If you find yourself in fabulous Las Vegas this weekend and want to win big, be sure to roll by table number 459 at the Sands Expo Center.

There you'll find PETA Prime at the "Vegas@50+" conference, organized by American Association of Retired Persons (AARP). Our booth features the many reasons to be "Veg@50+," including the following:

• We'll have three $50 Whole Foods gift certificates that we'll give away to eligible participants in our "Pledge to Be Veg" contest.
• We'll be snapping photos of visitors with our gorgeous Lettuce Ladies and Chris P. Carrot to post on PETA Prime.
• Free goodies! We'll have Primal Vegan Jerky, PETA pens, and comic books for kids.
• Oh, and PETA Prime blogger Lisa Towell, the picture of vegan vitality, will be there to discuss how her cruelty-free lifestyle keeps her fit, healthy, and happy.

Whether you're a baby boomer or part of Generation Y, the odds for healthier living are in your favor when you go vegan. It's a winning gamble!

Posted by Karin Bennett

Sound the alarm! Yet another emergency services department in California is facing a financial crisis. This time it's the police department in Vallejo. PETA has offered to help by paying the department to run our pro-vegan ad on Vallejo's police cruisers.

Police departments across the country say that their goal is "to serve and protect." If Vallejo police chief Robert Nichelini allows PETA to serve our message to his community, no doubt many residents will make changes to better protect animals, the environment, and their own health.

Posted by Karin Bennett

We're all for reaching for the lettuce, but hands off this salad, bucko!

Posted by Shawna Flavell

Pop quiz—Tokyo's bustling Shibuya Crossing is famous for:

1. The statue of Hachikō, a dog who used to wait at Shibuya Station every day for his guardian to return from work.
2. Its appearance in scenes from the Bill Murray/Scarlett Johansson movie Lost in Translation.
3. Being the home of one of the busiest Starbucks coffeehouses in the world.
4. Being the site of a recent PETA Asia-Pacific Lettuce Ladies demonstration.
5. All of the above.

All of you who answered "e" would get a big, sloppy wet kiss from Hachikō if he were still with us, but since he isn't, you'll have to content yourselves with a pretty picture of the Lettuce Ladies in action:

Posted by Alisa Mullins

It's National Veggie Dog Day! This means that vegetarians across our great nation are pulling out the charcoal and gathering their friends for a summer feast that they won't soon forget. In honor of this year's "holiday," we assembled several of our nation's finest ladies, including Playboy Playmate of the Year—and stunning vegetarian—Jayde Nicole, on Capitol Hill.

Wearing only a lettuce bikini and her 1,000-watt smile, Jayde helped us get our healthy, humane, and tasty veggie dogs to our nation's finest congressmembers. While serving up the "dogs" to politicians and passersby, Jayde reminded each person that "the best way to safeguard your health, reduce your carbon footprint, save animals' lives, and look your very best is to go vegetarian."

For those of you who can't get enough of Jayde, there are more photos of her after the jump.

Posted by Christine Doré

If you're trying to reduce your carbon footprint, changing your light bulbs is a good start—but PETA's Lettuce Ladies are on a mission to let people know that there's a better (and more delicious) way to go green. Our environmental crusaders' first stop was the Consumers Energy building in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where they gave passersby free veggie burgers and—for some instant gratification to show the environmental impact of adopting a vegetarian diet—coupons for $10 off their energy bills.

Eat to save the planet? Sign me up!

A local man declared, "Wow! This is way better than McDonald's."

Grand Rapids couldn't resist our environmentally friendly veggie burgers.

Be on the lookout for PETA's Lettuce Ladies in your town!

According to Environmental Defense, if every American replaced meat with vegetarian foods just once per week, the carbon dioxide savings would be equivalent to taking more than half a million cars off U.S. roads. So, how about cooking up a vegetarian meal for dinner tonight?

