PETA Urges Fat People, Go Vegetarian To "Save the Whales"
Obese people should go vegetarian, or so says PETA.
The much maligned animal rights group's new message is, "Save the Whales" by giving up meat if you need to lose weight. It's clever, but is it effective?
In their official press release PETA said, "Anyone wishing to achieve a hot "beach bod" is reminded that studies show that vegetarians are, on average, about 10 to 20 pounds lighter than meat-eaters."
That may be true to some degree, but PETA's reputation precedes them, so I doubt anyone will listen. The ad will probably anger people more than anything else.
What do you think of PETA's new message?
Via CalorieLab.
More like this in Health · Aug 14, 2009
44 Comments
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This is pointless. First of all, no one really listens to PETA other than those who are already vegan/vegetarian. And second, it's very possible to be a fat vegetarian. Pasta, meat/dairy substitutes, foods sauteed in lots of oil can all be high in calories and vegan at the same time. You can be fat or thin as either a vegetarian or meat eater.
I've come to think PETA knows they anger people and just do it for the show value.
ReplyIt's unfortunate that PETA takes such extreme actions and alienates people because there are very good healthy reasons to become vegetarian. I do agree that there can be obese people both vegan or non but if you already live a healthy lifestyle then take it to the next level by becoming vegetarian or vegan you do lose weight. I lost 10 lbs with out changing anything else once I became vegetarian. The most common statement from new vegetarians is "I feel lighter and more energetic"
ReplyReally? What "very good healthy" reasons did you have in mind?
I hate to break this to you but when you became a vegetarian you lost weight because you consumed fewer calories.
ReplyHere's what I think of when I think of health benefits to vegetarianism: My fiancee used to eat a healthy, low-fat, omnivorous diet. Full of whole-grains and vegetables and good stuff....but she still had high cholesterol. When she went vegetarian (and now, later, pescatarian), her cholesterol went down. Her numbers are now perfect. Similar thing happened to me when I went pescatarian to support her. My triglycerides and cholesterol numbers went normal, when previously my triglycerides and LDL were high, and my HDL was low.
ReplyWow... and to think I achieved the same results on a low-fat diet which incorporates meat protein... it's the composition of food in the diet that makes the difference...
Replyhere are some "very good healthy" reasons to go veg:
- lower cancer rates (colo-rectal, breast, and others)
- lower rates of type 2 diabetes
- lower blood pressure
- lower cholesterol
- lower body mass
There were studies released all summer illustrating the above. It convinced me to go from a hearty meat-a-vore to vegetarian in June, then full vegan in July.
Yeah, we all know the vegetarian in college who ate Mac N' Cheese and needed to lose 25 pounds. Does that mean if you use your brain and eat properly you can't be a lean, mean vegan machine? Of course not!
Check out Brendan Brazier's website for some tips from a professional vegan triathlete if you're interested.
ReplyThe important piece missing is lower than what? As has been pointed out, a vegetarian diet can be an unhealthy diet. So by saying that a vegetarian diet results in lower whatever, it means nothing without specifying what kind of vegetarian diet and the diet being compared. It's not fair to compare an unhealthy diet consuming meats with a strict healthy vegetarian/vegan diet.
Replywell, out of a sample of 60,000 brits, there was probably a decent mix of meat eaters and vegetarians who followed healthy and unhealthy diets. And the vegetarians were still 12% less likely to get cancer. http://www.nature.com/bjc/journal/v101/n1/full/6605098a.html
ReplyTrouble is the terms are so nebulous. Which vegetarian diet? Incorporating what balance of foods? I've known some vegetarians who have been very fit and healthy.
I also have a friend who has been vegetarian all her life - she is stretching the limits of a size 28 and is hard pressed to walk to the corner.
Another vegan friend is in a healthy weight range, claims she is fit and healthy because of her diet, but succumbs to chronic fatigue-like symptoms on a regular basis.
As a meat-eater, though one that only eats meat 1-2 times a week, I managed to lower my cholesterol, my BMI, stave of type II diabetes (I was showing signs of insulin resistance)... but I don't think it was eating *meat* that made the difference, nor that not eating *meat* would have. It was the total composition of my diet that made the difference.
ReplyBlanket statements are too general to be helpful.
