NZer Makes Uk Debut As Peta's Sexy 'Lettuce Lady'

For Immediate Release:
25 November 2002

NEW ZEALAND NATIVE MAKES UK DEBUT AS PETA'S SEXY 'LETTUCE LADY' TO COUNTER MISLEADING MEAT MOGULS

Leafy Lovely Gives Ag Conference Attendees a 'Taste' of the Opposition London - Wearing nothing but strategically placed lettuce leaves and waving a sign that reads, 'Go Veg!', PETA's newest 'Lettuce Lady', Nichola Baker, will hand out free samples of 'Cheatin' ham' slices and meat free sausages to attendees of the Royal Smithfield Show, the UK's largest international agribusiness event, in hopes of planting the seeds of vegetarianism.

Date: Tuesday, 26th November

Time: 12 noon-1pm

Place: Outside the Earls Court Exhibition Centre, Warwick Road

What inspired the 29-year old Whakatane native and former student of Waikato University to take her message to the streets? Intensively bred and housed, animals on factory farms are kept in cramped, unnatural conditions.

Chickens often have the tips of their beaks sliced off with a hot wire, cows are de-horned and pigs have their tails and the ends of their teeth cut off, usually without anaesthesia. Modern slaughter methods mean that many animals are not rendered fully unconscious before they are strung upside down to have their throats slit and are bled to death. Not only is meat-eating a killer of animals, it has also been linked to heart disease, cancer and strokes. Vegetarians live, on average, seven years longer than their carnivorous counterparts.

Britons who overindulge in Sunday roasts, meat pies, American-style fast food, Devonshire cream and fried eggs also pay a high price: Eating animal products has been linked to salmonella, E. coli, heart disease, strokes, obesity, diabetes and cancer as well as mad cow disease and more.

'Going veggie is good for everyone's health, good for the animals and good for the Earth', says PETA Lettuce Lady Nichola Baker. 'There are so many delicious veggie dishes, we're here to show that eating this way is good for taste buds, too!'

PETA's Lettuce Ladies, including famous vegetarians Amanda Holden, Traci Bingham and Elizabeth Berkley, have previously appeared in print ads and at fast-food restaurants, festivals and airports, as well as hosting all-veg parties for US legislators on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. For more information, please visit PETA's Web site LettuceLadies.com.

The vegan food was donated by Redwood Foods (www.RedwoodFoods.co.uk). # Sean Gifford Director, European Campaigns People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, Europe Tel: 020 7357 9229, ext 226 Fax: 020 7357 0901 www.PETAUK.org

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