When PETA's herd of "cows" stampeded down the sidewalk in front of the Vancouver Convention Center, where the British Columbia Dairy Conference was taking place, the cow abusers inside nervously looked out the windows.

They sent the convention center manager outside to ask their worried questions: What were the cows planning to do? Come inside the building? The conference-goers had seen the Facebook page for the demonstration, and they were terrified!

Even though the bovines didn't infiltrate the conference, the dairy farmers should have been scared of what they were doing outside. As throngs of passersby stopped to talk, they learned about how cows on dairy factory farms are repeatedly impregnated to keep producing milk, that calves are traumatically torn away from their mothers within days or even hours of birth, and that many male calves are imprisoned in tiny, filthy crates until they are slaughtered for veal.

When many of the passersby then expressed a preference for soy milk, rice milk, or almond milk, the cows were over the moon.

Maybe being able to see the Hollywood sign from my living room makes everything remind me of a bad horror movie, but seeing the headline "New Strain of 'Mad Cow' Disease" is enough to make anyone (especially meat-eaters) shriek like a celluloid scream queen. That's right—bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) has struck again!

Mad cow disease first captured the world's attention when it appeared on the scene in the United Kingdom, and it has since been found in cows in Canada, the U.S., and now Japan—although the latest stricken animals are believed to have come from Australia. One cow who tested positive was only 23 months old, the youngest ever found with BSE, and officials believe that this may be a new strain of the disease that can't always be detected with Japan's current monitoring system.

Since the prions that cause BSE can be found in all parts of an affected animal's flesh, staying away from meat is really the only sure-fire way to avoid mad cow disease.

In a David-and-Goliath fight against Big Chicken—i.e., Chick-fil-A—Vermont artist and local agriculture booster Bo Muller-Moore is fighting for his right to "eat more kale." Chick-fil-A called "fowl" on Muller-Moore, claiming that consumers would be bamboozled into thinking that there is some affiliation with its trademarked phrase "Eat Mor Chikin" but Muller-Moore is standing firm in what he hopes is just a game of legal "chicken."

One thing's for sure: While eating more chicken poses a multitude of health risks, you can't go wrong by raising (and eating) more kale.

Check out some kaleicious recipes on PETA's "Living" site. You'll get a healthy dose of calcium, beta carotene, and vitamin C and leave the saturated fat and cholesterol at the drive-through window.

Written by Heather Faraid Drennan

Philadelphia and Baltimore may be a little safer after PETA members worked tirelessly to get baby-killers off the streets—the killers of baby turkeys, that is.

A baby doll bedecked with frills served as the centerpiece for this eerie Thanksgiving dinner, making the point that farmers drug and breed turkeys to grow so fast that most are only months old when they are slammed upside down into metal shackles, only to have their throats slit. (What kind of job is that? But who pays someone to do it? The consumer!)

But as we hear out there, ever more people are turning to a meal that celebrates life and spares a turkey, not "pardons" one. After all, what crime could a baby have committed?

Some years ago, when I interned at a sanctuary for farmed animals, I'd sit in the barn, and a turkey named Fern would back up into my lap and demand to be petted. When I'd stop, she'd look over her shoulder imploringly as if to say, "More, please." I always think of Fern at this time of year, when supermarket bins are filled with the frozen bodies of her relatives. If people got a chance to know these interesting and personable birds, I believe they'd balk at baking and eating their wings, legs, and breasts.

Turkeys on farmed-animal sanctuaries quickly prove themselves to be intelligent and industrious as well as outgoing at times and shy at other times, much like human children. Sitting in the barn, the birds' distinct personalities were immediately clear. Some, bold and hilarious, would walk right up and look me square in the eye as if to challenge my right to invade their space. Others, like a coy debutante, would peer over their shoulders, aloof but not wanting to miss anything exciting. Many, like Fern, would purr when petted.

This Thanksgiving, please take a moment to reflect: Can the fleeting pleasure of a meal justify the immeasurable pain and suffering of a bird who didn't want to die? Give turkeys like Fern a reason to purr. Stuff yourself with mashed potatoes, cranberries, pumpkin pie, and other vegan goodies and leave the birds alone.

