Livestock industry comes under attack from vegetarian groups

Foot-and-mouth disease is being exploited by the animal rights group PETA which claims the recent outbreak is “a predictable consequence of the sickening and cruel meat industry.”

The organisation has a section on its website that says that people should react to foot-and-mouth by turning vegetarian.

It claims to have been inundated with requests for “emergency vegetarian starter” kits since foot-and-mouth disease was confirmed in the UK.

“It’s no wonder the British public is going vegetarian upon realising that as long as animals are intensively raised for meat, there will be diseases – whether it’s BSE, bird flu, SARS, foot-and-mouth disease or others,” it says.

“With diseases running rampant in crowded, filthy factory farms – and the known link between meat-eating and heart disease – the best thing to do is to avoid meat like the plague.”

Meanwhile, it has emerged that in mid-September – just days after the re-emergence of F&M was confirmed – the Vegetarian Society launched a series of advertisements highlighting that farmed animals emit more gaseous emissions than the world’s transport system.

The advert shows the image of cow: its rear facing the viewer, while its head turns back to stare at the viewer. Underneath are the words – ‘Silent but deadly’.

Created by Fathom Creative Ltd for The Vegetarian Society the ‘Silent but Deadly’ adverts will be placed in environmental and ethical magazines over the coming months. A version of the ads will also appear on postcards.

Liz O’Neill, head of communications at The Vegetarian Society, said, “Silent but Deadly is about getting the reader’s attention, making them think, and hopefully want to find out more about the connection between diet and climate change.”