[PHOTO: ©PETA/Frank Ockenfels 3] |
Los Angeles: The topic of climate change was front and center in US President Barack Obama's second inaugural address on Monday, and Mission
Impossible III star Maggie Q is challenging concerned citizens to fight one of
the leading causes of climate change—factory farming—by baring her body for an
edgy new PETA billboard in Los Angeles that reads, "Fight Climate Change
With Diet Change. Go Veg."
The new ad, which features the Nikita star naked and painted
like the Earth, was shot by top celebrity photographer Frank Ockenfels 3.
The billboard will remain in Los Angeles on the Sunset Strip
at La Cienega for one month, starting today.
"There's so many issues tied to the meat industry. I
mean, social, environmental, humanitarian—all of them," Maggie Q explains.
"I know that when I'm eating that I'm not hurting the planet, I'm not
hurting other people on this planet, I'm not hurting animals, … and I'm not
hurting nature."
What makes vegan meals so "green"? The meat
industry is a leading cause of the greenhouse-gas emissions that contribute to
climate change. According to the United Nations, a global shift toward a vegan
diet is necessary to combat the worst effects of climate change, and
researchers at the University of Chicago concluded that switching from a
standard American diet to a vegan diet is more effective than switching from a
standard American car to a hybrid.
As per PETA activists, “not only does going vegan help the
environment, it can also give your health a boost, as vegans are less prone to
heart disease, strokes, diabetes, cancer, and obesity than meat-eaters are.
And, of course, it saves animals from extreme suffering on factory farms, in
slaughterhouses, and on the decks of fishing boats.”
Maggie Q is part of a growing list of celebrities—including
Alicia Silverstone, Casey Affleck, Paul McCartney, Joaquin Phoenix, Forest
Whitaker, Kevin Nealon, Lisa Edelstein, Emily Deschanel—who have teamed up with
PETA to promote vegetarian and vegan eating.