As people around the world—from the Pope to Angelina Jolie—voice outrage over a Florida church's plan to publically burn copies of the Quran on September 11, PETA has a novel idea: How about bringing peas to the table? That's why we plan to erect this billboard in Gainesville, Florida:

The billboard's peasful arrangement of different religious symbols promotes tolerance and nonviolence regardless of race, faith, or species, a message that's pretty apt when people are fighting hammer and tongs over the burning of the Muslim holy book, the plans to build a Muslim community center near Ground Zero, and a recent arson at the site of a mosque under construction in Tennessee.

Just like humans who are victimized for being perceived as different, animals who are raised and killed for food would be left in peace if it weren't for human ignorance, prejudice, and bigotry. On factory farms, piglets are castrated and have their tails cut off without being given any painkillers, cows are often dismembered and skinned while they're still able to feel pain, and chickens and turkeys—who have never hurt anyone in their lives, but who feel pain just as humans do—have their throats cut while they're still conscious.

But there is something that everyone can do to reduce the total amount of violence in the world. We can choose meals that did not involve terror, disrespect, and killing. And though we can't bring back those we lost on that horrific day nine years ago, each of us can save more than 100 lives this year alone just by going vegetarian—or better yet, vegan.

As PETA president Ingrid Newkirk said in her talk on nonviolence in Palestine at Christmas a few years ago, "One day, people will stop saying 'Respect me, I'm a human being,' and say 'Respect me, I'm a living being.'"

Please give peas and veggie burgers a chance by pledging to go vegan today.

Written by Amy Skylark Elizabeth

In the spirit of Martin Luther King Jr.'s historic plea for nonviolent change, PETA's very own Chris P. Carrot and "cow" brought a message to those attending Glenn Beck's "I Have a Dream"–themed rally Saturday to think about compassion for animals by going vegan. The outpouring of high-fives (and cold beverages) from the crowd made it clear that our nonpartisan purveyors of peace were indeed the life of the (Tea) party.

Written by Karin Bennett

April 4 marks the 40th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination. As we reflect on the violent killing of a man who stood for peace and equality, it’s a good time to ask ourselves what we are doing — because there’s so much we can do - to help humanity reach those goals.

We may not be able to stop all the violence in the world, but each of us has the power to end the violence and suffering we’re responsible for every time we sit down to eat, simply by choosing humane vegetarian foods instead of meat, dairy, and eggs. The animals who are killed for our food never have the freedom to do anything natural or enjoyable. They spend their frightened often pain-wracked lives crammed into tiny and filthy cages or pens before being violently killed (many have their throats slit and are scalded or dismembered while still conscious) in slaughterhouses.

After all these years, it is high time we opened our hearts and spoke up to oppose violence in all its forms. We can all make a start by showing others how easy it is to wipe violence off our plates.

-Ingrid E. Newkirk, President, PETA