NYC Vegans Treat-ed To Free Plant-Based Ice Cream For Sweet Summer Finish! Cow-, Health- Environmentally-Friendly
Editor’s note: We previously covered the announcement of these events last week. The weekend was packed with events in Manhattan, with people lining up to taste the sweet confections made without the use of animal products? Could they tell? Doubtful…but you have to ask them. View photos and video from the event below:
We asked the following questions of PETA regarding the plentiful options for plant-based ice cream products, including those available at supermarkets and other retailers, as well as at popular eat-out chains such as Baskin Robbins:
Question: Not sure how I missed this ice cream revolution! Baskin Robbins and Carvel and Dairy Queen have vegan ice cream now? And Breyers too? How would I find out more about if the Staten Island locations carry these? Is there a specific line or flavor that is vegan for each?
Yes, vegan ice cream offerings have certainly taken off! Breyers has a vegan line sold in most grocery stores, so I bet Staten Island stores would have it. Ben and Jerry’s has a non-dairy line as well! Dairy Queen offers a Non-Dairy Dilly Bar, which is a coconut cream-based frozen treat, and I think Baskin Robins and Carvel offer vegan options that vary by store.
Video above: Ice Cream Wars at 30 Rock! Things Heat Up Between Vendors and PETA Staff at Vegan Ice Cream Giveaway
New York — PETA’s “I Scream for Vegan Ice Cream” truck had other food truck vendors screaming today as it parked at the corner of 49th Street and 6th Avenue to give locals and tourists a taste of how delicious dairy-free, cow-friendly ice cream can be. PETA has just filed a police report detailing harassment from an ice cream vendor whose meltdown in response to PETA’s giveaway included marshalling other food trucks and carts to box in PETA’s truck and attempt to block it from view—running over a PETA staff member’s foot in the process—and vendors knocking over PETA’s supplies and even shoving a PETA staff member.
While PETA’s staff and frozen treats stayed cool, the hot-tempered vendor refused to chill out, telling the PETA staff, “Wherever you move, we’ll follow you.” But PETA’s vegan ice cream giveaway persisted, with kids and adults lining up for the dairy-free delights—and over the holiday weekend, the truck will head to Times Square, the Museum of Ice Cream, Coney Island, and Central Park
“Many of New York City’s food carts are dishing up the same old meat-and-dairy-laden dishes, even as restaurants, bodegas, pizza places, and coffee shops have added a plethora of delicious vegan options,” says PETA President Tracy Reiman. “PETA encourages anyone who feels threatened by a vegan ice cream giveaway to take a look at their own menus, add some vegan choices, and watch their lines stretch like ours did earlier today.”
PETA’s truck is on a U.S. tour, giving out thousands of dairy-free delights nationwide to encourage ice cream parlors and patrons to embrace dairy-free desserts, which spare cows from immense suffering in the dairy industry, where female cows are forcibly impregnated and have their beloved calves stolen from them so the milk meant to nourish their babies can be sold to humans.
PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. PETA’s free vegan starter kit—and guide to chains that offer vegan ice cream—can help anyone looking to make the switch.
Banner Image: PETA truck giving away vegan ice cream. Image Credit – PETA
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is the largest animal rights organization in the world, and PETA entities have more than 9 million members and supporters globally. PETA opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview, and focuses its attention on the four areas in which the largest numbers of animals suffer the most intensely for the longest periods of time: in laboratories, in the food industry, in the clothing trade, and in the entertainment business. We also work on a variety of other issues, including the cruel killing of rodents, birds, and other animals who are often considered “pests” as well as cruelty to domesticated animals. PETA works through public education, investigative newsgathering and reporting, research, animal rescue, legislation, special events, celebrity involvement, and protest campaigns.