Written by PETA
So, Burger King has announced that it's releasing a cologne called "Flame." And no, it's not just for gay guys. They describe it as—get this—"the scent of seduction with a hint of flame-broiled meat." Yeah, because there's nothing sexier than grilled flesh … but wait, Jeffrey Dahmer isn't with us anymore, so who is this for?
Well, PETA likes this idea but thinks it doesn't go far enough. Why start at the grill? That's why we are launching our own fragrance called "GORE," with the tagline "Eau de Mort!' Take just one whiff, and you'll be reminded of who they're cooking over there in fast-foodville (or wearing, in this case). What exactly does it smell like? Meat, naturally! And, for authenticity, our scent even includes a maggot in each bottle, just to make the experience realistic.
So, how do you feel about GORE? It'd make a lovely holiday gift for any suspected necrophiliac.
Front of our GORE package.
Inside of our GORE package.
Written by Lianne Turner
As if we didn't have enough to worry about during the holiday travel season, now there's a new road hazard: deadly bacteria. And it comes to you courtesy of your pals in the chicken industry.
In case you don't happen to be a regular reader of the Journal of Infection and Public Health, a recent study found that driving behind trucks taking chickens to slaughter could expose the car's occupants to the aforementioned deadly bacteria. And not just any bacteria. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
You see, chickens (like other animals raised and killed for food) spend their short lives living in filth. By which I mean they stand around in sh—um, sheds. Filled with their own feces. This makes a perfect breeding ground for bacteria. And to keep the chickens from dying horribly from infections before they can be killed horribly at the slaughterhouse, the poor birds are pumped full of antibiotics, giving rise to—you guessed it!—bacteria that can't be killed by antibiotics.
OK, so the poor chickens are crammed into open crates that are loaded onto a flatbed truck. The wind blows over them (half-freezing them in winter) and also carrying the germ-laden feces into the air. And if you're traveling behind the truck … well, you do the math.
Now, of course, the best way to prevent this health hazard would be to stop using chickens for food—something you can help along by going vegetarian. But, so long as people continue to eat birds, we think they should be aware of the risks. Since the study was done in the Delaware-Maryland-Virginia region, we're urging officials in those states to post signs on roads and trucks to warn motorists of the dangers.
Still, even if you live in the balmier parts of the world, you might want to drive with your windows up and no outside air flow until all this, uh … blows over.
Written by Jeff Mackey
Our recent demo in Kansas City was really, really crappy. Which was good, considering that we were handing out toilet paper. You see, we staked out a local steakhouse and greeted patrons with T.P. that was embossed with a special meaty message. Why give away this fly two-ply? Someone needs to tell meat-eaters that they're full of crap.
And here’s a close-up from our Columbia demo:
Consider this nasty little nugget of truth: A lot of the flesh from the 10 billion animals who are killed for meat in the U.S. each year is contaminated with E. coli, campylobacter, listeria, and other dangerous bacteria that live in the intestinal tracts and feces of animals. Just think about it: Animals on today's factory farms are crammed by the tens of thousands into filthy sheds and slaughtered on killing floors that are contaminated with feces, vomit, and other bodily fluids. Is it really any surprise that these unsanitary conditions breed bacteria? Um, that would be a hell-to-the-no!
With more than 75 million cases of food poisoning each year in the U.S.—70 percent of which are caused by contaminated animal products—no one can deny that tainted meat is a major health threat. Plus, even if the bacteria in your burger doesn't kill you now, the saturated fat and cholesterol might lead to obesity, heart disease, and certain types of cancer later on down the road.
Our demonstration also made it down to Omaha. Check out these fantastic pictures:
That said, what would you like on your veggie burger?
Written by Amy Elizabeth
Calling all football fans! The results are in, and it looks like this year's contenders for the most vegetarian-friendly NFL stadium fought all the way to the end zone. These stadiums satisfied the hungriest of the hungry with delicious munchies ranging from the oldie-but-goodie veggie burger to the more exquisitely prepared Garden Harvest vegetable crudités.
