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Political campaigning can get pretty dirty, and during the weeks leading up to last Tuesday's elections, the New Jersey gubernatorial race was no exception. Democratic incumbent Jon Corzine launched an attack ad against Republican Chris Christie that hit Christie below the belt—implying that he "threw his weight around" as a public official, literally.

While health care and the economy may have been the big issues on the table this election season, a survey by Public Policy Polling found that a hefty 11 percent of Jersey voters said that Christie's bulging waistline was a legitimate election issue, and 19 percent said it made them less likely to vote for him. Maybe Garden State residents are just proud to have the 10th lowest obesity rate in the U.S. and didn't want Christie weighing them down—but I'd say Christie should address this issue pronto.

Despite the obvious fat-bias, Christie came out on top and won the election, and we say, "Well, Chris—you've won, and now it's time to lose." We suggest that Christie enlist some help from carrot-crunching vegetarian Newark mayor Cory Booker—and adopt a vegan diet. Studies show that vegans are, on average, 10 to 20 pounds lighter than meat-eaters and that a vegetarian diet reduces the risk of heart disease by 50 percent—so it's obvious that going vegan would be the best way for Christie to shed pounds and maintain a healthy weight.

So, what do you think? With 23 percent of adults and 31 percent of children in New Jersey obese, should the governor-elect slim down and set an example of healthy living?

Written by Liz Graffeo

For a minute there, we thought Jeremy "Mercury Poisoning" Piven was serious when he said that he gave up soy milk for fear that it would give him "moobs."

I mean, come on, everybody knows that cow's milk—not soy milk—is the real culprit behind man boobs, right? According to Harvard scientist Ganmaa Davaasambuu, cow's milk "contains considerable amounts of female sex hormones"—especially milk from factory-farmed cows who are kept almost constantly pregnant. She estimates that dairy products account for 60 to 80 percent of the estrogens consumed by the average person.

But wait—there's more! Factory-farmed cows are commonly fed bovine growth hormone in order to stimulate their bodies to produce more milk. Hormone-treated cow's milk contains high levels of Insulin Growth Factor (IGF-1), which studies show can cause the dreaded gynecomastia (moobs). Milk consumption, with all its accompanying hormones, has also been linked to prostate cancer and breast cancer.

So, boys, if you're worried about maintaining your manly physique, pour some soy (or rice or almond) milk on your cereal—and pour the moob juice down the drain.

Written by Alisa Mullins

It's not like I don't already watch Bones religiously, but I'm definitely tuning in for this week's episode, in which our intrepid heroes, Brennan and Booth, try to get to the bottom of the murder of a chicken factory farmer. The main suspects are the farmer's neighbors—who are no doubt not terribly keen about living next door to a stinky, putrid factory farm—and animal rights activists. Considering, however, that the show's star, Emily Deschanel, actually is an animal rights activist, I have a feeling we won't be dealt with too harshly.

In the past, Bones has done a great job of exposing the cruelty of dogfighting and horse slaughter, so I'm hoping that the producers will manage to squeeze in some of the factory farm and slaughterhouse footage that we sent them for this episode. It would be pretty cool for the millions of Bones fans to get a look inside a typical factory farm.

Set your DVR: "The Tough Man in the Tender Chicken" airs tonight at 8:00 p.m. EST. In the meantime, you can get a sneak peek at the action in this slideshow:

Bones: Episode 5.06 "The Tough Man in the Tender Chicken" Photos

Written by Alisa Mullins

The number of cases of swine flu and E. coli is on the rise, reminding us that the dangers of factory-farm–bred pathogens and meatborne illnesses have become impossible to ignore. The most recent E. coli outbreak, which killed two people and sickened dozens more, has been traced directly to the New York–based ground beef producer Fairbank Farms—which recalled more than 545,000 pounds of meat on October 31.

In the wake of this deadly outbreak, we're launching our "Meat Kills" billboard to let New Englanders know that the safest thing to do with meat is to throw it out:

Meatborne illness is just one symptom of a very sick and cruel industry. The threat of E. coli infection, listeriosis, campylobacter infection, and other bacterial infections is only the beginning of the devastating health effects of eating the dead, rotting flesh of a tormented animal. Research has shown that vegetarians are 50 percent less likely to develop heart disease, and their chance of getting cancer is 40 percent lower than that of meat-eaters. Plus, meat-eaters are nine times more likely to be obese than vegans are.

It's obvious that the best thing anyone can do for his or her health is to ditch the deadly meat and adopt a vegan diet. So what are you waiting for?

Written by Liz Graffeo