PETA tells WH, Jill Biden annual Easter Egg Roll can still be 'egg-citing' with potatoes

PETA is not a fan of the White House rolling chicken eggs during its annual Easter Egg Roll. That's why the animal rights nonprofit is now recommending first lady Jill Biden replace the "cholesterol bombs" with potatoes.

PETA's argument against using eggs is that "potatoes are cheaper and healthier than eggs and leave birds in peace," the nonprofit said in a recent news release.

“Children love animals and would be sad to learn that the eggs used for fun and games at the White House come from tormented hens whose lives are spent in cages that afford them less space than a standard sheet of typing paper,” PETA President Ingrid Newkirk said in the release. “Easter should be a time of renewal and joy for all sentient beings—and that means hens, too.”

Replacing eggs for the event would please everyone who does not support "filthy factory farms," the nonprofit said.

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PETA pens letter in support of changing tradition to first lady Jill Biden

The nonprofit sent a letter Monday full of potato puns to first lady Jill Biden explaining how unethical using eggs is during the annual event.

"I’m writing on behalf of (PETA)... to respectfully suggest an appealing way to modernize the White House Easter Egg Roll—one that would be truly inclusive and welcomed by every tot who doesn’t eat eggs for religious, cultural, or environmental reasons or because they object to the way animals, including hens whose reproductive systems are exploited for eggs, are raised and killed these days," the letter reads.

PETA's letter said the White House using eggs promotes "the deleterious factory farming and slaughter industries," so initiating the "annual White House Potato Roll" would be more appropriate.

"Easter is not a time of renewal or joy for chickens on egg factory farms," the letter reads. "It can take up to 36 hours in typically hellish conditions for a hen—who spends her entire life in a cage smaller than a letter-sized sheet of paper—to produce just one of the thousands of eggs slated to be used at the White House Easter Egg Roll."

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PETA outlines the benefits of replacing eggs with spuds

By replacing eggs with potatoes, the White House would not be exploiting "any sentient beings," but rather, encouraging "empathy and kindness to animals while supporting potato farmers in the U.S.," according to PETA's letter.

PETA's letter further encourages the use of potatoes by detailing how they are "the most popular vegetable in the country" and safer to dye allowing for "spudtacular traditional activities" — including rolling, seeking and decorating them.

"You could even hold potato sack races and games of hot potato," the nonprofit's letter reads.

The White House has an opportunity to start a "new Easter tradition" amid increased egg prices and the "worst avian flu outbreak in history," which led to almost 82 million birds being slaughtered, PETA's letter said.

 Jonathan Limehouse covers breaking and trending news for USA TODAY. Reach him at JLimehouse@gannett.com