Prevention magazine is the latest publication to jump on the vegetable cart, extolling the benefits of swapping meat for vegetables. "Eating less meat is a proven way to lighten up on the scale. Research shows that vegetarians weigh an average 20% less than nonvegetarians," Prevention reports. Ditching meat is an even more effective way to lose weight, says the magazine, than limiting fat intake, since vegetables provide nutrients, protein, and filling fiber to keep tummies full and energy high.

It's not only adults who should pledge to be vegan for their health. The Chicago Tribune reports that, according to a study by the Produce for Better Health Foundation, only 8 percent of American children get enough vegetables. The lack of healthy veggies in kids' diets contributes to many health problems, including childhood obesity.  

The simple solution to weight loss and improved overall health is as easy as 1-2-3:  

1)      Learn about the many benefits of plant-based diets for your health, animals, and the environment.
2)      Order PETA's free vegetarian/vegan starter kit.
3)      Enjoy your beach-ready bod just in time for the spring thaw.

Written by Michelle Sherrow

Honorary PETA director Bea Arthur had no intention of letting a little thing like, say, death stop her from speaking out against cruelty to animals. The Golden Girl is taking on the Golden Arches' chicken abuse in a full-page PETA ad in Thursday's Chicago Tribune—paid for by Bea herself through a gift in her will.

PETA members dressed in black will also hold a spirited protest outside a downtown Chicago McDonald's to mark the ad's debut and the one-year anniversary of beautiful Bea's passing.

Will Bea's plea from beyond the grave inspire McDonald's to lessen the hellish suffering of the chickens who are killed for its restaurants? Please join Bea and PETA by taking action and urging McDonald's to demand that its suppliers switch to a less cruel slaughter method called controlled-atmosphere killing. If Bea's eternal activism has inspired you, please also consider joining PETA's Augustus Club (which Bea helped launch) to ensure that your efforts to help animals live on long after you've gone!

Written by Lindsay Pollard-Post

I'll take a Venti soy mocha Frappuccino with no whip, please. (Oh, how I've longed to utter those words.) Apparently, Starbucks has been getting all those requests that I've been stuffing into its suggestion boxes, because it's introducing vegan Frappuccinos nationwide starting May 5!

Grande Vegan Mocha Frappuccino © Quarry Girl

Frappuccinos − dairy = frozen dream come true. And did I mention that Starbucks also carries yummy vegan cookies? Sweet.

Via Quarry Girl

Written by Amy Skylark Elizabeth

Where is my dog Henry's ball? If only it glowed in the dark like a Galaxy Glow dog toy from Premier!

Sure to please your pup, these easy-to-find-even-in-the-dead-of-night toys are perfect for an after-hours game of fetch. Want to fetch one? Just tell us about something your dog does that makes you glow (with love, of course). The two people whose comments most make us go "aww" will score a football. Your comment should also include the size of your dog, so that we can hook him or her up with the right-sized weird and wonderful toy.

While I'm checking under the couch cushions for Henry's ball, please read the fine print: The contest ends on May 5, 2010, and we'll pick the winners on May 7, 2010. Be sure to read our privacy policy and terms and conditions, as you're agreeing to both by commenting.

Good luck!

Written by Amy Skylark Elizabeth

http://www.flickr.com/photos/back_garage/
CC BY 2.0

Scarlett Johansson and Tobey Maguire have already let their congressional representatives know that they support HR 4870, the Healthy School Meals Act, which would require schools to offer more vegetarian options in cafeterias. Now it's your turn: Today, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine is hosting a School-Lunch Lobbyist Call-In Day. Please call your representative and politely ask him or her to co-sponsor HR 4870. You might also want to mention that you can't stomach cruelty to animals or greasy, cholesterol-laden mystery meats and pizza boats—and that you're sick of hearing your classmates chant, "Fatty, fatty two-by-four, can't fit through the classroom door."

Anyone can call—students, parents, teachers, and everyone else who's ever set foot inside a school cafeteria or shuddered to think what they're being served in one. It only takes a minute and it's much easier than a math quiz.

Written by Heather Moore

justhungry / CC

On Sunday, a group of visitors to Chicago's Shedd Aquarium took part in what can only be described as one of the most morbid lessons in fish appreciation that we've heard of.

After aquarium patrons had had their fill of staring at aquatic animals in glass prisons, they were taken to a back room and taught how to cut up and make raw sushi out of the dead cousins of the fish and crabs they'd just oohed and aahed over.