I was a vegetarian for a long time (12 years).
It is easier to maintain a healthy weight as a meat eater.
ReplyIn general, I think vegetarians are thinner because they are typically more concerned about what they eat. But if you are concerned about what you eat either way, it takes less effort and planning when you eat meat.
I'm fine if I never have to consider how to create complete proteins at each meal in order to consume an adequate amount for an athlete again. ;)
ReplyThe need to assemble "complete proteins" at every meal is as dated as eating the 4 food groups at every meal. Generally, your body is capable of assembling complete proteins from the plant-based food you eat throughout the day provided you eat a varied diet of fruits, vegetables, legumes, and grains.
I think a lot of people have made decisions about vegetarianism/veganism based on outdated information.
ReplyPerhaps if PETA didn't do things like, oh, I don't know.. compare eating meat to the Holocaust, they might be taken seriously by anyone but the most rabid, mouth breathing, psychotic members of the ultra far left.
ReplyOn an anecdotal note, all of the vegetarians I know look like they will break in half if they sneeze too hard. They're pale, and thin, with virtually no muscle to speak of.
ReplyIsn't that the same anecdotal evidence that vegetarians cite to claim that everyone should stop eating meat, that meat eaters are often sick and are usually heavier than vegetarians?
ReplyI have difficulty seeing how one would save whales by going vegetarian...since few meat-eaters in the US eat whale. Logic?
IMHO, it would have made better since if they talked about the effect cattle have on the environment (e.g., water consumption, methane). Save the environment: Go Vegetarian.
ReplyThey are referring to fat people as "whales" to make a "clever joke" of the popular environmental sentiment of Save the Whales.
Replythis is completely offensive, upsetting and pointless. it's offensive because real people look like that (people seem to forget fat people are real people) and already experience this crap from the media, fashion magazines, "friends," etc--they don't need it from a group that claims to care about making things in the world better. it's upsetting because PETA's an organization i'd like to support--although i haven't always agreed with PETA's tactics or messages (not a big fan of comparing anything to the holocaust, for example), i've been a vegetarian since i was nine and have, overall, appreciated their existence and commitment. i'm a vegetarian because i care about animals, the environment, and sustainable living--NOT because i'm interested in starving myself to achieve the "perfect beach bod." i want to support vegetarianism, but i don't support exploiting people's body insecurities to make them support an essentially unrelated cause. and pointless because, as people have pointed out, it's very possible to be a large vegetarian and also possible to be a skinny meat eater.
if PETA thinks shaming large people is the way to promote animal rights, that's too bad--they're alienating a huge percentage of the population who might otherwise support their goals. i'm planning on staying a vegetarian and continuing to educate my peers about animal rights and environmental sustainability, but i don't plan to support PETA ever again. instead, i'm gonna consider donating to NAAFA (the national association to advance fat acceptance-- www.naafa.org).
ReplyHow does taking away a whale's blubber save him? I think it would kill him. Just curious.
ReplyPETA has always been known for their crazy methods of getting people to do what they want. Going vegetarian to "save the whales" is just going to piss fat people off and people are probably going to just eat more meat so they can shove it in PETA's face. Besides, going vegetarian doesn't always equal weight loss...if you eat too many refined carbs and high fat dairy products, you'll gain weight. To be a really successful vegetarian, you have to incorporate vegetarian sources of protein and plan your meals carefully.
ReplyBottom line... vegetarian or not vegeterian, overweight or skinny, it's not pretty when you're being called a "Whale".
Being compared like that does not make you react positively, quite the opposite actually. I have NO idea what the PETA advertisement designers were thinking when they launched that campaign. If they want to appeal to the meat-eating, overweight market, they should definitely take a less offensive route.
I'm an obese meat-lover and even if the benefits of going veg do appeal to me, when they're presented just like PETA did, they just lost one more potential vegetarian :p
Definitely PETA does not know how to win new crowds over. They should try being more inviting to non-vegetarians as opposed to downright offensive.
ReplySorry PETA, a good dose of protein is great for building muscle which is essential for burning fat. Also, as a student of anthropology, I cannot condone vegetarianism and at the same time support local farming. In order to be vegan and healthy, you have to import food from all over the world. I think local sustainability is essential for our species to be able to survive long term.
