Written by Alisa Mullins
Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley is apparently anxious to show his campaign contributors that he will fight to the death (literally, perhaps) over Americans' right to be sick and fat. Sen. Grassley has attacked the conservative Meatless Monday program, which the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) was promoting as a way to encourage its staffers to eat healthier and protect the environment. But the USDA has withdrawn the initiative, opting instead to prove that it is the servant of agribusiness and let its employees pay the price. PETA has hit back with a "Meat-Free Mondays Through Sundays" campaign.
The USDA inadvertently set off a firestorm of controversy earlier this week when it promoted the Paul McCartney–endorsed Meatless Monday program on its website. But the move was publicly blasted by the National Cattlemen's Beef Association, after which the department yanked the promo, mumbling something about not receiving the proper "clearance," as if encouraging good health and environmental protection were a covert spy mission or something.
Apparently not content with that backpedal, Sen. Grassley, a legislator from a beef-belt state, vowed to "eat more meat on Monday" in an attempt to singlehandedly (forkedly?) make up for the meat that conscientious USDA workers might be planning to forgo on the first day of the workweek.
We're taking bets (place yours in the comments section below) on how long it will take Sen. Grassley to succumb to heart disease, diabetes, cancer, or some other meat-related disease.
"From his reaction, it seems like a pretty safe bet that he's already got high blood pressure," says PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk. "Were he a physician instead of a politician who truly puts his rancher money where his mouth is, he'd be guilty of malpractice."
Don't let fat-cat government lobbyists win—celebrate Meatless Monday every day of the week by ordering a vegetarian/vegan starter kit today!
Martin Cathrae|cc by 2.0
Written by Michelle Kretzer
If you always have a sleepless night after watching a horror movie, you might want to think twice before sitting down to a meal of dead bodies. Here's why meat is more dangerous than an ax-wielding maniac:
If you're still eating fish despite the dangers of mercury, might I suggest that you may also enjoy a summer job at Camp Crystal Lake?
As every randy teenage slasher-flick victim can attest, hormones can be deadly. Hormones in meat can cause all sorts of unsexy conditions, such as "moobs." Which leads me to number three …
Eating meat causes impotence. Given their druthers, I think a lot of men would opt instead for the hockey mask–wearing serial killer.
That's another good reason not to ingest all the saturated fat that meat contains.
Find yourself short of breath when you hear that ominous theme music ("Ki-ki-ki-ma-ma-ma")? The toxic gasses and bacteria that wind spreads from factory farms make it even more difficult to inhale.
Do you ever shout, "Why are you running into the woods?!" when some moron is being chased by a psycho? People in real life do dumb things that lead to their untimely demise, too, like eating meat, eggs, and dairy products even though bad diets are to blame for one-third of all cancer deaths.
Have you seen PETA's slasher movie that features video footage from chicken farms? If you're too chicken … don't eat chicken.
Heart disease caused by diets high in artery-clogging animal products will do the trick, too.
In Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan, Voorhees is finally done in by toxic waste in the sewers. If the kids had only gotten him into one of the waterways polluted with factory-farm runoff, he would've been a goner a lot sooner.
Meat's got its own resilient killer: antibiotic-resistant bacteria caused by the overuse of antibiotics on factory farms.
Between meat and dairy products, trying to choose which is more deadly is like trying to decide which serial killer you want to take a weekend getaway with.
Poo. And lots of it. Yeah, it gets in meat, too.
Maybe the worst thing about how deadly meat is, is that we actually have to pay for it—both at the check-out counter and in the form of government subsidies. I mean, at least when Jason is swinging a machete, he's not simultaneously asking for your wallet—am I right?
Slash your risk of getting killed off early by running from meat as if your life depended on it. (But don't go running through the woods. That's never a good idea.)
The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine erected this billboard in Chicago to help people in the hot-dog capital reduce their colorectal cancer risk—no small task since 39 percent of Americans don't even know what the colon is. Seriously. Although I'm guessing a much greater percentage don't know what's in a hot dog.
Besides mechanically separated meat, bones, connective tissue, and the stuff they put in instant hand warmers, hot dogs and other processed meats are chockfull of cancer-causing nitrates, which greatly increase the risk of deadly colorectal cancer.
Given the choice, I think I'd rather put down the bun and save my buns.
Written by PETA
It's National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and in a recent interview with Access Hollywood, breast cancer survivor and Grammy-winning singer/songwriter Melissa Etheridge spoke out about the role of diet in preventing cancer. "Our own western lifestyle is one of the reasons that half of us have cancer," she said. "[T]he meats, the processed foods ... and it's really taxing us, and that's why we're seeing this epidemic."
The research backs up Etheridge's view that there is a link between diet and breast cancer. Results from a 26-year study following 86,000 U.S. nurses suggest that women who eat diets high in plant-based foods are less likely to develop certain breast tumors. A 2007 study of more than 35,000 women found that women who ate the most meat had the highest risk of breast cancer.
Etheridge says changes in her diet have made her healthier now than she's ever been, and she's not the only one who can benefit from a diet rich in plant-based foods. This month, urge the women in your life to check out the delicious meat-free fall recipes on PETA's "Living" page. And if you participate in breast cancer charity events, remember to make sure that the charity you're supporting doesn't fund cruel, archaic experiments on animals.
Written by Heather Faraid Drennan
The good news is that colon cancer rates are going down. The bad news is, not in Mississippi. According to a report released last week by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Mississippi is the only state in the country that has not experienced a decline in colon cancer deaths in recent years. That's why PETA is attempting to erect a billboard in the Magnolia State that brings home the link between meat consumption and cancer.
Studies indicate that as little as 2 ounces of meat a day can increase your risk of developing colon cancer and that about 45 percent of colorectal cancer cases could be prevented by eating more fiber-rich fruits and vegetables and less meat.
Meat consumption is also linked to other leading killers, including heart disease, strokes, and diabetes, making meaty meals almost as hazardous to consumers they were to the animals who died for them.
Want to start fighting the risk of colon cancer today? Order a free vegetarian/vegan starter kit.
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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