Want some stomach cramps, fever, and vomiting with that Frog-O-Sphere?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported this Monday that a national salmonella outbreak has afflicted at least 48 people in 25 states—many of whom say they've been in contact with frogs like the ones Brookstone imprisons in its filthy Frog-O-Spheres. Huh, that's strange … the illnesses began in June, the same month Brookstone started selling Frog-O-Spheres, and officials warn that African dwarf frogs are among the believed causes of these infections. Brookstone markets the Frog-O-Spheres as an educational product for kids. Seventy-seven percent of the people infected with this salmonella strain are children under 10, so I'd have to say that it's evident that Brookstone doesn't care about animals or people.

Our recent undercover investigation inside Brookstone's Frog-O-Sphere supplier revealed thousands of frogs trapped in unfiltered water ridden with excrement and molted skin. And many of the plastic tubs that housed frogs shipped to customers contained the bloated, fungus-covered remains of decomposing frogs. That seems like a breeding ground for infectious bacteria to me. Now, I'm not a biologist, but Clifford Warwick—one of the experts who viewed footage of our Wild Creations investigation—is, and here's what he had to say about the bacterial potential of Frog-O-Spheres:

[P]otential pathogens are so frequently carried and shed by frogs that it should be presumed that all frogs and every drop of water in the cube, as well as the cube itself, may potentially be harbouring microbes that may cause disease in many animals and humans.

Want to help prevent the spread of potentially lethal diseases? Take a minute to urge Brookstone to stop selling Frog-O-Spheres immediately.

Posted by Logan Scherer

Cruelty is sickening—in any language.

Two PETA Europe members who recently fell victim to swine flu set out to show the people of Brussels that no one is immune to the diseases that are bred on factory farms—not even those who wouldn't dream of eating animal flesh.

These two lovely (and now recovered) ladies crammed themselves into tiny "gestation crates" to illustrate the fact that the cramped, filthy conditions on factory farms are breeding grounds for swine flu and other deadly viruses and bacteria.

What's the best way to shut down disease-incubating factory farms? Stop supporting them: Go vegetarian.

Posted by Heather Drennan

As if we didn't have enough to worry about during the holiday travel season, now there's a new road hazard: deadly bacteria. And it comes to you courtesy of your pals in the chicken industry.

In case you don't happen to be a regular reader of the Journal of Infection and Public Health, a recent study found that driving behind trucks taking chickens to slaughter could expose the car's occupants to the aforementioned deadly bacteria. And not just any bacteria. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

You see, chickens (like other animals raised and killed for food) spend their short lives living in filth. By which I mean they stand around in sh—um, sheds. Filled with their own feces. This makes a perfect breeding ground for bacteria. And to keep the chickens from dying horribly from infections before they can be killed horribly at the slaughterhouse, the poor birds are pumped full of antibiotics, giving rise to—you guessed it!—bacteria that can't be killed by antibiotics.

OK, so the poor chickens are crammed into open crates that are loaded onto a flatbed truck. The wind blows over them (half-freezing them in winter) and also carrying the germ-laden feces into the air. And if you're traveling behind the truck … well, you do the math.

Now, of course, the best way to prevent this health hazard would be to stop using chickens for food—something you can help along by going vegetarian. But, so long as people continue to eat birds, we think they should be aware of the risks. Since the study was done in the Delaware-Maryland-Virginia region, we're urging officials in those states to post signs on roads and trucks to warn motorists of the dangers.

Still, even if you live in the balmier parts of the world, you might want to drive with your windows up and no outside air flow until all this, uh … blows over.

Posted by Jeff Mackey

Whoever said having just one hamburger can't kill you obviously never considered the danger of microscopic spores—you know, those barely visible foreign pollutants that are all over animal products, even when cooked.

The latest attack of the killer meat has already killed at least six people in Ontario and has been blamed for two more illnesses. The culprit? Listeria bacteria, which apparently originated in meat products from a plant in Toronto … which just happens to be Canada's largest meatpacker.

With the total number of known cases at 29—for now—and investigators looking into another nine deaths possibly caused by contraction of listeriosis, it's understandable that eating meat is scary business. But recalling more than 220 meat products will not protect meat-eaters from contracting illnesses related to animal products.

That's where we come in. Intending to roll out our brand-new "Eat Meat and Die" ad in Toronto, we want Canadians to know that you can go veg and live! The choice is simple—really. It's senseless to put your body at risk over a hamburger or a bite of chicken thigh when you can have a veggie burger or a vegetarian "chicken" sandwich (sold in most KFCs in Canada) and avoid spending the night in the bathroom with stomach cramps—or worse, death. Check out our killer ad:

Repeat after me: Listeria, E. coli, campylobacter … if you can't pronounce it, it's probably not good for you. If you have meat in your fridge, the safest way to avoid contamination is to throw the whole fridge away with the meat still in it. We deserve a Nobel Prize or something. Really.

Posted by Jennifer Cierlitsky