Get out your pen and paper and jot down PETA's Top Five Vegetarian-Friendly NFL Stadiums; because even if your number one team isn't listed, you're going to want to make a point of traveling to these stadiums! Get ready! Drum roll, please ….
5. Lambeau Field (Green Bay Packers) In fifth place is the home of the Green Bay Packers. These fans really know how to "pack" in the vegetarian bratwurst and PB&J! My question: Does that bratwurst come with a heaping side of sauerkraut? Delish!
4. Metrodome (Minnesota Vikings) Sittin' in fourth place is the Metrodome, where vendors offer Gardenburgers and Blimpie's vegetarian sandwiches and salads.
3. Lincoln Financial Field (Philadelphia Eagles) Philly might have taken home top prize for having the number one vegetarian-friendly baseball stadium this year, but on the football side of things, the city ranks third with hungry helpings of the classics: veggie dogs and veggie burgers.
2. McAfee Coliseum (Oakland Raiders) Just out of first place is McAfee Coliseum. One could eat for days here snacking on veggie dogs, veggie burgers, baked potatoes, and fruit cups!
1. Qualcomm Stadium (San Diego Chargers) And congratulations to … Qualcomm stadium! With bean burritos, veggie sushi rolls, vegetable wraps, veggie hot dogs, and Gardenburgers, the avid sports fan can pile his or her lap high with mouth-watering goodies. Heck, you can buy enough in one trip to last the whole game!
Of course, two more contenders deserve honorable mentions: Fed-Ex Field (Washington Redskins) for its black-bean veggie burgers and vegetarian wraps and Paul Brown Stadium (Cincinnati Bengals) for its Gardenburger, hummus with pita bread, and various salads.
Whether you're a soda and veggie dog kinda sports fan or lean more toward a fruity wine and grilled bratwurst, these stadiums will have something to satisfy even your strongest fourth-quarter hunger pangs. So, go on and cheer—now you really have something to shout about during Monday Night Football!
Written by Jennifer Cierlitsky
Whoever said having just one hamburger can't kill you obviously never considered the danger of microscopic spores—you know, those barely visible foreign pollutants that are all over animal products, even when cooked.
The latest attack of the killer meat has already killed at least six people in Ontario and has been blamed for two more illnesses. The culprit? Listeria bacteria, which apparently originated in meat products from a plant in Toronto … which just happens to be Canada's largest meatpacker.
With the total number of known cases at 29—for now—and investigators looking into another nine deaths possibly caused by contraction of listeriosis, it's understandable that eating meat is scary business. But recalling more than 220 meat products will not protect meat-eaters from contracting illnesses related to animal products.
That's where we come in. Intending to roll out our brand-new "Eat Meat and Die" ad in Toronto, we want Canadians to know that you can go veg and live! The choice is simple—really. It's senseless to put your body at risk over a hamburger or a bite of chicken thigh when you can have a veggie burger or a vegetarian "chicken" sandwich (sold in most KFCs in Canada) and avoid spending the night in the bathroom with stomach cramps—or worse, death. Check out our killer ad:
Repeat after me: Listeria, E. coli, campylobacter … if you can't pronounce it, it's probably not good for you. If you have meat in your fridge, the safest way to avoid contamination is to throw the whole fridge away with the meat still in it. We deserve a Nobel Prize or something. Really.
It's called "adding insult to injury."
A few weeks ago, we told you about an awful thing that happened on a new TV show called Greatest American Dog. It featured a sweet border collie named Leroy who was tormented by his trainer during a photo shoot so that he would look "angry." 'Cuz, you know, that's what quality entertainment is all about, right?
Well, unlike dogs, some people never learn. Wednesday night's episode featured a live elephant. Why elephants on a show called Greatest American Dog, you ask? They used the elephants to try to terrify the dogs. Since, apparently, the only thing more fun than getting dogs angry is to scare the hell out of them. Ugh!
Of course, it's not exactly a party for the elephants either. They're smart and dignified, and they don't like to perform stupid tricks for our amusement. So instead of using treats to train elephants, trainers strike and gouge them with bullhooks—long, heavy rods with a steel point and a sharp hook at one end that resembles a fireplace poker—or shock them with electric prods. To see for yourself how elephants are trained, watch this.
