JFL / CC

In an essay posted on HuffingtonPost.com, Natalie Portman explains that after reading an advance copy of Jonathan Safran Foer's new book, Eating Animals, she went "from a twenty-year vegetarian to a vegan activist." Whoa, props to you, Jonathan (and to Portman, too, of course).

What exactly caused Portman to go from not eating animals to not eating anything stolen from them (e.g., eggs and milk), either? Ironically, it was the cost to humans of exploiting animals. In Foer's book, he talks at length about the environmental devastation wreaked by factory farming as well as the deadly bacteria and other diseases that fester in the filthy conditions on factory farms. Portman was so fired up about these issues that she used the "S" word—twice. "Factory farming of animals," she says, "will be one of the things we look back on as a relic of a less-evolved age."

Coincidentally, an essay by Foer himself (the first in a two-part series) was posted today on CNN.com. In it, he talks about the link between the surge in antibiotic-resistant bacteria and—surprise!—the nontherapeutic use of antibiotics on factory farms. Did you know that eight times as many antibiotics are fed to factory-farmed animals as are taken by humans? Yeah, me neither.

Both pieces are great reading—and they're apparently getting people thinking: Natalie Portman's essay has already generated more than 1,000 comments. You can read Portman's essay here and Foer's essay here. Eating Animals hits bookstores next week.

Posted by Alisa Mullins

Through the Freedom of Information Act, the Physician's Committeee for Responsible Medicine (PRCM) has obtained video footage of several Department of Defense military trauma training exercises.

In training exercises that are supposed to simulate the effects of a nerve agent attack, monkeys experience seizures and difficulty breathing. In another exercise, live goats are cut open—causing severe bleeding—while the instructor repeatedly acknowledges the differences between the training and human casualties. All this suffering is inflicted in order to train military medics—who would learn more if they were provided with state-of-the-art simulators and rotations in trauma hospitals.

We have been working hard to eliminate these cruel exercises in the U.S. and in countries around the globe. After PETA campaigned against cruel dog stabbings, Bolivia banned all animal use from military training. Now, Georgia Congressmember Hank Johnson, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, is calling on the Army to phase out antiquated trauma training on animals.

Urge your congressperson to co-sign Congressmember Hank Johnson's letter and help put an end to the military's war on animals.

Posted by Karin Bennett

Sometimes it seems like PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk doesn't sleep a wink. While on tour promoting her new book, she took time out to appear on CNN and denounce Puerto Rico's plans to erect a breeding facility for monkeys. Sometime during all that, she managed to pen an article about how easy it is to be kind to animals. It was posted yesterday on The Huffington Post.

Check out this snippet of Ingrid's article, and then head over to The Huffington Post, read the rest, and leave Ingrid a comment:

This week, Sir Paul McCartney and his daughter Stella introduced the concept of "Meat-Free Mondays," coincidentally the same name as that of a program that PETA Europe is also working on in British schools. As a vegan who was once busily eating her way through the animal kingdom, from mussels to calf's brains on toast, it's a message that I wish I'd heard far earlier, just as I wish that when I wore my first fur coat, there had been an animal rights activist there to hand me a card saying, "Your coat was stolen from its original owners." Thirty years ago, a good animal rights "nag" was hard to find.

Read the rest of the article here.

Posted by Shawna Flavell

Did you catch PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk on CNN Headline News last night? She was on Issues With Jane Velez-Mitchell to speak out against plans to build a monkey-breeding facility in Puerto Rico.

Reports that this breeding farm would be stocked with monkeys snatched from their native homes in Mauritius are nightmarish enough, but the babies would then be sold for laboratory experiments. You know, like at Columbia University and Covance? Yikes!

Props to Jane Velez-Mitchell for recognizing that this story is newsworthy and for treating it—and folks concerned about animal rights—with respect. If you missed it, you should definitely check it out. Then head over here and tell Puerto Rico to cut out the monkey biz.

Posted by Jeff Mackey

secretscanbemurder / CC

Remember when Oprah did that show exposing puppy mills? Everybody was talking about it! We love when the truth about animal cruelty gets out to the public, and now Jane Velez-Mitchell is stepping up to educate her viewers on New Year's Day. If you've watched her show, Issues With Jane Velez-Mitchell, on CNN Headline News, you know that she definitely has her facts straight about animal rights. Jane is a vegan environmentalist (can you be one without the other?), and she's not afraid to voice it.

Her show on January 1 will cover puppy mills, animal birth control, shelter adoption, Prop 2, and a ton of other important animal protection issues. That's right, a whole show devoted to animals! You know what that means: Cancel your plans (or set your DVR), grab some friends, and watch!

The show will air on Thursday, January 1, at 7 p.m. EST on CNN Headline News.

So, how can we get more shows like this on the air? Well, we can start by letting CNN know we want them! It's super easy to write to CNN and tell its representatives what you thought about this show. Also tell them that you would love for more people to follow in Jane's footsteps and stand up for animals.

Posted by Lianne Turner