We were flooded with phone calls and e-mails from ticked-off folks after Land and Sea, a TV show on Canada's CBC network, aired an episode about the annual Canadian seal massacre. But it wasn't for the reasons that you might think. People were outraged because the episode featured the manager of a Newfoundland gift shop recalling that Kevin Spacey bought a pair of slippers made of sealskin while filming a movie in the area.

fameball / CC

Kevin Spacey in sealskin?! We've always known Spacey to be a kind person, so we asked him to set the record straight about this rumor. Spacey's rep assured us that the Oscar-winning American Beauty star did not purchase sealskin slippers (or anything else) from that gift shop. So file this one under "false rumor" (or "rumour," for our Canuck compatriots).

If you're fed up with the cruelty of the Canadian seal slaughter—and the lies of its apologists—then please take a minute to add your voice to those calling for an end to the massacre. Then spread the word to persuade other folks to do the same.

Posted by Jeff Mackey

The folks at totalbeauty.com have released their roundup of "Eight Cities With the Ugliest Guys." Hagerstown, Maryland, "scored" second place on the list, which cited lackluster libidos, flabulousness, and puny IQs, among other factors.

Axe, schmaxe. PETA's got the cure for homely Hagerstown residents:

Men who go vegan gain instant sex appeal. How so?

1. Veggie Viagra ring any bells?
2. Their extra cushioning melts away—vegans weigh 10 to 20 pounds less, on average, than their meat- and cheese-munching counterparts.
3. They're smart to avoid heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and other ailments that have been linked to meat consumption.
4. They radiate compassion because they no longer eat the flesh of abused animals.

To the men of Hagerstown: Take the "Pledge to Be Veg." You'll be saying, "Bye bye, Haggardtown" and "Hello, Handsomeland!" before you know it.

Posted by Karin Bennett

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While health care and the economy may have been the big issues on the table this election season, a survey by Public Policy Polling found that a hefty 11 percent of Jersey voters said that Christie's bulging waistline was a legitimate election issue, and 19 percent said it made them less likely to vote for him. Maybe Garden State residents are just proud to have the 10th lowest obesity rate in the U.S. and didn't want Christie weighing them down—but I'd say Christie should address this issue pronto.

Despite the obvious fat-bias, Christie came out on top and won the election, and we say, "Well, Chris—you've won, and now it's time to lose." We suggest that Christie enlist some help from carrot-crunching vegetarian Newark mayor Cory Booker—and adopt a vegan diet. Studies show that vegans are, on average, 10 to 20 pounds lighter than meat-eaters and that a vegetarian diet reduces the risk of heart disease by 50 percent—so it's obvious that going vegan would be the best way for Christie to shed pounds and maintain a healthy weight.

So, what do you think? With 23 percent of adults and 31 percent of children in New Jersey obese, should the governor-elect slim down and set an example of healthy living?

Posted by Liz Graffeo

It's not like I don't already watch Bones religiously, but I'm definitely tuning in for this week's episode, in which our intrepid heroes, Brennan and Booth, try to get to the bottom of the murder of a chicken factory farmer. The main suspects are the farmer's neighbors—who are no doubt not terribly keen about living next door to a stinky, putrid factory farm—and animal rights activists. Considering, however, that the show's star, Emily Deschanel, actually is an animal rights activist, I have a feeling we won't be dealt with too harshly.

In the past, Bones has done a great job of exposing the cruelty of dogfighting and horse slaughter, so I'm hoping that the producers will manage to squeeze in some of the factory farm and slaughterhouse footage that we sent them for this episode. It would be pretty cool for the millions of Bones fans to get a look inside a typical factory farm.

Set your DVR: "The Tough Man in the Tender Chicken" airs tonight at 8:00 p.m. EST. In the meantime, you can get a sneak peek at the action in this slideshow:

Bones: Episode 5.06 "The Tough Man in the Tender Chicken" Photos

Posted by Alisa Mullins

The number of cases of swine flu and E. coli is on the rise, reminding us that the dangers of factory-farm–bred pathogens and meatborne illnesses have become impossible to ignore. The most recent E. coli outbreak, which killed two people and sickened dozens more, has been traced directly to the New York–based ground beef producer Fairbank Farms—which recalled more than 545,000 pounds of meat on October 31.

