Written by Michelle Kretzer
Two PETA beauties transformed into Tomb Raider lookalikes to help gamers at L.A.'s E3 gaming expo fight off the real Resident Evil: meat.
Maddened by the fact that meat is contributing to obesity in the gaming community, the gals answered their Call of Duty (in ammo belts made of carrots) to help entice gamers to adopt a diet that will make them want to Dance, Dance.
Ready for it to be on like Donkey Kong?
Why must every American president shoot the obligatory "and here I am chowing down on a burger" photograph? Best bet? To please the meat lobby and because of the old-fashioned idea of what "being American" is all about: no falafel; it's red meat and guns for me. Mr. Obama is no exception, often deliberately choosing hot dogs and burgers for his photo ops with visiting heads of state.
Well, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) has taken the POTUS to task for promoting foods that are known to contribute to the obesity epidemic in the U.S. and that have been linked to cancer. PCRM has started a petition asking the White House to ban staged photos that show the president, the first family, the vice president, or the president's Cabinet eating unhealthy foods such as processed meats.
"The White House would never set up a photo op showing the president buying cigarettes, so why is it okay to show him eating a hot dog?" asked Susan Levin, PCRM's nutrition education director.
You can sign the petition and ask the pres to set a good example for Americans by eating healthy food. Some Obama Oatmeal With Presidential Peaches sounds nice.
PETA promotes and educates the public on the benefits of a vegetarian diet. PETA does not directly or indirectly participate in any political campaign on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate for public office.
PETA U.K.'s dead-serious anti-obesity billboard is stirring up some weighty controversy:
PETA U.K. erected the billboard near a new mortuary in Gloucester built especially to accommodate obese corpses. Oddly, the U.K.'s National Obesity Forum labeled the ad as "irresponsible," although the group didn't say what exactly it objected to. We're not sure why an obesity-awareness group would take issue with a billboard that aims to help people deal with obesity pre-coffin, but protesters ripped down part of the sign (unhelpfully revealing an ad for chips—or French fries to us in the U.S.).
Isn't an obesity-awareness group's protest of an obesity-awareness sign somewhat akin to Shopaholics Anonymous holding meetings at the mall?
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.)
Written by PETA
An elementary school in Denver, Colorado, is giving its students food for thought. To promote healthy eating habits among its students, SOAR has become Colorado's first vegetarian school and earned itself a Compassionate School Award from PETA, for saving the lives of countless animals.
"There is tons of research about plant-based foods preventing disease," said SOAR's head of school, Gianna Cassetta. "[W]e're making a difference in the way people think about food. Hopefully by the time our kids are in fifth grade, they'll be very conscious about what they eat."
And it's working. SOAR lunches are loaded with fruits and vegetables, and even the food students bring from home must adhere to SOAR's guidelines. Parents report that when they are grocery shopping, if something isn't healthy enough to go school, it goes back on the shelf. SOAR is continuing its quest for a new generation of healthy kids with the opening of a second school next year.
To help the kids in your life make the switch to a healthy vegan diet that will help prevent heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and other diseases, visit PETAKids.com/Vegetarian.
Written by Michelle Sherrow
Prompted by reports that churchgoers are more prone to obesity than those who don't go to church, PETA wants to help one of the largest churches in West Virginia—the U.S.'s fattest state—become one of the slimmest. PETA is offering Chestnut Ridge Church, a mega-church in Morgantown, vegan ads to place on their pews and a yummy meatless cookout to kick off the church's celebration of life this Easter.
Eating a plant-based diet is the best way to combat obesity as well as cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. To "resurrect" your own health this Easter, simply take the Pledge to Be Veg for 30 Days.
If you've been feeling down lately, it may be time for some personal reflection—on what's in your refrigerator. A new study shows that a diet high in the fats found in meat, butter, and fast food contributes to higher rates of depression. These foods, all of which are consumed in most Western diets, also increase the risk of heart disease, cancer, strokes, and obesity. The researchers found that eating primarily polyunsaturated fats—which are found in vegetable oils, olive oil, and nuts—decreases the risk of depression.
No wonder Popeye was always smiling while he vanquished the bad guys. Order PETA's vegetarian/vegan starter kit and give yourself—and animals—something to grin about.
And, this week's 10% Wool "Tag and Release" winner is ... Beth Ann! Congratulations.
Don't forget to check out the archive of past 10% Wool comic strips here. Get more information on the series and the writer here, and learn how to get Jeff's other comic, DeFlocked, into your local paper here.
The ancient Incan city of Machu Picchu is in danger of being eroded by constant tourist traffic, which has prompted PETA to make it the second destination for our plus-size virtual "tourist." Hopefully, his message will help restore this awe-inspiring attraction, which is one of the "New Seven Wonders of the World.":
Vegans are, on average, 10 to 20 pounds lighter than their meat- and dairy-consuming counterparts. By shrinking their waists, tourists would also reduce their monumental carbon footprints.
Machu Picchu visitors may soon be taking lighter steps—or will overweight tourists run the Incan landmark into the ground?
Written by Shawna Flavell
We've spoken out against BP, and suggested ways in which each one of us can help save the waterways and the environment. Now, by special request, we've created a new, fun, and in-your-face line of BP-related merchandise that will help fund PETA's work to save wildlife. Now we're giving away our BP T-shirt and coffee mug to two lucky winners (you can also buy the shirt for yourself and all your friends):
Ready to sport this compassionate gear? Tell us what you are doing to reduce your dependency on oil as well as what you would like to say to BP's big wigs if you could sit down and have coffee* with them. The two readers with the most inspiring comments will each score a T-shirt and a coffee mug. The contest ends on June 30, 2010, and we'll pick the winners on July 2, 2010. Be sure to read our privacy policy and terms of conditions, as you're agreeing to both by commenting.
Written by Amy Skylark Elizabeth
*Here's a little something to get you in the mood to tell us all about your imaginary coffee date with BP.
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.
Follow PETA on Twitter!