PETA Passes Out McCruelty Meals To Kids

Posted on August 7, 2009 in Animals, Consumer Goods, Health & Medicine, Parenting

Parents in Albany, New York are upset with the prominent animal rights group PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment for Animals) for distributing “Unhappy Meals” to children exiting McDonald’s across the country.

The “Unhappy Meal” is a part of PETA’s McCruelty campaign, which is meant to warn children about the cruelty that PETA says is behind every Happy Meal. From animal cruelty to manipulating advertising that targets children, the charges that PETA is accusing McDonald’s of are expressed through this mock meal. According to Slashfood.com, PETA discontinued campaigns like the McCruelty one for the past nine years because it was working with McDonald’s behind the scene.

Each “Unhappy Meal” consists of an image of a knife wielding Ronald McDonald, pictures of mutilated chickens, a “blood” stained Happy Meal box and a complementary T-Shirt that reads “Chicken McCruelty.” A parent told a local news station that she felt what PETA was doing was unfair to children and young people shouldn’t be exposed to the messages that PETA is trying to get across.

Spokesperson for PETA, Lindsay Rajt, told Slashfood.com, “Kids deserve to be told the truth and we really do need to give them credit,” she says. “The bottom line is that they’ve really seen much worse in movies and videogames, and we all know that kids empathize with animals.”