In the wake of this deadly outbreak, we're launching our "Meat Kills" billboard to let New Englanders know that the safest thing to do with meat is to throw it out:

Meatborne illness is just one symptom of a very sick and cruel industry. The threat of E. coli infection, listeriosis, campylobacter infection, and other bacterial infections is only the beginning of the devastating health effects of eating the dead, rotting flesh of a tormented animal. Research has shown that vegetarians are 50 percent less likely to develop heart disease, and their chance of getting cancer is 40 percent lower than that of meat-eaters. Plus, meat-eaters are nine times more likely to be obese than vegans are.

It's obvious that the best thing anyone can do for his or her health is to ditch the deadly meat and adopt a vegan diet. So what are you waiting for?

Posted by Liz Graffeo

Achoo! Swine flu?

Sunshine State residents who feel under the weather should know that Florida has had 141 confirmed swine flu deaths. Sounds to me like Florida residents would do well to learn about ways to stop the spread of swine flu—hence our action in Jacksonville this morning.

PETA "pig" and his peeps, decked out in our new swine flu masks, handed out copies of our "Vegetarian Starter Kit" to passersby.

Evidence is growing that the meat industry is responsible for the swine flu outbreak, just as it was largely responsible for outbreaks of MRSA, mad cow, E. coli, and bird flu. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, studies have shown that 30 to 50 percent of pigs raised for food in the U.S. have been infected with some strain of swine flu. That shouldn't come as any surprise, considering that jam-packed, filthy factory farms are breeding grounds for disease.

The best way to help guard against future swine flu outbreaks? Swear off the ham, Spam, and snouts—and go vegan.

Posted by Karin Bennett

If you can, pick up a copy of this week's New Yorker. There's a review of Jonathan Safran Foer's new book, Eating Animals, along with a photograph of a very powerful painting by artist Sue Coe—the same painting that Coe gave to PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk. Ingrid is not ashamed to say that she burst into tears the first time she saw the painting, and she often talks about how powerfully it reminds people of the truth and horror of the slaughter business so casually supported by the majority of people.

The painting is very Coe-esque—dark, haunting, and surreal. It looks like a nightmare put on canvas, and in fact, it is—a real-life nightmare. When Sue Coe was growing up, she lived next door to a hog factory farm and a block away from a slaughterhouse. In an essay she wrote for Ingrid's book, One Can Make a Difference, Coe describes the events that inspired the painting:

One day, a small pig escaped the slaughterhouse, and she ran in and out of the traffic, desperate to get away. Men in white aprons, covered in blood, ran after her. Small groups of people congregated to watch, and they started to laugh and point. I asked my mother why this was so funny, and she said it was not funny, the pig was going to be caught and killed. . . .

When it came time to slaughter the pigs, which happened every six months or so, there would be a terrible noise at night. They'd whip the pigs to get them into the truck, and they would go down the road to the slaughterhouse. . . .

When I was about ten years old, I went with my friend to the door of the slaughterhouse and demanded to be showed around, as I wanted to know what was happening. The workers in the slaughterhouse … showed us everything that happens in the process of slaughter. The vision of the escaped pig couldn't be ignored; she became louder and louder in my mind ….

This experience as a child sent me on my lifetime's mission that was to be an artist, and to reveal what was being concealed. To get into places that have closed doors, and to give art the potential of changing the world, not just reflecting it.

Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words. This one is. Even though we aren't all gifted artists like Sue Coe or talented writers like Jonathan Safran Foer, there is still plenty that we can do to give animals a voice.

Posted by Alisa Mullins

For this week's "Win It" Wednesday, not only are we giving you a chance to win a copy of Eating Animals, we also have an interview with the author to share with you. I'm calling it "Four With Foer."

Enjoy the Q&A, and then learn how you can win the book.

