Pamela Anderson is really passionate about being vegan.
So passionate, in fact, that she wrote a formal letter to Canada’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, urging him to cut meat and milk from Canada’s prison system.
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Reactions were mixed, to say the least.
Pamela Anderson has a long history of political activism in Canada.
Born and raised in Ladysmith, British Columbia, she recently moved back to her home country.
She didn’t waste time once she arrived, and immediately began campaigning on behalf of Elizabeth May and the Green Party in Canada’s federal election.
Justin Trudeau eventually won.
Unfortunately, the Green Party failed to make major headway in the election. They did pick up 3 seats in Canada’s government, which is more than they’ve ever had before.
Pamela chose to move her mission to working with the re-elected Trudeau.
She wrote an open letter to him and posted it on social media.
“[…] I have a suggestion that would save Canadian taxpayers money and improve the health of tens of thousands of people: Please switch to serving nutritious vegan meals in correctional facilities.” She wrote on her website.
According to Anderson, the program worked in the US.
“The Maricopa County Jail in Arizona, for example, reported that it reduced costs by $273,000 when it switched to all-vegetarian food for its 8,000 inmates.”
Let’s learn a little about that jail, shall we?
Maricopa County Jail was under the leadership of the famous “Sheriff Joe.”
That’s Sheriff Joe Arpaio, who made headlines in 2017 when he was found guilty by the United States Justice Department for racially profiling Latinos.
He was later pardoned by President Donald Trump. He has been condemned by the ACLU and Amnesty International for his treatment of his inmates.
Despite Anderson’s claims, the truth of Arpaio’s program is much darker.
In 2015, Yahoo News visited the jail, where the program had been running since 2013.
Dirt was found in the stew, which didn’t seem to phase Arpaio. Not only were the inmates also forced to pay for their own meals, but they were only served two meals a day — not three. They described the food as “slop.”
It seems Anderson was unaware of those details.
She wrote that switching to a vegan menu would not only be healthier for the inmates, but save Canada a great deal of money.
“Beans, rice, lentils, pasta, and potatoes and other vegetables as well as fruits supply all the nutrients that anyone needs but at a fraction of the cost of meats and cheeses.” She wrote.
She also provided some numbers.
“Canada has the potential to cut costs even more if we switch to vegan meals for the roughly 40,000 people currently held in correctional facilities.”
As reported by The Canadian Press, only 14,129 people reside in Canada’s federal prisons, which would be under Trudeau’s purview.
The rest aren’t under the federal government’s care.
24,657 adult inmates reside in provincial and territorial jails, meaning that their diets are not for Trudeau’s government to decide.
Anderson would need to petition each province or territory in order to push her plan through.
She continued to talk about the health benefits.
“Vegan eating has been proved to reduce the risk of suffering from obesity and cancer significantly and can even reverse heart disease and diabetes, so vegan meals would improve inmates’ health and decrease their health-care costs over the long term—a win-win situation.”
She also cited Health Canada as a source.
“Earlier this year, Health Canada published a new food guide that de-emphasizes the consumption of meat and dairy and recommends instead that Canadians focus on fruit, vegetables, and vegan sources of protein.”
Which is true!
Health Canada’s 2019 Food Guide put a strong emphasis on cutting down on meat and bulking up on fruits and veggies.
Now, the recommend that at least half your plate should be made up of fruits and veggies.
Canadians had some intense feelings on her proposal.
A shocking amount of people considered the idea a punishment for the prisoners.
“Honestly that really isn’t a bad idea. Commit a crime and be forced to not eat meat? Now THAT is a punishment ” One Twitter user wrote .
Some users pointed out how expensive fruits and vegetables can be.
Depending on your location in Canada, grocery prices can be more than the average person would expect. The farther North you are, the higher prices are.
Some people were concerned that switching to an all-vegetarian diet would actually be more expensive.
But others thought it was a pretty good idea.
“If we can save money and spare animals, why not?” One Facebook user wrote .
Maybe Anderson and Trudeau can come to a compromise that prisoners can volunteer for — maybe meatless Mondays? Who knows!
