This is ridiculous, if not just plain hateful.

I've known many overweight vegetarians -- as a matter of fact, I used to be one. Not eating meat does not automatically exclude you from being overweight/obese. Shame on PETA.

I am unsubscribing to this site's feed, because I'm horrified that you even pose the question. Fat-shaming has no place on a blog with the tagline "healthy happy you."

And, no, I am not "fat." But I believe all people deserve equal respect and consideration.

I think this billboard is ridiculous -- although it does strike directly at the problem of obesity in America, becoming a vegetarian does not automatically equal weight loss. It may induce some to stop eating meat (what PETA ultimately seeks to gain from the ad), but these people will most likely compensate for the lack of meat with extra carbs and will not lose weight at all, perhaps even GAIN it from becoming a vegetarian. Medically, I think this ad exudes a false message that vegetarianism = weight loss.

Apart from the outrage: I don't think the approach is very effective. I mean, who will actually be encouraged to go vegetarian by seeing that billboard?

it's offensive and not true. Not eating meat doesn't mean you lose weight. On the other hand, you cut a major font of protein, and most of people end up eating more carb.

PETA has been executing horrible tactics on the majority of their campaigns over the past few years. And even though this one is bad, I can't say I'm surprised. They've managed to tie the KKK and nazism into previous campaigns, so they're clearly idiots who have no idea how to garner genuine support for their cause. They're great at instigating alienation though. I'll give them that much. Morons.

A more effective billboard would be, "Can you please just all stop eating meat so our stupid ads will disappear forever?"

A) Last time I checked, cutting calories caused weight loss. This can be done with an herbivorous or vegetarian diet. Equating vegetarianism with thinness is false.(Although there are a number of women who turn to veganism to mask weight obsession and disordered eating habits--Skinny b*tch, anyone? Still, there are plenty of portly vegetarians.)
B) Hmm, let's see. PETA has invoked atrocities like the Holocaust and the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade (in comparison to wearing fur) in order to advance its case, in the past. Now it's moved onto appealing to societal fatism. This organization robs the Animal Rights Movement of credibility.

That's just shameful, I wish someone would take PETA down a notch. They are bordering on hateful.

I just wish they'd look at some of the overweight vegetarians clogging up South Beach, Weight Watchers, etc.

this takes away from their point. they're supposed to be about vegetarianism and stopping animal cruelty.

I hate PETA so much! This is just hurtful, it doesn't serve any purpose.

There is an obesity epidemic in the united states and meat is not healping a damn thing. everyone should go veg, it helps your body, the animals, and the planet. I think the people who were offended by this ad are overweight meat lovers.
I agree that its extremely harsh but desperate times call for desperate measures.

"I am unsubscribing to this site's feed, because I'm horrified that you even pose the question. Fat-shaming has no place on a blog with the tagline "healthy happy you."

And, no, I am not "fat." But I believe all people deserve equal respect and consideration."

Fitsugar doesn't seem to like the overweight as well as smokers. I was a member under a different name for a while over a year ago and stopped coming because it bugged me so much, now I just roll my eyes and read the other health stuff. I'm not fat either but yes it annoys me.

i don't see what the big deal is. i don't necessarily think veg diet leads to weight loss, but i don't think the message is OMG SO OFFENSIVE. it's just telling fat people to lose weight, and maybe save some animals in the process.

i've never responded to a post before but i just think it's silly for people to freak out about things like this. usually because they know it's the truth and they can't handle it.

I can't stand PETA or their tactics to try and shame people into wanting to go vegetarian/vegan/whatever. All they are going to accomplish by posting these hateful billboards is to piss off any overweight people that see the ads: "You think I'm a whale? F--- you, PETA, it's steak for dinner tonight!" At least, that would be my response to it, haha. And like others have said, going vegetarian won't necessarily make you thin and you can be lean and eat meat.

you know what? fat isn't bad, but obesity is. its not saying fat or obese people are amoral or are terrible human beings, but face it- its not healthy to be obese. the person on that billboard is obese. I think PETA is a bunch of total nutjobs who use shock tactics, but I agree with their end goal. well, I guess their end goal is for people to be vegetarians, but I agree with their tangential goal of people being slimmer for their health's sake.

1. Tacky
2. Being a vegetarian does NOT help you lose weight
3. Are we seriously questioning PETA's advertising tactics? I thought it was public knowledge that they're over the top and flat out disturbed.

