PETA to All-Female St. Paul City Council: ‘Ally With All Females—Go Vegan and Lunch Is on Us’

For Immediate Release:
February 28, 2024

Contact:
Sara Groves 202-483-7382

St. Paul, Minn. – International Women’s Day is coming up, so PETA is asking the history-making, all-female St. Paul City Council to embrace this year’s theme of “Inspire Inclusion” and honor females everywhere by choosing vegan. In a letter sent today to St. Paul City Council President Mitra Jalali, PETA asks the council to recognize the immense suffering that females of other species endure in the meat, egg, and dairy industries—which exploit their reproductive systems and steal their children—and offers to help celebrate the switch by hosting a delicious vegan luncheon (perhaps catered by local award-winning plant-based eatery J. Selby’s) that no female had to suffer for.

“Every female—whether she has hair, fins, fur, or feathers—feels fear and pain,” says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. “But in the meat, egg, and dairy industries, these sensitive females and devoted mothers are treated as disposable machines, so PETA is asking this inspiring group of women to show solidarity with all females by rejecting such products of abuse.”

PETA notes that in the dairy industry, cows are forcibly inseminated repeatedly on what the industry itself calls a “rape rack.” Workers steal the newborn babies from their mothers, often within hours of birth, and send the females to slaughter once their bodies break down from repeated pregnancies. In the egg industry, hens are crammed by the tens of thousands into filthy sheds without enough room to lift their wings and slaughtered when their egg production slows. Mother pigs spend most of their miserable lives in gestation crates so small that they can’t even turn around, and their piglets are torn away from them mere weeks after birth, destined for slaughter.

The move would also align with the council’s priorities for climate action, as PETA points out that animal agriculture is one of the leading causes of the climate catastrophe—and going vegan can reduce an individual’s carbon footprint by up to 2.1 tons annually.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, or Instagram.

PETA’s letter to Jalali follows.

February 28, 2024

Mitra Jalali
President
St. Paul City Council

Dear Ms. Jalali:

Greetings! On behalf of woman-founded and women-led People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals—PETA entities have more than 9 million members and supporters globally, including thousands in Minnesota—I’d like to applaud you and your fellow council members for making history by becoming St. Paul’s first all-female city council and, reportedly, the first of any large city in the U.S. I’m writing ahead of International Women’s Day (March 8), whose theme this year is “Inspire Inclusion,” to respectfully ask the St. Paul City Council to consider the struggle that females of other species face and to urge you to consider going vegan to protect the relationship between mothers and their offspring and the animals against sexual assault if you haven’t already. Please allow me to explain why this is important.

As we know, every female—whether she has hair, fins, fur, or feathers—feels fear and pain. Yet calves are taken from cows so that the milk they were meant to suckle can be used for human consumption. Pigs are kept in metal stalls so small that they cannot even turn around. Most animals raised for the table are artificially inseminated on something farmers themselves have called a “rape rack.” Hens are crammed together so densely that they cannot even spread a wing during their lifetime so that their eggs can be taken for the supermarket. And all these animals end up being slaughtered. In other industries, the exploitation of females’ reproductive systems is just as bad. That’s why we, as women, with our insight into such relationships and dominance, need to lead the way to end a cycle of violence that undermines the principles of equality and compassion. Choosing vegan meals is a vital part of that leadership.

Eating vegan also aligns with the St. Paul Climate Action & Resilience Plan’s goals and the council’s top priorities for climate action, as an animal-free diet can reduce an individual’s annual carbon footprint by up to 2.1 tons. On average, vegans produce 75% less heat-trapping gas and generate 75% less water pollution than those with meat-heavy diets. The U.N. reports that a global shift toward plant-based food is vital if we are to combat the worst effects of the climate catastrophe. Animal agriculture is one of the leading causes of climate change, as according to some sources, it’s responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions than the entire global transportation sector. Feeding massive amounts of grain and water to farmed animals and then killing them and processing, transporting, and storing their decomposing flesh is extremely energy-intensive. Switching to a vegan lifestyle can save 1,100 gallons of water, nearly 40 pounds of grain, and 30 square feet of forested land each day.

Mayor Melvin Carter has encouraged the public to opt for a plant-based lifestyle for the well-being of the planet, and because your all-female council is an inspiration to women everywhere, we urge you and your fellow council members to set an example for your constituents by promoting vegan eating this March (Women’s History Month). We’d be honored to celebrate the history you’ve made by hosting a delicious plant-based luncheon that no female had to suffer for and by sending our vegan starter kits for all residents.

Thank you for your consideration. We look forward to hearing from you.

Very truly yours,
Ingrid Newkirk
President