“You see them on every corner, lurking, waiting to take your money for unhealthy products that can ruin your life and put you in the hospital. Fast-food restaurants are everywhere.” That’s how Russell Simmons begins in a new radio ad campaign for PETA, which the group is launching across the U.S. in cities that are consistently ranked as unhealthy or obese and have a high concentration of fast-food restaurants.
In his 30-second spot, which will run on hip-hop and R&B stations during prime commuting hours for two weeks, Simmons continues, “They’re selling products that can make you fat and unhealthy, products that are killing the environment and causing animal suffering on an unimaginable level. Fight it, do yourself a favor. Go vegan. You deserve it, our planet deserves it, the animals sure do. Vegan. Now that’s good karma.”
The radio spot’s initial run will include KIPR 92.3 FM in Little Rock, Ark.; WJMI 99.7 FM in Jackson, Miss.; WAMO 100.1 FM in Pittsburgh, Pa.; WHRK 97.1 FM in Memphis, Tenn.; and WQUE 93.3 FM in New Orleans.
On average, vegans and vegetarians are significantly leaner than meat-eaters, and the consumption of meat and other animal-derived products has been conclusively linked to heart disease, strokes, diabetes, cancer, and obesity. Vegan meals are also an excellent choice for people who get digestive problems from consuming cow’s milk — a condition affecting 70 percent of African-Americans.
Simmons, who grew up in Hollis, Queens, previously teamed up with PETA — whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat” — for a public transportation campaign in Washington, D.C., which was also aimed at countering the fast-food industry’s constant marketing to urban areas.
