We admit it: We can't resist a good publicity stunt. Especially when it involves bikinis. So we were happy to drop by Market Square around noon to talk to Virginia Fort, a Norfolk-based campaigner for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Fort had enlisted fellow PETA-ite Lauren Quillow for a new effort to promote vegan and vegetarian diets by handing out free bowls of vegan chili and recipe pamphlets. And the stunt? They would do it in chili-pepper themed bikinis. Fort says this was sort of a trial run for the gimmick: "I love Knoxville, I love coming here. So I wanted to try it here first." She did allow that she was hoping it might not be quite so cold. An iPhone app gave a reading of 25 degrees, although it might have been a degree or two warmer in the sun. But Fort said they intended to stick it out for at least an hour, taking alternate breaks to warm themselves in the car. All, she said, for a good cause. "Most people don't realize that going vegan or vegetarian can save 100 animals a year," she says. "They also don't realize the detrimental effect that eating meat has on the environment."
Of course, few passers-by stopped to listen to any kind of elaboration. They were too cold.
Lauren Quillow, left, and Virginia Fort make the case for veganism.
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