Posted by Liz Graffeo

Yesterday, crowds descended on Los Angeles' Staples Center to pay respects to the "King of Pop," but it was "Her Royal Hotness," PETA's Lettuce Lady, who stole the show outside Michael Jackson's memorial. Wearing only her signature lettuce bikini and a single, white sequined glove, Christina Cho held a mirror reading, "Go Vegetarian for the Man in the Mirror."

A line of reporters from local television stations and newswires, including Associated Press and Reuters, waited to talk to PETA's Lettuce Lady.

Her message was inspired by Michael Jackson's hit, "The Man in the Mirror," which pondered the impact of personal change:

I'm gonna make a change,
For once in my life,
It's gonna feel real good,
Gonna make a difference,
Gonna make it right . . .

What's the easy answer for those who want to make a difference in their health, animal suffering, the environment, and starving children like those featured in the song's video? Go vegetarian!

Our message was simple: Take a moment to reflect, and then "make that change."

Posted by Karin Bennett

San Francisco's gay pride parade—touted as the world's largest—got a healthy infusion of vegetarian pride on Sunday. Working with local group Bay Area Vegetarians, PETA showed up in full force—accompanied by more than 100 men and women who were eager to educate the public about the benefits of a vegetarian diet.

© Steve Sprang
Our float's Lettuce Ladies, Broccoli Boys, costumed animals, and sexy "strippers" caught everyone's eye.

© Steve Sprang
Chris P. Carrot made a star appearance and rallied San Franciscans to ditch meat.

© Steve Sprang
We can't argue with that.

© Steve Sprang
What's sexier than one vegetarian girl? Two!

Obviously, everyone who participated in the parade had tons of fun—but the icing on the (vegan) cake is that more than 500,000 people attended the event and learned that by cutting meat out of their diets, they could be healthier, reduce their carbon footprint, and save over 100 animals' lives per year.

Check out even more pictures of the parade here.

Posted by Liz Graffeo

PETA's bikinied beauties are on a mission to help residents of the fattest cities in America shed some weight. First stop: San Jose.

What better way to encourage locals to adopt a vegetarian diet than to give them a sampling of delicious, nutritious vegetarian cuisine? Though our beauties may be decked out in nothing but lettuce leaves, vegetarian means more than just salad. So, behold! The veggie hot dog:

Phew, talk about putting the "hot" in hot dog.

One veggie-dog virgin was so impressed with the taste that he double-checked with our Lettuce Ladies to make sure that his meal was meat-free.

Whether they were served up plain or with all the fixin's, our veggie hot dogs proved irresistible to passersby. San Jose locals scarfed down more than 400 of them!

Meat consumption has been directly linked to obesity, but adult vegans are, on average, 10 to 20 pounds lighter than adult meat-eaters. If that isn't enough to make even the most die-hard carnivore go vegetarian, maybe knowing that ditching meat will also help fight heart disease, diabetes, arthritis, and certain types of cancer will.

Posted by Liz Graffeo

This week, we approached the city of Ashland, Ohio, with a little business proposition after we learned of the city's efforts to find a more cost-effective way to run its curbside recycling program.

We sent the director of city services a letter offering to offset the program's costs by paying to place our Lettuce Ladies' "Vegetarians Do It to Save the Planet" ad on the city's recycling trucks:

With all the bottle-sorting going on in Ashland, its citizens might be interested to learn that they can cause far more damage to the Earth with the foods they eat than they can by chucking some bottles onto a garbage heap. In fact, the production of 1 pound of meat generates the same amount of greenhouse-gas emissions as does driving an SUV 40 miles. Of course, we're not suggesting that anyone stop sorting those bottles, but why not also try a meat-free diet that won't hurt animals or the environment?

Posted by Jennifer Cierlitsky

This past weekend, the Southern California desert town of Indio was steamier than usual. PETA's lettuce ladies made a special appearance at the three-day Coachella Music Festival—where our beloved Morrissey was performing—and wooed broiling-hot fans to the joy of soy by giving away free Tofutti Cuties. The ladies report that the icy-cold, nondairy treats were a smash hit and even turned skeptics into fans.

