Different dogs
PETA doesn’t protest, promotes
vegan dogs in dramatic shift
The inside of a Nathan’s vegan
hot dog. Photo by Ben Brachfeld
COURIER LIFE, JULY 9-15, 2021 3
THEIR DAY
Michelle Lesco of Tuscon, Arizona
ate 31 hot dogs and buns
in ten minutes. Lesco kept a
lead throughout the race, using
a theatrical technique
where she was seen dancing
and writhing to get the food
down.
Sarah Rodriguez came in
second place, eating 24 hot
dogs and buns, and Larell Marie
Mele took third place with
nearly 19 hot dogs.
Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating
Contest introduced a new
competition this year: a lemonade
chugging contest. Eric
Booker, a rapper who goes by
Badlands, won the inaugural
challenge, chugging a gallon
of Nathan’s lemonade in about
38 seconds.
Attendees told Brooklyn
Paper they were excited to return
— and dress up — for one
of their favorite annual events,
and enjoyed the contest’s new
venue, mostly because it had
seats.
“We think it’s our fi fth
year,” said Hannah Garrett,
who dresses up annually with
her friend, Dr. Carly Dragan.
This year, the pair came
dressed as hot dogs.
“We really love the new
venue,” Garrett said. “It’s great
to be able to have a seat and buy
drinks.”
Though Garrett is a vegetarian,
she and Dragan said
they attend the contest each
year as a celebration of America’s
pastimes.
“I am actually a vegetarian,”
the talking hot dog said,
“but this is independence day
so we are celebrating American
culture, and part of American
culture for better or for worse
is excessive consumption.”
“It is just so outlandish and
crazy to watch people eat as
many hot dogs as they can,”
Dragan added. “It’s like disgusting,
right, but there is
something about it that sparks
curiosity and joy from watching
somebody overeat.”
While many found the
venue a nice change of scenery
for the contest, organizers previously
told Brooklyn Paper
that they’re looking forward
to fi nally getting back to their
original location, hopefully by
2022.
“It is encouraging to hold
this event live for fans, who last
year were unable to celebrate
July 4 as they traditionally do,”
said James Walker, senior vice
president of restaurants for
Nathan’s Famous. “Next year,
we hope to return to the corner
of Surf and Stillwell Avenues,
where we have held this event
for decade after decade.”
BY BEN BRACHFELD
PETA, the animal activist
organization known as
the People for the Ethical
Treatment of Animals, will
refrain from its usual tradition
of protesting Nathan’s
Famous at the annual Hot
Dog Eating Contest this
weekend and, in a shocking
twist, will actually give out
free wieners…of the vegan
variety.
The animal rights group
will set up shop at the century
old sausage purveyor
during the storied contest,
slinging the vegan hot dogs
which Nathan’s recently
started selling at select
stores, including the Coney
Island fl agship, for free
to hungry passersby in the
hopes of converting them to
the cause.
PETA activists will set
up shop at Stillwell and Surf
avenues on Sunday at 11
am, armed with trays of 196
vegan dogs they purchased,
copies of their “How to Go
Vegan” guide, and talking
points for veg-curious
pedestrians. The activists
will also have ketchup, relish,
and whatnot handy, but
will be supplying their own
buns; Nathan’s buns are
not vegan, as they are made
with butter.
“This is a fun way to
show people that they can
enjoy hot dogs without
causing cows to suffer,”
said Kearney Robinson,
PETA’s vegan food distribution
coordinator, in an
interview with Brooklyn
Paper. “Veggie dogs taste
great, are better for people
and the environment, and
there are dozens of brands
everywhere. And now we’re
showing people that they
can even buy Nathan’s
vegan hot dogs.”
In the past, PETA has
not had the closest relationship
with Nathan’s, for obvious
reasons. The group has
historically conducted protest
actions at Coney Island
during the contest, such as
by buying ads encouraging
veganism, dressing up
in animal costumes, picketing,
or even disrupting
the event by splashing fake
blood on contestants.
PETA is well known, and
controversial, for splashy,
attention-grabbing protest
actions against the meat
and fur industry, as well as
against the use of animals
in experimentation or in
entertainment. Protesters
have doused themselves
and others in fake blood,
showed up to dog shows
dressed in KKK robes, and
participated in graphic
“die-ins” in public places.
Their famous “I’d rather
go naked than wear fur”
campaign, which saw numerous
celebrities strip
down to their birthday
suits, recently ended after
30 years after PETA declared
victory in the war
on fur, with the industry in
signifi cant decline and facing
crackdowns from state
and local governments.
PETA has also attracted
controversy for euthanizing
animals in their care, even
amidst a nationwide movement
to end the practice by
animal rights groups.
The hot dog contest will
go on this year without the
option of substituting for
vegan dogs, as organizers
haven’t yet studied whether
the new weenies produce a
comparable feeling of fullness
to their meat-based
counterparts, the contest’s
promoter told Brooklyn Paper
last month. However,
future contests could potentially
include vegan dogs,
opening up the festivities to
vegetarian and vegan gorgers.
And PETA says that if
that’s the case, their detente
with Nathan’s may become
permanent.
“Any step in that direction
is a great step. If they
do something like that next
year, we’ll be glad to come
out to celebrate and promote
progress,” he said.