Viva! 8 York Court Wilder Street Bristol BS2 8QH Tel: 0117 944 1000 Fax: 0117 924 4646 email: media@viva.org.uk Visit Viva!'s Foot and Mouth Pages	4 May 2001 One Million Homes to get ‘Go Veggie’ Message - Events Around the UK Mountainous funeral pyres of dead farmed animals and scenes of slaughter have shocked the nation. One outcome has been an upsurge in the number of people considering going vegetarian. To speed the change, the animal charity Viva! is to launch a national campaign encouraging people to give up eating meat. It will involve roadside bill boards, door-drops to one million homes, selective advertising and events in every part of the country including Edinburgh, Sheffield, Leeds, Bristol, Cardiff, Southampton, Portsmouth and Brighton. In each city, campaigners will unfurl a gigantic banner with the message - ‘It’s time to go veggie’. The words are carried over a picture of burning cattle. A ‘MAFF slaughterman’ will ‘shoot’ protesters dressed in animal costumes. Prospective vegetarians will be handed leaflets filled with hard, scientific information. It tells them they will be less at risk of food poisoning, heart disease, strokes and cancer; that they are likely to live longer, reduce their impact on the environment and will help to end the suffering of animals. "If the animal killing for foot and mouth upsets people, they really should ask themselves why", says Juliet Gellatley, Director of Viva! "It will continue relentlessly - 2.4 million ‘healthy’ animals every day of the year, long after foot and mouth has disappeared. Slaughter for foot and mouth or slaughter for food - it makes little difference to the victims. If people object to the killing of animals, there’s only one answer - stop eating them. We know that many are already considering this option and this campaign will help them to make the change." Anyone contacting Viva! will be sent a free ‘Go Veggie’ pack which will include recipes and tips on shopping, cooking and eating out. Also available is a range of guides on all the vegetarian topics including health, nutrition, food poisoning and genetic engineering. Celebrities supporting the campaign include Paul McCartney, Hayley Mills, Pam Ferris, Benjamin Zephaniah, Joanna Lumley and Michael Mansfield QC. "The real irony is that on Britain’s filthy factory farms there are many diseases far more serious than foot and mouth and even new diseases are beginning to appear", says Ms Gellatley. "Disease, virulent infections and deadly, antibiotic-resistant superbugs are now part of the system and increasingly pose a serious threat to humans. Instead of crocodile tears and hypocrisy, Viva! is offering a way forward which provides genuine protection for humans and animals alike!" For further information contact Juliet Gellatley, Becky Smith or Kat Koukourakis on 0117 944 1000. List of regional events Friday 11th May: Edinburgh In front of Register House, East End of Princes Street at 1.30 pm Wednesday 16th May: Sheffield Fargate, outside Marks & Spencer at 3 pm Thursday 17th May: Leeds Central Square, outside WHSmiths at 11 am Monday 21st May: Bristol Union Street, on the corner of Broadmead at 2.30 pm Tuesday 22nd May: Cardiff Queen Street, by the Capitol Shopping Centre at 11 am Thursday 24th May: Portsmouth & Southampton Southampton: Outside the main entrance to West Quay Shopping Centre, Southampton precinct, Above Bar at 11.30 am Portsmouth: Commercial Road, outside the main entrance to The Cascades at 2.30pm. Friday 25th May: Brighton BurgerKing, North Street at 2.30pm.