It's all part of the aquarium's "Right Bite" program, which aims to teach people that they can continue eating fish as long as it's not an "overfished" species. What the program fails to teach its students is that all ocean animals, whether bluefin tuna or Dungeness crabs, feel pain when they are drug up from their watery home in a net and forced to suffocate on the deck of a ship. Did they miss the recent study about crabs?

This institution says it "connects people to the living world," but it actually teaches visitors—including children—that fish are just things: food without feelings. Any way you slice it, that's just plain wrong.

Written by Karin Bennett

PETA founder Ingrid E. Newkirk offers hundreds of simple ways to stop cruelty to animals in her new book, The PETA Practical Guide to Animal Rights: Simple Acts of Kindness to Help Animals in Trouble, which was released today.

While Ingrid is out on the road promoting kindness on her book tour, PETA's vice presidents are stepping up to our virtual podium for a Q&A with all of you PETA Files readers. They are poised to answer your hard-hitting animal rights and PETA questions. But first, some introductions are in order.

Meet the VPs

Dan Mathews
Senior Vice President of Campaigns

PETA's dashing senior VP was once a green-haired punk rocker who flipped burgers at McDonald's. But when this pop-culture junkie breezed through PETA's doors in 1985, it was clear that he was born to lead our campaigns. During his two decades at PETA, this author/concert coordinator/protester extraordinaire has been the brains (and brawn) behind some of PETA's most colorful campaigns, including the ever-popular "I'd Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur" campaign. Dan lives by his personal motto: "Rest When You're Dead."

Just a sampling of the many PETA victories achieved under Dan's watch include convincing Calvin Klein to stop designing with fur after leading a raid in Calvin's office, pressuring GM to stop using animals in crash tests, and lobbying Gillette to halt product tests on animals. He's lined up stars to protest, pose nude, or even go to jail for the cause, including Chrissie Hynde, Sir Paul McCartney, and Pamela Anderson. Dan was named one of the "Most Influential Gays" of the millennium by Genre and one of the "50 Most Beautiful Guys" by teen magazine YM.

He's so funny and charming that it's no wonder that my mom, Carla of "Ask Carla," ignored her gay-dar and once daydreamed about setting him up with me.

Lisa Lange
Senior Vice President of Communications

Lisa coordinated the production of some of PETA's most popular and successful videos and PSAs, including the hugely popular "Veggie Love" ad, a vegetarian ad featuring Alicia Silverstone in the buff, and a series of provocative videos for PETA's Animal Birth Control campaign. She also assisted with the production of I Am an Animal, an award-winning HBO documentary about Ingrid E. Newkirk.

She's influenced millions of viewers to consider animals during her smackdowns of animal exploiters on Today, CNBC, CNN's Crossfire, Larry King Live, and Your World With Neil Cavuto. She's appeared numerous times on The O'Reilly Factor and on countless other television and radio programs.

Lisa epitomizes vegan vitality and never stops thinking of ways to alleviate animal suffering—even when she's doing sit-ups at dawn during her boot-camp workouts.

Tracy Reiman
Executive Vice President

Tracy oversees all of PETA's campaigns as well as PETA's marketing, corporate affairs, youth, and Web outreach efforts.

Let me take a deep breath before I start listing just a few of Tracy's accomplishments. Whew. OK. She led successful efforts to persuade Mobil, Texaco, Shell, and other big oil corporations to cap their oil stacks to prevent thousands of birds and bats from burning to death. She participated in the infamous sit-in at Calvin Klein's office (as mentioned above), which tipped the balance in convincing the clothing designer to abandon fur. She was instrumental in stopping NASA's cruel Bion project, which involved sending primates into space. Her investigative and rescue work resulted in the first-ever cruelty charges filed against a factory farmer for cruelty to chickens.

Tracy is fearless and tireless in her efforts for animals, and no matter what the situation, she always remains cool, calm, and collected. I've always considered her a sort of female James Bond for animals.

So, what is it that you're dying to know about these die-hard animal activists? Don't be shy. Leave a question (or two) below, and we'll have each of the VPs answer the most thought-provoking questions later this month.

Written by Karin Bennett

aceshowbiz / CC

"There wouldn't be a swine flu if we treated the pigs better!"

That was superstar comedian and professional face-contorter Jim Carrey's shout out to pigs during his acceptance speech for Best Comedic Performance at the MTV Movie Awards last night.

While Rob Pattinson cleaned up in every other category and "Bruno" shocked the audience when he stuck his you-know-what in Eminem's face, Carrey's speech took home the golden popcorn for Best Awards Show Moment, at least in our eyes.

Thanks, Jim. If you ever want to put your mug on a pro-pig poster, you know where to find us.

Written by Christine Doré