As you may know, we have a little obesity epidemic here in the U.S. There's been some debate over how to handle the problem—parents are getting arrested, schools are issuing fat report cards, billboards are being erected, and even Spider-Man is getting involved.

Now, the Baltimore City Public School System has taken a page from Sir Paul McCartney's playbook in its efforts to fight childhood obesity: "Meatless Mondays." Instead of serving greasy, fat-laden hamburgers and "chicken fingers," school cafeterias in Baltimore will be dishing up fresh, organically grown fruits and veggies and eliminating meat completely every Monday.

blog.peacefulplaygrounds / CC

For its dedication to providing healthy meals for students, PETA is awarding the school system our Proggy Award. Congratulations, Baltimore public schools!

Meatless Mondays not only provide healthier meals for students but also help protect the environment and save animals' lives. PETA's humane-education division, TeachKind, will be working to implement this program in schools across the country—but remember, you don't have to be in school to incorporate Meatless Mondays into your own life.

Posted by Liz Graffeo

boeing / CC

If you have a flight scheduled into or out of Seattle-Tacoma airport, congratulations. You'll be in the good hands of the most progressive airport in the nation.

When thinking airplane safety, most airports don't do a whole lot to take into consideration all the birds who are forced to share their airspace with us—which results in 7,000 to 8,000 bird strikes (i.e., dead birds) reported to the Federal Aviation Administration every year. Seattle-Tacoma airport is doing its part to reduce those numbers. And, no, this isn't because of that famous splash-down on the Hudson.

Seattle-Tacoma uses several techniques in its fight to keep birds (and humans) safe. A staff wildlife biologist, who has been there for 30 years, uses radar to detect birds who may intercept flights. Once birds are detected, the airport uses lasers to try to scare them away, and if the lasers don't work, it uses "thunderclap" fireworks. With an animal-friendly lightshow like that, it's no wonder that we're awarding Sea-Tac our Most Progressive Airport Proggy.

This has me thinking about other ways that airports can save animals. Don't you think that they should take PETA up on some of our ideas?

Posted by Shawna Flavell

Back in December, we announced the winners of our annual "Proggy" awards, which recognize animal-friendly people, companies, and products. One of those companies is CeeTox, a Michigan firm that develops humane alternatives to cruel and archaic animal tests. Well, the good folks at the Kalamazoo Gazette just did a nice story about CeeTox and the award. Check it out here.

What CeeTox does is so great because many chemical-testing methods still involve pumping substances into animals' stomachs and lungs and dripping chemicals into animals' eyes or onto their raw, shaved skin. CeeTox, by contrast, uses in-vitro (test tube) toxicity screening to test drugs, chemicals, cosmetics, and consumer products. This enables research and development organizations to assess the toxicity of chemicals using pioneering and humane cell-based technology.

Besides being kind to animals, these modern, non-animal tests are cheaper, faster, and more accurate. What's not to like? Well, unfortunately, the wheels of progress grind slowly at the EPA, which lags far behind European authorities in validating modern test methods. But thanks to the work of CeeTox and other companies like it, it's becoming obvious that animal testing is long overdue for the old heave-ho.

Posted by Alisa Mullins