When people weren't talking about Hurricane Isaac this week, they were buzzing about the Republican National Convention. We're never ones to miss a chance to get animal issues into the spotlight, so PETA dispatched its famous pigs to the Big Guava, where they're calling for a federal excise tax on meat.

Why? Well, there are "sin taxes" on cigarettes, alcohol, and gasoline. Why shouldn't there be one on meat, which is as harmful to our health as tobacco and alcohol are—and even more so to the environment? Putting a tax on meat would save countless lives—and not just those of animals.

What You Can Do

To keep meat from, well, taxing the Earth, animals, and your body, go vegan. If you're already lean and green, spread the word by getting your own "Tax Meat" swag.

PETA promotes and educates the public on the benefits of a vegan diet. PETA does not directly or indirectly participate in any political campaign on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate for public office.

Things got raucous at the caucus when a PETA "pig" hit the campaign trail in Iowa to ask presidential candidates to "cut the pork: Tax meat!" Michele Bachmann and Rick Santorum got an eyeful of our pig, who stood outside the restaurants where they were meeting and greeting.  

But Rick Perry got a handful. When the presidential hopeful promenaded past the pig, he gave her a big high-five and agreed, "Yeah! Cut the pork!"

The swine opined to point out that because of meat's devastating impact on people's health and the environment, it should be accompanied by a "sin" tax to offset the costs—similar to the taxes on alcohol, tobacco, and gasoline.

 No matter who wins the election, (and of course, as a charity PETA takes no position in support of or opposition to any candidate in any party), next year's prez could use this idea to save the economy—and lives. 

When President Obama held an economic forum in Peosta, Iowa, on Tuesday, PETA supporters were there getting piggy with it.

A staffer was passing out leaflets at the forum when a group of enthusiastic young people ran up to her and offered to help with the demonstration. One donned the pig costume, and the others handed out leaflets explaining the benefits of a tax on meat.

Because meat is a leading cause of climate change and drives up health-care costs by contributing to cancer, diabetes, and heart disease, among other illnesses, it only makes sense that meat should be subject to a "sin" tax just like alcohol and tobacco.

Taxing meat would not only help balance the budget, it would also encourage people to cut the pork out of their diets, saving countless lives—both human and animal.

Written by Michelle Sherrow

If you're still eating meat, you might as well be driving a Hummer. Studies have shown that raising animals for food is the single largest source of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide emissions, which are all responsible for climate change. A new study has found that taxing meat could help significantly curtail greenhouse-gas emissions by curbing meat consumption.

The study, from Sweden's University of Gothenburg and Chalmers University of Technology, also found that if land that's used for factory farming were instead used to grow bioenergy crops, greenhouse-gas emissions would be cut even further.

Don't wait for the tax collector to come knockin'—you can get a jump on shrinking your carbon footprint by ordering PETA's free vegetarian/vegan starter kit today.

Written by Michelle Sherrow

Every year on tax day, I do two things:

1. Drag out the process of filling in my 1040 by surfing the Internet looking for tax day deals.
2. End up fuming because the only things anyone ever offers are cheap burgers and free tacos, and my 1040 still sits on my desk waiting to be filled out.

This year, instead of searching for (non-existent) free or cheap vegan grub, I'm procrastinating by contacting my Congressional representatives and asking them to tax meat (instead of me). There's already an excise tax on things like gas, tobacco, and alcohol, so why not meat?

As the number one cause of climate change and a contributing factor to the high rates of obesity in America, animal products that hurt our health and our environment (not to mention animals) should be outlawed. That probably won't happen, but a tax on meat would at least help cover the health and environmental costs that result from raising and killing animals for food—and (hopefully) it would encourage companies to give away 35-cent veggie burgers and free vegan tacos next year on April 15.

Now, what to do about filling out that 1040 sooner?

Written by Shawna Flavell

When we heard about New York Governor David Paterson's proposed excise ("sin") tax on full-calorie soda, we were confused. Sure, there are calories to be had in the all-American high fructose corn syrup, caramel coloring, and artificial flavoring cocktail, but does it compare to, say, meat?

To help set Gov. Paterson straight, we're sending out some of our ridiculously cute "Tax Meat" pigs to the Governor's pad today to help him consider some other products to place on his naughty list this year. The politically active pigs will circle the Governor's home in a convertible with signs reading, "Battle the Budget and the Bulge: Tax Meat."

