Standing Tall for Animals This Republic Day: 3.5-Metre-High ‘Cow,’ ‘Chicken’ and ‘Goat’ to Urge Public to Honour Constitution by Eating Vegan
In celebration of the 76th Republic Day, PETA India is encouraging citizens to honour Article 51A(g) of the Constitution, which makes it the fundamental duty of Indian citizens to have compassion for animals by giving them the ultimate respect—eating vegan. PETA India supporters on stilts will wear cow, goat and chicken masks while wearing orange, white and green outfits inspired by the Indian flag to urge Indians to stand tall for animals this Republic Day and every day by eating vegan.
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 plant-based (dairy-free), and vegetarianism also originated in India. It started influencing the Western world’s eating habits as early as the fourth century BCE. And according to a 2023 YouGov India poll, 59 per cent of respondents expressed a strong likelihood of considering a vegan diet shortly, 74 per cent of respondents believe that a vegan diet is good for overall health, 73 percent 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.
As PETA India reveals in its video exposé “Glass Walls,” chickens used for eggs are confined to cages so small they can’t spread a single wing. Cows and buffaloes are crammed into vehicles in such large numbers that their bones often break before they’re dragged off to a slaughterhouse, and pigs are stabbed in the heart as they scream. On the decks of fishing boats, fish suffocate or are cut open while they’re still alive. Male chicks and calves are often killed soon after birth because they cannot lay eggs or produce milk.
Each person who goes vegan saves nearly 200 animals a year from abuse and a 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. Researchers at the University of Oxford found that not consuming meat and dairy can reduce an individual’s carbon footprint from food by up to 73% and that a global switch to vegan eating could save up to 8 million human lives by 2050 and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by two-thirds.
