Sorry Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but it may be time to say good-bye to that ooey gooey, delicious cheese pizza. In an announcement that seems quite absurd on many levels, PETA is calling upon Nickelodeon to change the turtles' signature diet for something more... dairy-free.
Lauren Thomasson—Project Coordinator, Animals In Film And Television And Celebrity Campaigns for PETA—sent the children's network a letter asking if the TMNT would opt for vegan pizza in the upcoming series, titled Rise Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. "But every fan worth his or her nunchucks knows that wherever the show leads the Turtles, they’ll be fueling up with pizza," the letter reads. "It’s practically their raison d’être, right? That’s another reason why I’m getting in touch: to ask that their pies and slices be vegan, because compassionate eating is the direction that TMNT fans, their siblings, and their parents are taking."
PETA then goes on to break down statistics about how Generation Z is becoming more vegan-friendly and gives a rundown of New York City-based pizza places that have begun to serve dairy-free pies. "Putting vegan pizza on the Fab Four’s plates is sure to inspire fans to try it themselves, and that would be great news for cows," the letter states. “The dairy industry isn’t kind to these gentle, intelligent beings — they often spend their lives standing on concrete floors, separated from their babies and tethered to machines until their milk production wanes. Their misery ends at the slaughterhouse.”
But after so many years in the game, I highly doubt Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Raphael plan to switch up their diet any time soon. Let's see if PETA's plans come to fruition when Rise Of The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, a reboot of the classic television series, premieres on Nickelodeon in September 2018.
Here's the PETA letter in full:
January 31, 2018