1) Children are naturally drawn to animals, but society often influences us into thinking that eating meat is normal and OK. How will you educate your children concerning your family's choice to be vegetarian?

The burden of education falls to parents who feed their children meat. Killing animals for food—even when done in the most humane ways—is antithetical to everything else parents teach their children about animals. Animals are the heroes of children's books, the stuffed toys kids fall asleep with, pets, objects of fascination and wonder. No parent would stand idly by as his or her child abused an animal.

None of this necessarily says anything about the rightness or wrongness of eating animals—we raise our children with all different kinds of over-simplicities, half-truths, and make believe. But in the three years I spent researching animal farming, I didn't meet a single slaughterer who was perfectly comfortable with killing animals. That says something. Our taste for animals can be lost, but our discomfort with what we do to them cannot.

In any case, my son is now old enough to understand that he doesn't eat animals, and that most of his friends do. We've had numerous conversations about it, but he's never needed a second explanation for why we don't.

2) Of all the horrible things that you witnessed on factory farms while writing this book, is there a particular instance that sticks with you?

The real horror of factory farming is not found in the instance, but the rule. It's a shame that most people's exposure to the meat industry comes through horror videos of slaughterhouses. While such images do correspond to very real events (which are productive and necessary to document and share), they are, even at the worst farms, the exception. And unfortunately, they can conceal something that is far more horrible: the everyday, systematized cruelty and destruction. In a way, videos of animals being tortured are a distraction that the meat industry is probably happy to have, as they suggest that the fault is with workers. The fault is not with workers, but the system itself. It is simply impossible to raise the number of animals we are currently raising for food without making their lives miserable. The misery is built into the system. Another system could take this system's place. But a movement toward small, family farms will require people to eat much, much less meat. And that's not going to happen any time too soon. In the meantime, the most important thing is to come to terms with the dominance and destruction of factory farming, and reject it.

3) One of our campaigns at PETA asks people, "If your dog tasted like pork, would you eat her?" In your book, you talk about your relationship with your dog and how it influenced your dietary decisions. Could you go into that briefly for our readers?

I spent the first 26 years of my life disliking animals. I thought of them as bothersome, dirty, unapproachably foreign, frighteningly unpredictable, and plain old unnecessary. I had a particular lack of enthusiasm for dogs—inspired, in large part, by a related fear that I inherited from my mother, which she inherited from my grandmother. As a child I would agree to go over to friends' houses only if they confined their dogs in some other room. If a dog approached in the park, I'd become hysterical until my father hoisted me onto his shoulders. I didn't like watching television shows that featured dogs. I didn't understand—I disliked—people who got excited about dogs. It's possible that I even developed a subtle prejudice against the blind. And then one day I became a person who loved dogs. I became a dog person.

The first full chapter of my book explores our divergent attitudes toward dogs and fish—fish being at the far end of the spectrum of our regard. I write about a simple trick that backyard astronomers use: If you are having trouble seeing something, look slightly away from it. The most light-sensitive parts of our eyes (those we need to see dim objects) are on the edges of the region we normally use for focusing. Eating animals has an invisible quality. Thinking about dogs and their relationship to the animals we eat is one way of looking askance and making something invisible visible.

4) Who do you hope will benefit from reading Eating Animals?

I don't expect readers to come to the same conclusions that I do, but I hope that they will agree with me about the urgency and importance of the problems. I can respect those who, after reading my book, decide to move in a direction that isn't the one I've chosen for myself. (I can even respect those who chose not to move at all.) But I can't respect that all-too-common response of, "I don't want to know about it." Such willed ignorance—which, by the way, I have spent the better part of my life practicing, and in other areas continue to practice—sucks.

We have five copies of Foer's newest book to give away. How do you win? This week's contest is easy peasy. To enter, fill out the form below by November 18, 2009, and we will notify the lucky winners by November 20, 2009. Good luck!

Posted by Shawna Flavell

personalmoneystore / CC

Yesterday, during her fall fashion style makeover show, a stylist mentioned that a furry vest worn in one woman's "after" look was faux. Oprah replied, "I was a PETA Woman of the Year so I hope that's faux!"

