Free Veggie Burger

March 17, 2006

The Johnny Rockets restaurant chain has

teamed up with PETA to promote a vegan dish. This is a very big

deal—it’s the first time a conventional food business has teamed up

with an animal rights group, so this is a fabulous chance to show the big

companies how strong the demand for veg food is.

If this promotion is a success, it

will encourage other businesses to try it. When large, mainstream

food businesses offer vegetarian options, several things happen:

Meat-eaters come face to face

with veggie food, and they are much more likely to try it if it’s in

familiar surroundings (in other words, my neighbor may never go to Rainbow

Foods, because it seems so “different.” But if they see

veg foods at Safeway and Johnny Rockets, they’ll buy it).

It tells the general population—mainstream

America—that vegetarians are

not, actually, freaks. Vegetarianism has arrived, it is hip,

it is growing, it is so popular that large, conservative chains are now

carrying veg products. This helps our message be taken more

seriously.

When a business like Johnny

Rockets puts a Boca Burger on their menu, they have to drop a meat

item. These businesses are run very, very carefully. They do

not add a new item without dropping something else. So the more

veggie burgers they sell, the less meat they are buying.

When one large business like JR’s

or Safeway puts a veg item on their menu, it makes all their peers sit up

and take notice. JR’s veggie burger promotion is being closely

watched by the foodservice industry. It HAS to succeed. If

(when) it does, that means other businesses will do it, and it also means

their suppliers will have to scramble to come up with more hip veg items.

When

PETA started working with universities, we had to struggle to find one or two

willing to put vegan items on their cafeteria menus. The result was so

successful, though, that other universities immediately jumped in to copy the

first one. This program has grown to be so popular, and so huge, that

Sysco (one of the largest wholesale foodservice distributors in the country)

finally had to produce it’s own line of veg food products called

Moonrose!

So,

please, help promote the Johnny Rockets 2-for-1 veggie burger promotion. It is

only happening in March, so we only have half the month left.

I

realize that many people on this list may not be willing to eat this item,

either because you are on healthier diets or because you do not like to eat

food from meat restaurants. I urge you to consider doing this at least

once—especially if you can do it with some meat-eating friends or

co-workers. But if you can’t, please print out as many of the

coupons as you can and hand them out to all your meat-eating acquaintances. Tell

them it’s a special gift because you like them so much. We all

know people whom we can’t drag to a vegan potluck, but they most likely

WILL take you up on the offer of free food in a place they recognize. After

all, the burger comes with fries! What can they possibly complain about?

By promoting a veggie burger, JR’s

is sending a veg message to their tens of thousands meat-eating

customers. They are saying, “Veg eating is going mainstream.

It’s cool, it’s popular, it’s arrived.” All those

meat-eaters who have ever vaguely considered compassion to animals now have a

convenient, inexpensive, yummy way to try it.

For the month of March, when you buy one Streamliner®

veggie burger, fries, and a drink, you get another Streamliner® for

free. The Streamliner is their specialty burger made with vegan Boca

burgers. The more we can show big companies that vegetarianism is

growing, the more veg food they will offer—which means less animals being

killed. Please visit a JR’s near you and take advantage of the

promotion so they can see a successful response.

You can print out the coupon at the link

below. If anyone is interested in joining me for a BAV Johnny Rocket’s

Veggie Burger dinner, let me know and I’ll announce it to the group (and

I’ll call the restaurant ahead to make sure they have enough in stock!).

Thanks!

Alex

Locations

http://www.johnnyrockets.com/locations/

Coupon

http://www.vegcooking.com/pdfs/PETAcoupon_johnnyrockets.pdf

A note about the issue of “personal purity” Vs.

promoting animal rights to meat-eaters:

http://www.goveg.com/effectiveAdvocacy_personal.asp

Otherwise known as: Why I am Willing to Eat a Greasy

Burger in a Meat Restaurant Even though I’m a Strict Vegan and Animal

Rights Activist.

