Finally PETA does something good for humanity!

[strickj]

Jacksonville Business Journal: PETA's Jax billboard blunder

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, a leading animal rights advocacy organization, is well-known for its controversial tactics. But its latest campaign taking aim at fat people is not only in bad taste, it is also misleading, if not inaccurate.

The group recently launched a new billboard campaign, depicting the backside of an obese woman in a red polka-dot bikini on the beach that reads, "Save the whales. Lose the blubber: Go vegetarian." The billboard went up near the beaches, where body-conscious people are their most vulnerable and sporting their dreaded beach attire.

According to PETA, they launched the campaign in Jacksonville because the "Sunshine State's endless summer" lends itself to year-round bikini season (not exactly true) and subsequently the organization's phone lines were "ringing off the hook with reports of beached whale sightings." Pretty cruel, guys.

The group is undergoing a broader campaign to boost vegetarianism through claims that nonmeat-eaters are 20 to 30 percent leaner than everyone else. My sense is that the claim is misleading — I think food-conscious vegetarians tend to make overall smarter food choices that may have little direct connection to meat intake. The claim, although not cited, seems to stem from a 1995 report from the Vegetarian Society that rounded up other published research to support health claims of vegetarianism.

"Trying to hide your thunder thighs and balloon belly is no day at the beach," PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman said in a release. "PETA has a free 'Vegetarian Starter Kit' for people who want to lose pounds while eating as much as they like."

I'm big on healthy eating and active lifestyles, but this effort is the equivalent to saying "Hey fatty, I love animals." Doesn't really get the message out there that I think they're going for. But thanks for the message that I can chow down on all the nachos, Twinkies, pizza and soda I want and lose weight.

Look, Jacksonville has it's share of the nation's obese, but I hardly think it's appropriate to take and make a respectable point out of juvenile fat jokes. It's hard to imagine what misguided staffer conceived of the idea that it is OK to be cruel to people in the name of fighting animal cruelty. I love animals and I like a lot of things PETA does, but this campaign is tacky, mean-spirited and seems to take pride in publicly humiliating two-thirds of Americans who are overweight. Not cool.

I say down with fat folks in bikinis! Edited August 19, 2009 by strickj

[Guest mustangdave]

dmn...i thought they mighta went outa business

[greenego]

Where is NOW on this one?

[ukerduker]

I support PETA 100%-

PETA- People Eating Tasty Animals

[Guest ArmyVeteran37214]

I say down with fat folks in bikinis!

I support PETA 100%-

PETA- People Eating Tasty Animals

[MacGyver]