Valentine ‘Angels’ from PETA India Descend on Bhopal with Message of Compassion
Dressed in red gowns and angel wings, PETA India and Animals With Humanity (AWH) supporters distributed red roses and delicious vegan cupcakes—freshly prepared by Bhopal-based bakery Cake by Reeta—to couples and passersby just before Valentine’s Day. Holding a sign that reads, “Have a Heart: Go Vegan,” the Valentine “angels” hope to encourage everyone to show compassion for animals by switching to healthy and humane vegan eating.
PETA India points out that contrary to popular belief, eating vegan is an Indian concept, as the Himalayan tribe was vegan 5,000 years ago. Moreover, vegans are simply vegetarians who eat purely animal-free (dairy-free), and vegetarianism also originated in India. It started influencing the Western world’s eating habits as early as the fourth century BCE. According to a 2023 YouGov India poll, 59 per cent of respondents expressed a strong likelihood of considering vegan food shortly, 74 per cent of respondents believe that vegan food is good for overall health, 73 per cent feel it helps stop animal exploitation, 72 per cent believe it is good for the environment, and 62 per cent feel it is an easy lifestyle to maintain.
The dairy industry separates frightened calves from their distressed mothers so that humans can steal the milk meant for them. Male calves in the dairy industry are commonly abandoned, left to starve, or killed because they can’t produce milk, and the beef industry is largely able to exist because the dairy sector supplies it with cattle to kill.
Each person who goes vegan saves nearly 200 animals a year from abuse and violent, painful death, reduces their risk of suffering from heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and cancer, and helps prevent future pandemics. SARS, swine flu, bird flu, and likely COVID-19 all spread to humans from confining and killing animals for food. A United Nations report concluded that a global shift towards vegan eating is necessary to combat the worst effects of the climate catastrophe.