From celebrating vegan cuisine with Chef Tal Ronnen to airing an in-depth investigation of the cruelty of puppy mills, Oprah never hesitates to remind millions of television viewers to consider animals in their everyday lives.

Posted by Karin Bennett

Want to get active for animals, but not exactly the bikini in an ice storm type? You could take a cue from two fabulous Florida citizens and organize a "holiday compassion" display.

Carla and Bryan Wilson set up this beautiful educational exhibit in Florida's largest public library.

The display includes an awww-inspiring photo of a mother turkey and her chicks along with interesting facts about these intelligent, affectionate animals. It features eye-catching boards about why meat is bad for animals, bad for your health, and bad for the environment. And what holiday display would be complete without tasty tips for cruelty-free holiday meals?

The best part? It's easy for you to replicate. For materials to set up your own cruelty-free information center, contact PETA's activist liaisons.

Posted by Heather Drennan

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On Monday, for the first time ever, Windsor Castle will host a vegan royal banquet. Take a moment to let that sink in. Windsor Castle has existed for 900 years, and it's just now getting around to throwing a vegan shindig. Oh, well. Better late than never.

Do we have leading U.K. climate-change expert Lord Stern to thank for this momentous occasion? Perhaps indirectly, but the true pioneer here is none other than Prince Philip (for you folks in the most far-flung colonies, he's the guy played by James Cromwell in The Queen).

Prince Philip's Alliance of Religions and Conservation is hosting a three-day interfaith conference at Windsor called "Many Heavens, One Earth: Faith Commitments for a Living Planet," which will be attended by leaders from the Bahai, Buddhist, Christian, Daoist, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, Shinto, and Sikh faiths. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will also attend. Because they'll be talking about the ways in which religious communities can foster environmental protection, it only makes sense that they would dine on the most environmentally friendly (i.e., vegan) foods. Still, it's not every day that environmentalists actually put their money ethics where their mouths are, so this is a pretty big deal. Are you listening, Al Gore?

All the food at the three-day conference will be vegetarian, and most of it will be organic and locally grown. In case you aren't already jealous enough, here's what's on the vegan lunch menu at Windsor Castle: roasted pear salad with cobnuts and chicory, portobello mushrooms stuffed with artichoke and herbs, pearl barley risotto, and organic wine.

Yum—being a royal environmentalist tastes pretty good!

Posted by Alisa Mullins

I know we just talked about Natalie Portman yesterday, but let's face it, she's kinda magical. How magical? Enough to make a steakhouse go vegetarian—at least for one night.

It all went down on last night's episode of Top Chef. (Warning: Spoilers ahead for those who haven't seen it yet.) Like my fellow PETA Files blogger, Missy—who gave us a heads-up about this treat back in July—I'm a fan of the show despite its constant emphasis on serving up, well, dead animals (which the contestants bizarrely insist on calling "protein," as if they're nutritionists instead of chefs).

True to form, the opening "Quickfire Challenge" involved creating TV dinners inspired by iconic TV shows, and all of them ended up meat-centered. So when the chefs were told that the "Elimination Challenge" would take place at judge Tom Colicchio's Vegas steakhouse, Craftsteak, they eagerly began planning which cut of meat to use and how to cook it.

But Top Chef loves its surprises, and this week's came in the lovely form of guest judge Natalie Portman, who told the cheftestants, "I love food. I love eating. I'm pretty adventurous with flavors and different cuisines, and the one thing is, I'm a vegetarian." Cue the dramatic music and shocked faces.

Some of the chefs, like Robin and Mike I., professed confidence in handling a veggie challenge, while others were apprehensive, including Kevin, who had earlier proclaimed, "Cooking meat is me in my element!" But more surprises were in store, as meat-loving Kevin won the challenge with his hearty ensemble of mushrooms, smoked kale, candied garlic, and turnip purée.

I hope this episode provides aspiring chefs—both on and off the show—with food for thought (sorry).

Posted by Jeff Mackey

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

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Hmm. That just might have been our point.

