MIKE HALL/THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL
Lauren Quillo, a volunteer for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, showered at the corner of 8th and S. Kansas at noon Friday to raise awareness of PETA's assertion that eating meat depletes water supplies.
Two young women showered, apparently naked behind a modesty screen, at noon Friday at S. Kansas Avenue and 8th in downtown Topeka to publicize the position of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals that eating meat causes water shortages.
Virginia Fort, a full-time PETA employee, and Lauren Quillo, a University of Missouri student who volunteers for PETA, were shielded by a banner that read, "1 lb. of Meat equals 6 months of Showers."
Fort, who made an appearance in Topeka earlier in the year, said the Natural Resources Defense Council has determined that water use in Kansas already exceeds the supply.
PETA is known for using unclothed women in its advertising and live events to attract attention to its message that people should stop eating meat because doing so is cruel to animals and causes health and environmental problems.
Before the demonstration, Fort drew a chalk circle on the sidewalk around the shower booth and asked people to stay behind the line.
At one point, they had an encounter with Topekan Don Palmer, who accused PETA of hypocrisy. He said the website PETAkillsanimals.com has presented evidence it says shows PETA itself is cruel to animals. Fort politely asked to have a discussion with Palmer. She refuted some of the statements from the website, which seemed to mollify him at least partly.
"The rebuttals you have through the news media have been real weak," he said.
source : cjonline.com
