Written by Michelle Kretzer
Every day, I think about how lucky I am to have been born a human being. By the time you finish reading this post, 1,463 turkeys and 44,294 chickens will have had their throats slit, many of the 619 pigs who were slaughtered will have been scalded to death, and 217 cows are killed, many while still conscious. And that's just in the United States.
By the end of the day, 104,273 cows, 297,392 pigs, 702,383 turkeys, and 21,261,534 chickens will have been killed in the U.S. to satisfy an old eating habit.
On factory farms and in slaughterhouses, today is no different from any other. But animal ambassadors know today as World Farm Animals Day, a day when we honor the lives of animals slaughtered for food. We commemorate World Farm Animals Day on October 2, the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, the influential political leader and ardent vegetarian whose lifetime of advocating for an end to violence toward people and animals prompted social-reform movements around the world.
But as we remember the animals who were killed for their flesh this year, a moment of silence won't help end the suffering. Animals don't need us to be silent—they need us to speak up. Please repost this image to your Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest pages to remind everyone you know that just one vegan saves about 100 animals every year from suffering on factory farms or fishing boats and dying painfully in a slaughterhouse:
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Written by Jeff Mackey
PETA wants to give parties on both sides of the debate over Arizona's new law banning abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy some other food for thought as we get set to display a new billboard in the Phoenix area. We think that everyone should be able to agree about death on factory farms and beyond:
© iStockphoto.com/Sascha Burkard
Billions of chickens are killed for food every year in the U.S. when they are only 6 to 7 weeks old, and most of the pigs and turkeys killed for food are less than 1 year old. Animals killed for food feel pain when they are stunned, have their throats cut, or are scalded to death or dismembered while they're still conscious.
Pro-life? You can save lives by eating vegan foods. Pro-choice? Choose meals that are better for animals, your health, and our environment. Makes sense!
Nobel Prize–winning physician, theologian, and vegetarian Dr. Albert Schweitzer once said, "The man who has become a thinking being feels a compulsion to give every will-to-live the same reverence for life that he gives to his own." It was Schweitzer's "reverence for life" that inspired our pals at PETA U.K. not only to sponsor the attendance of a vegetarian student at this week's Albert Schweitzer's Leadership for Life International Youth Leadership Conference in Dublin but also to place an ad in the event's program in Schweitzer's honor.
Albert Schweitzer: © LOC, LC-USZ62-30537 Background: © iStockphoto.com/Hiroyuki Akimoto
Harley, the sponsored student, has been vegetarian ever since a friend urged her to watch some PETA videos, from which she learned about the cruelty of factory farms and slaughterhouses. During her sophomore year, Harley petitioned her high school to introduce more vegan options to the cafeteria, collecting 320 signatures from a student body of 400 people!
From the time he was a child, Schweitzer was horrified by the violence he witnessed against animals and would likely be even more disgusted by today's factory farms and slaughterhouses. Chickens, turkeys, pigs, cows, and fish are packed into small cages, filthy sheds, or putrid fish farms for their entire lives—at slaughter, animals often have their throats cut open while they are still conscious or are scalded to death or skinned alive.
Going vegan might not make you a genius—but it will make the world a better, more compassionate place, which is rather brilliant, don't you think? And PETA can help you get started!
Today would be the 156th birthday of George Bernard Shaw ("Bernard" to his friends), which is an occasion worth noting. If you're not familiar with the work of this independent-minded Irish playwright and provocateur, you're missing out. Shaw managed to speak truth to power with such humor, clarity, and intelligence that the powerful ended up laughing with him, not at him.
We aim to do something similar here at The PETA Files, so we're sure that Bernard—a vegetarian and an opponent of experimentation on animals—would have felt right at home here. Sadly, that can't happen, so instead, we'll share a few quotations from Shaw that still resonate with animal rights advocates today:
Are you a dedicated Shavian? You can support a cause near and dear to the great man's heart by supporting PETA's work to make the world a kinder and fairer place for animals.
After Canada's House of Commons passed a budget bill that strikes down several environmental protection laws, PETA's blue-painted supporters hit Ottawa's Parliament Hill to rock the government's world—almost literally—and to urge eco-conscious Canadians not to despair because they can still help save the planet by eating plant-based foods.
According to the United Nations, the meat industry is in large part responsible for some of the most serious environmental problems that we face today, including climate change. So even if you aren't daring enough to strip down to bodypaint (although if you are, let PETA know), don't feel blue—you can still help protect the Earth by choosing healthy, humane vegan meals.
