As Auckland-based radio host Duncan Garner prepares to begin his new life as a vegan, making good on his promise to go vegan for a year if Labour won the 2020 election, animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has sent him a hamper from The Cruelty Free Shop full with vegan alternatives to bacon, burgers, chocolate, mayonnaise, butter, and more.

"We congratulate Mr Garner on taking the most important step in any compassionate individual's life," says PETA Senior Outreach and Partnerships Manager Emily Rice. "We're sure the year ahead will bring great personal growth as he sheds the toxic ideology of speciesism – and realises that no one needs to exploit animals to live a healthy, happy life."

A rising number of New Zealanders are going vegan for the sake of their health, the environment, and animals. The nation's interest in vegan living has doubled in the last five years, and it now ranks fifth in the world for its interest in all things vegan.

Millions of animals endure unimaginable suffering and death every year in New Zealand for the meat, dairy, and egg industries. Meanwhile, the United Nations warns that a global shift towards a vegan lifestyle is necessary to combat climate change. According to a study by the Ministry for Environment, almost half of New Zealanders say they now recognise that a change in diet can have an impact on the environment.

Diets high in cholesterol and animal fat are killing us. Cutting out meat, dairy, and eggs not only helps prevent future zoonotic pandemics but also lowers our risk of suffering from obesity, cancer, diabetes, and heart disease.

PETA – whose motto reads, in part, that "animals are not ours to eat or abuse in any way" – opposes speciesism, which is a human-supremacist worldview.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.au.

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