After all, a can of fizzy goodness with more grams of sugar than I care to consider may be linked to obesity, but eating meat is linked not only to obesity but also to strokes, diabetes, heart disease, and several types of cancer, among other conditions and ailments. And with the financial outlook as bleak as it is, nobody needs the added burden of long-term medical treatment for costly conditions caused by risky dietary choices such as eating meat, when they could bank on their health by going vegetarian instead.

Written by Sean Conner

Ever notice how bad begets bad? Well, in the world of animal abuse, folks often have a way of getting themselves hurt and even killed when trying to do the same to other animals. Besides the obvious "eat meat and die" connection, we at The PETA Files have seen quite a few instances of folks more creatively or elaborately harming or endangering themselves over the years—including large-scale property destruction and truly ironic animal attacks.

With that in mind, I bring you our Top 10 "Payback Is Hell" moments of 2008:

10. While striking his dog with a gun to make him release a bone, a man managed to shoot himself. Granted, I don't think there's any safe place to point a gun, but letting the "business end" face you as you swing it like a club? Wow. Maybe he'll think twice about hitting his dog next time—if he, ya know, survived.

9. What happens when you anger a 10-foot python who's been stuck in a cage for a long time? An intern at a Venezuelan zoo found out when he decided to play with the snake during his night shift. Turns out that snakes are fond of strangling and swallowing their prey (someone really should put that on Wikipedia).

8. Some people shoo wasps away with their hands. Others think it's fair play to go after them with lighted torches. One monk learned that when you play with fire, you (and your entire temple) might get burned (to the ground).

7. While tracking a deer whom he had shot and was in the process of killing, a hunter apparently misjudged a cliff's edge and fell off.

6. A New Jersey man tried to kill insects in his apartment with bug spray, but the propellant chemicals in the spray seemed to have some unforeseen consequences. He succeeded in killing many bugs, but probably not so much because of the poison as because of the explosion, which destroyed 80 percent of his apartment.

5. Though the purpose of "sea kitten hunting" is to dig a hook painfully into another being's skin, one guy seems to have misread the how-to manual and managed to drive the hook into his own hand.

4. Have you ever seen bears who were forced to perform in captivity and felt sorry for how helpless they look? Well, it turns out gigantic land mammals with sharp, sharp teeth aren't always that helpless—as demonstrated by the fatal attack that a bear at Predators in Action wild animal training center made against a trainer.

3. Why don't we allow children to drive? Because it's dangerous. Why do we allow children to kill animals with loaded firearms? Good question. Though some folks argue that children can be trusted with firearms if trained properly, I don't think that helps the two men who were allegedly shot by one eight-year-old boy who had reportedly been taught how to use a deadly weapon to hunt animals.

2. After being jailed on burglary charges, a man was attacked by another inmate who chewed off a part of his ear (ewww!). What are the odds that something so disgusting and awful would happen to someone? To top it off, what are the odds that it would happen to a man who had previously been charged with cutting off a dog's ears?!

1. Proving that using a .44 Magnum to kill mice is not a good idea, a trailer park resident managed to shoot herself and a bystander while trying to fire at a rodent who was simply trying to share her space. Is anyone else stunned that two accidental injuries occurred? PETA's humane mousetrap, on the other hand, has never hurt a living soul.

I guess it just goes to show that what goes around may actually come around, so please make wise decisions when interacting with animals—you might have to answer for your actions.

Do you have your own "payback is hell" story, in which someone's misdeeds to an animal don't go unpunished? If so, comment below; we'd all love to hear it!

Written by Sean Conner

Now that the Olympics are over, it's impossible to turn on the TV or open the newspaper without seeing something about the Democratic National Convention. What's going to happen, what's going to be said, who's going to be there …

Well, we'll tell you who's there—the PETA pigs, that's who!

Our pigs don't have anything to say about any of the candidates, of course—they're tackling a global issue: meat!

The pigs—who are circling around the convention center and picking up passengers in their cherry red convertible—are calling for a federal excise tax on meat. (Look out for them next week as they cruise around the Republican National Convention!) Why? Well, there's a "sin" tax on cigarettes, alcohol, and gasoline. Why shouldn't there be one on meat, which is bad for both your health and the environment?

Our Senior VP Dan Mathews (who, as we know, is fond of wearing costumes) is among the protesters. He sums up the reason our pigs are calling for a 10-cents-per-pound tax: "The impact of the meat trade is as devastating to our health as the tobacco and alcohol industries put together—and even more so to the environment. Slapping a tax on meat would save countless lives—and not just those of animals."

Check out our pigs below—and if you're concerned about the health and environmental consequences of eating meat, check out GoVeg.com for a free copy of PETA's "Vegetarian Starter Kit"!

Written by Amanda Schinke