So, I'm not sure how to respond to this.

[xtremeveggirl]

I've been a vegetarian for most of my life. I did go vegan until I had surgery on my back about a year ago. Since then, I've been having trouble slipping back into the vegan diet (though, I don't eat eggs or drink milk). Today, I saw a video on cnn.com with Ingrid Newkirk and the president of the organization for overweight people and it seems to me in this video, Ingrid is saying that you can't be vegetarian/vegan and overweight. I'll be the first to admit, even though I was raised to be a vegetarian, I was overweight. I'm better now, but not because I'm a vegetarian (though, that could have been one cause of it), I could name at least two other reasons that cause people to become overweight. Don't get me wrong, I can't stand meat or animal cruelty, but I'm just saying, being a vegetarian does not nessessarly mean that you are going to be "skinny". I don't know if I can follow or be a member of peta after this. This is my opinion, I'm sure that others could have a different reaction, but this is the message I got from the video. Tomorrow, I'm sending peta all of my peta campaign materials back, plus a letter expressing my concerns. After watching this video, what do you guys think? BTW, I think that billboard was a bit cruel too. I understand peta is trying to undercut obesity, but that doesn't make overweight people bad people.

(video) www.cnn.com/video/#/video/bestoftv/2009/08/25/jvm.peta.whale.fat.billboard.cnn?iref=videosearch

[AnimalAvenger]

Ugh, I haven't watched the video yet, but that's a load of bullshit. I support PETA on a few things but not with others. I think I've heard about how PETA says some really stupid stuff about fat people, but I guess I never thought about it enough. I did think about it for a bit, because I, too, am overweight and was even obese at one point, but I just let it go.

However, probably no animal rights organization has reached nearly as many people as PETA has. You have to consider that. They've probably helped many, many more animals than any other animal rights organization ever has. While they may not be perfect, they are at least helping the animals out. Do you think obese people are suffering more from what Ingrid Newkirk has said, or do you think the animals are suffering much more? I'm not say it was right of her to saying this, but I think you should also think of the animals PETA have helped.

[streamofpassion]

seriously? the one time i ever stepped foot in a vegetarian restaurant, there were at least 3 or 4 really overweight people in there... the city/state i was in was really infamous for having a lot of overweight people, but still.
the one actual vegetarian friend i have off the internet is overweight.
a different vegetarian forum i lurk at has a significant amount of members who complain of being overweight.
i really cannot believe the ignorance of this woman if she thinks that animal products or the lack thereof in the diet will completely determine whether someone is fat or thin...

[GYARADOS.]

yeah, peta's sort of infamous for telling everyone that "vegetarians are skinny and sexy". i mean im not completely against it because i want people to veg*n, and they are very powerful, im sure many people have gone veg*n in hopes of being thinner. but i disagree with how corporate peta is about it. they're getting more shit for their sexism than support. i think they should be more mature about it.
what i mean is because of stuff liek this, more people disagree than agree with us.

[AnimalAvenger]

Since vegetarianism and veganism both cut out sources of fat and calories from food, going veg*n can make you lose weight, but it doesn't always. Also, you can lose weight, but you may not lose enough to actually be considered "skinny."

Also, there are many health conditions you can have that can cause you to gain weight that are not fat/calorie related.

[AnimalAvenger]

>.<

Found this on the PETA2 boards. Your opinions?

The response from the PETA2 Administrator to everyone's complaints:

Hey everyone!

I wanted to explain our intention with that billboard.

The original billboard is being replaced with one that says “GONE. Just Like All the Pounds Lost by People Who Go Vegetarian. GoVeg.com.” It has no provocative artwork, and it stands as a tribute to the people who contacted us after seeing the first billboard and have taken our 30-day Pledge to Be Veg (https://secure.PETA.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=2055) or are trying a meat- and dairy-free diet in their own way. As one woman wrote, “I have tried Atkins, Fatkins and everything else in the book, but no one ever suggested a vegetarian diet. Now that I’ve seen the research, count me in!”