Via Newsday

Written by Jennifer O'Connor

"What I really want to share with people is the possibility of them having the most healthy and abundant joy they could ever imagine," Alicia Silverstone told UCLA's Daily Bruin newspaper, before she spoke to hundreds of students on campus last night at an event hosted by UCLA's Bruins for Animals and peta2.

Alicia shared with students how changing her eating habits changed her life. "Being vegan truly is the secret to my life's joy and peace," she said. Afterward, she answered questions and signed dozens of copies of her bestselling book, The Kind Diet.

While some of the students likely came just to see the lovely Alicia, her message and the "Glass Walls" video that peta2 staffers screened left quite an impression. peta2 staff were bombarded with questions from people interested in learning how to change their eating habits to improve their health, protect the environment, and prevent cruelty to animals.

The vegetarian/vegan starter kits that flew off the tables and Native Foods Café's vegan Thanksgiving feast that they sampled got them off to a great start.

You know what they say: The key to a man's heart is through his … stomach. Our sexy pilgrims, who are touring New England this week, can attest to that and more. Obviously, they attract a crowd, largely because of the delicious, free Tofurkys they're handing out. In fact, the Tofurkys flew off the table—with men and women gobbling them up—within 20 minutes in Bangor, Maine.

The pilgrims also gave out PETA's free vegetarian/vegan starter kits and told passersby that every year in the U.S., 40 million gentle, inquisitive turkeys are killed for Thanksgiving dinners alone.

In nature, turkeys are protective and loving parents as well as fast, cunning runners who are able to outwit their pursuers. But the turkey industry crams the birds into windowless warehouses and genetically manipulates them to grow so large that their legs are often unable to withstand the birds' weight. Countless birds slowly starve to death within inches of food after they become crippled and are unable to move.

PETA's sexy pilgrims will be docking in New Haven today and Providence tomorrow. Even if you aren't lucky enough to grab a Tofurky from these lovely ladies, you can get tips on serving up a cruelty-free feast at our "Living" page.

He can raise a car clear off the ground, toss huge logs through the air, and lift monster dumbbells. And he hates cruelty to animals. Patrik Baboumian, holder of the "Strongest Man of Germany" title, is a plant-eater!

Like many professional athletes and champion fighters, Patrik recognizes that a healthy plant-based diet gives him the protein and nutrients he needs to build muscle and strengthen his immune system, without clogging his arteries with saturated fat. Patrik also knows that only cowards hurt animals and that one of the most macho things a guy can do is to stop eating foods that cause animals immense suffering.

Patrik stands up for what he believes in—on the homepage of his website, right next to his motto, "Born to Be Bada**," there's a PETA Germany video. If this lean, green, weight-lifting machine told me to go vegan and save animal lives, I believe I'd listen to him.

Written by Michelle Sherrow

Everyone who tuned in to PBS last night for the premiere of My Life as a Turkey was treated to a fascinating glimpse into the lives of animals who are often seen as little more than Thanksgiving centerpieces. The film follows Joe Hutto as he raises 16 turkeys, left on his porch as eggs, from hatchlings to adulthood.

Watching the turkeys form an intense bond with their "mother," Joe, and seeing them grow, learn, and interact would make the staunchest carnivore think twice about calling these sensitive, intelligent birds "dinner."

Watch My Life as a Turkey and click here to enter to win the DVD and the book that inspired it. And check out PETA's recipes for a turkey-friendly Thanksgiving smorgasbord on our Living page.

Written by Michelle Sherrow

Downed cows—those who are too sick or injured to stand up—are of little use to callous cattle auctioneers. So when a cow collapsed at a Texas livestock auction company, what did the employees do? They simply wrapped a chain around her leg, attached the chain to a truck, dragged the cow into a dirt lot next to the auction area, and left her for dead. With no food or water, she would have eventually died from dehydration or succumbed to her illness or injury.

Someone saw the cow being dragged to the lot and left there, but when he saw that she was still in the same spot three days later, he called PETA. After making several phone calls to the auction company owner, we were able to convince him to euthanize the dying cow and spare her from one moment more of suffering.

Unfortunately, neither "downers" nor this kind of treatment of them is unusual on factory farms, at auctions, or at slaughterhouses. By simply swapping meat-based dishes for their scrumptious, meatless counterparts, we can avoid supporting facilities that treat living beings like broken-down farm equipment.

Written by Michelle Sherrow