Written by PETA
© Joe Cicak | iStockphoto.com
Here's the skinny: Pennsylvania was the second state to ratify the Constitution, but it has yet to ratify an official state food. Well, PETA has a suggestion that the "Keystone State" can really sink its teeth into: tofu. Why bean curd? Because it was first promoted in the U.S. by Benjamin Franklin, Pennsylvania's most famous Founding Father.
We wrote to Gov. Tom Corbett and suggested that he could help to quell the state's obesity epidemic and honor his predecessor in the governor's seat by getting Pennsylvanians to eat more tofu and less meat. And in this tough economy, because legislative decisions have to be all about the Benjamins, tofu is the perfect choice: Not only is it cheaper than meat and therefore easier on constituents' wallets, making the switch can also lower rates of heart disease, diabetes, and cancer, saving the state money on healthcare.
You don't need bifocals to see that patriotic tofu should be first in the second state—and in the rest of the country.
Written by Michelle Sherrow
Amid laughter and high-fives, two PETA members dressed as giant condoms reminded people in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, that cats and dogs can't control pet overpopulation on their own.
More than 350 people stopped to talk to the eye-catching pair and received leaflets on the importance of spaying and neutering. Many passersby asked for information about low-cost spay/neuter services—and one man said that he was going to make a veterinary appointment that very day. If you haven't already done so, have your own animal companions spayed or neutered (or help a friend get his or her animals "snipped"): Spaying just one female dog can prevent 67,000 births in six years, and spaying one female cat can prevent 420,000 births in seven years!
UPDATE: As a result of PETA's complaint to the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture (DOA), the office of Susan West, director of the DOA's Dog Law Enforcement Bureau, has advised Heavenly Angels and Dreamland Divas Director Grace James that the planned puppy giveaway is a violation of Pennsylvania law and has assured PETA that puppies will not be given away as prizes.
Just when you thought kiddie beauty pageants couldn't get any creepier, PETA has learned that children's beauty-pageant company Heavenly Angels and Dreamland Divas is planning to give away free puppies as prizes to the winners of a competition in Pennsylvania next weekend. Hello? How out of touch are these people?
Giving away live animals as prizes is against Pennsylvania law, and for good reason. Puppies need constant attention, expensive veterinary care, patient and gentle guidance, and someone who will commit to caring for them for life. Not every family is willing or able to do this (let alone those who are busy traveling to pageants), and puppies who end up with people who never really wanted them are often turned over to shelters, passed along to anyone who will take them, chained up in a backyard, or even abandoned on the street.
Let's remind the pageant's director to comply with Pennsylvania law—which the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture itself has advised pageant officials on—and cancel plans to give away animals as prizes.
Written by Lindsay Pollard-Post
It's been an especially bad month for animals on factory farms. Thousands of animals died in fires over the past couple weeks, hens at a Nebraska egg farm were going to be ground up alive until PETA stepped in, and we now have word that nearly 1,000 pigs starved to death after apparently being abandoned on a farm in Fulton County, Pa.
The pigs were discovered by the estranged wife of the farmer who reportedly vacated the property several months ago—and apparently left hundreds of pigs and several calves behind to die. According to a humane society police officer who responded to the scene, evidence indicates that the animals were trapped inside barns and "struggled and fought to get out."
Union Township Supervisor Gary Sheeder, who is an acquaintance of the farm's owner, was appalled by scale of the tragedy. "I can't believe, with as many kids as he had, that life didn't mean more to him," he told a reporter.
The real estate agent who is handling the sale of the death trap farm was more sanguine: "I think this is very normal in a lot of farming operations, that you're going to have dead animals."
Yeah, our undercover investigators have noticed that too.
Fortunately, authorities are taking the case seriously, and several state and local agencies—including the humane society, the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture, the state Department of Environmental Protection, and the Pennsylvania State Police—are investigating and are considering pressing charges. Check back for updates as we learn more.
Written by Alisa Mullins
Two recent news stories underscore the importance of making sure that dogs are kept indoors when temperatures soar.
In South Carolina, a man named Charles Bell has been charged with cruelty after Animal Control officers reportedly discovered that a dog had died in a small wire crate in the man's backyard while temperatures soared as high as 114 degrees. The dog had apparently been trapped in the crate in direct sunlight for three days with no food or water. According to news reports, authorities were alerted by a man who had approached the house to ask that the dog be moved into the shade only to have a woman slam the door in his face. Crating a dog is always a terrible idea, but in this case it was a formula for tragedy.
Meanwhile, in Pennsylvania, thanks to one dog's ingenuity, disaster was narrowly averted. When a dog named Max was inadvertently left in a hot car, he began to honk the car's horn. After being doused in water and then rushed to a vet, Max made a full recovery from his heat exhaustion—but most dogs aren't as lucky.