So, it's not safe to allow members of congress and lobbyists to be exposed to factory farms, but it looks like tough luck for the millions of Americans in rural areas who have to live amidst the poisonous waste of factory farms. And although the president has declared swine flu a national emergency, the government continues to prop up the industry that caused the crisis (to the tune of $62.6 million in one year alone—with the possibility of $250 million more in the coming fiscal year).

What do you think?

Posted by Amanda Schinke

When I was in high school, I took a peanut butter sandwich with me for lunch every day. Every. Single. Day. For four long years. My mother probably thought I was being stubborn just to annoy her, but the truth is that even before I stopped eating animals, I couldn't stomach the cafeteria's nauseating (and cholesterol-laden) options, such as greasy chicken nuggets and grayish-greenish Salisbury steak.

For lucky students at one Florida charter school, "mystery meat" is something they'll never have to suffer through. That's because the Alachua Learning Center only serves delicious vegetarian food, all of which is made daily from scratch. Not only is vegetarian food yummy, it's also healthy and is often cheaper than greasy, artery-clogging meat. More and more schools now serve vegetarian and vegan food—which is great news for kids and animals.

metrokids / CC

It can be tough to get kids to eat healthy meals, but I think black beans with corn and rice sounds way more appetizing than ground-up cow noses on a bun.

Posted by Heather Drennan

• Exhibit A: Veggie alien ponders its victim.
• Upping the creepiness—Newsweek offers further evidence that murderers often torture animals before moving on to human victims.
• More sad than frightening is my latest guilty pleasure: Beatles tunes remixed doggie-style. Goodness!
• Arachnophobes take heart! A jumping vegetarian spider was just discovered. Does "newly discovered" also indicate more highly evolved? Methinks yes.
• Rodeos are always an epic FAIL. At this one, a bull showed compassionless spectators how it feels to be humiliated—and it's HILARIOUS!
• Many zoos mistreat animals; others deceive visitors. With all its zebras dead of starvation after a siege earlier this year, somebody at the Marah Land Zoo in Gaza City has gotten a wee bit carried away with the hair dye …
• Chris Rock's comment "What the hell did Michael Vick do? Pitbulls ain't even real dogs!" has hurt my heart for weeks now. Thinking of all the abused pits we see on straw delivery and how his comment only stands to empower their abusers, I'm very happy that Richard Pryor's wife isn't letting him get away with it!
• P.S. For y'all who didn't know, Richard Pryor was an absolute angel to animals.
• Switching over to cooing, monkey mommies make googly eyes at their bambinos too!
• Always ending on a cute note, this little piggy thinks she's a doggie.

That's the haps, y'all. Catch ya next month!

Posted by Missy Lane

The ideal conditions for a "naked" pro-veggie demo include warm weather, a morning show interview with a vegetarian host, hordes of onlookers and media, and volunteers willing to take on—or off—anything to ensure success. Oh, and a super-friendly cop who calls afterwards to say "Thanks!" for putting on a great show.

Those stars aligned for PETA's Amanda Fortino and "naked" volunteers during a stop in San Diego this week.

These are "Grade A" volunteers. They remained so still during the event that some onlookers inched closer to see if they were breathing.

Finish the caption: The photographer in front is wondering _____________.

Our meat trays were a reminder that those neatly wrapped packages of flesh at the supermarket are body parts of cows, pigs, chickens and other animals who suffered terribly on factory farms before they were killed.

Posted by Karin Bennett

8notes / CC

I guess you could just sit right down and cry, but we have a better idea for salvaging Elvis' former home. While the ranch is on the market, PETA would like to rent it and transform it from a heartbreak hotel for cows into a "Don't Be Cruel" (to cows) education center for kids.

Kids deserve to know that the animals who are turned into hamburgers and blue suede shoes are living, thinking, feeling beings who deserve more from life than to end up on a dinner plate. In the U.S., more than 41 million cows are killed for the meat and dairy industries every year. You'd have to have a heart of stone to be unmoved by their suffering.

So, Mr. Cattle Rancher—I beg of you—will you take us up on our offer? It's now or never*.

