The just-released U.S. Department of Agriculture food guide, "MyPlate," turns the old food pyramid on its meaty, fatty head and replaces it with a dish loaded with fruits, veggies, and grains. Meat has been replaced with "protein," which includes beans, nuts, and seeds, and milk has been booted to the side, with soy milk suggested as an option.  

 
"We know that there are significant health benefits from consuming more fruits and vegetables, and that's an opportunity for us to sort of move away from some of the meals that we've been preparing in the past," said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. "It doesn't take a lot [of effort] to [fill] your plate with half fruits and vegetables." And vegetarians enjoy lower risks of cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and obesity than meat-eaters do, according to the American Dietetic Association.

Finally—some government nutrition guidelines that are easy to swallow! Learn more about filling your plate with healthy veggies by ordering a free PETA vegetarian/vegan starter kit.   

 
Written by Michelle Sherrow

Steve-O gave the organizers of an event benefitting the American Diabetes Association a piece of his vegan mind last weekend when he found out that the menu included dead animals. The former Jackass star was slated to compete in a celebrity go-kart tournament, but instead staged his own race out the front door in protest.
 

 
According to the American Dietetic Association, Steve-O is right—there is strong evidence that a vegetarian diet can help prevent and treat diabetes. A study co-authored by Dr. Neal Barnard of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine found that many type 2 diabetics were able to drastically reduce and even eliminate their medications after they switched to a low-fat vegan diet.

If you or someone you know suffers from diabetes, we'd be happy to send you a vegetarian/vegan starter kit to get you or your friend well on the way to wellness.
 

Written by Michelle Sherrow

In honor of National Nurses Week, PETA wants to help the people who take care of others to take care of themselves. Every nurse who takes our Pledge to Be Vegan for 30 Days will receive a free vegetarian/vegan starter kit and be entered to win one of 10 copies of the book 21-Day Weight Loss Kickstart: Boost Metabolism, Lower Cholesterol, and Dramatically Improve Your Health by Dr. Neal D. Barnard, president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. In addition to increasing their chances of losing weight and improving their health, nurses who go vegan will also spare animals from the cruelty of the meat and dairy industries.
 

spike77/cc by 2.0

 
Even if you're not a nurse, you can still pick up a free vegetarian/vegan starter kit to help ensure that you won't need to see the doctor nearly as often as nurses do.

To enter, complete the Pledge to Be Vegan for 30 Days form, and then separately send your name, address, e-mail address, phone number, the name of the doctor's office or hospital where you work, and a line about why you want to pledge to go vegan for 30 days to NursesContest@peta.org. All information submitted will be kept confidential. The contest is open now until 4 p.m. ET on May 12. Only registered nurses living in the U.S. are eligible to win. PETA reserves the right to verify that the entrants are nurses. If information cannot be verified, another winner will be chosen. Winners will be selected at random and notified by mail by May 31.

 
Written by Michelle Sherrow

Hundreds of dogs in China avoided ending up on the dinner table when a suspicious driver blocked a truck that was carrying the dogs to a slaughterhouse last Friday. The driver alerted activists on his blog, and around 200 people swarmed the truck for a 15-hour standoff. As many as 520 dogs were saved and taken to a shelter or an animal hospital.
 

 
As appalling as eating dogs and cats may seem to westerners, other nations are equally disgusted by our consumption of cows and pigs. Studies show that cows have a broad range of emotions and that pigs are as smart as dogs. So why call one animal "family" and another animal "food"? Order a free vegetarian/vegan starter kit today to get started respecting all animals.
 

