Update: The booth reopened on Saturday after fair officials relented and asked PETA to return. Once again, Iowa State Fair visitors were able to see farm workers' callous behavior and unlawful cruelty to animals for themselves via the uncensored undercover video footage shown at the booth.

Originally posted August 10:

Fairgoers are used to seeing the traditional 4-H booths, but the Iowa State Fair was so shocked by PETA's decidedly nontraditional version—which showed PETA's "Glass Walls" video exposing the horrific cruelty of the meat trade—that everyone's favorite animal rights group was banished from the fairgrounds.

Sensitive Ears, Insensitive Hearts

Supposedly, the raw language used by one factory-farm worker in the undercover video footage—he drops an F-bomb while describing the difficulty of snapping turkeys' necks—proved too much for Iowans' delicate ears. Then again, the ejection may have been due more to what the video showed than what was being said.

Iowa has already shown intolerance for finding out what goes on behind the scenes of the meat industry by passing an "ag gag" law, making it illegal to photograph or film factory-farm and slaughterhouse conditions. And people who've already stopped by the booth learned what the law is designed to conceal because "Glass Walls" includes video footage from a PETA investigation that documented how pigs at an Iowa Hormel supplier were being beaten and abused by workers, leading to convictions for livestock abuse and neglect.

Interestingly, PETA was the only "vendor" at the fair not selling anything but instead trying to educate the Iowa public about the darker side of agriculture, which is of increasing concern to the nation. Instead of peddling cotton candy or corn dogs, PETA just offered free food for thought and paid for the privilege of doing so. It seems that fair officials were more alarmed by the message and the throngs of people the booth attracted—especially teens.

Get 'Em While They're Young

It's a shame that now those teens may not have the chance to learn how the meat business hurts animals—and works to co-opt young people with not-so-subtle propaganda. 4-H offers a lot of great programs for kids, but participants in its agricultural programs spend numerous hours bonding with cows, sheep, goats, and chickens who will ultimately make their way to a blood-soaked killing floor, just as most animals raised for food do.

That's why in PETA's booth, the four H's stood for "Hell for animals," "Heart attack–inducing," "Hazard to the environment," and "Hypocritical for teaching kids to care about only certain animals and to disrespect others."

commons.wikimedia / CC

The title of an LA Times blog says it all: "You Win, PETA. Iowa State Fair Won't Have Michael Jackson Butter Sculpture."

You may remember that we recently wrote to the Iowa State Fair asking it to refrain from making a Michael Jackson statue out of butter and instead to use Earth Balance, a delicious nondairy spread. We reminded the fair that the King of Pop himself—a vocal supporter of children's health charities—would not appreciate his image being carved out of an unhealthy, fatty spread (not to mention one so detrimental to animals).

Well, the fair officials put it to a vote, and after more than 100,000 votes were counted, about 65 percent of fairgoers had voted against erecting the statue. Looks like we weren't the only ones who thought this was a "bad" idea.

Written by Christine Doré

thisislondon.co / CC

While people around the globe are trying to find appropriate ways to honor the late "King of Pop," the state of Iowa has come up with one of the lamest ways we've seen so far.

Believe it or not, the organizers of this year's Iowa State Fair are considering erecting a statue of M.J. made out of butter. While we can definitely appreciate the creativity of their suggestion, we think that they are going about it all wrong. Michael devoted much of his life and fortune to children's health charities, and the notion of promoting artery-clogging butter to young passersby is quite the opposite of "healing the world"—and enough to make Mike roll over in his golden casket.

We do respect Iowans' right to honor the late icon, so we've come up with a solution—one that's good for children, cows, and Michael's legacy. We're suggesting that the fair make the statue out of Earth Balance, a dairy-free natural "buttery" spread, instead. By keeping their tribute to Mr. Jackson dairy-free, they'd be honoring his memory in a (cholesterol-free) way that's fit for a king.

Written by Christine Doré