Thursday, July 2, 2009

PETA Exploiting A Child

PETA: Feeding Kids Meat Is Child Abuse
Group Plans Billboard In Light Of 555-Pound Teen

Jennifer Phillips reporting
POSTED: 11:27 am EDT July 1, 2009
UPDATED: 11:48 am EDT July 1, 2009

GREENVILLE, S.C. -- An animal rights group is planning to post a billboard in the Greenville area that calls feeding meat to children abuse in light of recent news stories about a 555-pound South Carolina teenager.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals want to put up the billboard that features a picture of an overweight boy who is about to eat a hamburger with the tagline “Feeding kids meat is child abuse.”

The billboard also directs readers to the Web site goveg.com.

PETA campaign manager Lindsay Rajt said the group got the idea after hearing about Jerri Gray and her 14-year-old son Alexander Draper, who weighs 555 pounds.

Gray garnered national attention when deputies said she skipped town with her son after she learned the Department of Social Services was planning to remove him from her home.

An Upstate personal trainer said the billboard is exploiting the teen’s condition.

“There are a lot of average sized or small children who eat two or three hamburgers a week and they’re not having issues,” said personal trainer Cathy Frohnheiser. “Taking one heavy child and 'let’s exploit that' is really not the approach they need to be taking.” Read More

It would seem obvious to most reasonable people that this teenager’s weight problem was caused by more than what he was eating. This child is obviously battling some serious issues that will affect the rest of his life and it’s sad that PETA feels the need to contribute to this boy’s problems. A balanced diet that includes meat and dairy products, coupled with regular exercise will always be the foundation for a healthy lifestyle. This is a truly shameful action on PETA’s part.

1 comment:

Courtney Schoenfeld said...

Unfortunately, this is par for the course for PETA. Imbalance is in everything they do. I'd say that the poor kid could stand some outside time. Of course, that's a good portion of my beef with diets as a whole. Health is about balance. I love steak, but I also love Brussel Sprouts. I love ice cream, cake, and cookies, but I also like walking the dog, dancing, and playing in the pool with my kids.

PETA is just another extremist group promoting a hateful agenda.