NEWS
PETA Calls On Jill Biden To Use Potatoes For Annual Easter Egg Roll
White House
Animal rights group PETA is calling on first lady Jill Biden to ditch the eggs this Easter and instead use potatoes for the annual White House Easter Egg Roll on the Monday after Easter.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals on Monday issued a pun-filled open letter calling on the first lady urging not to use thousands of chicken eggs for the event.
Beloved in all their wonderful forms, potatoes are an American staple that make for the perfect spudstitute for the thousands of eggs used in the event — plus, these plentiful plants arent stolen from exploited hens, PETA wrote.
The organization said that millions of chickens suffer and die each year in the U.S., and that even farms using cage-free and free-range labels keep chickens in cramped, filthy sheds where they can’t even stretch their wings, root in the soil, or breathe fresh air.
In starch contrast, a potato roll would support U.S. potato farmers and teach tots that our fellow animals are sensitive, feeling beings who deserve respect. Chickens form complex social hierarchies and can recognize more than 100 individuals of their own species. They feel pain and fear, just as humans do, PETA wrote.
PETA also says that promoting animal-free foods would support Biden’s commitment to increase research into women’s health, citing studies that show a vegan diet can help reduce the risk of developing breast and ovarian cancers.
Potatoes, the most popular vegetable in the country, can be dyed, decorated, rolled, and used for a festive treasure hunt. They can even be used to welcome other new traditions, such as games of hot potato and potato sack races, PETA wrote.
The annual Easter Egg Roll is one of the longest-running White House traditions, but it only came about after lawmakers tried very hard to get the kids off their lawn. According to the National Park Service, Capitol Hill became a regular gathering place on Easter Monday in the 1870s, where children would roll their Easter eggs down the hill. In 1876, Congress passed a law forbidding children from playing on Capitol grounds.
In response, President Rutherford B. Hayes in 1878 invited children to the White House to roll their eggs there instead, and the tradition was born. Now, the White House Easter Egg Roll is a major event featuring a variety of games and activities for children and their families.
TMX contributed to this article.
