Jolie Rouge
11-23-2004, 10:56 PM
Group offers BR tofu 'birds' as healthier, kinder
By DEBRA LEMOINE
Three animal-rights activists handed out free tofu turkeys Monday at Main and North Fifth streets, urging downtown workers to spare the real birds this Thanksgiving.
Holding signs saying, "Thanksgiving is murder on turkeys," the trio from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals attracted many polite "no, thank yous," a few off-color comments from passing motorists, and at least 50 takers of the free tofu "birds," which had to be cooked before they could be sampled. "It looks like a turkey. It smells like a turkey. It even tastes like a turkey," said Annie Judah, a PETA worker from the Atlanta office. Dressed in a miniskirt with a bustier top and knee-high black boots, Judah tried to tempt passers-by with the "Tofurkey" samples. Tofu is a cheeselike, high-protein food made from an extract of soybeans.
A senior campaigner from the activist group's Washington, D.C., office, William Rivas-Rivas, emphasized the alleged inhumane commercial slaughtering practices with a flat-screen television strapped to his chest broadcasting "underground" PETA footage of poultry processing. "We're trying to get people to think of Thanksgiving in a new way with a new tradition, so animals don't have to suffer," he said.
Chris Link, a PETA campaign coordinator from Norfolk, Va., played it straight by handing out pamphlets titled, "What's Wrong With Eating Turkeys?" and small red boxes of the turkey-flavored tofu roasts under the brand name "Tofurkey" made by Turtle Island Foods Inc.
Longtime vegetarian Paula Henderson enthusiastically took a free tofu bird during her lunch break. "They can do wonderful things as far as flavoring it, grilling, smoking," she said. "It's a lot better for you."
Chaddick Melder of Baton Rouge politely declined a tofu roast. Melder, who brought his 10-year-old son, Alan, downtown for lunch, said he respected what PETA was doing but thought it was ridiculous to ask people not to eat turkey during the holiday. "I will be eating turkey on Thanksgiving," he asserted while getting into his truck.
The activists also attracted the attention of the State Police, responding to a complaint from a merchant from downtown's Main Street Market. Officers asked the activists to leave the spot near the corner entrance to the market because they had failed to obtain permission from the Main Street Market businesses, said Sgt. Stephania Jackson with the state Department of Public Safety. The market is on state property and falls under the jurisdiction of the State Police, Jackson said.
Rivas-Rivas argued that their right to assemble and speak in a public place was guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution. But the PETA workers left the area after debating the issue with the officers for another 30 minutes. By then, they had already accomplished their mission: Distributing all 50 of their tofu "birds," Link said.
Not wanting to pass up an opportunity to make a convert to vegetarianism, they even talked to the officers about trying the tofu.
The activists, who also had been handing out a beginner's guide to vegetarianism, claimed turkey is an unhealthy, high-fat meat.
An LSU animal science professor disagrees with that claim. "It's one of the healthiest meats," Theresia Lavergne, assistant professor at LSU's Department of Animal Science, said when called later for comment.
Lavergne said dark meat is higher in fat than white meat, but all turkey meat is healthier than red meat. Often what makes turkey fattening is the way it is prepared, she said. "If you fry anything, it's not quite as healthy," she said.
As for PETA's protests over commercial slaughtering practices, Lavergne said slaughtering techniques are regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The painful chopping off of beaks and toes are an exaggeration, she said.
"It's just the tip -- like trimming fingernails and toenails," she said. "It's for the protection of the birds. When birds are penned together, they instinctively become cannibalistic."
In the end, the "Tofurkey" was a hard sell to the officers investigating the demonstration.
"What are you guys having for Thanksgiving?" Rivas-Rivas asked.
"Turkey," Officer L. Brandley replied.
ON THE INTERNET
PETA vegetarian site : www.goveg.com.
National Turkey Federation : www.eatturkey.com
By DEBRA LEMOINE
Three animal-rights activists handed out free tofu turkeys Monday at Main and North Fifth streets, urging downtown workers to spare the real birds this Thanksgiving.
Holding signs saying, "Thanksgiving is murder on turkeys," the trio from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals attracted many polite "no, thank yous," a few off-color comments from passing motorists, and at least 50 takers of the free tofu "birds," which had to be cooked before they could be sampled. "It looks like a turkey. It smells like a turkey. It even tastes like a turkey," said Annie Judah, a PETA worker from the Atlanta office. Dressed in a miniskirt with a bustier top and knee-high black boots, Judah tried to tempt passers-by with the "Tofurkey" samples. Tofu is a cheeselike, high-protein food made from an extract of soybeans.
A senior campaigner from the activist group's Washington, D.C., office, William Rivas-Rivas, emphasized the alleged inhumane commercial slaughtering practices with a flat-screen television strapped to his chest broadcasting "underground" PETA footage of poultry processing. "We're trying to get people to think of Thanksgiving in a new way with a new tradition, so animals don't have to suffer," he said.
Chris Link, a PETA campaign coordinator from Norfolk, Va., played it straight by handing out pamphlets titled, "What's Wrong With Eating Turkeys?" and small red boxes of the turkey-flavored tofu roasts under the brand name "Tofurkey" made by Turtle Island Foods Inc.
Longtime vegetarian Paula Henderson enthusiastically took a free tofu bird during her lunch break. "They can do wonderful things as far as flavoring it, grilling, smoking," she said. "It's a lot better for you."
Chaddick Melder of Baton Rouge politely declined a tofu roast. Melder, who brought his 10-year-old son, Alan, downtown for lunch, said he respected what PETA was doing but thought it was ridiculous to ask people not to eat turkey during the holiday. "I will be eating turkey on Thanksgiving," he asserted while getting into his truck.
The activists also attracted the attention of the State Police, responding to a complaint from a merchant from downtown's Main Street Market. Officers asked the activists to leave the spot near the corner entrance to the market because they had failed to obtain permission from the Main Street Market businesses, said Sgt. Stephania Jackson with the state Department of Public Safety. The market is on state property and falls under the jurisdiction of the State Police, Jackson said.
Rivas-Rivas argued that their right to assemble and speak in a public place was guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution. But the PETA workers left the area after debating the issue with the officers for another 30 minutes. By then, they had already accomplished their mission: Distributing all 50 of their tofu "birds," Link said.
Not wanting to pass up an opportunity to make a convert to vegetarianism, they even talked to the officers about trying the tofu.
The activists, who also had been handing out a beginner's guide to vegetarianism, claimed turkey is an unhealthy, high-fat meat.
An LSU animal science professor disagrees with that claim. "It's one of the healthiest meats," Theresia Lavergne, assistant professor at LSU's Department of Animal Science, said when called later for comment.
Lavergne said dark meat is higher in fat than white meat, but all turkey meat is healthier than red meat. Often what makes turkey fattening is the way it is prepared, she said. "If you fry anything, it's not quite as healthy," she said.
As for PETA's protests over commercial slaughtering practices, Lavergne said slaughtering techniques are regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
The painful chopping off of beaks and toes are an exaggeration, she said.
"It's just the tip -- like trimming fingernails and toenails," she said. "It's for the protection of the birds. When birds are penned together, they instinctively become cannibalistic."
In the end, the "Tofurkey" was a hard sell to the officers investigating the demonstration.
"What are you guys having for Thanksgiving?" Rivas-Rivas asked.
"Turkey," Officer L. Brandley replied.
ON THE INTERNET
PETA vegetarian site : www.goveg.com.
National Turkey Federation : www.eatturkey.com