March 17, 2006

Hi Alex,All great points. However, do they cook it on the same grill as the meat? If not, then I'd be happy to try it out.- chuckOn Mar 17, 2006, at 1:00 PM, Alex Bury wrote:The Johnny Rockets restaurant chain has teamed up with PETA to promote a vegan dish. This is a very big deal—it’s the first time a conventional food business has teamed up with an animal rights group, so this is a fabulous chance to show the big companies how strong the demand for veg food is. If this promotion is a success, it will encourage other businesses to try it. When large, mainstream food businesses offer vegetarian options, several things happen:Meat-eaters come face to face with veggie food, and they are much more likely to try it if it’s in familiar surroundings (in other words, my neighbor may never go to Rainbow Foods, because it seems so “different.” But if they see veg foods at Safeway and Johnny Rockets, they’ll buy it). It tells the general population—mainstream America—that vegetarians are not, actually, freaks. Vegetarianism has arrived, it is hip, it is growing, it is so popular that large, conservative chains are now carrying veg products. This helps our message be taken more seriously.When a business like Johnny Rockets puts a Boca Burger on their menu, they have to drop a meat item. These businesses are run very, very carefully. They do not add a new item without dropping something else. So the more veggie burgers they sell, the less meat they are buying. When one large business like JR’s or Safeway puts a veg item on their menu, it makes all their peers sit up and take notice. JR’s veggie burger promotion is being closely watched by the foodservice industry. It HAS to succeed. If (when) it does, that means other businesses will do it, and it also means their suppliers will have to scramble to come up with more hip veg items. When PETA started working with universities, we had to struggle to find one or two willing to put vegan items on their cafeteria menus. The result was so successful, though, that other universities immediately jumped in to copy the first one. This program has grown to be so popular, and so huge, that Sysco (one of the largest wholesale foodservice distributors in the country) finally had to produce it’s own line of veg food products called Moonrose! So, please, help promote the Johnny Rockets 2-for-1 veggie burger promotion. It is only happening in March, so we only have half the month left. I realize that many people on this list may not be willing to eat this item, either because you are on healthier diets or because you do not like to eat food from meat restaurants. I urge you to consider doing this at least once—especially if you can do it with some meat-eating friends or co-workers. But if you can’t, please print out as many of the coupons as you can and hand them out to all your meat-eating acquaintances. Tell them it’s a special gift because you like them so much. We all know people whom we can’t drag to a vegan potluck, but they most likely WILL take you up on the offer of free food in a place they recognize. After all, the burger comes with fries! What can they possibly complain about? By promoting a veggie burger, JR’s is sending a veg message to their tens of thousands meat-eating customers. They are saying, “Veg eating is going mainstream. It’s cool, it’s popular, it’s arrived.” All those meat-eaters who have ever vaguely considered compassion to animals now have a convenient, inexpensive, yummy way to try it. For the month of March, when you buy one Streamliner® veggie burger, fries, and a drink, you get another Streamliner® for free. The Streamliner is their specialty burger made with vegan Boca burgers. The more we can show big companies that vegetarianism is growing, the more veg food they will offer—which means less animals being killed. Please visit a JR’s near you and take advantage of the promotion so they can see a successful response. You can print out the coupon at the link below. If anyone is interested in joining me for a BAV Johnny Rocket’s Veggie Burger dinner, let me know and I’ll announce it to the group (and I’ll call the restaurant ahead to make sure they have enough in stock!). Thanks!Alex Locationshttp://www.johnnyrockets.com/locations/ Couponhttp://www.vegcooking.com/pdfs/PETAcoupon_johnnyrockets.pdf A note about the issue of “personal purity” Vs. promoting animal rights to meat-eaters:http://www.goveg.com/effectiveAdvocacy_personal.aspOtherwise known as: Why I am Willing to Eat a Greasy Burger in a Meat Restaurant Even though I’m a Strict Vegan and Animal Rights Activist. ____BAY AREA VEGETARIANS (BAV) is a non-profit 501 ©(3) community organization for veggies to network, find support and promote veg*nism.Events Calendar - http://bayareaveg.org/eventsNewsletter - http://bayareaveg.org/newsVeg Mentor Program - http://bayareaveg.org/mentorUltimate Guide - http://bayareaveg.org/ug Veg Food Finder - http://bayareaveg.org/finderCharter & Post Guidelines - http://bayareaveg.org/charterCompassionate Living Program - http://bayareaveg.org/clMap It Veg - http://www.frappr.com/baveg____