PETA - The News they don't report!

Gazette - Cedar Rapids, Iowa 
Friday, February 1, 2002

Meat eaters confront Kernel Corn from PETA -- By Janet Rorholm 

CEDAR RAPIDS --- Protesters eating chili, hamburgers and chicken while holding signs "Honk if you eat meat" were on hand to greet PETA's new anti-meat mascot, Kernel Corn, when the large cob arrived at Pierce Elementary School Thursday. 

More than two dozen high school students from Kennedy High School, which is next door to Pierce, 4343 Marilyn Dr. NE, protested the cob's visit. 

"Parents have the right to decide what is the best diet for kids. These are growing and developing children and they need protein, and meat is the best source for that," said Arick Sabin, a senior at Kennedy, who was among the protesters.

Sabin said PETA should have focused on older students, not young children. 

"These are impressionable young kids. Everybody has a right to say what they want to, but to target young kids in an underhanded strategy." 

Pierce parent Lori Heaton, who was picking up her children from school, said she didn't like the idea of PETA targeting young children, either. 

"People need to let families raise their kids the way they want to and that includes food, religion, whatever," she said. 

Pierce Principal Rebecca DeWald said she received a number of phone calls from parents on Thursday supporting her decision not to allow PETA inside the school. 

"They were glad that we were protecting that learning time," she said. 

This was the fourth and final stop on Kernel Corn's vegan campaign through the Midwest and the only one that attracted protesters, according to Dan Shannon, vegan campaign coordinator for PETA, which stands for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. A vegan does not eat animal products. He said he didn't mind the protesters. 

"If we have a right to be here, so do they," he said.

PETA is promoting a vegan lifestyle and targeting younger students because health studies show more and more children with health problems, which he said are related to an unhealthy diet that included meat.

PETA hopes to expose students to an alternative to the traditional food pyramid promoted by the meat and dairy industry and typically taught and served in schools, he said.

Younger children are often more supportive of PETA's message, he suggested. 

PETA's visit drew support from a couple of local parents, including Angela Brubaker. 

Brubaker made the decision to become a vegetarian eight years ago. Her 8-year-old daughter has also made that decision, she said.

"We eat meat out of tradition, not out of necessity," she said. 

Shannon called the visit to Pierce a success even though PETA didn't talk to many elementary students. PETA supporters and employees did have discussions with many of the high school students protesting with made it worth it, Shannon said.  

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Gazette - Cedar Rapids, Iowa 
Thursday January 31, 2002

Vegan group to appear outside C.R. school -- By Janet Rorholm

CEDAR RAPIDS -- PETA's new vegan campaign mascot, Kernel Corn will be focusing on Pierce Elementary students today, using them to eat their veggies and not their friends. Kernel Corn, a 7-foot tall corncob, isn't allowed in the school and will approach students after school instead, handing out pamphlets and stickers promoting a vegan lifestyle. 

PETA, which stands for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, claims that Pierce has banned the organization from speaking inside the school, as other schools have done.

But Pierce Principal Rebecca DeWald said that it's true. DeWald said she received what she thought was another blanket request from an organization to visit the school and speak with students at an assembly. She simply didn't respond.

"We receive a lot of requests and advertising from organizations who just want to put on shows. We're just very picky about who we allow in. We want to guard the learning time for students -- If we let everyone in, that would eat away at that learning time." she said.

She said the school has several students who are practicing vegetarians and the staff accommodate them as best as they can with the school lunch program, but she doesn't believe it would be fair to give PETA a captive audience of students to spread it's message. 

"I personally feel like it's a family's decision what a child eats." DeWald said. PETA specifically targeted the midwest for it's first Kernel Corn tour, according to Dan Shannon, vegan campaign coordinator for PETA.

"It's definitely not the most vegetarian friendly part of the country, but those are the areas where the message is needed the most," he said. "These are the areas where meat eating and obesity are the highest." 

He argues that a low-fat vegetarian lifestyle can reduce obesity and high cholesterol. Kernel Corn made his first public appearance in Kansas City, MO., on Monday outside of Garcia Elementary School. He has also visited schools in Omaha and Des Moines.

Garcia Principal Bob Wilcox said PETA's often controversial and confrontational nature made him a bit nervous about the appearance. He worried there might be protestors and had extra security on hand just in case things got out control. They didn't.

"It was really low key," he said.

DeWald hopes that's the case today. She's worried that PETA's appearance will upset parents.

"I don't think Pierce parents will like this," she said.

But Shannon said it's important for children to be exposed to an alternative to the food pyramid.

"Most of the nutritional information is provided in the schools come from the meat and dairy industry, so it's no surprise that they recommend you eat four to five servings of meat and dairy a day," he said. 

"That's now they make their money. The question is, is that in the children's best interest," he said.

He said PETA encourages children to talk about the information with their parents. "We try to explain it in a way that is easy to swallow. There is nothing graphic about this campaign at all.

"It's very kid friendly," Shannon said.

Last modified: Sunday, February 16, 2003
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