As Boyle Heights residents continue to fume over foul odors from millions of pounds of meat rotting inside a cold-storage warehouse ravaged by a June fire, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals plans to place a billboard in the area urging people to switch to a vegan diet.
The billboard will contain the words: “Meat Stinks: Please Go Vegan” next to a photo of a woman with a clothespin pinching her nose, with the tagline, “No clothespin required.”
The animal rights group says the odors emanating from the site, which have prompted thousands of complaints, are a reminder that “all meat is the decomposing corpse of an animal who felt pain and fear and didn’t want to die.”
“The stench of death emanating from this facility is enough to make anyone lose their lunch, but nothing is more stomach-churning than the nightmare live animals experience at the slaughterhouse,” PETA Founder Ingrid Newkirk said. “PETA urges anyone disgusted by this smell of slaughter to help end the suffering by going vegan.”
Lineage Logistics, which owns the warehouse, said approximately 90% of the food waste has been removed from the facility.
The fire broke out June 17 at the warehouse at 1400 S. Los Palos St., sending thick smoke into the air and prompting officials to warn nearby residents to remain indoors. The city, county and state issued local emergency declarations in the days that followed. It took more than a week to fully douse the fire.