PETA Members In Biohazard Suits Warn Cardiff Residents Of Link Between Meat And Swine Flu

For Immediate Release:
24 January 2011

Contact:
Sandra Smiley +44 (0)207 357 9229, ext 229; [email protected]

Cardiff – Wearing biohazard suits and holding signs that read, “Meat is a biohazard. GO VEGAN”, PETA members gathered near Cardiff Castle today to caution Cardiff residents that swine flu has been directly linked to the intensive confinement of animals on factory farms. According to QSurveillance data from the University of Nottingham, Cardiff has been particularly hard-hit in the latest flu outbreak, with nearly 140 cases per 100,000 people in the week ending 2 January. Statistics released 20 January show that 195 people infected with swine flu have died so far this winter in the UK.

“Mad cow disease, SARS, avian flu, swine flu – these are all predictable consequences of disease-ridden and cruel industries”, says PETA special projects coordinator Abi Izzard. “The verdict is clear: if you care about animals and the environment and you don’t want to turn the human body into a biohazard zone, the best thing to do is to help kill off the intensive livestock industry by avoiding meat like the plague.”

Heart disease, obesity, diabetes, mad cow disease, salmonella, E. coli and swine flu all have been linked to the production and consumption of meat, milk, eggs or all three. While this is reason enough to avoid animal-derived products, it has also been discovered that the highly toxic chemical dioxin has found its way into the British food supply via 3,000 tonnes of dioxin-tainted animal feed sent to poultry and pig farms in Germany. According to news reports, contaminated eggs from those farms were processed into 14 tonnes of product for consumption in the UK.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.uk.