PETA Takes On Raising Cane's, With Vegan Chicken Food Truck Parked At Philly Eatery

PHILADELPHIA — A Raising Cane's restaurant in Philadelphia has been getting a frequent visitor: an animal-rights group's food truck trying to lure customers away with free vegan chicken.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) — a national group known for attention-grabbing advocacy — recently launched a "Free the Chicken" truck tour.

The tour began Aug. 14, with the vibrant red-and-white truck parked directly across from Raising Cane's in University City. Each day around lunchtime, PETA has given away hundreds of free samples of vegan chicken.

Next to the service window, a video montage about chickens plays on loop with gentle background music and footage of chickens with accompanying messages such as "She loves a warm bath" and "She loves to play."

Before leaving Philly on Monday, the truck stopped at Love Park twice and returned to Raising Cane's three more times.

"A lot of people just have no idea that chickens are just like our dogs and cats at home," said Marnie Chambless, PETA's tour campaign specialist. "They purr when they're being pet, and they coo when they're happy, and they have unique personalities and best friends and dreams."

The vegan chicken, made of soy and wheat, is designed to imitate real chicken taste. PETA offered multiple flavors, along with vegan Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing.

PETA is pushing for chicken-centered restaurant chains like Raising Cane's to add a vegan option. Chambless says plant-based alternatives have gotten significantly better at imitating meat since the "Beyond" burger became mainstream.

"Chickens spend their whole lives in cages or in dark warehouses packed with thousands of other chickens," Chambless said. "They're denied any semblance of anything that's naturally important to them. So whether we're doing giveaways on the street or eye-catching demonstrations, PETA is going to be there to make sure chickens and animals are spoken for."

Raising Cane's did not return comment.

PETA's "Free the Chicken" truck tour will travel around the country for the next two months.