Here's some welcome news: Despite the barrage of deceptive dairy industry propaganda, sales of cow's milk—already in free fall—have plummeted in the U.S. It seems that more and more consumers are getting the message that dairy foods are as bad for our health as they are for the well-being of cows. 

To make sure the downward trend continues, PETA is re-releasing its series of popular ads parodying the industry's "Got Milk?" campaign. Check them out:

1. On dairy factory farms, male calves are of no use in milk production, so they are often taken away from their mothers when they are as young as 1 day old to be chained up in tiny stalls for weeks—terrified and desperate for their mothers—and fed an inadequate milk substitute to make them miserably anemic in order to produce the pale flesh most desired for veal.

2. Female cows don't fare much better: After having their sensitive horn tissue cut or burned away, most are forced into a vicious cycle of nearly continuous pregnancy, only to have calf after calf taken away so that the milk they produce to nourish their young can be consumed by humans instead. And, of course, once they stop producing enough milk to be profitable, they are sent off to slaughter. 

3. Cow's milk is intended for, well, baby cows, not baby humans, so it shouldn't be a surprise that it's not good for our kids, raising their risk for a variety of childhood complaints. 

4. Adolescence is hard enough without dealing with blemishes. Take it from Woody Harrelson—to lose the pimples, lose the milk.

5. It's not just kids who have to worry about milk mucking up their health—men have good reason to dump dairy products, too.

6. Ugh. Would you drink a glass of water to which even one drop of pus from a cow's infected udders had been added? No? Then why drink cow's milk?

What You Can Do

Steer clear (no cow pun intended) of cow's milk and other dangerous dairy products. And since all foods from animals result from suffering, the only way to be truly cruelty-free is to go vegan. 

If children aren't mature enough to see nude human bodies, are they really mature enough to see people killing for "fun"? PETA has written to the CEO of Hudson News, Joseph DiDomizio, to request that his retail outlets handle hunting magazines in the same way that they would handle any other material that is inappropriate for kids: Store them out of reach and view of minors and allow only adults over the age of 18 to purchase them.

If looking at pornography could encourage kids to become sexually active, as some child advocates suggest, what could looking at magazines that portray killing as exciting and rewarding do to them? We know that many of the school shooters who killed their classmates first hunted animals. As our letter to DiDomizio points out, "Like other forms of casual or thrill violence, hunting spawns a dangerous desensitization to the suffering of others." 

Additionally, most children can't fully comprehend the consequences of hunting. For animals such as wolves, who mate for life and live in close-knit family units, hunting tears apart not only families but also entire communities. Baby deer are often orphaned when hunters kill their parents. And many animals who are shot by hunters are injured but not killed, and they are left to starve, die from blood loss, or be attacked by predators.

WH Smith magazine retailers in Great Britain have already implemented an age restriction on the sale of hunting magazines. Impressionable children in the U.S. deserve the same protection.

Gorgeous, voluptuous, and sexy: All of those words describe actor/singer Scarlett Johansson. And now that she's the newest luminary to show support for the Healthy School Meals Act, we can add "humanitarian" and "friend to animals" to the list.

© Star Max Inc.

If launched, this $4 million pilot program will ingrain (sorry, couldn't resist) vegetarian food and drinks into school districts' lunch programs over a two-year period. In her letter, Scarlett points out, "Millions of families in America rely on subsidized school lunches, and these meals are absolutely crucial to children's well-being." The Healthy School Meals Act will give kids a chance to develop healthy eating habits that center on nutritious plant-based fare, instead of body parts from stressed, mutilated, and exhausted animals.

By joining Spiderman's Tobey Maguire and health experts around the country in this effort, Scarlett has revealed her smarts and her 24-carrot heart of gold. (Oh, yes, I did.)

Written by Karin Bennett

Everyone who has seen Jackie Chan's latest action-comedy, The Spy Next Door, should recognize the adorable face in our newest Q&A video. Six-year-old Alina Foley plays Nora, the youngest of the three kids whom CIA superspy Bob (played by Chan) looks after while his girlfriend/next-door neighbor is out of town. For those of you who haven't seen the movie yet, I shall say no more. However, Alina is quite the scene-stealer.

When we found out that this spunky young actor was vegetarian, we couldn't wait to sit down with her. Alina didn't hesitate to let us know why she chose to give up meat and how other kids can work to get vegetarian lunch options offered in their school cafeterias. She also spilled about her two dogs, Bella and Jasmine. Too cute! Young people who take action always tug at my heartstrings—how about yours?

Written by Shawna Flavell

PETA's Ellie the Elephant can melt hearts of all ages. Need proof? Yesterday, during Ellie's tour around the country to educate people about Ringling's abuse of baby elephants, the kids in Nashville, Tennessee, rushed to hug Ellie when she visited their elementary school. When one student asked Ellie why she was wearing a bandage, Ellie pointed to her "Circuses Are No Fun for Animals" sign, and the boy said, "I'm sorry that they did that to you."

Even adult onlookers couldn't resist waving at Ellie.

Ellie handed out comics educating the children and their parents about Ringling's rampant abuse and exploitation of animals. Our recent exposé reveals how Ringling trainers tear baby elephants away from their devastated mothers and use electric shock prods to force the animals into performing humiliating and unnatural tricks. Help save baby elephants by urging the USDA to revoke Ringling's license and sharing this information with everyone you know.