Even in the shade, temperatures inside a car in warm weather can soar to lethal levels. To cool themselves, dogs must pant, and they can only perspire through their paw pads. Please protect your dog, and if you see other dogs in distress, always take action—you could save a life!
Written by Jeff Mackey
No! Say it isn't so. Doesn't Janet Jackson know that …
Animals suffer miserable lives and agonizing deaths to become fur cuffs and collars?
Surely she considered the "fan fallout" from this unwise, uncaring decision, which is supremely …
Tacky, cruel, inexcusable—help me out, people, are ...
You as disappointed by her decision as I am? Join us in asking Janet to donate the stolen skins so that they can be used as bedding for orphaned animals.
Written by Karin Bennett
We're betting the dairy farm that the people of Philadelphia will be swapping out their 2 percent milk for deliciously nutritious soy milk (or rice or almond milk) after seeing this PETA public service announcement (PSA), which began airing in the Philly area yesterday:
Last September, PETA unveiled our five-month undercover investigation of a Pennsylvania-based factory dairy farm that supplies Land O'Lakes. Although we brought the abysmal conditions to Land O'Lakes' attention, the company has done nothing to address the abuse behind the butter. And the Pennsylvania legal system failed to spread any brotherly love—much less protection—to cows on dairy farms, which means that it's up to us to stop this stomach-churning cruelty.
Please pressure Land O'Lakes to implement and enforce the 12-point animal-welfare program that PETA has recommended. And, of course, it goes without saying that you should keep all dairy products out of your grocery carts, right?
Written by Amy Skylark Elizabeth
Be proud, California: Thanks to your meat and dairy industries' "Happy Cows," you're number one … on the EPA's "fart chart." And you thought the Golden State was known only for its Hollywood beauties and killer vegan food.
Rounding out the top five in the bovine emissions sweepstakes are Wisconsin, New York, Pennsylvania, and Minnesota.
Animals raised for food fart and burp massive quantities of greenhouse gasses—so much so that they're a leading contributor to climate change. The EPA estimates that the nation's 170 million bovines, sheep, and pigs are responsible for one-quarter of the methane released in the U.S. each year.
Check out the "fart chart" to see how your state ranks. Then tell everyone you know what they can do to lower their emissions.
Written by Paula Moore
P.S. We're not going to raise a stink about the fact that the "fart chart" should really be called the "Burp-O-Meter."
Foodies everywhere are buzzing about Mario Batali's declaration that he is a "big believer in the Meatless Monday movement" and his announcement that all 14 of his restaurants will offer at least two vegetarian options each and every Monday.
Batali believes that "most people in the U.S. eat way more meat than is good for them or the planet" and supports efforts to "focus on a more plant-based diet." And get this: He's also created a logo to further promote the flesh-free options at some of his restaurants. Woo-hoo!
Batali's eateries are known for cooking up just about every bit of animal one can name, including bone marrow and cockscombs (yes, cockscombs), so it's no wonder Batali's announcement is a hot topic for offal eaters and vegans.
We can't wait for the day when chefs like Batali embrace "Turkeyless Tuesdays," "Wings-Free Wednesdays," etc., or declare "Meat Mondays" as the only day they serve the stuff, but in the meantime, Batali's support for Meatless Mondays will do wonders to spotlight humane cuisine's plethora of pluses for animals, human health, and the environment.
In a landmark move, the jockeys at the Penn National Race Course voted last week to refuse to ride in any races in which horses owned by Michael Gill would be running. Jockeys only get paid when they win, place, or show in races, so giving up a job is a serious move. The vote came after a horse owned by Gill, one of the horse-racing industry's most prominent horse owners, collapsed 20 yards past the finish line at Penn National and had to be euthanized. Gill has a long history of animal fatalities, and this was the breaking point for the jockeys, who in the last 13 months alone saw 10 of Gill's horses be euthanized after suffering injuries during races. At long last, Penn National has finally asked the Pennsylvania State Horse Racing Commission to investigate the fatal breakdowns of Gill's horses. And just this week, Michael Gill announced that he is quitting the business because of the boycott and the investigation. Good riddance.
While Gill's case might seem extraordinary, the problems within the industry are systemic. Every year, more than 1,000 thoroughbreds die on tracks in the U.S., and this death toll does not include those injured horses who are euthanized away from the track or the 15,000 thoroughbreds who are sent to slaughter in Canada and Mexico every year.
Part of the problem is that injured and sore horses are pumped up with medications and painkillers to keep them running when they should be resting. Racing these horses just to squeeze out a paycheck leads to breakdowns and death. Because many veterinarians in the horse-racing industry are complicit in these practices, PETA is calling on the Pennsylvania State Board of Veterinary Medicine to investigate the vets at Penn National—especially those used by Gill.
It goes without saying that you should shun all horse races and urge the National Thoroughbred Racing Association to enforce breeding limits. As evidenced by the case of Michael Gill—who is only a single person in a huge industry—this is a matter of life and death.
Written by Logan Scherer
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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