Supermodel Carré Otis Wants You to Cast Fish Out of Your Kitchen
Sultry Carré Otis wears a mermaid’s fins—and nothing else—in a new pro-fish billboard. PETA and Otis hope the ad will inspire people to relate to sea life and stop contributing to their mass killing through “seafood” consumption. “If we saw the process of what it takes to get that animal packaged and in that store, I think a lot of us would think really differently,” says Carré. “So, for me, it was just kind of taking that next step, which is part of the evolution, part of the process of going, ‘OK, I just can’t put anything that was living in my body.’ I truly believe that we are what we eat and that what we put into our bodies has energy. The suffering that animals endure for human consumption is appalling and has touched and affected me since I was a child.”
Fish Are Friends, Not Food
Though they look very different from us, fish are actually communicative and sensitive animals. For example, groupers bark when they spot predators, cichlids emit mating grunts, and hamlet fish even make orgasmic squeals. Sylvia Earle, former chief scientist of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and all-around fish expert, explains, “I never eat anyone I know personally. I wouldn’t deliberately eat a grouper anymore than I’d eat a cocker spaniel. They’re so good-natured, so curious. You know, fish really are sensitive, they have personalities, they hurt when they’re wounded.”
That Hook Hurts!
 The ad's premiere comes after studies confirmed what many marine biologists have been saying for years: Fish feel pain, just as all animals do. Commercially caught fish are often cut open while they are still alive or are left to die slowly—gasping, struggling, and suffocating. Other studies reveal that fully 90 percent of the populations of large ocean-fish species have disappeared from the world's oceans in recent decades. Additionally, countless nontarget animals, such as sea turtles, dolphins, birds, and seals, die in commercial fishing nets every year.
 Fish Is Not Health Food
Fish flesh often contains toxic levels of mercury and PCBs—carcinogens that have been linked to many kinds of cancer. Hundreds of thousands of North Americans get sick and many die each year from eating contaminated seafood. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommends that pregnant women not eat the flesh of large fish, such as swordfish and mackerel, which is frequently contaminated with methyl mercury and can harm an unborn child’s developing nervous system. Tuna flesh has also been found to contain high levels of this chemical, which can be hazardous to young children as well.
Tuna-Safe “Tuna”
The freshest catch of the day isn’t from the sea. Faux tuna, scallops, shrimp, and other fish-free products taste just as good as the “reel” thing, without the cruelty. Tofu and flavorful veggies are taking the place of fish at the center of the plate as people seek healthful alternatives to bacteria- and toxin-laden sea animals.
Order a free vegetarian starter kit and DVD and we'll send you great-tasting recipes, nutrition information-and everything else you'll need to make the easy switch to a healthy vegetarian diet.
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