And what about Morrissey, you ask? Well, he proved once again that he will never let animals down. In front of a crowd of thousands, Mr. M. halted his own performance to let the meat vendors inside the venue know their presence was not welcome, shouting: "I smell burning flesh, and I hope to God it's human. This smell of burning animals is making me sick."

Check out some photos of our ladies at the festival:

They couldn't even make it through festival gates before being stopped.

Everyone wanted pictures with the Lettuce Ladies.

Our ladies were working hard to the very end.

Hmm, anyone else think a Morrissey and Lettuce Ladies world tour is in order?

Posted by Jennifer Cierlitsky

Today, amid a flurry of tourists and cameras, PETA unveiled our new "Let Vegetarianism Grow on You" ad in Times Square. In the ad, the always witty Cloris Leachman wears a dress of red cabbage and leaf lettuce. The release follows last week's publication of the results of the biggest medical study ever to conclude that avoiding meat gives people a better chance of living longer. Who better to illustrate the point than Cloris, a vibrant 82-year-old vegetarian?

As if her performance on Dancing With the Stars wasn't proof enough that vegetarians age gracefully

For those of you who were unable to make the trip to the unveiling, no worries. We've got exclusive photos of the event as well as video of Cloris for ya.

Thanks Cloris—you're now in our Lettuce Ladies Hall of Fame!

Posted by Shawna Flavell

PETA's Lettuce Ladies are on the road again! And this time they're kicking America's poor eating habits to the compost heap.

The lettuce-clad ladies are hittin' the streets to greet folks with delicious and free Tofurky sandwiches. Their goal: to get people to turn over a new leaf and go vegetarian for the new year. Check out these photos from the road:

Lettuce Lady and satisfied Tofurky customer in Iowa

Lettuce Ladies adored by the masses in Nebraska

The Lettuce Ladies don't have to be the only sexy veggies roaming the streets. If you make PETA's 30-Day "Pledge to Be Veg" before the end of the month, we will donate money to a program that plants fruit trees! Now, you can help yourself, the environment, animals, and the hungry just by making one simple change to your diet. That's a pretty sweet deal.

Posted by Jennifer Cierlitsky

Those zany kids at PETA Asia-Pacific are never content to rest on their … um, laurels—and thank goodness for that! Not satisfied to raise awareness about animals in China, Australia, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Taiwan, and the Philippines (among other countries), they're now moving into new territory: Mongolia.

In a new pro-vegetarian ad proclaiming, "Turn Over a New Leaf, Try Vegetarianism," Mongolian singer-songwriter Nominjin wears a spectacular full-length gown made of fresh lettuce leaves. This will be the first PETA Asia-Pacific ad to appear in Mongolia.

"Kicking the meat habit is one of the most rewarding actions I've ever taken in my life," Nominjin said. "The best thing that anyone can do for animals, the Earth, and their own health is to go vegetarian."

You can't just grab a lettuce-leaf dress at the nearest department store, of course. It involves a trip to the market—and then a whole lot of work to assemble, as you can see in these pictures from the shoot:

BTW, that's PETA Asia-Pacific Director Jason Baker stringing together the peppers—proving that there's nothing he won't do to help animals!

Posted by: Jeff Mackey

Not to be outdone by PETA India, the folks over at PETA Asia-Pacific have certainly been busy lately—in the last week, they've had three tremendously successful demos!

First up, we have three activists in Seoul, Korea, who lay outside a fur store in "bloody" fur coats, caught in a steel-jaw trap. Calling attention to the cruel methods used to trap wild animals for fur, their message read: "Animals Suffer in Traps. This Is Fur."

A few days later in China, two of PETA Asia-Pacific's sexy Lettuce Ladies asked passersby in Guangzhou to "Turn Over a New Leaf—Go Vegetarian." As you can see from the pics below, they got a lot of attention! Not bad for the first PETA Asia-Pacific demo in China in five years, don't you think?