The Gumball 3000 is a weeklong auto race that runs from New York to Los Angeles, and PETA's sexy "Race Car Girls" were waiting by the checkered flag to remind finishers and spectators to "rev their engines" by going vegan. After all, not only is vegan food a top-quality fuel that is more energy-efficient and less polluting than food from animals, it's also a winning formula that helps keep our bodies away from pit stops (heart disease, cancer, strokes, etc.) and get them all the way to the finish line!
Who runs the world? Vegan girls!
They certainly run the 11-day Marathon des Sables across the Sahara Desert. Forty-two-year-old vegan Briton Fiona Oakes ran 151 miles—more than a marathon every 24 hours—in the world's toughest foot race.
Official U.S. Navy Imagery | cc by 2.0
Oakes joins an elite club of vegan and vegetarian athletes, including nine-time Olympic gold medalist Carl Lewis, Ultraman triathlete Rich Roll, ultramarathoner Scott Jurek, and record-breaking 100-year-old marathon runner Fauja Singh, who know that a great performance starts with healthy food.
Ready to get your own motor running?
Today marks the 42nd anniversary of Earth Day. To celebrate, PETA presents the top 10 surprising ways that helping save the planet saves animals, too:
Most of the puppies that pet stores sell are trucked or flown hundreds of miles from puppy mills, creating a Great Dane–sized carbon pawprint. But animal shelters in every city are full of locally grown companion animals you can tuck into your Smart car before taking the short drive home.
SeaWorld isn't just hard on orcas—it's also hard on the environment. The marine park was in a fine mess after it got hit with a fine for messing up San Diego's Mission Bay after violating effluent limitations numerous times.
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Ecosystems are being decimated by biological supply houses that catch huge numbers of frogs to be dissected. If you're a student or parent, urge your local school district to switch to a virtual dissection program instead.
Ringling logs more than 25,000 miles every year dragging animals across the country chained in boxcars and trucks. Don't give the "cruelest show on Earth" your green until it goes green and retires its animals to sanctuaries.
Primates are torn away from their jungle homes and flown to the U.S. from as far away as China, Cambodia, and Indonesia to be used in experiments. Ask the few airlines that still transport primates to laboratories to stop—for animals and the planet.
We know that only mean people wear fur, and only ungreen people wear the toxic soup of chemicals that it takes to keep the fur from rotting off their backs—chemicals such as ammonia, formaldehyde, hydrogen peroxide, and chromates.
There are so many luscious body-care product lines out now that are made without harsh chemicals and without harsh animal tests that it's easier than ever to be a green goddess. Check out PETA's shopping guide for a list of cruelty-free companies.
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Neither are the other chemicals you'll find en masse at leather tanneries, such as formaldehyde, coal-tar derivatives, and cyanide-based finishes. Wearing dried-up animal skin is all dried up.
Meat production requires so much water that you save more water by not eating one 16-ounce steak than you do by not showering for six months. So by going vegan, you can help save the Earth and keep it a pleasant-smelling place.
Dinner Series|cc by 2.0
Now that you've saved the Earth and animals, relax with a beer. If you recall PETA's notorious "Got Beer?" campaign, you know this beverage choice won't contribute to the massive climate change, exploitation of resources, and water and air pollution that the dairy industry is responsible for.
Spread the green! Share this post on social-networking sites and help other aspiring environmentalists go green for animals' sake.
Courtney Stodden channeled her inner Marilyn Monroe for a recent photo shoot, but the buxom blondes disagree on one thing: Courtney says that veggies are a girl's best friend.
In this video that Courtney and her dog, Bazaar, shot for PETA, the teen newlywed shares how eating cruelty-free has helped her save animals' lives, protect the environment, and get a figure that the shutterbugs can't get enough of:
The model and singer has even been spotted jogging in high heels and a PETA T-shirt, proving that there's no wrong way to show your support for animals.
For meals that folks from 17 to 51 will enjoy, grab a copy of PETA's Vegan College Cookbook.
In case you've ever wondered what meat looks like before it's processed, here are some calf and goat remains spotted outside a restaurant in Queens, New York.
Lost your appetite? Try this instead.
If you have a general question for PETA and would like a response, please e-mail Info@peta.org. If you need to report cruelty to an animal, please click here. If you are reporting an animal in imminent danger and know where to find the animal and if the abuse is taking place right now, please call your local police department. If the police are unresponsive, please call PETA immediately at 757-622-7382 and press 2.
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