Written by PETA
Two things we at PETA never pass up: vegan ice cream and opportunities to educate others about the benefits of a vegetarian diet. (I call it giving them a "vegucation.")
Pro-life Catholic students and faculty at Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind., are in a tizzy about President Obama's scheduled commencement address on Sunday. So, of course, we're erecting two pro-vegetarian billboards this weekend at Notre Dame to remind both sides of the abortion debate that a diet free of slaughtered animals makes sense for everyone.
Written by Karin Bennett
Queen Bee fur hag Anna Wintour didn't really think we'd let her spread her fashion drivel gospel to the masses unfettered, did she?
As the Vogue editor prepared to give a talk at the New York City 92nd Street Y about the "cultural impact" of her rag magazine last night, two PETA members disrupted the event to let attendees know about the ethical impact of Wintour's relentless promotion of fur.
As one fur foe unfurled a banner from the balcony reading, "Anna Wintour: Fur Shame," a second activist addressed the crowd, saying, "I apologize for the interruption, but I need to let you know that this woman is contributing to the suffering of millions of animals every year through her continued endorsement of the fur industry, even though she knows that the animals in question are beaten, anally electrocuted, and frequently skinned alive."
The protesters rabble roused until security escorted them out. We're hoping that the audience now realizes that Ms. Wintour's days as Vogue's editor should be numbered.
Written by Shawna Flavell
This week, we approached the city of Ashland, Ohio, with a little business proposition after we learned of the city's efforts to find a more cost-effective way to run its curbside recycling program.
We sent the director of city services a letter offering to offset the program's costs by paying to place our Lettuce Ladies' "Vegetarians Do It to Save the Planet" ad on the city's recycling trucks:
With all the bottle-sorting going on in Ashland, its citizens might be interested to learn that they can cause far more damage to the Earth with the foods they eat than they can by chucking some bottles onto a garbage heap. In fact, the production of 1 pound of meat generates the same amount of greenhouse-gas emissions as does driving an SUV 40 miles. Of course, we're not suggesting that anyone stop sorting those bottles, but why not also try a meat-free diet that won't hurt animals or the environment?
Written by Jennifer Cierlitsky
Thanks for all of your wonderful comments on this Win It Wednesday. The winners of the OPI nail polish are Alicia Webster, Jamie Bevia, and Jill Brown. Congratulations!
It's flip-flop season, and it seems like everyone is busting out a fancy pedicure. I think I can safely say that we all want pretty feet without contributing to the horrors of animal testing, so it's a good thing (for us and for animals) that OPI nail polish is cruelty-free. For this week's "Win It" Wednesday, three of you can have fashion-forward tootsies on us.
How do you win? Tell us about your favorite kind of animal-friendly footwear. Whether it's your vegan TOMS or your worn-out Chucks, we want to know. Three lucky people will each win a set of OPI nail colors from South Beach's spring collection.
The contest ends on May 27, 2009, and we'll choose the three most fashion-savvy comments as the winners on May 29, 2009. Be sure to read our privacy policy and terms and conditions, as you're agreeing to both by commenting. Check back every Wednesday for new prizes. Good luck!
Written by Lianne Turner
"The government does not want us to call it the swine flu. They're calling it the 2009 H1N1 virus. The reason for the change is they want people to know you can still eat all the pork you want without any risk to your health, except diabetes, obesity, and heart disease."
That's Jimmy Kimmel's take on swine flu, as quoted in the New York Times.
And, if you're inclined to take a trip down Memory Lane, here's Jimmy Kimmel's take on PETA's Alicia Silverstone and Super Bowl ads.
We love Jimmy!
When my beloved Boston Red Sox famously traded Nomar Garciaparra to the Chicago Cubs back in '04, I knew that it was for the best. But when Manny Ramirez was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers just one short year ago, I had the opposite reaction. I knew Manny was trouble. I knew he was dragging the team down. But deep down, I was sorry to see him go.
Now that Manny has been hit with a 50-game suspension for failing a drug test—allegedly because of an impotence treatment to counteract the, um, negative side effects of steroid use—Boston fans can rest a bit more easily knowing that the Red Sox made the right move shipping him off to L.A. last summer (Jason Bay slugging .667 through 32 games doesn't hurt, either). But we here at PETA are left wondering: Why would Manny turn to pharmaceutical "performance enhancers" when the best way to combat impotence is a healthy vegetarian diet?
Most people these days understand that the saturated fat and cholesterol in meat, dairy, and eggs clogs the arteries to your heart, leading to an increased risk of heart disease. But eating meat actually impedes the blood flow to all your organs—including the one that comes with a Y chromosome. And the best way to be sure that organ will continue to come through for you is to go vegetarian.
With that in mind, PETA is urging Manny to consider switching to a vegetarian diet so that he can continue to come through in the clutch without failing any more drug tests. You can read our letter here, and you can learn more about the performance-enhancing benefits of a vegetarian diet here.
Written by Dan Shannon
When we heard that an elementary school in Windsor, Connecticut, was holding a yard sale to raise funds to spruce up its dilapidated playground, we saw a perfect opportunity pitch in—by paying to place our ads reading, "Tot teetering on obesity? Go Veg!" on the school's seesaws.
Our letter to the principal points out that kids who munch on chicken nuggets, fish sea kitten sticks, and pepperoni pizza face myriad health problems, including obesity, heart disease, and diabetes. For fat kids, our ad can turn recess, all too often a time of ridicule, into a chance to learn about how they can slim down and save their animal friends at the same time.
It's a no-brainer, really. When our paid ads are placed on playgrounds, everyone wins—schools, kids, and animals!
The number of people who are willing to stand by as the Canadian government allows seals to be slaughtered each year by the hundreds of thousands is decreasing fast.
Recently, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed U.S. Senate Resolution 84, calling for an immediate end to the annual seal slaughter. This vote comes less than a week after the European Union voted to ban the sale of seal fur in its member countries.
The most powerful leaders in the world have voiced outrage about this barbaric tradition, and their cabinet members are in full agreement. Even Canada's own senators have tried to introduce bills to end the slaughter.
WAKE UP, CANADA! The rest of the world is trying to open your eyes, and you've hit the snooze button too many times already.
The Queen of England has gone and found herself at the center of a "doping scandal."
More precisely, it is Moonlit Path, her horse, who is at the center of the dispute. Trainer Nicky Henderson has been charged with allowing the 6-year-old horse to be injected with tranexamic acid—a substance that prevents hemorrhaging and is banned on British racetracks. (The drug is allowed to be administered in advance of a race, but it must have cleared the system by race day.)
And why exactly would trainers need to prevent hemorrhaging? Could it be that racing puts such an extreme stress on horses' bodies that heavy internal bleeding and blood clots are common? You bet. Horses used for racing also often develop bleeding lungs and gastric ulcers from being forced to perform far beyond their natural physical limits. Oh, and let's not forget about all the horses who are raced to death.
PETA Europe is writing to the Queen to remind her that—drugs or no drugs—horse racing is a cruel "sport" that should be relegated to the history books.
Each spring, zoos churn out baby animals like banks churn out big holiday bonuses for executives—but Average Joe and Jane don't grumble about tiger cubs. They simply coo at the babies.
Leave it to a PETA member wearing a tiger mask and holding a cardboard sign reading, "Pittsburgh Zoo Made Me Homeless," to bring home the point: Zoos should stop breeding animals and instead reinvent themselves as "rescue zoos."
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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