Most recently, Santa spread the joy of soy in Manila and Hong Kong, courtesy of PETA Asia-Pacific. In light of the much-reported melamine-tainted–milk scandal, which has killed at least four babies and sickened 53,000 others, jolly old Saint Nick is working with PETA Asia-Pacific to inform milk-drinkers that cow's milk is also loaded with cholesterol, fat, and other contaminants, including cow's blood and pus, pesticides, hormones, and antibiotics. Over time, these can be just as dangerous as melamine.

Kudos to our friends at PETA Asia-Pacific for the string of amazing demos. We can't wait to see what they'll do next!

Posted by Amanda Schinke

You know that we at PETA love to help out whenever we can, so when we heard about the extreme gas shortage plaguing the Southern states, we deployed our elite gasoline response team: the fabulous Lettuce Ladies. We've had these eye-catching demos before with great response (and even a hugely successful gas giveaway contest), but now, with so many gas stations running out of gas, the ladies are needed more than ever!

The Ladies have been touring the country wearing their signature lettuce-leaf bikinis. They've been giving away Tofurkey brand vegan sandwiches and free gasoline to anyone who would give it a try—all to call attention to the fact that factory farming causes more greenhouse-gas emissions than all the cars, trucks, trains, and planes combined. In fact, eating a single pound of meat is the environmental equivalent of driving 40 miles in an SUV!

So while drivers in Atlanta waited in those long lines to fill up their tanks, our Lettuce Ladies gave them vegan sandwiches to fill up on, too—and hey, who can argue with free sandwiches, right?

Posted by Amanda Schinke

To help create buzz about the connection between meat consumption and high gas prices, PETA's sexy Lettuce Ladies are back on the road again giving away free gas (and vegan sandwiches) to people at gas stations around the country. In support of their efforts, The PETA Files is giving away BP gas cards to two loyal readers. (See the form below. That's where you enter.)

What does gas for your car have to do with veggies for your stomach? Did ya know that eating just a single pound of meat is the environmental equivalent of driving more than 40 miles in an SUV? That's one big carbon footprint, my friends!

This contest has ended

Posted by Carrie Ann Harris

After hearing stories from around the country about firefighters and police officers who are so overweight that they are having difficulty fulfilling their job responsibilities, PETA's concerned Lettuce Ladies decided to take action. The Lettuce Ladies paid a visit to the country's largest all-volunteer fire department on Friday—armed with delicious Tofurky® sandwiches and emergency copies of our "Vegetarian Starter Kit" to hand out.

Yowza! If this doesn't make you crave a salad, nothing will!

The très sexy Lettuce Ladies let the fine gentlemen of the Ossining, New York, Fire Department know that a vegetarian diet is the best way to stay healthy and fit so that they can save more than just the lives of animals! As you can see, the guys loved having the ladies there … and they loved the sandwiches too!

Posted by Carrie Ann Harris

So, Megan Webb has been crowned the 2008 West Virginia Beef Queen by the West Virginia Cattlemen's Association, and PETA has sent her a letter making it very clear that we've got "beef" with the Mistress of Meat.

We have invited the Beef Queen (I just can't get enough of that title!) to take a page out of our "Vegetarian Starter Kit"—and make the switch to a healthy, humane diet rather than promote cruelty to animals, environmental destruction, and life-threatening diseases—or take on one of our Lettuce Ladies in a tofu-wrestling match.

This earlier bout between a PETA member and a Playboy model will give you an idea of how the beef vs. lettuce throwdown might go:

And the prizes for the wrestling match aren't too shabby either. We've found a reformed rancher who is offering to donate $5,000 to a mutually acceptable charity of the winner's choosing. We've also agreed to let the winner design a meal for the loser. (Yes, we're that confident our Lettuce Lady will win.) And perhaps best of all, the winner will get bragging rights.

Check out the full letter here.

Quick—what reason do people usually give for continuing to eat meat even after you've told them about all the awesome health, environmental, and animal welfare benefits of going vegetarian? If you said taste (as in, people don't want to give up meat because they like the taste), you win $1 million! Not really (sorry!), but it does mean that you've been doing a great job trying to get your friends and family members to take the cool vegetarian plunge—go, you!

