Written by PETA
For those of you who grew up in more recent decades, "acid rain" is not the name of a death-metal band. In the 70s and 80s, sulfur dioxide emitted by power plants was turning rain into sulfuric acid, threatening fish, trees, and, yes, even statues. After the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) got the power plants to clean up their act, we thought we had the problem licked for the great outdoors. But if you lick something outdoors now, your tongue might dissolve. Acid rain has returned in a new form—nitric acid—caused by nitrogen oxide emissions. And the number one source of these emissions? Intensive factory farms.
So now we can add the resurgence of acid rain to the long list of environmental disasters caused in large part by using animals for food. It remains to be seen whether the EPA will step in again to address the problem, but fortunately we don't have to wait for them to get involved—after all, what better way to fight the disastrous effects of factory farming than by going vegan?
Written by Jeff Mackey
These three:
In honor of Canada Day, we threw a little birthday bash at the Canadian Embassy in D.C. to remind the world that hundreds of thousands of baby seals have their skulls bashed in each year during Canada's annual seal slaughter.
Just because this year's seal hunt is over, it doesn't mean that we should let the Canadian government off the hakapik hook! Keep up the pressure all year round by staying active online.
Written by Amy Elizabeth
As a writer, I've never really liked the adage "a picture is worth a thousand words." But even I had to admit its truth after looking at these jaw-dropping images of animals' last moments inside slaughterhouses. The photos are the work of Italian photographer Tommaso Ausili and are part of a series titled "The Hidden Death," for which Ausili won the prestigious L'Iris D'Or/Sony World Photography Awards Photographer of the Year award. The series explores the fact that "Neatly packaged meat in supermarkets is often completely detached in consumers' minds from the process of its production." I could say more, but the photos are so powerful that I will give my keyboard a rest and let the images speak for themselves.
Written by Lindsay Pollard-Post
For everyone who voted for Olivia Wilde, the female winner of PETA's 2010 Sexiest Vegetarian Celebrity contest, the sizzling actor has some words of thanks:
Right back at 'cha, Olivia. Welcome to the Sexy Veg family.
Written by Alisa Mullins
Has Entourage star Jerry Ferrara gone vegetarian? He's definitely slimmer and trimmer after trading in "burgers and fries for tofu and organic fruits and veggies."
To ensure a definitive "yes" to that question—so that we can add him to the list of contenders in next year's Sexiest Vegetarian Celebrity contest—we're sending Jerry a copy of our vegetarian/vegan starter kit as well as a copy of Chef Tal Ronnen's bestseller The Conscious Cook. Here's hoping that the info about death-defying, sexifying cuisine will help everyone's favorite Turtle ditch the drama and make a commitment to a cruelty-free diet.
Written by Karin Bennett
Court proceedings are underway that will decide the fate of dozens of animals who were recently seized from a Chattanooga pet store after an employee, Ashley Knight, went to officials at McKamey Animal Center to allege ongoing abuse and neglect at the store. Knight has testified that store manager Brandy Hallman threw a live hamster into a garbage compactor after the animal fought with a cagemate.
When shelter officials visited the store along with a representative of the Tennessee Department of Agriculture, they reportedly seized the animals after apparently discovering that many of them were suffering from disease, heat, and lack of water, leaving them dehydrated and stressed. McKamey director Karen Walsh testified that they found one miserable dog in the store's poorly ventilated isolation area for sick animals standing in a cage that was filled with "voluminous diarrhea."
We'll continue to follow this trial closely, and we hope that you'll join us not only in wishing for justice to be served in this case but also in helping to prevent other animals from enduring such miseries by never, ever shopping at pet stores.
Once again, the PETA Files goes to the movies. First up: Vegans are hitting the big time on big screens across America, courtesy of Rob Schneider's vegan character in last week's box-office hit, Grown Ups. Sure, the movie made fun of vegans, but it made fun of everything—besides, we at PETA have a good sense of humor.
This week, we're curious to see whether Aang, the hero of The Last Airbender, will share his vegetarian views as he did in the beloved Nickelodeon series Avatar: The Last Airbender. He should, of course, considering that it's in keeping with his steadfast Buddhist and Taoist beliefs—but the film is tied in with a massive McDonald's promotion featuring Airbender commercials and action figures. Go figure. Are Airbender producers and McCruelty execs banking on the hope that audiences won't notice—or care—that a corporation that refuses to make even minimal improvements to reduce its cruel treatment of billions of animals is pushing figurines of a passionate animal defender?
We're going to go ahead and cry fowl on this partnership—and then ask: Will you speak up for chickens?
The following is a Canada Day guest post from Bill Maher, the genius behind Politically Incorrect and HBO's Real Time With Bill Maher. Maher offered his wit for an op-ed, originally posted in today's Daily News, in a humorous protest against a deadly serious issue: Canada's annual slaughter of tens of thousands of seals—the largest massacre of marine mammals in the world.
Here's some good news from my friends at PETA, just in time for Canada Day on July 1: Canada's annual commercial seal slaughter is over—at least for this year—and more than 80 percent of the seals who had been marked for death were spared because hardly anyone wants to wear baby-seal fur anymore. But Canada won't cancel the massacre outright. Why?
