I would think y'all would have liked the idea of a butter statue. That would have been butter no one would be eating. Personally I thought the whole idea was silly.

Posted by: Tom | July 21, 2009 03:39 PM

You're not getting the main issue here, Tom. PETA advocates non-dairy products in order to stop the cruelty to animals that occurs, every day, on dairy farms. It is the same reasoning behind promoting vegetarianism. Don't eat animal products, lower the demand for meat, lower the number of animals slaughtered for said meat. The same logic goes for dairy products, like butter. I applaud PETA for their efforts, in this and in every campaign they promote. Protesting a butter sculpture may seem "silly" to you, but the biggest changes require many tiny steps.

Posted by: Elizabeth | July 21, 2009 06:43 PM

hey tom,

The production of butter in factory farms hurts cows. It doesn't matter if the butter is eaten or made into a statue that I agree is silly.

Posted by: brad | July 21, 2009 09:11 PM

That's not all to this story, though. They are not including the Michael Jackson sculpture, but they are still having butter sculptures! They will have a cow sculpture AND a moon landing sculpture! I like the moon landing, but if it is represented by mistreated cows, then I want no part of it!

Posted by: James | July 21, 2009 10:36 PM

The only things I find funny are:

1. The poll was unscientific, and anyone could vote as many times as they want.

And

2. Most people that I've read this story on is in regard to the fact of Jackson's questionable history, not due to the fact it'd be made of butter.

*****************

The only thing I do wonder though is why people seem to forget Jackson had a zoo in Neverland?

Posted by: Jade | July 21, 2009 10:50 PM

Great Work, Keep going, PETA!

Posted by: Arun | July 22, 2009 01:35 AM

People didnt vote aginst it becuse it was made of butter the voted aginst it becuse it was MJ, who wants kids to look at a statue of a child molester made into butter

Posted by: Sarah | July 22, 2009 09:33 AM

actually what I thought was silly was the idea of the butter sculpture itself

Posted by: Tom | July 22, 2009 11:30 AM

Good job! Butter is so damn unhealthy. For you and the animals it comes from

And Sarah, the word is spelled "because". Learn to spell correctly then maybe people will take your stupid comments to heart.

Posted by: BarbaraWilson | July 22, 2009 03:22 PM

I don't think butter is the reason voters rejected a Michael Jackson butter sculpture. We (I'm an Iowan) rejected Michael because he does not deserve the honor of having an Iowa State Fair butter sculpture made. We are still going to have the butter cow and the butter moon landing. They were just going to put a butter Michael Jackson next to the butter moon landing.

Butter is natural. I would rather put butter in my body than artificial spreads like margarine or other spreads made out of hydrogenated vegetable oil.

Posted by: Benjamin | July 22, 2009 06:30 PM

I come at it from a different tack. I do not find butter to be a "demon" spread. However, I feel bad when these butter sculptures are made, because we are being disrespectful towards our food. When millions of people around the world are starving, I feel it is absolutely depraved to build a statue out of butter, for our amusement, only to be destroyed. Use Play Doh.

Posted by: Dayna | July 23, 2009 01:35 AM

Ohh benjamin,god help you ..how heartless and ignorant can u be? Vegan butter alternatives are much healthier than heart clogging junk!

Posted by: erica | July 23, 2009 02:15 AM

Dayna, they use the butter from last year's butter sculpture to make this year's butter sculpture. It is too old to be good to eat as any spread would be after a year. It is an Iowan icon that has been done since 1911. Obviously all the butter is not that old, but they do recycle butter from year to year.

I think PETA would be more worried about the treatment of show animals, than a sculpture of butter. Although the animals are treated well, their final destination (especially if they win) is on somebody's plate.

And Erica, margarine is full of transfat which is so worse for you than fat from butter.

Posted by: Benjamin | July 23, 2009 09:23 AM

Erica,
Plus butter tastes ten times better than any artifical spread. When it comes to taste, there is no substitute.
You can eat whatever vegan spread you want, it doesn't change the fact real butter is good and fake butter sucks.