ReplyDon't we use a lot of farming resources to grow food for the meat that people eat? That isn't very sustainable. And, as someone mentioned above, the meat industry is certainly responsible for more green house gas emissions than any other industry - including transportation. There may be arguments in favor of eating meat, but sustaining the environment certainly isn't one of them. And what food do you HAVE to import to be vegan? Soybeans are grown in the US, as are numerous fruits and vegetables. There may be things that you would like to have - just like anyone, meat eater or not, might like an exotic fruit or imported cheese occasionally - but nothing that you need to survive.
ReplyExactly - nuts, legumes, beans, all can be grown in the states - and usually locally.
ReplyIn terms of sustainability and ecological soundness note the term LOCALLY... less transportation. And buy organic, not from mass-farms which use screeds of pesticides and so forth.
First of all, the average Westerner gets two to three times the amount of protein that they require. I'm a competitive athlete (I typically work out between three and five hours a day) and have absolutely no problem getting enough protein on a carefully planned vegan diet (and soy-free, at that).
Also, as Ann said, there may be many reasons to eat meat (most notably, that you simply like the taste), but the environment is not one of them. Those animals consume food that is imported from all over the world -- much more food than your yourself would eat. There's also the issue of their water footprint, and the waste they create. It's an inherently inefficient use of resources. If you want to support local farming, you can certainly do so by buying your produce locally -- there is nothing a vegan "needs" to eat that has to be imported, and studies have shown that a vegan diet has a significantly smaller environmental impact than the typical Western one.
That said, PETA is full of a bunch of morons. They produce idiotic ads that only alienate people from vegetarianism and veganism and I really wish they would just shut up already. This one is offensive in the extreme.
ReplyYeah - more noise from PETA. I agree with Spectra - this type of ad will only serve to infuriate the overweight. It's like their deliberately trying to lose creedibility with everyone except their own brainwashed fellow PETA peeps.
It's a tasteless ad - reminiscent of the Rudy Giuliani (I think it was him - correct me if I'm wrong) with the milk mustache and the quote "Got Prostate Cancer" Stay classy, PETA.
ReplyThis is stupid and presumptuous.
First of all, 10 years ago, I ate way less meat than I do now, and I was overweight, even obese, then. Now I'm at a normal weight.
Second of all, I have ADD and by choice, am not on any medications. A high protein diet is the only thing that keeps my brain halfway clear.
Having a healthy diet that includes meat is no more complicated than having a healthy veg diet.
ReplyI'm a member of PETA primarily because of my stance on vivisection. I am overweight, as many compassionate people are as we can emphasise with pain. Anyhow, I was looking for ways to budget in hard time, and PETA just made that much easier for me. They really can't expect to keep donations from persons whom they are callous and mean to, now can they?
p.s. I am vegan. I also have addisons disease (hense the weight)
ReplyThis ad so offends me in terms of the picture! There are WAY better ways to get a message across to people! Very rude in my opinion!
As for weight, I know a lot of vegetarians that are not thin & not fit too! It is all what you do with what you eat, how much, what foods & of course exercise if you want muscle & protect your bones and heart/lung health with some cardio work.
I don't think being a vegetarian makes a person lighter.
I plan & watch what I eat, portion control, exercise & such. It is all in what we choose to eat & how much depending on our activity level.
ReplyThe PETA billboard is brilliant. It is about time for fat people to be ostracized as smokers and druggies are. I'm tired of hearing that they can't help being fat, and campaign for handicap status when they are wolfing down Big Macs and ice cream. Society must stop sending the message that it is OK to stuff your piehole until you break the bathroom scale. Fat people increase health care costs, consume more than their share of food, and consume excess energy for transportation. Thank PETA for having the courage to say what needs to be said!
ReplyJohn, are you in the U.S.? If so, check out the show "Intervention" on A&E. There was a beautiful exotic dancer on one episode with a lovely figure that I am sure you would approve of. She was also consuming and barfing up enough groceries for an entire family every few days, hence the need to dance for the money. Don't fool yourself about which body belongs to the health care liability who consumes more than their share.