There are a lot of things to admire about our neighbor to the north, but the country's strange seal phobia is not one of them. Canada is terrified of seals. Baby seals, in particular. I know, it doesn't make any sense to me either.
Canada's seal "hunt"—which happens every November to June off Canada's East Coast—is the largest slaughter of marine mammals on the planet, leaving tens of thousands of animals dead every year. And let's be clear: The Canadian government may call it a "hunt," but impaling baby seals in the jaw with hooks, dragging them across the ice, and throwing them into a pile where they choke on their own blood before being skinned isn't a sport—it's a massacre. The video of it is like a starter snuff film designed for serial killers.
Opposition around the world is growing. Last year, the U.S. Senate—a group of people who usually can't agree that the sky is blue—unanimously passed a resolution calling for an immediate end to the annual slaughter. But the Canadian government just keeps putting its fingers in its ears and singing "la, la, la" so that it won't hear anything it doesn't like. Or, if it does hear, it responds with all the subtlety and sophistication of a fistfight in the men's room at a monster-truck rally.
The European Union, for example, recently passed a ban on seal products. So after stomping its feet and jutting out its lower lips for a while, Canada threatened to go tell mom that it's being picked on. Sorry, did I say "mom"? I meant the World Trade Organization. And as if that weren't tone-deaf enough, in response to the EU's ban, Canada's parliament also pushed—unsuccessfully—to incorporate seal skins into the uniforms of the Canadian Olympic team in a desperate attempt to legitimize the seal slaughter.
When Russia announced a ban on the killing of baby harp seals in that country, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin called the seal slaughter a "bloody industry that should have been banned long ago." Shortly thereafter, Canada's Governor General Michaëlle Jean cut open a seal and chowed down on the animal's raw heart, burbling inanely, "It's like sushi." I'm not making that up.
Note to Canada: When your officials are making Vladimir Putin look like the voice of reason and the U.S. Senate appears to be a model of civility, you're doing something wrong.
Let's clear up a couple of myths perpetrated by the Canadian government in defense of the "hunt." The sealing industry is not a subsistence trade for native peoples. The Inuit—most of whom live in the Arctic, far away from the main seal-killing regions of Newfoundland and Labrador—are responsible for only about 3 percent of the annual seal kill.
Nor is the slaughter important to the Canadian economy. In Newfoundland, where the majority of sealers live, revenues from sealing account for just about 1 percent of the province's economy. But even if it were more, that's still no excuse for clubbing babies.
You'd think that officials would have gotten the message that it's time to stop the slaughter when many sealers sat out this year's massacre in the face of plunging demand and record-low ice levels. Incredibly, Fisheries Minister Gail Shea instead increased the killing quotas.
In fact, Canada is spending millions of dollars—and despite what you may have heard, Canadian dollars are real money—on desperate efforts to prop up the dying commercial seal slaughter, including rushing Shea to China to try to peddle seal pelts there and posting a $75,000 contract for a "Social Media Reputation and Online Issues Management" advisor to track seal chatter on the Web.
Not long ago, Canada launched a "Keep Exploring" ad campaign to attract tourists. Vacationers may find it hard to have a really good time with all that shooting and beating going on in the background.
Reacting to the tourism campaign, PETA is pushing back with its own campaign, called, "Explore Elsewhere," encouraging people to leave Canada out of their travel plans until the seal massacre is stopped for good. I've never really been one to call for boycotting an entire country, but in the face of such heartless ineptitude, maybe it's worth considering.
The Fourth of July is fast approaching, and like many Americans, you're probably thinking about firing up the grill and preparing some tasty vegan fare that doesn't form cancer-promoting chemicals like charred barbecued beef and fried fish and chicken do. You've probably even got the marinades all ready.
But what's a compassionate chef without a "Kiss Me, I'm Vegan" apron?
For this "Win It" Wednesday, you can score our stylin' new "Kiss Me, I'm Vegan" apron (hot guys or gals to kiss not included). To win, just share the most scrumptious vegan barbecue recipe that you plan to prepare this July 4—and all cookout season long—in the comment field below. The person who submits the recipe that makes our mouths water the most will win the apron. My mouth is already watering thinking about Grilled Seitan With Crisp Apple Salsa and Tandoori "Chicken" Kabobs. Can anybody top them?
The contest ends on July 14, 2010, and we'll pick the winner on July 16, 2010. Be sure to read our privacy policy and terms and conditions, as you're agreeing to both by commenting.
Good luck, and happy Independence Day!
Written by Heather Moore
The newest rapper in da veggie club?
According to Vegetarian Star, Grammy winner and rap superstar 50 Cent is working to encourage healthy eating among children, and he just threw a picnic party in Queens for kids who chowed down on veggie burgers and whole-wheat pasta.
Given how many young people are already battling weight issues and poor health, serving veggie burgers rather than cholesterol-filled cow patties is a great way to get kids on the path to healthier lifestyles.
Eliminating cholesterol-laden animal products by going vegan is one of the easiest ways for people of all ages to reduce their risk of a number of health complications, from heart disease to diabetes. Is it possible that 50 Cent has joined the hip-hop ranks of Wu Tang Clan's Masta Killa and gone vegetarian? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
Written by Jennifer O'Connor
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