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As if we needed another reason to adore Ellen DeGeneres, the delightfully ubiquitous comic loves her vegan lifestyle and wants everyone to know it. She's dedicated a page of her Web site to promoting her cruelty-free existence. On this new Web page, she writes the following:

I personally chose to go vegan because I educated myself on factory farming and cruelty to animals, and I suddenly realized that what was on my plate were living things, with feelings. And I just couldn't disconnect myself from it any longer. I read books like Diet for a New America and saw documentaries like Earthlings and Meet Your Meat, and it became an easy choice for me.

If you choose to educate yourself, it'll be an easy choice for you, too. Click here to take a look at a variety of reasons for living a vegan life.

This has me wondering if we can petition to change the American Idol rules: Can Ellen, who is next season's new judge, be crowned American Idol? After all, her powers of persuasion are undeniably charming, and I can't think of anyone better to convince people to make the compassionate, healthy, and environmentally conscious decision to go vegan.

Posted by Logan Scherer

Ladies and gentlemen, it's show time. We have a new video to add to our list of hard hitters—our "To Animals, It's Not Entertainment" video, which takes you behind the razzle-dazzle of the entertainment industry to let you witness the routine abuses that animals suffer in circuses and on film sets—abuses such as frequent beatings and solitary confinement in cages that are too small to allow the prisoners to turn around or take a single step in any direction.

After you've checked that out, take a minute to tune in to "Meet Your Meat" and learn about the mechanized madness that animals endure before they are killed and ground up for hamburgers, hot dogs, and chicken nuggets; "Testing … One, Two, Three," which shows the ways that cruel and dangerous animal experiments hurt animals and people; and "Whose Skin Are You In?" which exposes the cruelty involved in the leather, wool, fur, and exotic-skins industries.

These videos pack punches. After you've watched them all, leave a comment letting us know which one inspired you to take action.

Posted by Karin Bennett