A naked vegan protester was smeared with BBQ sauce on a supersize plate next to a side salad, in between a monstrous set of knives and forks in Piccadilly Gardens this morning.
Loretta Hope, 22, braved the Manchester weather and prepared to be eaten in a bid to raise awareness for the ‘who’s on your plate’ campaign.
And while she appears completely naked, she actually has skin coloured underwear on and nipple plasters.
The demonstration, arranged by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), hoped to highlight to Manchester shoppers that animals have personalities and feelings too.
Ms Hope said: “All animals are made of the same flesh, blood and bone, so when it comes to suffering, there is no difference between a cow, a chicken, a dog and any other animal.
“We all have the same capacity to feel fear and pain and share the same desire to live, have families and do what is natural to us.”
Ms Hope, who is directly involved with the charity, has been vegetarian all her life and has been vegan for the past seven years.
“My mum used to be a vegetarian protestor so that where I got it from,” she told MM.
“But seven years ago I realised how unjust how we treat animals in the modern day and I am completely against it.
“It’s not normal, we are the only species that drinks milk after infancy. No other animal drinks milk from another species. It’s not natural.”
The demonstration comes days before the start of World Vegan Month in November which encourages people to help reduce the billions of animals who are killed by the food industry each year.
PETA also say that besides causing animals to suffer on a massive scale, consumption of meat and other animal products has been linked to heart disease, strokes, obesity, cancer and diabetes.
They also stress that raising animals for food is a leading cause of water pollution, land degradation and the greenhouse-gas emissions responsible for climate change.
Ms Hope told MM: “Eating free range foods is the lesser of two evils but I still am highly against it.
“Chickens aren’t nuggets, and pigs aren’t pork chops – they’re intelligent beings who deserve respect. With all the delicious mock meats and faux dairy products available these days, there’s never been a better time to go vegan.”
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