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‘Tofu never caused a pandemic’ is the message being spread by a campaigner dressed as a dancing block of the foodstuff.
The advocate, from vegan charity PETA, posed outside Borough Market in London today, as non-essential businesses and markets start to reopen throughout the city.
A series of lockdown relaxation measures have been introduced in England from today, after the coronavirus outbreak – which is widely understood to have originated from a wet market in Wuhan’s China – caused all schools, markets, and non-essential shops to shut. Open-air markets in the country are now starting to re-open.
Tofu
PETA says the ‘dancing tofu block’ is ‘urging shoppers to spare animals, protect the planet, and prevent the spread of animal-borne pathogens by eating vegan’.
“The majority of the world’s new or emerging infectious diseases come from farming, consuming, and exploiting animals,” said PETA director Elisa Allen.
“We can help protect ourselves against future pandemics – and spare the lives of animals – by switching to nutritious, delicious vegan foods like tofu.”
Billboards
Last month, billboards bearing the same slogan were placed in US locations* with high cases of COVD-19, including Black Hawk County in Iowa – an area where around 90 percent of residents who recently tested positive for the virus had some connection to a Tyson slaughterhouse, according to PETA.
The organization said: “We launched this nationwide campaign to remind people that the meat industry breeds killer diseases and that everyone can help prevent the next viral outbreak by living vegan now.
“Not only is tofu cheaper than meat, it’s also more versatile and jam-packed with protein. Tofu contains zero cholesterol and can lower your risk of suffering from heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and numerous other life-threatening health issues. Plus, it won’t cause a pandemic that brings society to its knees.”
*Four billboards were constructed in Bakersfield, California, Black Hawk County, Iowa, Edison, New Jersey, and Nebraska.
