MOUNT CLEMENS, Mich., Jan. 6 (UPI) -- An animal rights group has pledged to pay for a new freezer at a Michigan jail if the sheriff promises to put the inmates on a vegan diet for one year.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals says it will buy a freezer for the Macomb County Jail if bologna sandwiches and other meats are dropped from the menu.
"We thought this would be a great way to promote health and compassion towards animals," PETA's Kate Brindle told The Detroit News. "Trying a vegan diet is a great opportunity for inmates to make a change by rejecting the violence of the meat industry."
Vegans adhere to a strict diet that not only precludes meat but all animal products, including dairy.
Sheriff Mark Hackel says he has his doubts about whether fruit, vegetables and grains would work out with his long-term guests, particularly because vegan fare would cost more than the current low-budget chow.
But Brindle countered that improvement in the health of the 1,200 inmates would lower medical costs and improve morale.
As for the prisoners themselves, they have been on bologna and peanut-butter rations for more than a month since a mold problem in the jail kitchen shut down the hot-food operations.