I know a ton of people who gained weight becoming vegeterians. Including me, I gained weight becoming vegan after reading skinny b*tch.
therefore i think putting these two topics together that do not always correlate is a little stupid

To those of you who have disproportionately reacted to this PETA ad, I encourage you to consider the following:
1) Would you rather be aware of-arguable- hate crimes (in this case fat hate/shaming, etc.) or live in a world, where people who bode such sentiments are muffled from expressing them? However hateful or shaming certain ads or marketing ploys may be, I consistently side with transparency. We need to be able to see the shortcomings in society to recognize OUR weaknesses, fix them, and build a stronger society at large. Following this line of reasoning, I think it's ridiculous to shoot the messenger/fitsugar entity for highlight existing contentious marketing ploys.
2) The other part of this is recognizing that a chunk of the above comments express (politely put) serious angst for PETA. In fact, PETA has succeeded in another marketing campaign. They're continually branding themselves as extreme sh*t disturbers, and consequently getting attention for issues otherwise easily swept under the rug. We can argue the ethics behind their method or tactics to no end, but the reality is, they have succeeded in getting an otherwise overshadowed issue, whales, on the forefront on the general public's mind. Perhaps its a cheap shot to soft mid sections, but I think people need to get over themselves, and realize their are more important things going on in OUR world than fretting about a particular BMI. We won't have BMI's to worry about if we don't focus on species respect and preservation. To that end, I think PETA is not only doing a marvelous job at reminding us how ludicrously sensitive we are about the wrong things. Relatively people...it's a lovely thing.

Peace.

PETA annoys the crap out of me. I don't find this billboard shocking or horrible, but their cumulative actions really irk me... and I am all for a vegetarian diet.

I usually hate PETA, but I'm with mamasitamalita on this one. Obesity is bad for you. Period. Eat a healthy vegetarian diet and you'd probably lose weight.

ya know what? it may be shocking & slightly upsetting, but good! as someone who's grandmother just died b/c of a diet high in cholesterol (something ONLY in animal products) & a mother who is in the same line (who's doctor didn't bother to inform her a diet change would help), i wish more people would scream this. there is nothing happy or healthy about rolls & anyone who thinks it's fine is in denial. natural curves are sexy & healthy. rolls are dangerous & killing people everyday. we need to stop looking the other way & "accepting" this sickness for sake of being polite. this is killing people i love. accept the lovely people, but NOT what kills them. obesity needs to go the way of smoking. vegetarian (done correctly) is not the only answer, but at least it's a non scary pill answer.

& btw, the people who gain weight being "vegetarian" are usually just eating waaaaay too many packaged foods & breads. vegetarian means you eat mostly veggies & fruits. all pasta all the time is not vegetarian, it's just unbalanced & extreme. nobody should blindly go into a diet w/o becoming VERY educated first.

This billboard is ridiculous, because being vegetarian isn't a guaranteed weight loss strategy. PETA isn't a health group, and calling names won't help anyhow. Nonetheless, just accepting obesity isn't ok with me either.

PETA likes animals.

PETA doesn't like people, they make that very clear.

Veg does not equal skinny.

This billboard will encourage NO ONE to lose weight. It will encourage plenty of people to hate PETA. But who doesn't already?

peta promotes a healthy vegetarian lifestyle so people can lose weight with veggies and fruit. not oh i can get pizza and candy because im a vegetarian and stil stay slim. but this add is abit over the top.

have found that PETA's radical tactics do turn people the other way. People get defensive and I think it's contributed to the stereotype of vegetarianism.

Wish Kirstie Alley would put up a billboard on the other side... look what her vegetarian diet did for her. This is coming from me - a vegan - who would never shove my thoughts/beliefs down your throat.

I'm not even close to fat but that ad just makes me sad.

Is that add any different than before and after weightloss ads? I don't think so. This is advertising 101 folks. Peta is trying to convince you to change you behavior (probably for the better, in my opinion) by convincing you that you will be chubby if you continue to eat meat. They are selling a product (vegetarianism) which happens to relate directly to their radical agenda. No different than any other weight loss ads which probably also make overweight people feel badly.

I'm a vegetarian and I roll my eyes at PETA's tactics every time. Fat-shaming is just cruel and unnecessary. There's no need to call fat people whales, or any other nasty name for that matter.

For what it's worth, I've known fat vegans, too — but the guy I'm thinking of ate mostly chips and seitan, very few vegetables. I eat mostly vegetables, grains, and beans, and I've been the same weight for the last 10 years.

I'm with Mamasita.
"Fat-shaming has no place on a blog with the tagline "healthy happy you." - well, "shaming" has no place, but obviously "fat" (when it comes to obesity) does not equal "healthy".

I don't know, I've seen more offensive than that; I just find it simply stupid since, as many people pointed out, you can be vegetarian but stuff yourself with pizza, pasta or peanut butter.

"I think the people who were offended by this ad are overweight meat lovers."

Nope. I think this ad is extremely offensive and I've been a vegetarian for over a decade.

I'm a vegetarian and I think PETA makes the rest of us look bad.

You can be a fat vegitarian. I was. There are plenty of donuts and cookies and other things besides MEAT that make people fat.

so offensive, and like everyone's saying, there are many fat vegetarians...chips and cookies do not a healthy diet make! they're totally crossing the line here and it makes them look more jerky than usual.

ugh PETA is just RUDE.

peta is totally obnoxious, all the time. & vegetarianism doesn't automatically make you thinner or healthier.

but i did chuckle. it's like that ad that came out years ago for some diet website (i think) with aliens saying 'they'll take the fat ones first'.

i know that some people who are overweight have thyroid issues or other problems that they can't control. but i would venture to say the majority of overweight people are that way because of their choices to eat crap, sit around on the couch, etc. so, it's not nice, but you make bad decisions, someone is going to poke fun at you.

