It pays to go veg

Boston -  PETA, the global animal rights organisation, is offering $1,000 to the first group of US students who banish meat from their college dining hall.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, better known as PETA, is campaigning to create more vegan-only dining on campuses across the US, the local paper Metro Boston reported.

They have come up with a contest that will pay $1,000 to the first student group that converts a meat-serving dining hall into a vegan-only one.

PETA believes that meat and animal product consumption constitutes cruelty to animals, even if it comes from a producer that claims to be free-range or cruelty-free.

"Many of those products are as bad if not worse than conventional meat and dairy," Ryan Huling, the manager of college outreach for PETA, was quoted as saying by the paper.

"Many of those animals are suffering, and the producers aren't allowed to give them any sort of pain relief, because that would violate the organic standards."

The organisation says that vegan-only dining halls will provide a health benefit to non-vegetarians.

PETA is the largest animal rights organization in the world, with more than three million members and supporters.