With Easter Sunday just over two weeks away, the activists at PETA are calling on First Lady Jill Biden to make a drastic change to the White House Easter Egg Roll.
A press release from the group issued Wednesday calls upon the White House to replace the traditional eggs used for the event with potatoes.
“The White House Easter Egg Roll is a tired tradition, and there’s a way to make it far more appeeling for everyone: by using potatoes instead of eggs. Beloved in all their wonderful forms, potatoes are an American staple that make for the perfect spudstitute for the thousands of eggs used in the event—plus, these plentiful plants aren’t stolen from exploited hens.
Easter should be a time of renewal and joy for everyone, including chickens. But chickens suffer in the cruel, environmentally destructive meat and egg industries, which raise and kill millions of sensitive birds each year. Farms that use “free-range” or “cage-free” labels confine chickens to cramped, filthy sheds, where they can’t even stretch their wings, root in the soil, or breathe fresh air. Farmers often cut off the tips of chicks’ sensitive beaks with a hot blade to prevent anguished, frustrated birds from pecking at each other.
In starch contrast, a potato roll would support U.S. potato farmers and teach tots that our fellow animals are sensitive, feeling beings who deserve respect. Chickens form complex social hierarchies and can recognize more than 100 individuals of their own species. They feel pain and fear, just as humans do.
Potatoes, the most popular vegetable in the country, can be dyed, decorated, rolled, and used for a festive treasure hunt. They can even be used to welcome other new traditions, such as games of hot potato and potato sack races.
Promoting healthy, nutritious animal-free foods would also speak volumes about Dr. Biden’s efforts to improve research into women’s health. Studies have shown that going vegan can reduce the risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer.”
The White House, nor the First Lady herself appear to have responded to this request from PETA.
