December 1, 2000
		PETA Says Burgers Equal Child Abuse Eight British members of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) donned biohazard suits and gas masks as they demonstrated at the Royal Smithfield Show in London to voice their concerns over meat eating. Linked to heart disease, cancer and stroke, the animal rights activists spread the message that feeding hamburgers to children is equivalent to child abuse. A PETA spokesperson told Ananova news service that "News reports of contaminated animal flesh - from e.coli and salmonella to listeria and campylobacter - are now the norm, as are headlines about dangers from BSE and swine fever." "Those dangers aside, animal products are also the UK's largest source of food poisoning, and Britain's three biggest killers - heart disease, cancer and stroke - are also unequivocally linked to a meat-based diet." He added: "Over 850 million animals are killed for their flesh in Britain every year after suffering from overcrowded, filthy conditions on factory farms." Toni Vernelli, PETA's European campaign coordinator, said, "Killing animals is simply killing us. Serving a burger to your family today, knowing what we know, constitutes child abuse. You might as well give them weedkiller."