Written by Logan Scherer

Every year, PETA's offices are flooded with calls about dogs who are relegated to the backyard by guardians who refuse to let them inside. These dogs are left outside in freezing temperatures, often with nothing more than a plastic barrel or a wooden lean-to as shelter from the ice, sleet, and snow. For the last two years, a third-grade class at Samuel Staples Elementary School in Easton, Connecticut, has worked hard to raise funds for PETA's doghouse program, which provides warm homes for lonely backyard dogs. The students donate their leftover lunch money, parts of their allowance—even the quarters that they find in couch cushions. With all their combined change, the students were able to raise more than $800 for dogs last year!

It was such a great idea that TeachKind—PETA's humane-education program, which I coordinate—is launching a brand-new school fundraising program called Change for Chained Dogs.

This program makes it easy for schools to get students active and empower them to make a difference for animals. Every school that signs up gets an introductory letter, stickers, leaflets, and a sign to print out and tape to collection cans. So far, more than 500 schools—including Samuel Staples—have signed up for the fundraiser. It's a great opportunity for students, families, and communities to work together to help dogs in need.

We hope that even more schools will get involved in this exciting program, so if you have kids or know any educators, encourage them to sign up their school to host a Change for Chained Dogs fundraiser! And if you want to make a contribution yourself but don't know any kids, don't worry—you can always donate directly to PETA's doghouse program to help give lonely dogs a warm home this winter.

Written by Liz Graffeo

ocpets.freedomblogging / CC

… and, elsewhere, another dog cooks to death in a hot car.

Common sense steers most adults clear of certain threats, like smoking in bed, eating rancid leftovers, and leaving the kiddies in the car while you chug beers and ogle strippers. A man in Florida apparently didn't get the memo on that last one.

Yes, we're disgusted. But are we surprised? Not really, because PETA and KIDS AND CARS, an organization we teamed up with last year, both receive countless complaints regarding dogs and children who are left unattended in hot cars.

According to KIDS AND CARS, hyperthermia—a rapid and often fatal rise in body temperature—is the third-leading cause of death in children in vehicular incidents that are unrelated to traffic.

And PETA receives alarming reports of dogs who succumb to heatstroke within minutes when people fail to realize how little time it takes for a car interior to heat up. On a 78-degree day, the temperature inside a car can climb to 97 degrees in just 10 minutes. Dogs can only cool themselves by panting, so they can quickly succumb to heatstroke and suffer brain damage or death.

Rolling down the car windows slightly does not offer adequate relief.

Please remind everyone you know that it's always best to leave the children and the dogs at home with the A/C (and a sitter) on "errand days" as well as "stripper nights."

Written by Karin Bennett

Kids love animals—so if anyone told them the truth about what goes on behind the scenes, they would have to be dragged kicking and screaming to circuses like Ringling Bros.

Over at PETAKids.com, we recently asked kids what they thought about circuses, and the results were too cute not to share!

If you want to educate your kids about why elephants, tigers, bears, and other animals shouldn't be forced to perform cruel, unnatural tricks at the circus—but don't want to show them the disturbing undercover footage—order our Circus Activity Booklet.

Written by Liz Graffeo

Most kids love animals, but not all kids are aware of the horrors that elephants and other animals in circuses face, so PETA and Ellie Elephant decided to tell local kids what goes on behind the big top. Ellie was a huge hit with children and parents, handing out activity books to show kids why circuses are no fun for animals. The kids were excited to get their hands on the fun workbooks, and the parents appreciated the educational message. Check out these photos of Ellie making friends and spreading the word about why elephants would rather be left at home in nature with their families than endure the chains and whips used by circus trainers.

An elephant never forgets … to wear her "Circuses Are No Fun for Animals" button!

The pair on the right couldn't wait to get home to use those books.

Ellie's new BFF, John the crossing guard, took a few activity books home for his grandkids.

If your kids missed out on Ellie's visit but still want to help animals in circuses, they can check out this fun comic and visit PETAKids.com to find out the facts and get active.

Written by Lianne Turner

babble / CC

We just received possibly one of our oddest donation offers to date: George Clooney's sweat, apparently soaked up by a towel taken from a Washington, D.C., gym. I'll give you a moment to take that in.

We must admit that George is a handsome man, so it was hard for me to overcome the temptation to just sit in a corner and fondle the towel until the end of time, but we learned that there is technology that can convert perspiration into a flavoring! Now, we're always looking out for new ways to spice up our tofu, so we decided we'd see about mixing up a little George Clooney–flavored tofu—"CloFu"—for supper. We wrote to Clooney to see if he finds this idea as amusing as I do.

How does this work? Well, it involves gas chromatography and mass spectrometry, but here's one easy way: Researchers have used a panel of trained individuals with sensitive noses to pinpoint unique components in any individual's odor. Once the odors have been identified, the right combination of flavors can be synthetically replicated, infused in bean curd, and voilà! CloFu.

Some people don't try tofu because they expect it to taste bland, but we know it can absorb any taste—so CloFu could make your taste buds and your heart melt. Of course, what's even better is that after everyone gets a piece of George and realizes how delicious tofu truly is, diets will be revolutionized.

Written by Liz Graffeo