PETA, WMD & The White House

Washington — U.S. Marine Cpl. Ravi Chand, who just returned from his tour of duty in Iraq, has rejoined his old "unit" at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), but he’s not through fighting the war on terror just yet. Cpl. Chand, who saw combat in Iraq and stuck to his pure vegetarian diet throughout the war, will lead a demonstration in front of the White House, highlighted by PETA members dressed as an oversized knife and fork and holding signs reading, "President Bush: Found Your WMD—Meat’s the Biggest Killer of All," to make the point that eating meat kills far more Americans each year than war or other weapons, in addition to terrorizing and killing billions of animals.
Date: Thursday, September 4
Time: 12 noon
Place: In front of the White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
Heart disease and cancer, the biggest killers of human beings in North America, are both inextricably linked to meat-eating. And more than 27 billion animals, including fish and other aquatic life, are killed to satisfy the U.S. meat habit each year: The 10 billion land animals who are raised on factory farms are crammed into cages and crates and forced to undergo excruciating procedures, such as debeaking, dehorning, tooth-clipping, branding, and castration—all without painkillers. According to United States Department of Agriculture inspection reports, cows and pigs are often skinned and dismembered while still conscious.
"Meat-eaters make every day a 9/11 for animals in slaughterhouses," says Cpl. Chand, whose deployment took him from Kuwait through Nasiriyah and on to Baghdad. "Nonvegetarians are the real terrorists—they need to lay down their weapons and pick up some healthy, humane eating habits."
PETA will launch a nationwide "Weapons of Mass Destruction" billboard campaign later this month.

Apparently, the event was not well attended. The folks over at The Center For Consumer Freedom say the WMD should stand for "Where's My Demonstrators?"