Written by PETA
Country songbird Carrie Underwood told the Australian talk show The Circle that she's now vegan. While promoting her album Play On down under, the Sexiest Vegetarian Celebrity alum told listeners that she is "kind of lactose-intolerant" and that she had cut all dairy products from her diet.
With Carrie and fellow Sexiest Vegetarian winners Kellie Pickler, and Shania Twain all singing the praises of vegging out, will other country artists soon follow suit? Perhaps we'll turn on the radio and hear a slow, twangy ballad about love lost and tofu found?
Written by Michelle Sherrow
American Idol season seven runner-up Kristy Lee Cook is doing anything she can to get her "15 Minutes of Shame." In her new television show on Versus (formerly the Outdoor Life Network), Kristy is traveling around the country shooting animals. It sounds like she must have had those tired old defenses of hunting hammered into her as a kid, because she isn't embarrassed to float the incredibly old saw that hunters somehow help animals … by killing them while they're in the woods with their families minding their own business.
We hope Kristy will realize that her quest for fame would be better served by following in the footsteps of two of her fellow Idol alums-turned-country-stars. Vegetarian and Idol winner Carrie Underwood, for instance, has won five Grammy Awards and had 13 straight number one singles, while Kellie Pickler—our 2009 Sexiest Vegetarian winner—sold more than 800,000 copies of her debut album. And sensational Simon Cowell condemns fur, promotes spaying and neutering, and shot a public service announcement urging people not to leave dogs in hot cars.
Now is the time for Kristy to use her powerful voice as a weapon and hang up her gun collection for good.
Written by Jennifer O'Connor
Ellen playing sweet to Simon's tart was reason enough to watch this season of American Idol, but ever since the Top 24 were revealed, we've also been tuning in to support vegetarian contestant Michelle Delamor, who easily made it through last night's vote to become one of the Top 10 ladies.
We haven't "Fallin'" this hard for an Idol hopeful since compassionate country star Carrie Underwood's now-iconic performance of "Alone."
Written by Logan Scherer
If you're left scratching your head after reading this blog's title, allow me to translate: That friendly greeting is Kiswahili for "What's the news?" The response, "Ujima," is today's Kwanzaa value.
Kwanzaa is celebrated for seven days during the week between Christmas and New Year's. Each day is marked by a do-gooding ideal called by its Kiswahili name. Today is day three, Ujima, which means collective work and responsibility. (Saturday and Sunday were Unity and Self-Determination, marked by the "unifying determination" of my family to nab the last bit of Grandma's famous holiday sweet potatoes!) The idea of Ujima is to take on the problems of our neighbors and work together to solve them. In the spirit of this lovely holiday, we thought it apropos to focus on how to help those who can't help themselves.
Please be encouraged to take action anytime you see an animal in distress. Volunteer at your local animal shelter to give animals in need a bit of holiday cheer, or call the authorities about that dog in your neighborhood who is chained outside without proper shelter in this unforgiving weather. And of course, always remember to make sure that the animal companions you're lucky enough to share your home with are given proper care and all the cuddles they can handle!
Another Kwanzaa tradition is to pay respect to someone of African heritage who has contributed something significant to society. Today, I choose the generous Richard Pryor for his unending efforts to stop the abuse of animals. Who do you pick?
Joyous Kwanzaa everyone!
Written by Missy Lane
When I hear "Christmas spectacular," I think snow, lights, and a tree—really, it doesn't take much to make me happy. For the twisted folks at Loro Parque in Spain, however, it's apparently not Christmas without some animal exploitation. Wholesome and heartwarming? Yeah, right.
There was nothing festive about the death of a captive orca's trainer during the rehearsal for the zoo's Christmas performance. The whale hit the trainer, who drowned after being underwater for several minutes.
Freedom must've been first on this orca's Christmas wish list. Orcas swim up to 100 miles a day in the open ocean, so confining them to tanks in theme parks is like confining a person to a bathtub. Captured from their ocean homes by boats that chase orca pods to shallow waters so that the animals can be surrounded with nets that are gradually closed and lifted onto the boats, some orcas die from shock or stress. Others slowly succumb to pneumonia when water enters their lungs through their blowholes. After they are torn away from their homes and families, these animals are then forced to learn circus-style tricks from trainers who withhold food and isolate animals who refuse to perform.
At the top of my New Year's wish list? A PETA theme park in which the only "animals" forced to perform are the animatronic kind.
When we think of our nation's capital, freedom and justice immediately come to mind. But there's nothing just about the fur industry, in which millions of animals are skinned alive each year. That's why, as a boost to PETA's "Make D.C. Fur-Free" campaign, we're launching a "Fur-Free and Fabulous" ad blitz from the streets to the subway, starting with a van wrapped in this alluring ad:
Elegant, dazzling, and vogue, these stars are sure to stop traffic with their compassionate fashion. We're turning roads into runways to showcase the impeccable, cruelty-free style sensibilities of chic celebrities from Carrie Underwood to Michelle Obama and from Tyra Banks to Oprah Winfrey. And the commuting runway won't be just above ground—we're also going subterranean with our new ad, spreading the anti-fur message throughout the Metro. Fashion show on the subway? Yes. We. Can.
