PETA SPARKS POT (ROAST) WAR

Smoking pot could be better than eating meat, at least that's what
the folks from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals are
promoting in a billboard that may be seen along U.S. Route 101.

PETA is hoping to contract with a Eureka billboard company and
plaster an advertisement showing a cow next to the tagline, "Say 'No'
to Pot (Roast)." In smaller writing below would read, "Don't Be a
Meathead. Kick the Habit. Go Vegetarian!"

While PETA spokeswoman Lindsay Rajt said there hasn't been any
confirmation that the billboard ad is a go for Eureka, PETA is hoping
to get it up as fast as possible. "Our point is the meat industry and
companies like KFC are the real drug pushers," Rajt said. "Anyone who
says no to pot should say no to pot roast, along with chicken
sandwiches and pork chops."

Not everyone agrees that the comparison is fair or even accurate, as
Humboldt County Farm Bureau President Jim Regli points out. "She's
misrepresenting the whole issue," he said. "She's scaring the public
(and) if she's trying to make pot OK, it's not - there's a lot of
severe consequences to that."

Farm Bureau Vice President Jay Russ said the harmful effects of
grass-fed beef pales in comparison to those of industrial raised beef.

"My whole business is grass-fed beef," Russ said. "There isn't
anything inhumane about the process whatsoever."

Practices vary greatly between industrial beef producers and the
local grass-fed beef industry, Russ said. "The cattle are raised here
on the coast, they're processed locally here in Eureka, so they don't
get transported for long distances," he said.

Even if PETA is misrepresenting the issue, it's within their rights
in the advertising world, Humboldt State University Journalism
Department Chairman Mark Larson said.

"You're allowed to lie as long as it's an exaggeration," he said of
the informational and educational ad.

The billboard comes in the wake of the recent discovery of the
six-acre marijuana grow in Redwood National and State Park, the
animal rights organization stated in a news release. "PETA's point?"
the release stated. "That while the jury is still out on the
potential harmful effects of marijuana, meat is known to be bad for
human health."

The release goes on to state that meat is often loaded with drugs and
chemicals, including pesticide residues, hormones and antibiotics.
"Consumption of meat and other animal products has been linked to
heart disease, strokes, obesity, diabetes, and certain types of
cancer - not to mention other hazards, including E. coli, salmonella
and listeria."

The "Say 'No' to Pot (Roast)" ad was a PETA team effort, Rajt said,
and obviously provokes much interest and debate. "I think it's a very
great and positive message, so I'm optimistic that we'll get
placement," she said.

But not all meat is raised the same, Regli said. "In our area, we
have one of the best grass-growing areas in the country," Regli said.
"They go to the market after eating grass their whole life."

Regardless of how the cattle is raised, "they all go to the same
slaughterhouses," Rajt said. "The best way to treat animals is simply
not to eat them."

PETA's proposed billboard is an attempt at humor and eliciting
attention, Larson said. "It has succeeding in drawing media
attention," he said. "There's a lot of funny, tongue-in-cheek stuff
going on here."

But for those driving along Route 101, the message may be lost. "I
think people will only be able to read 'Say No to Pot' while driving
by in their car," Larson said. "It's designed to be weird and
attention-grabbing and funny, but it has a failure to communicate in
terms of the anti-meat eating habit."

"I don't know what I'm supposed to do as a reader, except to laugh."