Posted by Liz Graffeo

*I've put the titles of nine different Elvis songs in this post—how many can you identify?

According to the survey, one in four people worldwide is Muslim, and the countries with the largest numbers of Muslims might surprise you. India, for example, whose residents are mostly Hindus, is home to the largest number of Muslims outside Indonesia and Pakistan. Russia, China, and Germany also have large Muslim populations.

In an effort to reach out to the growing Muslim community, a new Web site, IslamicConcern.com, has just launched which includes hadiths —sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)—and quotations from the Qur'an and Islamic leaders about compassion for all of God's creation, including animals.

At IslamicConcern.com, people can learn about how modern factory farming techniques—such as branding animals, amputating their tails and castrating them without anesthetics, and burning off birds' beaks—seem to violate the Prophet Muhammad's (PBUH) teachings to cause no pain to an animal before she or he is slaughtered. Animals raised for food are often fed the ground-up bodies of pigs, chickens, and cattle along with chicken excrement and other waste products. Many Muslims believe this is most probably haram (forbidden).

Even if you aren't a Muslim, I encourage you to check out IslamicConcern.com. You might be interested to learn how much Islamic teachings about kindness to animals have in common with Christianity, Judaism, and other major religions.

Posted by Mr. Hanif Akhtar, PETA Member

Actually, to be precise, Jerry's a steer. A PETA investigator found him hobbling around a field and scrounging for weeds at the appallingly filthy Pennsylvania dairy farm we told you about last month. This is how the investigator described the 5-month-old calf in her log:

[I] found a steer at the entrance to the barn (outside of the fence) who looked [to be] in a pitiful condition. He is thin, pot-bellied, buckled over at the front knees and pasterns … and when he looks at you he has a tilt to his head. Flies were covering both of his eyes, which appeared cloudy.

The flies seemed to know that Jerry was a goner.

In addition to being crippled, the young calf was crawling with lice and was nearly blind because of pinkeye, a bacterial infection that spreads like wildfire in the disgusting conditions on factory farms. PETA's investigator bought Jerry and whisked him away to a "safe house" until he could be driven to his new home at a sanctuary.

Although he was initially (and understandably) terrified of humans, we're told that Jerry became mysteriously calm during the ride to the sanctuary. It was as if he considered the journey to be an adventure and knew that it would end at a safe and loving place.

Jerry has (literally) landed in clover.

Jerry has now almost fully recovered and regained most of his sight. He loves to wait outside the back door every evening at dinner time, and he's become the adopted "big brother" of another calf who was rescued from the same farm. If the younger calf strays too far, Jerry will go off in search of his adopted sibling.

Unfortunately, not all calves are as lucky as Jerry. Most male calves who are born on dairy farms are sent to slaughter, usually after they've been confined for up to 23 weeks to cramped veal crates that are intended to prevent the calves from moving so that their flesh will stay unnaturally pale. Making sure that you don't contribute to their suffering is as easy as giving up dairy foods.

To read a more about Jerry, you can head over to Facebook, where he is featured on our "causes" page.

Posted by Alisa Mullins

blogs.westword / CC

In an article about the Colorado Democrat, Roll Call reports,

[Polis'] partner is a vegan, and although [Polis] eats meat, the couple keeps a vegan household. … [Polis'] shoes and belt are "cruelty free"—meaning no animals were involved, he says. The shoes—he pops one off casually to check the brand when asked—are a brand called "Bourgeois Bohème."

Reis is the first same-sex partner of a member of Congress to be recognized as "spouse" on his congressional ID card. His days are spent working on his vegan culinary skills and his new novel, which he hopes "will give readers the reason they've been missing to give animals the fair consideration they deserve …."

Now, PETA isn't suggesting that you should run out and start a tawdry affair, but make no mistake: We believe that slipping some Cheatin "chorizo" into the chili is always a good thing.

Posted by Karin Bennett

Yesterday, the U.K.'s Advertising Standards Authority ruled against a PETA U.K. ad that the watch group feels the public is too dense to understand. The decision was sparked by a sole complainant who thought that people might be confused by this billboard:

Personally, I think it's pretty straightforward, but moving on: How about this one, which PETA U.K. unveiled yesterday?

