Schaars geklede PETA-demonstrante trekt aandacht in Amerikaanse Topeka - Eenzaam protest voor vegetarisme

PETA demonstrator draws crowd

03-12-2009 By Phil Anderson, The Topeka Capital-Journal


PETA staffer Virginia Fort attracted plenty of stares over the lunch hour Thursday when she disrobed on the northeast corner of 8th and S. Kansas Avenue to bring attention to the similar body parts shared by humans and animals consumed for food.

THAD ALLTON/THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL
Virginia Fort, a staffer for PETA, drew plenty of attention as she stood on the northeast corner of S. Kansas Avenue and 8th over the lunch hour Thursday. She and her PETA co-worker braved the cold to protest the meat industry with signs reading, "All animals have the same parts - go vegetarian."

"If just one person goes vegetarian because of what I'm doing today," she said as she shivered, "it will be worthwhile."

She said she probably had been colder at some point in her life. However, at the moment, she couldn't remember exactly when or where that might have been.

The temperature on the Citizens Bank and Trust sign a block to the north read a bone-chilling 33 degrees at 11:53 a.m., when Fort removed her black coat in front of the Briman's Leading Jewelers store, 734 S. Kansas Ave.

Besides brown high-heel shoes and tan panties, she wore nothing else, save for the black block lettering that spelled out different parts of her body that corresponded to animals she said are brutally butchered for human food consumption: thigh, soup bone, loin, shoulder and breast.

Dotted lines on her body mimicked a butcher's diagram.
Fort, 24, who works out of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals office in Norfolk, Va., held a sign in front of her chest that read: "All Animals Have the Same Parts."

She remained disrobed for 15 minutes before putting her coat on again and heading to a nearby vehicle, where she said she was going to warm up by drinking "my wonderful soy latte."
"Soy," she added. "No animal products."

Dozens of people walked past Fort as she stood on the corner, with some stopping to take photos with their cell phones.

Fort said it wasn't the first time she had made a public demonstration for PETA in a U.S. city to draw attention to the the treatment of animals. Other demonstrations have focused on the treatment of animals used in laboratories and in circuses, as well as other forms of entertainment.

"I'd do it every day of the year," she said, "if it meant people would be switching to faux meats as opposed to eating animal flesh."
She said if people who saw her Thursday went vegetarian even for a couple of days a week, it could save 100 animals a year.

Stephen Doud, 23, of Topeka, was among the passersby who paused to see what was going on.
"I think it's going to grab a lot of attention," Doud said. "Definitely. Obviously. It's drawing a crowd. I think they've got a good point."

Some walked around television cameras with their heads down, passing a few feet away from Fort without breaking stride.
Others saw the event but weren't as sympathetic to the message.

Jessica Willard, of Topeka, said she believed meat consumption was an important part of human existence and the cycle of life.
"I believe there has to be balance in life," said Willard, who described herself as an environmentalist and a deer hunter. "We eat animals. It is how we were designed. We did not evolve as vegetarians. We cannot function as a species without meat and products from animals. It is essential for our survival."

Phil Anderson can be reached at (785) 295-1195 or phil.anderson@cjonline.com.

(Bron: http://cjonline.com/)
(Bron foto's: Topeka Capital-Journal)