John West’s ‘Sustainability’ Problems Could End With A Chickpea

For Immediate Release:

27 October 2015

Contact:

Jennifer White +44 (0) 20 7837 6327, ext 222; [email protected]

JOHN WEST’S ‘SUSTAINABILITY’ PROBLEMS COULD END WITH A CHICKPEA

PETA Suggests Ending Fish Sales in Favour of Vegan Chickpea-Based ‘Tuna-Safe Tuna’

Liverpool – As John West faces criticism over its not-so-traceable tuna, PETA has a proposal for the Liverpool-based company: phase out the sale of tuna entirely and replace it with tasty, innovative, vegantuna-safe tuna made from chickpeas.

PETA – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat” – sent a single chickpea to the company, along with a letter which points out: “Regardless of the veracity of dolphin-safe claims, it’s indisputable that tuna fishing harms tuna fish and other animals by the billions. … A switch to healthful and humane ‘tuna’ made from plants would ensure that your product is not only 100 per cent dolphin safe but also turtle, sea bird and tuna safe. … The enclosed chickpea may not look like much, but this one little chickpea can grow into more. We hope it represents the blossoming of a new cruelty-free future for John West …”.

“More diners than ever are turning away from tins of tuna who were netted, crushed to death or slowly suffocated on shore”, says PETA Director Mimi Bekhechi. “PETA stands ready to help John West become the first major canned-tuna company to switch to delicious, chickpea-based tuna-friendly ‘tuna’, free of the cruelty, toxins and cholesterol found in fish flesh.”

Biologists have found that fish develop relationships with each other and grieve when their companions die. Some fish are capable of using tools, while others gather information by eavesdropping. These intelligent, sensitive animals are so good-natured that Dr Sylvia Earle, one of the world’s leading marine biologists, has said, “I wouldn’t deliberately eat a grouper any more than I’d eat a cocker spaniel”.

PETA’s correspondence with John West is available here.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.uk.