Hans-Gerhard Wagner of the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization has acknowledged that factory farms create an "opportunity for emerging disease." The meat, egg, and dairy industries keep diseased animals in crowded, filthy conditions and feed them a steady diet of drugs to keep them alive. It shouldn't come as a shock that factory farms provide the ideal conditions for drug-resistant "superbugs" to develop.

Forgo the surgical masks, folks. The safest, easiest way to prevent animal-borne disease epidemics is to go vegan.

Posted by Karin Bennett

Star light, star bright,
First star I see tonight,
I wish I may, I wish I might
Eat an entire Chocoholic Basket tonight.

Seriously, I bet I could eat this Pangea gift basket in one sitting. But it sucks to be me right now because I can't enter "Win It" Wednesday contests*. You, however, can win this chocolate-lover's dream—simply post a comment to submit your clever, funny dialogue, à la Go Fug Yourself, for the picture below:

commons.wikimedia / CC

We've got one Chocoholic Basket to give away to the author of the caption that makes us laugh the hardest. The contest ends on October 28, 2009, and we'll choose one winner on October 30, 2009. Be sure to read our privacy policy and terms and conditions, as you're agreeing to both by commenting. Good luck!

Posted by Karin Bennett

*Actually, that's probably a good thing.

Ever since The New York Times reminded Americans of the devastating effects of meatborne illnesses, the topic has been at the center of discussion around many a dinner table. It was also the hot topic on Monday night's episode of Larry King Live, in which panelists debated: Should Americans be eating meat?

The answer: No, unless you don't mind that your hamburger patty may contain bacteria-laden meat not just from multiple cows, but from multiple factory farms around the world. Barf.

If you missed the show, we've got the full segment for you right here:

If even infamous foie gras–loving chef Anthony Bourdain is against factory farming, then you know it must be bad. Next time you're at the grocery store looking for some patties to throw on the grill, opt for the veggie burgers.

Posted by Liz Graffeo

Yesterday was a momentous day for animals living on farms in Michigan, where Gov. Jennifer Granholm signed a bill into law that phases out veal crates, battery cages, and gestation crates on farms across the state!

greenbudget.wordpress / CC

Michigan farmers have been given three years to phase out veal crates and 10 years to get rid of gestation crates and battery cages. This means that farmers will no longer be allowed to immobilize calves in crates that are so small that the animals can barely take a step in any direction. Pregnant pigs will no longer be forced to live in their own excrement in a space too small to turn around in, and hens will get a chance to stretch their wings.

The news comes just a day after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill making it illegal to dock cows' tails in California, where gestation crates, veal crates, and battery cages were banned last year. Now that Michigan has become the seventh state to ban gestation crates, the fifth to ban veal crates, and the second to ban battery cages, we're hoping that laws improving conditions for animals on factory farms will continue to take the nation by storm.

Of course, the best way to prevent animal suffering is to adopt a vegan diet, stat.

Posted by Shawna Flavell

This weekend, D.C. residents were lucky enough to have the chance to catch PETA's hardworking campaigners showering for a cause—not once, but twice!

On Friday, two PETA ladies decided to clean their consciences on the corner of Seventh Street and Pennsylvania Avenue. Our squeaky-clean lasses wanted to let people know that the amount of water that it takes to produce 1 pound of meat could provide an individual with six months of showers.

Click here to see the complete gallery of photos from Friday's event.

Then, at the Washington Convention Center on Saturday, our message got masculine (and mustachioed).

Our showering fella was at the annual Green Festival, where he let people know that meat's not green and that the easiest way to have a positive impact on the environment is to wash your hands of the stuff.

Posted by Shawna Flavell

nypost / CC

"MCA, where have you been?"

It turns out that the (not so shocking) answer is a Tibetan community.

In July, Beastie Boys bass guitarist Adam Yauch—aka MCA—was diagnosed with cancer. After quickly having a tumor removed from his salivary gland, Yauch headed to a Tibetan community in Dharamsala to continue the healing process.

