PETA's investigation footage from a filthy Pennsylvania dairy facility that supplies Land O'Lakes continues to receive massive press coverage. All the coverage has prompted the Fortune 250 company to issue an official statement—one that only serves to highlight the profit-driven callousness and lack of concern for animals within the corporation and the dairy industry as a whole.

Jeanne Forbis, the director of communications at Land O'Lakes, said, "[W]hen state-certified inspectors do inspections at dairy farms they are inspecting for milk and equipment sanitation practices, not animal treatment."

Is that supposed to be the "excuse" for why the Land O'Lakes inspector didn't bother to note that cows were living in filth, without bedding or a clean, dry place for shelter? Or that lameness and mastitis were rampant? How about the fact that there were cows who were so debilitated and thin that they looked like skeletons with skin draped over them?

Frankly, the inspector didn't do very well on inspecting for sanitation either. Take a look at the video—animals are virtually swimming in a soup of urine and fecal matter. All Forbis's comment does is raise some serious doubts about the quality of the sanitation inspections that led to the approval of this facility.

Various agencies are now looking into PETA's allegations of abuse, as well as sanitation and food safety violations, against the dairy facility's owners. Abuse of animals in the dairy industry is nothing new, so please consider dropping cholesterol and cruelty-filled dairy products from your diet.

Written by Heather Drennan

global-breastfeeding / CC

When President Obama came into office, we presented him with some detailed suggestions on changes we'd like to see during his presidency. One of our proposals was to make some much-needed improvements to the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program—a government program that offers meals to low-income mothers and their children in order to make sure that they get nutritional food even in times of financial hardship.

For a program that's dedicated to promoting healthy eating, however, WIC was sending a decidedly mixed message: At the time of President Obama's inauguration, the program was primarily offering milk, eggs, cheese, and formula to mothers in need.

What ever happened to "An apple a day keeps the doctor away?"

Our suggestion was to make fundamental changes to WIC in order to create access to healthy foods. Well, nine months into the Obama presidency, we're pleased to announce that the USDA (which operates the program) has decided to improve WIC's offerings. WIC's menu has expanded to include fruits, vegetables, brown rice, soy milk, tortillas, and bread with 51 percent whole grains.

So, what's next on our presidential agenda? Vegetarian options in schools!

Written by Liz Graffeo

We at PETA like to say that cruelty is the secret ingredient in KFC's buckets (what, with chickens being tormented before they're killed and abused in other horrific ways). But it turns out that at one KFC, there was another secret ingredient: urine.

Yep, you read that right: Chicken was urinated on before being sold to a customer. Feeling peckish? (That's British for "hungry"—geddit?)

A Nebraska police officer and his family have won $40,000 from a KFC outlet that served them food tainted by an employee's spit and urine. The couple sued the offending company when their two sons, 4 and 7 at the time, became ill (one violently ill) after they ate the food. The younger boy vomited for hours and was hospitalized for gastroenteritis and dehydration.

The lawsuit also stated that "[e]mployees maintained 'special servings' of food reserved for ... officers. The 'special servings' had been urinated in or spit in by KFC/Taco Bell employees. In fact, defendant's employees maintained a particular serving pan for use in creating 'special servings' of food plus employee urine."

Finger licking good? I'll pass.

Do you have a great KFC gross-out story you'd like to share? Want to share your feelings about the possibility of being served a side of urine with your KFC order? Tell us! One lucky commenter will be the first person on his or her block to have 20 of the gorgeous KFC stickers pictured here! Be sure to leave your comment by July 30, 2008, and we'll let you know whether you've won by August 1, 2008. You should also be sure to read the contest terms and conditions and PETA's privacy policy before you comment—you're acknowledging that you have read and agree to both by leaving a comment.

Posted by Grace Friedan