ReplyI’ve compiled a list of vegetarian foods that will definitely make you skinny:
* Häagen-Dazs
* French fries*
* Funnel cake
* Nachos
* Onion rings*
* Potato chips*
* Fettuccine alfredo
* Pizza
* Mozzarella sticks
* Bloomin’ Onion/Awesome Blossom*
* Hash browns*
* Belgian waffles
* Twinkies
* Cookies
* Soda*
* Soy venti frappuccino*
* Cupcakes
* Doughnuts
* Brownies
* Veggie corn dogs*
* Chips and queso
* Potato skins
* Macaroni and cheese
* Samosas*
* Cinnabon
* Beer*
Asterisks denote items that are vegan. You could eat nothing but what’s on this list and be a card-carrying vegetarian, but I doubt you’d be thin.
ReplyHolly
You clearly don't know the definition of a Vegan.
ReplyI don't see anything wrong with her list (though I have no idea what a bloomin' onion is). Many of the items with an asterisk aren't usually vegan (french fries often cooked in beef fat, for example, or veggie dogs with cheese in them), but I'm sure vegan examples of all of those exist. There are also vegan cinnamon buns and donuts out there, as well as cupcakes. You can even get or make vegan mac and cheese, pizza, cookies, ice cream, waffles, brownies, nachos...Pretty much everything on that list could be made vegan, though it might taste a little different (and some are healthier, such as vegan mac and cheese, though most vegan versions are nutritionally the same as non-vegan versions, with the obvious difference of cholesterol).
ReplyPETA is wrong, wrong, wrong in so many ways. Firstly, in implying that a vegetarian diet will make you slim. We know that just isn't so. And they are wrong to mock the obese. Who do they think they are? I even object to their name! "People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals." Ethical? PETA has a warped interpretation of what constitutes "ethical treatment". I believe in treating animals in an ethical manner. I also believe in raising animals for food. Ethically. Free range, grass fed. If we eat them, we owe them respect and should do our best by them.
I have never been a vegetarian though when I was younger I tried to be. I thought I was a failure and that there was something wrong with me because I got so hungry on a low fat vegetarian diet I could never keep it up for long and I always caved after a few days - or that's how I thought of it then. Now I realise my body was just telling me to eat some meat!
PETA has always been a radical organization. In their early days, their object was to highlight and take a stand against cruelty to animals, and who could argue with that. I admired the anti-fur advertisements of a few years ago, and I think they helped in changing attitudes about wearing fur. But in the last few years they have become more and more radical, and now they seem to be more about promoting vegetarianism than about preventing animal cruelty. I think PETA has been taken over by the lunatic fringe, and that's a shame.
ReplyTo be fair, I doubt you would consider it ethical for me to eat a human child, no matter how nicely I treated them before I did it. This one is a matter of perspective, and for most vegetarians, they don't see it as ethical to kill an animal for food, regardless of how it was treated prior to its death.
ReplyI have to admit you have a point there, Ann!
ReplyI find a lot of vegans to be angry. Perhaps some meat to calm them down?
Reply"The Vegetarian Myth" - interesting book delving into the morality of agriculture (ie clearing acres of land and wiping out entire ecosystems for the purpose of growing your meat free fare). Written by a vegetarian.
Replythis is unbelievable, i am a little overweight not obese or anything and i've been a vegetarian and i've supported peta for about 3 years now, and this made me loose all respect for them, that i've ever had. i hope peta enjoys knowing that this is only making people mad, and it's getting NO point across at all.
ReplyBoy, do they know how to win friends and influence people or what? What a bunch of idiots they have working there. It not only offends overweight people but skinny people AND guess what? Even vegetarians too. Way to go PETA. Another successful campaign.
ReplyI LOVE IT! Another great ad!
Replythe point is not whether you can lose weight on a vegetarian diet -- the point is that they suggest that overweight people are whales -- that is the insult -- and a classic one for PETA which constantly shows that it values animal life and its own publicity over fellow human beings.
ReplyRight on! I agree that dehumanizing overweight people is not the way to promote vegetarianism or animal rights. Vegetarians, as many have already stated on the board, are not necessarily healthier. On the other hand, it could only help people to increase the amounts of vegetables and whole grains in their diets while editing out some of the meat and processed foods. Not to mention that it would help the planet if people would eat a more sustainable and less polluting diet.
Reply