For Immediate Release:
February 21, 2008

Contact:
Nathan Runkle – 937-470-9454

'BIOHAZARD TEAM' CONVERGES OUTSIDE CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOL OFFICE TO DECLARE "RECALL ALL MEAT, GO VEG"

Largest Beef Recall in U.S. History Prompts Group to Urge Chicago Schools to Replace Meat on Cafeteria Menus with Healthy, Humane Vegetarian Meals

Chicago, IL – Donning white jumpsuits, rubber gloves, and face protection masks, a "biohazard team" - backed by a banner featuring a "downed" cow that proclaims "Prevent Cruelty & Disease, Recall All Meat" - will converge outside the Chicago Public School central office on Friday in response to the largest beef recall in U.S. history, which included nearly 40 million pounds of meat that was sent to school lunch programs.  The biohazard crew will be joined by members of Mercy For Animals, who will distribute emergency Vegetarian Starter Kits to school officials, encouraging them to protect animals from abuse and students from E. coli, salmonella, and mad cow disease by adding more vegetarian options to school lunch menus.

Date: Friday, February 22, 2008

Time: 12 noon – 1 p.m.

Location: Outside the main entrance of the Chicago Public School Central Office, 125 S. Clark St. (at Marble Pl. between W. Monroe and W. Adams) in downtown Chicago

The massive recall was spurred by an undercover investigation at a Westland/Hallmark Meat Co. slaughterhouse in Chino, Calif., which revealed that "downed" cows, who were too injured or ill to stand, were tortured into struggling to their feet so that they could pass USDA inspection.

The cruelty caught on tape at the Chino slaughterhouse is not unusual--numerous undercover investigations have revealed deliberate and routine cruelty to animals at slaughterhouses around the country, including chickens defeathered in scalding vats of water while still alive, workers ripping the skins off of conscious cows and punching, kicking, and throwing live turkeys.

Mercy For Animals is insisting that vegetarian options should replace all meat - not just that recalled – in the Chicago school lunch program, not only out of humane concerns, but because of meat's dangerous levels of saturated fat and cholesterol, which can be an even bigger threat to human health than E. coli and salmonella. Meat and other animal products have been linked to America's top killers: heart attacks, stroke, diabetes, and cancer.

"The diseases we may catch from downed cows are far less likely to kill us than the fat and cholesterol we get from their flesh," says MFA's Executive Director, Nathan Runkle. "The best way to protect the health of the nation's school children and prevent cruelty to animals is to encourage them to eat more vegetarian foods."

To learn more, visit ChooseVeg.com