PETA relaunches anti-meat smoking baby campaign
The new version still features the picture of a smoking baby, along with the message: “You Wouldn’t Let Your Child Smoke. Like smoking, eating bacon, sausages and other processed meats is linked to cancer. Go vegan!” It differs from the original only in naming specific meats.
The UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) banned the original poster last month, on the grounds that PETA’s claim that “eating meat increases the risk of heart disease and cancer” implied that all meats were equally linked to cancer and heart disease risk.
The ASA ruled that the ad should not appear again in that form, although it acknowledged that some of the scientific evidence that PETA submitted did suggest a link between certain dietary patterns – including processed meat consumption in particular – and risk of heart disease or cancer, but they were not conclusive, and did not always examine consumption of all types of meat.
The ASA said that it had told PETA not to imply that any meat consumption would raise the risk of heart disease and cancer.
PETA's Mimi Bekhechi said in a statement: "PETA's message to parents about the health risks associated with eating meat needs to be heard. With this new billboard, PETA will remind parents that just as we should put down cigarettes, we should also put down meat and pick up fibre-rich, heart-healthy plant-based foods instead."