Personally, I lost a ton of weight after becoming a vegan and my skin cleared up and I have a lot more energy. However, I agree that being a vegetarian or vegan doesn't necessarily equal weight loss if you don't do it healthfully.

I wish some of the outrage that people are expressing over this ad would be redirected towards the conditions in which factory farm animals are kept. I highly recommend googling the short video "MEET YOUR MEAT" if you are interested in food and want to make educated choices about what you consume.

I'm vegetarian, and PETA makes me want to turn in my veggie card. Yes, they increase dialog, but putting people on the offensive is NOT how you convince people to go veg. Besides, my parents are obese vegetarians, so it's also totally irrelevant. A better approach would be to make restaurants veg-friendly and give true info about factory farming, without hyperbole. People do care (Prop 2 in CA), but being antagonistic is not going to further your cause.

I wouldn't necessarily say this is over this line, but it is surely false. Vegetarianism is definitely not a key is losing weight. It is not the beef, chicken, pork etc. that leads us to weight gain. It is the unnecessary fats and overeating that do it. I think it is just a desperate attempt by PETA to convince people not to eat meat from a new angle, but I would say it is just ignorant.

Definitely not over the line, there are way too many obease people out there! the message needs to be sent. Yes an overweight persons 'blubber' addressed on a billboard isnt polite, but seeing overweight people isnt nice either.

1 ) Peta sucks

2) There are LOTS of fat vegetarians

I'm not fat at all and I respect vegetarian and vegan diet but that ad is ineffective if it's made to persuade people to forgo meat eating. It's only succeeding in shock value that turns people defensive.
Ok, perhaps it encourages people discussing about it, unfortunately: THE AD, only, on how offensive or over-the top. But, not the message that the vegetarian/vegan way of life is better/healthier for you, etc.

Imho, this is definitely not going to sway people to turn to vegetarian diet (by the way I was vegetarian when I was at my highest weight).

I put links in my old post, so sorry if this turns up twice. I had to re-post without it because I feel people should really look into PETA. This ad has less to do with whether vegetarianism is a "cure-all" for obesity than it does with how PETA is an overall horrible organization. I researched PETA all last semester and I don't know how anyone could support them after reading the long paper I wrote.

PETA juxtaposed pictures of starved animals next to holocaust and lynch victims, creating a completely false analogy between the meat industry and the complex histories of minoritized humans. Not to mention they completely exploit sexualized and gendered minorities as well as racialized minorities, and have been manipulating other ideological campaigns and concepts spanning from feminist theory to religious faith through their print advertising for years.

They really need to rethink the 'ethical' in their acronym, because their advertising AND business strategies have been anything but ethical. On numerous occasions they've unlawfully 'disposed of' animals they were supposed to put up for adoption.

I honestly can not support anyone that backs PETA, whether they're talking about obesity or anything else. There are many other animal rights groups that have been saving animals and are actually morally sound. Anyone who defended PETA in this post is seriously poorly educated on the matter.

I know PLENTY of overweight vegetarians.... very overweight. PETA sucks either way...

I agree with all these girls, vegetarians are just as likely to be fat as anyone else. One doesn't become a vegetarian to lose weight, one does it for other reasons.

PETA is PETA's own worst enemy.

So, I guess there were no overweight people involved with making this ad. And, I wonder how the overweight people involved with PETA feel about this.

I'm horrified by it, regardless.

hey it's the truth...america is fat and it's good to let them know once in a while so they are reminded to do something about it! and i think going veg is a good idea IF you do it the right way.

Personally I think it's counterproductive to the entire scope of issues. I don't think this billboard will win anyone over to their cause that isn't already there, it won't make overweight people lose weight, and though I respect a vegetarian's right to eat vegetarian/vegan, they are not qualified to make blithe comments about what does - or does not - make people fat. The metabolic and nutritional needs of human beings cannot be addressed with a "one size fits all" mentality -

We could use less ignorance on the topic of obesity, and the cause of animal rights and vegetarianism could certainly use better spokespeople than PETA. I may be an environmentally-minded person, but I eat organic eggs and meat, and I eat fish when it's ethically sourced and not overfarmed, and I don't feel a particular need to apologise for it. For me, it'd be like apologising for having brown hair....I'm happier and healthier on diets that embrace proteins and reject the overprocessed bread/cereal/soy avalanche crammed down our throats every day. I'd much rather support a local organic rancher and his (very tasty) beef.

Obesity is more readily addressed by avoiding processed foods of ANY type, and managing the quantity and quality of our food sources.....not by picking easy targets and throwing out misleading information about something they're not qualified to comment upon.

Americans eat TOO much food as a rule, and don't move enough. If PETA want to do something good for animals, tell people to get out and walk dogs at the local shelter. That way, everybody wins.