A new broadcast advertisement by the group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals sparked outrage among eastern Iowa farmers, to the extent the ad was yanked off the air this week. Aaron Putze, spokesman for the Coalition to Support Iowa’s Farmers, says the PETA ad mocked food producers and spread disinformation. Putze says the ad “distorted the facts and the truth” about what goes on in food production, making false and misleading statements about undocumented dangers in our food supply. Putze says the “go vegetarian” commercial has been rejected by other stations around the U.S. and was the subject of immediate action in Iowa. He says the farm community believes the truth needs to be told about the safety, importance and abundance of our food supply. After complaints from the coalition members, the ad was pulled one day after it started airing on a Cedar Rapids T-V station. Putze says PETA may claim to be an animal rights group, but they’re an entirely different animal. He says PETA does “very little in terms of animal welfare. Instead, they have made a fortune off of peddling fear and falsehoods that are not based on reality.” He says PETA has “assaulted common decency” by encouraging people to drink beer instead of milk and has opposed life-saving medical research through attacks on groups like the March of Dimes and the American Cancer Society. The Coalition to Support Iowa’s Farmers is made up of several groups, including: Iowa Cattlemen’s Association, Iowa Corn Growers Association, Iowa Farm Bureau, Iowa Pork Producers Association, Iowa Poultry Association and the Iowa Soybean Association.
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