Will the Philippines’ Jails Go Vegan? PETA Urges BJMP to End Violence at Mealtime

Will the Philippines’ Jails Go Vegan? PETA Urges BJMP to End Violence at Mealtime

Manila — As the nation confronts a surge of high-profile incarcerations and renewed scrutiny of corruption and abuse of power, PETA is urging the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) to adopt a reform that upholds justice without cruelty: serving vegan meals in jails nationwide. In a letter sent today to BJMP Chief Ruel Rivera, PETA highlights that vegan meals reduce violence, cut healthcare costs, and foster rehabilitation—ensuring that while offenders are held accountable for their crimes, the system itself reflects the humane values Filipinos demand.

“When prisoners eat meat, eggs, and dairy, they’re consuming the pain, fear, and suffering that animals endured on farms and in slaughterhouses,” says PETA President Jason Baker. “The only peaceful meal is a vegan one, and PETA urges the BJMP to do everything it can to instill nonviolence in its inmates.”

Cows, pigs, and chickens feel fear, pain, and joy just as humans do, but in the meat, egg, and dairy industries, cows and pigs are shot in the head with captive-bolt guns before they’re hung up by one leg and have their throats slit. Chickens are forced into shackles, held upside down, and dragged through electrified water baths before they, too, have their throats slit, often while they’re still conscious.

Every person who goes vegan saves nearly 200 animals each year from daily suffering and a terrifying death. Vegan meals also slash jails’ healthcare costs for inmates since animal-free foods are cholesterol-free, low in saturated fat, and rich in fiber and antioxidants, helping to protect against diet-related diseases. A jail in the U.S. reported a cost reduction of well over PHP 11 million ($200,000) when it removed meat from its inmates’ meals.

PETA’s letter to BJMP Chief Ruel Rivera is available here.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat or abuse in any other way”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone. For more information about PETA’s investigative newsgathering and reporting, please visit PETAAsia.com or follow the group on X, Facebook, or Instagram.

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