Grinning into the camera as three chicks perch on his shoulder next to the caption “Chicks Love a Vegetarian!” the hilarious British comedian John Bishop is the face of PETA's new billboard campaign.
Bishop gave up meat in 1985 after seeing a cow being slaughtered. (“The cow was hanging up looking at me as if to say, ‘You did this’”, John said in an interview last year.) He also credits his diet with keeping him in top physical condition and wants his legions of fans to know that going vegetarian is the best thing that they can do to safeguard their own health, help stop animal suffering and protect the planet. The campaign coincides with National Vegetarian Week, 21 to 27 May. The billboard is located on Southwark Street, facing the iconic Borough Market.
“John knows that meat and other animal products can slow you down and make you sick, and that’s no joking matter”, says PETA’s Yvonne Taylor. “His vegetarian diet has also made him irresistible to women who are attracted to men with big – hearts!”
Meat, eggs and dairy products contain no fibre and are loaded with artery-clogging saturated fat and cholesterol. Eating animal-derived foods has been linked to heart disease, strokes, diabetes, obesity and cancer. Also, each vegetarian saves 100 animals a year from immense suffering on factory farms, in abattoirs and in nets or on the decks of fishing boats. And raising animals for food is a leading cause of water usage and pollution, land degradation and the greenhouse-gas emissions that cause climate change.
Bishop cycled, rowed and ran more than 295 miles from Paris to London for Sport Relief in five days earlier this year. He has also received numerous awards, including Best Male Comedy Breakthrough Artist at the 2010 British Comedy Awards. He is one in a long list of vegetarian celebrities, including Sir Paul McCartney, Russell Brand, Bill Clinton, Leona Lewis and Joss Stone.
Source: PETA UK
