The Pork Pie roundabout is a well known East Midlands landmark named after a library, but vegan activists are calling for it to have a name change.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has written to Sir Peter Soulsby, the mayor of Leicester, claiming renaming the roundabout the Vegan Pie Roundabout would help promote a healthier lifestyle.
In their letter, the animal rights group even cites a survey which found that a third of people over the age of 18 in the area were obese.
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MSN reports: Peta claims Vegan Pie Roundabout – the current name of which came from the nearby 1930s Pork Pie Library – is also fitting as it says the term vegan was invented in the city.
Senior campaigns manager for Peta Kate Werner said: ‘This timely name change would inspire healthier food choices that help the environment, celebrate Leicester’s heritage, and prevent animal suffering. This is not a pie-in-the-sky request.
‘Eating a varied plant-based diet has been shown to prevent heart disease, diabetes, abdominal fat, and cancer.
‘Encouraging people to eat plant-based could also help lessen the burden on Leicester’s already overstretched NHS.’
James Aris, a spokesman for rural campaigners the Countryside Alliance, said: ‘Peta is renowned attention seekers, desperate for any publicity they can get. They are best ignored and no politician should take them remotely seriously.’
Critics flooded social media to mock the call, while Sir Peter Soulsby told Metro he was dismissing it as a ‘pie in the sky’ stunt.
Speaking on behalf of the council and the city’s Pork Pie Library, he said today: ‘It’s a funny and quite clever way of drawing attention to themselves and their cause – but there is no way we could change the name people have given to the library and the roundabout next to it.
‘It has been known locally as the Pork Pie Library since it was built in the 1930s, thanks to its distinctive circular shape. Any talk of changing its name is just pie in the sky.’
