Wearing stethoscopes and sexy nurse outfits — complete with white mini-dresses, knee-high stockings, and spiked heels — and holding signs that read, “Bypass Heart Surgery—Go Vegan,” two PETA (People for Ethical Treatment of Animals) advocates will greet patients and passersby outside the UCLA Medical Center, Santa Monica at noon today.
Their point? They say that the easiest way to stave off L.A. County’s number one killer — heart disease — is to stick to healthy vegan meals.
According to a press release from PETA, the organization said meat, eggs, and dairy products are loaded with artery-clogging cholesterol and saturated fat.
The press release quotes a recent large-scale study at Oxford University that found that not eating meat reduces one’s chance of developing heart disease by 32 percent.
“As former President Bill Clinton’s case dramatically demonstrated, a low-fat vegan diet can actually reverse the effects of heart disease in former meat-eaters,” the press release said. “And according to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, vegans are less prone to developing not only heart disease but also cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure, and obesity than meat-eaters are.”
PETA “nurse” Amanda Slyter said their outfits might get hearts racing, but vegan meals will get hearts healthy.
“PETA wants everyone to know that the best way to follow through on that New Year’s resolution to protect your heart is to say no to unhealthy meat, eggs, and dairy products,” Slyter said.
UCLA Medical Center is located at the intersection of 16th Street and Arizona Avenue, Santa Monica.
For more information, visit PETA.org.
