Written by PETA
That's right. Every year PETA's crack team of baseball and veggie hot dog experts scours the nation's baseball stadiums to rank the ten best according to an incredibly complex algorithm that takes into account such factors as deliciousness of the veggie dogs, crunchiness of the salads, and variety of the selection. The Philadelphia Phillies grabbed the number one spot this year on the strength of their Philly mock steak sandwich—and you can click the banner below to find out whether your city's stadium made it into the top ten. We also ranked the minor leaguers this year, which you can check out here.
As an Orioles fan, I was pleased to see that Camden Yards got an honorable mention. Enjoy it while you can, fellow O's enthusiasts—it's probably the only thing we'll win at all this year.
Since the latest outbreak of foot and mouth disease is such a hot topic of conversation in the UK right now, PETA Europe held this fantastic demonstration in London yesterday pointing out all of the deadly diseases caused by factory farming, and less than subtly pointed out the easiest fix for all of them: going vegetarian. Great job guys!
Bartiromo is quoted as saying “Chic, sexy clothes are the real me . . . The coat is spectacular; the fur cuffs give it just the right amount of glamour.” But when Page 6 asked about it, her rep insisted that despite the More article, the newswoman doesn't approve of fur, doesn't own any, and that wearing the coat for the shoot was a "mistake." Yes it was.
We’re getting in touch to clarify Bartiromo’s position, and I’ll let you know what we find out.
The other day, my pal Michael had a work assignment I’d have killed for. He went to a photo shoot with the one and only Jenna Jameson. Um, wow . . . Apparently, Jenna saw Earthlings a year or so ago and it changed her life, and we’re certainly glad to have her on board.
Unfortunately, the shots that are going to be in upcoming ads are being kept on the super down low for now, but check out this sneak peek of Jenna looking super hot in our Kentucky Fried Cruelty T-shirt that I was able to get my hands on.
Of course, Jenna isn’t the first hottie to speak out against KFC’s cruelty to chicks. If you haven’t seen Pamela Anderson’s anti-KFC video, you can click here to check that out.
Andy Hurley and Gabe Saporta are in a couple of bands called Fall Out Boy and Cobra Starship that have enjoyed a degree of success. Like, the #1 on the Billboard charts kind of success—which is why it was very kind of them indeed to remember their old friends (those hopelessly trendy Rebels With a Cause over at peta2) and do this interview about what got them into animal rights. This is the first in a series in which Gabe and Andy discuss animal issues with each other, and I can't wait for the next ones to come out. These guys are both articulate, thoughtful spokesmen for animal rights, and it's awesome to see them take time to reach out to their millions of fans about veganism.
Seriously. If you have a store that could use a kickass elephant display for a few months, tell us where, why, and perhaps we can deliver it to you. It stands about 5½ feet tall when on its base, and about 3 feet wide. Ella weighs 150 lbs and the base an additional 700 pounds. A permit may be needed. She's leaving NY and looking for a home since the circus took away her mom. You can read more about Ella’s story here.
There is an end in sight, and while this isn't going to stop us from doing everything in our power to end all abuses of cows right now, the announcement this week by the American Veal Association that they will phase out veal crates by 2017 is a major landmark for the animal protection movement and proof that decades of pressure on the industry to end its cruel practices has paid off.
Veal, which rates a full 10 out of 10 on the WTF? scale, is made by chaining calves by their necks inside solitary crates for up to 23 weeks. The AVA's decision to finally abandon this torture means an end in sight for what will one day be regarded as among the most vile practices in human history.
This announcement marks the latest in a series of victories for the animal protection movement in its long struggle to eliminate the solitary, intensive confinement of farmed animals. Earlier this year, three of the world's largest pig meat producers—Smithfield Foods, Maple Leaf Foods, and Cargill Meat Solutions—took steps to phase out gestation crates for pigs, and recently, following years of discussions with PETA, Burger King made a commitment to buy 20 percent of its pig meat from suppliers that do not use gestation crates and 5 percent of its eggs from sources that do not confine chickens to battery cages. Shortly afterwards, Wendy's followed suit, pledging to purchase 20 percent crate-free pork by the end of 2008 and increase that percentage over time.
This is an important step forward, and, put together with these other victories for animals, it's clearly part of a trend. As Ingrid Newkirk puts it, "While the best way to prevent cruelty to animals is to simply stop eating them, any progress made toward mitigating their suffering is commendable."
The piece is incredibly interesting, especially when you consider Gellman’s perspective. Gellman, a Rabbi, uses moving vignettes from his grandfather (a zookeeper) throughout his article, which is one of the most thoughtful pieces I’ve read in ages on the issue of animals in captivity. Here’s just one interesting bit:
"He would patiently explain to me that they did not want to be in their cages but that we put them there so that little boys like me could see up close what they look like, how they move and what sounds they make. Grandpa explained to me that this was a deal we humans made with the wild animals of the world. We capture and display some of them so that people would feel something for them and protect the wild animals that were not in cages. I asked grandpa if he thought the deal was fair. He thought and said, 'It's a good deal for us, and not such a good deal for them.' I still think grandpa was right."
Amazing . . .
You can check out the full piece here.
The folks in our Regulatory Testing Division are pretty smart, I must say. They spend their entire lives neck deep in scientific papers that would squash the brains of most normal people, so to say that they’re a pretty serious lot is like saying Barry Bonds is kind of good at baseball. So imagine my surprise when I found out about their latest little stunt. Granted, it’s hard to make anything containing words like toxicogenomics and bioinformatics even the least bit fun, but I think they pulled it off here.
Yesterday, PETA sent these little alarm clocks to members of the Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Validation of Alternative Methods—the folks charged with helping streamline the validation and use of modern non-animal testing methods—to remind them that an animal dies every two seconds of every day in a US government mandated toxicity test, and to push them to do their job by helping to implement—not block—alternatives to animal testing.
Check out the letter they sent with the clocks here.
"As an Anaheim Duck, I hate to see real ducks tortured so that a handful of wealthy chefs can serve their diseased organs. Please uphold this compassionate law."
If you live in Chicago, please take a moment to follow Scott's compassionate example, and sign a petition to the Chicago City Council here. It takes, like, 15 seconds, and it will make a huge difference for the ducks and geese who have pipes rammed down their throats so that the aforementioned industry lobbyists can make a few bucks.
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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