Community
PETA Courts Warren Green Residents
by Molly Jaffa'11
Tuesday December 30, 2008
On the heels of its profile by British news agency Reuters, Warren Green has received another unexpected accolade. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has recognized the residents of Warren Green for their efforts to make the house environmentally friendly. On December 2nd, PETA sent the residents a letter thanking them for the steps they are taking to reduce their collective carbon footprint, including air-drying clothes, recycling, using energy-saving light bulbs, and cooking as a group. In the letter, Vegan Campaign Manager and Sarah Lawrence alumnus Lindsay Rajt emphasizes the importance of eating “green” in addition to taking other energy-saving measures. To encourage the students to continue with a vegan diet, PETA sent the Warren Green residents a care package with vegetarian cookbooks, PETA’s “Vegetarian Starter Kit”, and vegan snacks. In the letter, Rajt emphasizes the importance of vegan eating habits by citing a recent U.N. report, Livestock’s Long Shadow: Environmental Issues and Options. Rajt writes, “Scientists found that raising animals for food generates approximately 40 percent more greenhouse-gas emissions than all the cars, trucks, ships, and planes in the world combined.” She also mentions a University of Chicago study that found switching to a vegan diet to be 50 percent more effective in stopping the harmful effects of global warming than switching from a standard car to a hybrid. Rajt also mentions that the Warren Green residents are taking a positive step not only for the environment, but for their own health as well. Eco-friendly living and eating habits make a person less susceptible to heart disease, strokes, and some types of cancer. Their green eating habits are clearly positive for animals as well: according to www.meat.org, for every person who chooses to be a vegetarian, 100 less animals are killed each year. The letter closes with an offer for continued contact and assistance from PETA should the residents of Warren Green have further questions