Written by Michelle Sherrow

 
Today marks the start of World Week for Animals in Laboratories. People frequently ask PETA what they can do to help stop the abuse of animals used in experiments. Of course, we always suggest taking action in our current campaigns against animal testing and only supporting companies that are cruelty-free. But there are many other easy ways to make a difference. Here are five more steps you can take:

1. Go vegan. Not only does eating meat cost billions of animals their lives, it also makes us sick. Experimenters then use these largely preventable diseases, such as obesity and heart disease, as an excuse to conduct cruel and deadly experiments on animals. Companies and the government also fund experiments to find ways to make factory-farmed animals grow larger faster. When you order your free vegetarian/vegan starter kit, you'll learn how to fight cruelty on farms and in laboratories every day.   
2. Quit smoking. It may shock you, but companies like R.J. Reynolds, Lorillard, and Philip Morris continue to force rats to undergo nasty experiments in order to develop new cigarettes. Experimenters at universities also pump cigarette smoke into dogs' lungs and addict pregnant monkeys and their babies to nicotine in order to study smoking-related diseases.
3. Spay, neuter, and adopt. Heartless vivisectors exploit the animal overpopulation crisis by purchasing homeless animals from shelters to torment and kill in their laboratories. Spaying and neutering your animal companions and promoting animal adoptions help to cut off this supply of cheap laboratory "equipment." PETA's recent success in stopping pound seizure in Utah saved countless animals from a painful death in a laboratory.
4. Donate your body to science. You can help animals in laboratories even from beyond the grave. Donate your body to science through a program like the Anatomy Gifts Registry, and it will be used at medical training and research facilities around the world to advance science and replace the use of animals.
5. Only donate to cruelty-free charities. Sadly, some charities—including the March of Dimes and the American Cancer Society—fund  cruel and ineffective experiments that harm animals and divert resources that could be spent on modern and relevant non-animal research.  
     

Please also be sure to share this information with friends and family and encourage them to make the same compassionate decisions.  
 

Written by Jeremy Beckham

We know that there are two certainties in life: death and taxes. What if you could cheat both? In an opinion piece he wrote for The Huffington Post, PETA Vice President Bruce Friedrich proposes that we can do just that by imposing a "sin tax" on meat and dairy products, much like the ones currently levied on products that harm our health and the environment, like cigarettes, alcohol, and gasoline.
 

Cows mired in mud and feces at a Pennsylvania dairy farm investigated by PETA that supplies Land O’Lakes

 
It makes sense, considering that raising animals for food is the number one cause of climate change and that eating meat increases people's chances of heart disease, cancer, strokes, and obesity. Vegetarians and vegans also live an average of six to 10 years longer than meat-eaters do. So not only might you cheat death for nearly a decade by ditching meat, you might also get out of paying taxes on it. Now maybe the only "certainty" is that it's time to order a free vegetarian/vegan starter kit.

Read Bruce's complete column here.
 
 

Written by Michelle Sherrow

PETA's 30th Anniversary Gala is right around the corner, and you can be the first to proudly walk around your office carrying one of our classy commemorative coffee mugs—sure to be an instant collector's item!

How has PETA changed your heart and mind about how animals are treated? Was it a copy of our free vegetarian/vegan starter kit that started you on the road to cruelty-free living? Did you adopt instead of shop? Tell us how PETA has opened your eyes to how our choices affect animals, and the three people who post the most inspirational comments will be drinking their coffee in style.

The contest ends on August 25, 2010, and we'll select the winners on August 27, 2010. Be sure to read our privacy policy and terms and conditions, as you're agreeing to both by commenting. And don't forget to order your gala ticket today—they're going fast!

Written by Jennifer O'Connor

marestra / CC by 2.0

We're relieved that a "chicken" who was shot at by passing motorists outside a Burger Barn in Wichita wasn't seriously injured.

We wish we could say the same for the cows whom the "chicken" was encouraging people to eat. (The "chicken" was actually a man named Robert Hatter, who was holding a sign reading "Eat More Beef!") Destined to be turned into beef patties, cows on factory farms suffer painful dehorning, branding, and castration without being given any painkillers. They feel terror, hunger, and thirst during their treacherous trek to the slaughterhouse, where they are hoisted upside down and slaughtered.

We're hopeful, however, that his harrowing experience will cause Hatter to think twice about promoting violence toward other animals. I can't think of a better way to do that than by ordering a copy of our vegetarian/vegan starter kit.

Written by Karin Bennett