Posted by: Kurt K | July 23, 2009 11:55 AM

Ohh benjamin,god help you ..how heartless and ignorant can u be? Vegan butter alternatives are much healthier than heart clogging junk!

>>>>>>>>>>

Um Erica... any type of foods such as butter or margarine/vegan butter alternatives are artery clogging if you eat too much of it.

It's always about moderation - not what it is.

Posted by: Jade | July 23, 2009 03:31 PM

Smart Balance is one of the alternatives and it tastes good, spreads easily, and better for you. Eat what you want, I prefer no meat and lots of fruits and vegetables. My cholesterol is great and so is my blood pressure. I'm 84 and tired of all the hype about MJ. He was a doll when a little guy, but fouled up in his life.

Posted by: Geri | July 24, 2009 03:56 PM

Butter isn't as natural as you think. The cows that it comes from are pumped full of a bunch of chemicals and hormones. Besides, not everything natural is good for you. Poop in natural but you won't see me biting into it.

Posted by: Ann Davis | July 24, 2009 06:06 PM

Sarah,

Michael Jackson is not a child molester.

Benjamin, Michael Jackson does deserve that honour, just not out of something that is harmful to animals.

Geri, he didn't foul up his life, the media did. I cannot imagine growing up the way he did, it couldn't have been easy.

Keep up the great work PETA!

Posted by: Julia | July 24, 2009 08:25 PM

YAY for not using dairy butter!

Posted by: Hannah Beldyga | July 24, 2009 08:48 PM

Ya know, the Ohio State Fair does butter sculptures every year. I'm not a vegan, but I never have understood why it's so great to mould artery-clogging junk into the shapes of farm animals/people.

Posted by: Liz | July 25, 2009 01:59 PM

Oh my god its so laughable - butter is bad and the vegan spread is good for you. Give me a break. You try and convince yourself of that.

Posted by: Sue | July 26, 2009 09:17 PM

and what on earth would they do if the butter melted in really hot sunshine? it is not only a stupid idea,it is completely devoid of common sense. besides i am convinced micheal was a vegetarian. i am a fan of his so i dont the crap about him,but thats another story.butter is unhealthy anyway.its a real shame i dont see a vegan alternative on my supermarket shelves

Posted by: kathryn | July 26, 2009 09:32 PM

Kathryn,

The butter sculptures are in a refrigerated room and all are made out of butter that is no longer fit for consumption.

Ann Davis, we eat poop all the time - any fruits/veggies we eat, especially if organic - have used animal manure. Those nutrients are absorbed into the plant, which then go into the item itself.

Julia, my issue with the MJ tributes is there are too many for a man with a very questionable life. There were two other actors who died that week and while they had problems, overall had a better public opinion than Jackson himself. They hardly got any real mention in the news - doubly compared with Jackson.

Additionally, they were going to add him to the moonwalk sculpture, which is a detriment IMHO to the true heroes of that sculpture - the astronauts who risked their lives to explore the moon.

As for myself, I am not fond of butter - I don't like the taste and prefer to use other toppings on toast. I only use it or margarine for cooking. All three - and yes, even those yogurt blends or smart balance, aren't really beneficial if eaten long-term or really are necessary to begin with long-term.

Posted by: Jade | July 27, 2009 09:57 AM

Everything in proportions is fine.
Jade yes two actors also died that week, but neither got as much press as MJ because most people from every generation knew of him unlike the other two actors. He was after all the "King of Pop" which is quite a title.
Yes MJ had a questionable life but everyone makes mistakes at some point during their life and nobody's perfect.
Julia I completely agree with you.

Posted by: Kirsten | July 27, 2009 02:35 PM

Butter BAD! It does not pass my "Triple S" test. I don't eat or buy anything that contributes to "Slaughter/Stealing/Sexual Abuse". The milk to make butter is stolen from the cows who produce it for their babies, and the babies are stolen from their mothers to be slaughtered as veal, and the mothers and fathers of these babies have been sexually abused by having their reproductive lives artificially manipulated.

Posted by: Tashi | July 29, 2009 12:32 AM