I crafted the below letter to the Kansas State Fair (and similar letters to other fairs around the country) asking for permission for PETA to erect a booth to show the grisly, often overlooked side of animal agriculture. The application resulted in a booth, and even a lawsuit over censorship ensued, covered by national outlets such as The Huffington Post.
March 2, 2012
Sue Stoecklein
Commercial Exhibits Director
Kansas State Fair
Dear Ms. Stoecklein,
Greetings from PETA. We are writing to request outdoor exhibit space at the state fair for a thought-provoking twist on the traditional 4-H booth—one revealing the damaging side of animal agriculture that the public is increasingly curious about. PETA’s display will offer a realistic view of the meat, dairy, and egg industries, with the four H’s standing for “hellish for animals,” “hazardous to the environment,” “heart attack–inducing,” and “hypocritical for teaching kids to care about only certain animals and to disregard others.”
We will screen this video narrated by Sir Paul McCartney, which illustrates these points through undercover video footage from factory farms and slaughterhouses, where animals have their throats slit while they are still conscious and are even skinned alive. Because Kansas is the country’s second largest beef producer, visitors to the booth will learn the grisly reality for the millions of cows who have their horns and testicles cut off without painkillers and are crammed by the thousands into filthy feedlots before being shipped to slaughter in all weather extremes for the beef industry. The video also shares data from the United Nations about the meat trade’s devastating impact on lakes and rivers as well as various health studies about how meat consumption contributes to the obesity epidemic, heart disease, and cancer. We will distribute free copies of PETA’s vegetarian/vegan starter kit, which offers healthy and cruelty-free vegan recipes, to all visitors to our booth.
An exhibit application, a photo of our booth, and sample materials are attached. Please feel free to contact me at [redacted] if you have any questions or would like additional information. We look forward to participating in this year’s fair.
Sincerely,
Laura Wilson
Campaign Coordinator
PETA