Now, people who've explored veggie cuisine know that you don't have to give up anything in the way of taste or texture to go vegetarian, but guess what massive corporation is going to help spread that message to new audiences? If you said most KFCs in Canada, you don't win $1 million, but you are right (go, you, again!).

Most KFCs in Canada have just added a vegetarian chicken sandwich to the menu, and by all reports, the faux chicken is crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside, and delectably flavorful inside and out. YUM! (YUM! is actually the name of the company that owns KFC in the U.S., but they aren't serving it, dammit).

The company that coordinates the purchase of all chickens for Canadian KFCs has also entered into an agreement with PETA, which includes landmark animal welfare reforms that will substantially improve the lives and deaths of chickens killed for Canadian KFCs. And we at PETA have been so happy about this that we sent our Lettuce Ladies on a Canadian tour to pass out KFC's faux-chicken sandwiches to anyone eager for a taste. How's that for winningly fabulous, eh?

Here are some photographs from Montréal!

Posted by Grace Friedan

Like you, dear reader, PETA is concerned about the sad state of affairs in Washington. Never content to just sit around, though, we're doing our part to get the pork out of politics. And although congressional staffers are used to hearing from folks who have a beef, we arrived without any at all! OK, I'll stop with the puns ...

As those of you who frequent The PETA Files surely remember, every year, PETA heads to Capitol Hill to celebrate National Veggie Dog Day by giving away those meatless treats—along with copies of our "Vegetarian Starter Kit." And if that's not enough to get the attention of those who stalk the corridors of power, there was Playboy Playmate—and PETA member—Lauren Anderson in a lettuce-leaf bikini.

As one might expect, this attracted some attention. Not only did the line stretch around the block, the media showed up in full force as well. (In case anyone wonders why we use tactics like lettuce-leaf bikinis, that's why.)

It wasn't all just food and frivolity, though. We used the occasion to make these Beltway insiders aware of the connection between meat-eating and global warming. As Ms. Anderson put it, "If people thought about the environmental destruction, cruelty to animals, and unsavory-sounding body parts that go into meat hot dogs, they'd be switching to veggie hot dogs faster than you can say 'inconvenient truth.'" Amen! And pass the mustard.

And, yes, we have pictures:

Photo Credit: Stephanie Borrell

Photo Credit: Stephanie Borrell

Posted by Jeff Mackey

Any good Marketing professional knows their “ABCs of Marketing”* — Ability to persuade, Businesslike demeanor, and of course, Coercion through bribery. Well, yesterday, in Lynchburg, Virginia, and Beckley, West Virginia, PETA’s Lettuce Ladies rocked all three of these important guidelines as they gave away free gas and vegan sandwiches to 100 people in exchange for a brief chat about the benefits of a vegan diet.

According to the Ladies, there were huge crowds gathered to take advantage of the freebies and find out what all the fuss was about after a news report announcing this unique demonstration, and they gave away hundreds of vegetarian starter kits to a very receptive audience, who were stunned to learn that eating just a single pound of meat is the environmental equivalent of driving more than 40 miles in an SUV. Here’s what my friend and professional Lettuce Lady Colleen Higgins had to say about the experience: "In a time of rising gas prices and rising concern for the environment, we're going the extra mile to help Americans fill up on vegan fuel for their tummies and gas for their tanks." Good stuff.

*I just made these up.

Dogville, a local hot dog vendor, started selling veggie sausages last week. Of course, they've already been a big hit at the office, but from the looks of this video from HamptonRoads.tv it's not just PETA employees who are digging on the new offerings!

Check out the video which features two of my favorite things: PETA’s sexy Lettuce Ladies and large amounts of veggie kielbasa.

For those of you who live in Norfolk, the Dogville cart is located downtown on Granby St, in front of the World Trade Center. They stock all three of the Tofurky sausages—beer brats, kielbasa, and Italian sausage—and both their chili and all of the dogs are available for delivery.

For those of you who don’t live in Norfolk, apply already!