Most elephants who are forced to perform were snatched away from their families and natural habitat in the wild, after which their lives are mostly made up of chains and intimidation. Baby elephants born on breeding farms are torn from their mothers, tied with ropes, and kept in isolation until they learn to fear their trainers.
Clearly the producers of Greatest American Dog know as little about elephants as they do about canines.
If you want to send an e-mail to the show's producer, R.J. Cutler, about this issue, please click here.
Now that the Olympics are over, it's impossible to turn on the TV or open the newspaper without seeing something about the Democratic National Convention. What's going to happen, what's going to be said, who's going to be there …
Well, we'll tell you who's there—the PETA pigs, that's who!
Our pigs don't have anything to say about any of the candidates, of course—they're tackling a global issue: meat!
The pigs—who are circling around the convention center and picking up passengers in their cherry red convertible—are calling for a federal excise tax on meat. (Look out for them next week as they cruise around the Republican National Convention!) Why? Well, there's a "sin" tax on cigarettes, alcohol, and gasoline. Why shouldn't there be one on meat, which is bad for both your health and the environment?
Our Senior VP Dan Mathews (who, as we know, is fond of wearing costumes) is among the protesters. He sums up the reason our pigs are calling for a 10-cents-per-pound tax: "The impact of the meat trade is as devastating to our health as the tobacco and alcohol industries put together—and even more so to the environment. Slapping a tax on meat would save countless lives—and not just those of animals."
Check out our pigs below—and if you're concerned about the health and environmental consequences of eating meat, check out GoVeg.com for a free copy of PETA's "Vegetarian Starter Kit"!
Written by Amanda Schinke
Everyone needs to pay attention because this is getting a lot less hype in the media than the original story did. There's scientific evidence to prove what PETA has been saying all along: The recent salmonella outbreak wasn't all about tomatoes or jalapeños but rather contaminated water.
Why is the water contaminated, you ask? Long story short, it's because massive overproduction of factory-farmed animals leads to tons of feces. Cattle are sick (rhymes with "ick"), and so are chickens. Living in filth makes their disease spread. Those tons and tons of contaminated feces then end up in the irrigation water (ick)—the same water that then ends up on the produce (double ick).
The meat industry is the culprit! (I keep hearing my mother's voice in my head ... "If I've told you once, I've told you 1,000 times.") So stop blaming the poor tomatoes already!
Better yet, join the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) in demanding that the Department of Health and Human Services investigate the meat industry—the real reason why our produce is contaminated!
This is all just a tad too ironic. I bet losing that fingertip hurt—perhaps even as much as it hurts piglets to have their tails cut off, baby chickens to have their sensitive beaks cut off, or calves to be burned with a hot iron and have their horns cut off—all without any painkillers. Yeah, I bet that feels like a day at the spa.
Let's work for the day when a news story is about sparing a thought for the real victims who suffered greatly for the meat behind that counter.
Posted by Jennifer Cierlitsky
BBC News has just released a list of the top 10 most controversial ads of 2007, and our edgy, boundary-pushing counterparts over in the UK made the list with their “Feeding Kids Meat Is Child Abuse” billboard, which received a whopping 68 complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority in 2007. The way I see it, with literally millions of advertisements bombarding the public every day with messages about how they can make their teeth whiter, or, like, more effectively pluck their eyebrows, creating an ad that makes people stop and think—and that affects some people so profoundly that they’re shocked out of their complacency—is not an easy thing to do. So, excellent work, PETA UK.
It may not be a message that people want to hear, but it’s an important one (a point that was recognized by the Advertising Standards Authority, which ruled that the ad does not trivialize abuse, as complainants had claimed). And, of course, when you consider that feeding kids meat sets them on the road to a higher risk of heart attacks, diabetes, and a whole slew of other health problems, the ad isn’t exactly misstating the case. Here’s the BBC list of controversial ads, and here’s the billboard that’s causing all the fuss. I’d love to hear what you think.
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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