First of all, Happy New Year! Joel’s reign of terror over this blog has officially come to an end now that I’m back from vacation, so the PETA Files will be starting off the New Year with a return to the high-brow intellectual discussions, the lyrical prose style, and the rigorous grammatical standards that you may have missed in my absence.

I had actually been planning a whole long post devoted to making fun of Joel, but while I was skimming through his entries in search of material, I came across this little masterpiece, which made me change my mind. It may well be the most insightful, eloquent, and informative entry to appear on the PETA Files all year. So a big thank you to Joel for running the show last week—I should probably take vacations more often.

In other news, if you’re in New Year's resolution mode like I am, you should definitely check out PETA’s New Year's pledges to help animals. Whether it’s making an effort to buy cruelty-free products, taking more time to get active for animals, or cutting the eggs and dairy out of your diet, every little thing you do can make a big difference—and now is the perfect time to make the changes that you may have been putting off. For my part, I’m going to set aside more time to hang out with my friend Princess Cuteyface. And be nicer to Joel.

-Jack

Back before joining in the UFC, Mac did a Q&A with PETA. Now that he’s a household name, Mac’s back and we’re pleased to announce that he’s starring in two hard-hitting public service announcements for peta2’s veggie testimonial series (view some others in the series here, here, and here).

In the print version of the ad (click the thumbnail to see a full-size version) we see Mac with gloved fists raised and standing next to the tagline "I Am a Fighter in the Best Shape of My Life. I Am Mac Danzig, and I Am a Vegetarian." I hope all you guys who think you need to eat meat to be a “real man” are you catching this.

If you’re still not convinced that vegans can be tough as nails watch Mac’s video below.

So why is a vegan diet the diet of champions? Consumption of meat and other animal products has been conclusively linked to heart disease, strokes, diabetes, and obesity. Meat production is also a leading cause of greenhouse gas emissions, water pollution, and land degradation. And, of course, the best way to fight the cruelty of factory farms and slaughterhouses is to kick the meat habit.

Order a free Vegetarian Starter Kit today so you too can be an Ultimate Fighting champion. Or at least a healthy and compassionate individual.

If you haven’t seen it yet, it is imperative that you watch this new video for our ABC Campaign, which is both an initiative to educate people about the importance of spaying and neutering their animals, and stop breeders from pumping out thousands of pups every year who take homes from those destined to die in shelters. What I like about Sex Talk, and the other spot we’ve put together for this campaign, is that it’s a lot more than just a funny ad. There’s something about it that makes you really uncomfortable—which, I guess, is exactly what a proper chat about the birds and the bees is supposed to. Check it out if you haven’t seen it yet, and you can watch the other video (Buy One, Get One Free) here.

File this one under “hilarious.”

PETA Asia-Pacific, which may or may not be comprised of drunken frat guys, had a clever demonstration planned in which inflatable sex dolls would assert the fact that “KFC Blows”. Unfortunately the dolls were confiscated by customs officials in the Philippines, who may or may not be lonely men.

PETA Asia-Pacific had planned to take the dolls on a tour of red-light districts, including Pat Pong in Bangkok, Kings Cross in Sydney, Kabukicho in Japan, and the Philippines' Angeles City. The dolls were confiscated by customs officials when they arrived in the Philippines via U.S.-based package carrier UPS en route to PETA Asia-Pacific's office in Makati.

"The blow-up dolls were a trouble-free prop because KFC also treats chickens like inanimate objects," says PETA Asia-Pacific Director Jason Baker. "KFC profits from using crude killing methods—the company has an international obligation to stop torturing the birds who end up dead in its buckets. We're calling on people worldwide to boycott KFC until the company implements minimal animal welfare standards."

Next maybe PETA Asia-Pacific will challenge KFC’s executives to Beirut to decide the fate of the 850 million chickens raised and killed for KFC.