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PETA To Bunnings: Ditch The Meat, Leave The Onions

Announcement posted by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) Australia 15 Nov 2018

For Immediate Release:
15 November 2018
 
Contact:
Trafford Smith 0406 713 994; TraffordS@peta.org.au
 
PETA TO BUNNINGS: DITCH THE MEAT, LEAVE THE ONIONS
Group Urges Hardware Store to Take Meaningful Action to Protect Its Customers by Going Meat-Free
 
Melbourne – Following the news that Bunnings is ramping up health and safety regulations for its iconic weekend sausage sizzles – by recommending that onion be placed underneath sausages to prevent any falling out and creating a slipping hazard – PETA has written to the chain's managing director, Michael Schneider, to point out that the greatest danger lies with the sausages, not the onions. The group is urging the hardware chain to switch to vegan sausages and, as an added incentive, has offered to host a celebratory vegan sausage sizzle if its suggestion is accepted.
 
"Stray onions on the floor may cause the occasional slip, but it's the sausage meat that poses the real danger: The World Health Organization has classified processed meat as a carcinogen in the same category as cigarettes," writes PETA Outreach and Partnerships Liaison Emily Rice. "Researchers estimate that in 2020, 2.4 million people globally will die of causes associated with the consumption of red or processed meat, while the health-care costs for red meat–related illnesses will hit US$285 billion (AU$395 billion)."
 
PETA – whose motto reads, in part, that "animals are not ours to eat" – notes that vegans are less prone to suffering from heart disease, strokes, diabetes, cancer, and obesity than meat-eaters are. Each person who goes vegan also dramatically reduces his or her carbon footprint and spares numerous animals daily suffering and a terrifying death. More than 500 million land animals are killed for their flesh every year in Australia – they're strung upside down, and their throats are slit, often while they're still conscious.
 
A copy of PETA's letter can be found here.
 
For more information, please visit PETA.org.au.