TOKYO —

Animal rights activists on Tuesday urged Japanese baseball stadiums to give up their usual fare of hot dogs and fried octopus balls and go vegetarian to fight global warming.

Japan’s baseball commissioners announced as the season opened last week that the national pastime would take action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, in particular by speeding up games.

But People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) said it would be more effective for concession stands to serve exclusively vegetarian fare.

“By selling only vegetarian foods, your baseball league will become a leader in the fight against global warming,” PETA said in a letter to Nippon Professional Baseball commissioner Yasuchika Negoro.

“Because vegetarians are less prone to serious illnesses like heart disease, diabetes and obesity than meat-eaters, fans will be happier and healthier while cheering on their favourite team,” it said.

A 2006 study by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization found that the livestock industry contributed more to global warming than all of the world’s transportation.

PETA, which is based in the United States, noted that many North American baseball stadiums now offered vegetarian food including burgers made of soy or beans.

The appeal was released hours before the Boston Red Sox, the defending World Series champions, open their regular season against the Oakland Athletics with two games in Tokyo.

Wire reports

Latest 15 of 18 Total Comments Show All

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  Nessie at 03:49 PM JST - 28th March

  Don't hold your breath for the Hokkaido Nippon Soy Fighters.

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  cleo at 03:56 PM JST - 28th March

  ’News flash for you, PETA: Soy IS beans!’ But beans isn't necessarily soy, Nessie.

  newsboy - I guess Daisy the cow don't get no freedom of choice.

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  Altria at 03:58 PM JST - 28th March

  I also think it's sickening how teams feature carnivorous animals as their mascots, like the Tigers and Lions.

  Why can't they take the lead of the Yakult Swallows and promote a healthy vegan lifestyle.

  I'd definitely go and watch the Rakuten Rabbits play the Saitama Seibu Soybeans.

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  Nessie at 04:52 PM JST - 28th March

  Cleo, but in this case it should be "soy and other beans," or "beans, particularly soybeans" or "beans, including soybeans". I thought these slippery mental categories were a Japanese phenomenon, like when people here say, "I like pork and meat." Saying "soy and beans" implies that soy is not beans. Still looking forward to seeing the Hokkaido Nippon Vegetable Products That Have Fallen Naturally without Human Intervention Ham-Free Fighters vs the Tokyo Giant Vegans.

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  Nessie at 04:54 PM JST - 28th March

  Anyway, the generation of CO2 is most notably from traveling to the stadium rather than from the food. The CO2 argument is a PETA humanely raised surrogate red herring vegetable product.

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  cleo at 05:01 PM JST - 28th March

  Nessie - Yes, 'soy or other beans' or some such would iron-clad them against our nit-picking.

  I was trying to find a veggie meal last weekend and asked in what advertised itself as an 'Indian curry' restaurant if they had anything not containing meat. The 'chef' looked blank at first, then his face lit up and he told me, 'This, this, this and this contain pork, no meat!' I ended up with yet another 4-cheese pizza from the supermarket.

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  Nessie at 08:22 PM JST - 28th March

  Cleo, You can quote me on it: What this country needs is a good 5-cent Venn diagram.

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  Hikozaemon at 10:27 PM JST - 28th March

  I don't see how making sports fans switch from eating hot dogs to eating beans is going to reduce greenhouse emission. If anything, I would assume it would increase them.

  Peace

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  borscht at 10:46 PM JST - 29th March

  Cleo - I just ate at a 'curry' place with this on the menu: "Vegetarian Curry - Pork Ippai!"

  On topic - There should be choices in ball parks: the traditional hot dog and a soy variety so that all the people can find something they want. I just hope that more people will realize that a hot dog requires a pig to live its relatively short life in a certain amount of squalor, fear, and degradation.

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  Sarge at 04:59 PM JST - 30th March

  "fried octopus balls"

  How big are those?

  "Vegetarian curry - Pork Ippai!"

  Har!

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  anderstungtwist at 10:18 AM JST - 31st March

  Can one just say "soy"? Don't you have to specify "soybeans" or "soymilk"? I'm going to check the dictionary and report back. Maybe "soy" is not even a word.

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  anderstungtwist at 10:20 AM JST - 31st March

  Wow, lots of people use the word "soy". Guess I'm really out of touch.

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  PuffinMuffin at 01:08 AM JST - 1st April

  don’t see how making sports fans switch from eating hot dogs to eating beans is going to reduce greenhouse emission. If anything, I would assume it would increase them

  mm-hmm, they give gas, that's for sure. Beans, broccoli among others.

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  conqueror_of_Uranus at 06:47 PM JST - 1st April

  "I also think it's sickening how teams feature carnivorous animals as their mascots, like the Tigers and Lions.

  Why can't they take the lead of the Yakult Swallows and promote a healthy vegan lifestyle.

  I'd definitely go and watch the Rakuten Rabbits play the Saitama Seibu Soybeans."

  As long as sports are male-dominated, cute, fluffy, and vegetative team names are not gonna be popular. A zucchini just doesn't garner the same respect as a bear, eagle, lion, shark, tiger, pirate, rocket, marlin, fighter, giant, wolf, bull, devil ray, etc...

  Moderator: Back on topic please.

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  outhousejt at 07:10 PM JST - 1st April

  In Jingu Stadium you can take in your own drink and food into the stadium. Atleast last year it was like that, not sure if they have changed that bit this year but doubtful they have. Thats one of many reasons why Jingu is better to watch baseball than the Dome in Tokyo.

  I am getting slightly irritated about the lemming mind set of people about this global warming conspiracy and the sheer arrogance by the vegeterian extrremist. Tell these environmentalists that it is the sun which makes the earth warmer and not cows. And tell these vegeterian extremists to mind their own business. Sooner or later these same extremists will tell baseball is barbaric because they use leather gloves and balls made from cow hide.

  Please take a hike U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization and PETA.

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