Want to cast your vote for cruelty-free fashion? Take our pledge to make D.C. fur-free, and if you know people who insist on draping themselves in the skins of dead animals, consider stuffing their stockings with this video narrated by the fabulous Tim Gunn.
If you're still not sure what to get your honey this Valentine's Day, take a hint from Carrie Underwood. The four-time Grammy winner and Sexiest Vegetarian Alive veteran recently spilled the beans on what would make her toes curl this Valentine's Day.
Some candles, decorations, good conversation, and a piping-hot home-cooked vegetarian meal are all this songbird needs to get in the lovey-dovey mood. She doesn't mention her favorite dish, but I personally fancy a hearty meatless shepherd's pie with extra mashed potatoes. I'm just sayin'.
Guys, if you want to capture a girl's heart, take Carrie's advice and aim straight for the stomach. You can't go wrong with reputed aphrodisiacs such as stuffed pumpkin, followed by chocolate-covered strawberries for dessert.
But if your culinary skills end at microwave popcorn, don't despair. You can surprise your sweetie with one of these no-hassle delights, which are sure to make a lasting impression.
Written by Jennifer Cierlitsky
popcrunch/CC
Is there anything more surreal than surviving countless bouts of painfully truthful admissions from the number one most-feared judge on American reality television? Yeah, of course! Just ask Kellie Pickler. The country singer went head-to-head with Simon Cowell in season five of American Idol, but it turns out that she couldn't look her own food in the face and still finish her meal.
People Magazine reports that this country gal, who has been blazin' her own trail of stardom since her elimination from the show, has recently adopted a vegetarian diet. It looks like all that palling around with fellow vegetarian and friend Carrie Underwood has paid off—for Kellie's health and for animals. Oh, and did I mention that Kellie's decision was partly influenced by a Pamela Anderson television PSA that was put out by a somewhat well-known animal rights group that you might have heard of—ah, shucks, it was a PETA ad!
Kellie says: "One night I couldn't sleep, and I was up and just Googling random stuff, and I'm like, 'Hmmm, PETA.' I saw all the videos, and I just thought it was horrible. It's animal cruelty. A lot of it has to do with knowing what happens to the animals, and it really bothered me, and so I will not eat meat."
Props to Kellie for ditching her beefy ways. It's not always easy, especially when many of the songs in her music genre aren't so—shall we say—vegetarian-friendly. The former rare meat junkie says she already feels healthier, and that is a mighty good thing considering that she just released her self-titled second album.
Maybe on her next album she can sing about pigs in gestation crates or veal calves confined to tiny stalls. No?
Posted by Jennifer Cierlitsky
A milk processing plant in California exploded on Monday. Seriously—it seems that a spark landed in some powdered milk, and the whole shebang went up like a powder keg—or perhaps we should say carton. Tee hee.
Injuries were kept to a minimum, thank goodness. Only one brave employee was wounded—he was helping firefighters navigate the plant, and he had to be treated for heat exhaustion. He's fine now, though!
The milk fire did, however, get pretty big—seven fire engines had to be called in, and the explosion blew a hole in the side of the building. Goodness gracious, we already knew about some of milk's explosive effects, but this is just ridiculous!
Because it pains me to go out on a fart joke, perhaps I'll call your attention to the other dangers that are associated with milk—like breast cancer, heart disease, and prostate cancer—not to mention all the baby calves for whom the dairy industry is, quite literally, deadly.
Also, milk will blow a hole in the side of your factory. I'm just sayin'.
Written by Amanda Schinke
OK ladies and gentlemen, congratulations are in order. The votes are in and following an impressive week-long rally by Jay Leno, Tonight Show band leader Kevin Eubanks has been voted PETA’s World’s Sexiest Vegetarian man for 2007, while American Idol superstar Carrie Underwood has been voted World's Sexiest Vegetarian woman.
Well over 100,000 ballots were cast, and the other finalists include Milo Ventimiglia, Joaquin Phoenix, Kristen Bell, Bryce Dallas Howard, Jared Leto, TV Guide columnist Michael Ausiello and Maggie Q.
I’m sure Leno couldn't be happier about Eubanks' win. He mentioned the contest several times during the past week and said that he stopped by to vote for Eubanks, noting that he wanted Kevin to win to bring honor to the Tonight Show stage. And Tonight Show viewers logged on in large numbers, pushing Eubanks ahead of his competitors. I’m not saying Eubanks wouldn’t be up there in the rankings without it, but Leno’s repeated stump speeches had to have given him an edge. Leno even brought out some rather revealing shots from Kevin’s past to get viewers excited . . .
Previous winners, in case you’re keeping score, include Prince, Natalie Portman, Shania Twain, Chris Martin, Andre 3000, Tobey Maguire, Josh Hartnett, Alicia Silverstone, and Lauren Bush.
Congrats Carrie and Kevin, from all of us at PETA. And Jay, how about a segment with both winners on the show?
If you have a general question for PETA and would like a response, please e-mail Info@peta.org. If you need to report cruelty to an animal, please click here. If you are reporting an animal in imminent danger and know where to find the animal and if the abuse is taking place right now, please call your local police department. If the police are unresponsive, please call PETA immediately at 757-622-7382 and press 2.
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