We agree that a world where self-esteem is unrelated to body size would be a wonderful place, but we also know that most people feel depressed and embarrassed about their weight and often need some tough love. Our aim was not to insult people who are overweight but to get people talking—and then persuade them to make a simple, positive change for their health. We have heard from people who were offended by our message, and we have been yelled at on talk shows, but we have also heard from overweight people who expressed support for our tactics, including some women whose vegetarian weight-loss journeys we plan to chronicle on our Web site.

While this billboard has caused some people to “shoot the messenger,” it has also created a great debate about the message: that people are eating themselves to death. Americans now eat more than 1 million animals an hour—animals who are raised and killed in appallingly cruel conditions. Something drastic must be done to shake up society’s complacent acceptance of the national obesity epidemic, and we want people to know that they have options: Pills and procedures are not the solution. The human illnesses and animal suffering that a meat-heavy diet causes are completely unnecessary: a pure vegetarian diet is the optimum diet.

We take obesity very seriously indeed, which is why we think it would be cruel not to tell people about how, by going vegetarian, they can help themselves, animals, and the Earth. If change is going to come, someone must stir things up. PETA won’t shy away from doing so. Unless they are truly among the few with an irreversible medical condition, there is no reason for people to be carrying around extra weight. By encouraging people who want to lose weight to go vegetarian instead of resorting to unhealthy fad diets, we hope to offer them a choice that the multimillion-dollar diet industry won’t give them: a long-term strategy for maintaining a healthy weight.

Research has shown that higher body mass index is associated with a greater risk of premature death from all causes. For example, according to the American Heart Association, obesity contributes to heart disease, America’s number one cause of death. The American Dietetic Association says that vegetarians have lower rates of heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and obesity than meat-eaters do. Reputable studies have shown that fad “weight loss” diets don’t work long-term—but going vegetarian does. Studies published in the Journal of Clinical Nutrition and the New England Journal of Medicine have found that vegetarians are far less likely to be overweight than meat eaters are. Obesity is an epidemic, not something that children should grow up accepting as perfectly normal. We want a healthy, humane world, and we think everyone else does too.

All this said, certainly not every single vegetarian is at a healthy weight, as some have suggested our billboard implies. However, there are many more meat-eaters who are obese and unhealthy. For most people, eating low-fat vegetarian meals is an effective way to achieve and maintain a healthy weight. But weight loss isn’t the only reason to try a vegetarian diet; we also promote going vegetarian as a great way to lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of the top killer diseases. For most people, a low-fat vegetarian diet is an effective prevention strategy.

PETA promotes healthy vegetarian living in many ways, including distributing free copies of our “Vegetarian Starter Kit,” hosting free public food tastings, offering meal plans and thousands of meat-free recipes at www.VegCooking.com, and educating people about the meat industry’s disregard for animal welfare (http://www.GoVeg.com/factoryFarming.asp) and its devastating effect on the environment (http://www.GoVeg.com/environment.asp).

To read more about how obesity can be addressed by going vegetarian, please go to www.GoVeg.com/obesity.asp. To read vegetarian weight-loss success stories, please visit www.GoVeg.com/f-veganweightloss.asp.

Thanks all! If you have any questions, please email us at [e-mail].

-Liz at peta2

The thread:
streetteam.peta2.com/public/folder_view.cfm?pageid=341&option=view_thread&postid=3147342&startrow=1&folderid=727

[whirrs]

oh my gosh, angela! The billboard actually made me laugh a little.

But I totally understand the problem with it. If I was overweight and vegan, I'd probably be really offended and wouldn't want to support PETA either. I mean, that's sort of like a personal attack on something that doesn't even RELATE to being a vegetarian. I think this "go vegan and get thin!" attitude is a really poor attempt to convert people.

Basically, the BEST that will come out of this campaign is getting a few giggles out of the already thin people, making overweight meat eaters attempt veganism and give it up once it doesn't work, and making overweight vegans feel totally offended.

I say peta should cut that superficial attitude surrounding veganism and work on more effective campaigns.