogspot.com/2008/01/earthlings.html
"Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances for survival on earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet." -Einstei
Well Ed first off I'm glad you brought some thought provoking facts to the table. We do not need to eat meat to survive, but that also depends on how long you want to live. We also do not need bread to survive, but learned how to process wheat. Wheat on it's own is a harmful product to humans, and the only species that eats grains are birds. So just because we can do things like substitute things for protein, or process grains to make bread, doesn't mean it's in our best interest. If you've never seen "The Lion King" there is a circle of life that exhists among animals. Some animals are responsible for feeding others, just as plants are responsible for feeding other types of animals. If you look in the mirror you'll notice you have flat molars to eat plants, fruit, and nuts, and canine teeth to eat meat. Mother nature, god, whatever you belive didn't do this by accident. If we were supposed to be vegetarians our bodies wouldnt need protein to survive.
And just so you know, Einstein was a mathmetician, not a biochemist. So I don't know for sure, but he's probably not the best person to quote when you're in a debate about food and how it reacts in our bodies. I could quote really smart people that have no relevance too if you'd like. But here's a fact for ya. In 1988 The surgeon general set out to prove that a diet high in saturated fat (fat from animals) raises your cholesterol, and that cholesterol causes heart disease. 10 years and 100 million dollars later they decided to stop their research because "it was getting too complicated." How does someone in 1950 come to that conslusion, but biochemists and scientists in 1988 couldn't figure it out?
As a person who has lost 45 pounds only by becoming a vegan, not exercise or weight loss surgery. I think ad is humorous and gets the point across. Honestly I have tried everything and would always put the weight back on within 3 months to a year. I was tired, my face broke out, and generally was hungry all of the darn time!
Since going vegan, my face has cleared up to the point where I don't even need to use any special face wash, and I have more energy! I will never go back to consuming any animal byproducts because not only did I feel guilty about the cruelty the animals suffered, but because my entire BODY FEELS AMAZING!
Being morbidly obese sucks, but the ad is humorous! Also, let's face it, meat does make you fat and if it takes a billboard for those of us who are fat meat eaters to figure it out then more power to PETA! I <3 PETA!
I am a Pacific Islander. There is nothing I can do to become "skinny" or "fit". My doctor tells me I'm the healthiest large guy he knows. I was even learning to cook Vegan and was considering a switch but if this is the way I'll be treated by my colleagues, then forget it.
I'll just start a group that throws cooked meat at peta demos while eating meat. See how they like it.
You know, I've never heard of a vegan or vegetarian athletes and low animal protein isn't none. Sorry. There are no such things as Vegan or Vegetarian bodybuilders. Aren't they healthy?
Peta has turned me away much like religion did. If I see people being insensitive of others, I don't want any part of it.
veganbodybuilding dot com
Haha I actually looked up vegan bodybuilders after that comment. This dude is ripped! I thought vegans fainted when the weather got hot lol
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