Now back in the states, Yauch is speaking about the treatment that's helping him "sabotage" the disease. He told fans, "I'm taking Tibetan medicine and at the recommendation of the Tibetan doctors I've been eating a vegan/organic diet."

Those Tibetan docs are right—going vegan is by far the single best thing anyone can do for his or her body. Our support goes out to Yauch, and we're hopeful that he'll be back on the road rocking out with the Beastie Boys in no time.

Posted by Liz Graffeo

I confess: The only thing that keeps me sticking to a healthy diet all summer long is my annual countdown to October 31—a night centered around ghosts, goblins, and, most importantly, candy. October 31 marks the start of a full-on avalanche of holiday food that doesn't end until January 2.

Well, this year's season of overindulgence started 30 days early: October has been declared Vegan Month of Food, so food season is officially on!

To help you get started, I'd like to present you with my own favorite fall recipe, which comes straight from our Veg Cooking Blog (where it's Vegan Month of Food every month):

Hearty Vegan Chili

2 Tbsp. oil
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup chopped white onion
1 lb. defrosted veggie burger crumbles (optional)
Red pepper flakes, to taste
1 Tbsp. chili powder
2 1/2 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. oregano
1 bay leaf
28-oz. can diced Mexican-style tomatoes
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 1/2 cups vegetable stock
6 oz. tomato paste
1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
16-oz. can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
28-oz. can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
Vegan cheese (optional)

• Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat.
• Add the garlic and onion and sauté until softened, about 5 minutes.
• Add the veggie burger crumbles (if using them), red pepper flakes, chili powder, and cumin and cook for an additional 2 minutes, or until fragrant.
• Add the oregano, bay leaf, tomatoes, soy sauce, stock, tomato paste, and vinegar, then bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Add the beans and simmer 15 minutes longer to heat through and blend flavors.
• Add more water, if necessary, or cook longer to reach desired consistency.
• Top with shredded soy cheese, if desired, and serve.

Posted by Liz Graffeo

P.S.: If you're not already vegan, this is the perfect time to take our 30-Day Pledge to be Veg. And if you are vegan, please share your favorite fall recipes below.

On Monday, the journal Pediatrics published a study that showed a significant increase in the number of children who are diagnosed with autism or a similar disorder.

To educate the parents of autistic children about a possibility for improvement in their child's condition, we are relaunching our autism billboard:

Studies have shown that many autistic kids improve dramatically when put on a diet free of dairy foods. One study of 20 children found a major reduction in autistic behavior in kids who were put on a casein-free diet (casein is a component of cow's milk). Another study conducted by researchers at the University of Rome showed a "marked improvement" in the behavior of autistic children who were taken off dairy products. There are also countless heart-wrenching stories from parents of kids who had suffered the worst effects of autism for years before dairy foods were eliminated from their diets. Here is one mother's story:

There was nothing to lose, so I decided to eliminate all the dairy products from his diet. What happened next was nothing short of miraculous. Miles stopped screaming, he didn't spend as much time repeating actions, and by the end of the first week, he pulled on my hand when he wanted to go downstairs. For the first time in months, he let his sister hold his hands to sing "Ring Around a Rosy."

Please, if you know someone with an autistic child, ask them to give this treatment a chance. There's no guarantee of success, but it's worth a try.

… and you can win it!

Our favorite hockey player is at it again. This time, Georges Laraque of the Montréal Canadiens is joining the many other athletes who have stepped up to show how going vegan doesn't just do a body good—it does a body great.

Just in time for (Canadian) Thanksgiving, Georges is releasing his brand-new vegan ad, in which he highlights the many reasons to say "Non!" to turkey.

Georges also sat down for an exclusive Q&A with PETA in which he reveals that it was a movie that first convinced him to go vegan:

To celebrate his brand-new vegan testimonial, Georges has donated a signed hockey puck and a glossy photo—which are now up for grabs.

How do you win? Just leave a comment below telling us who your favorite vegetarian or vegan athlete is and why. The most fan-crazed comment will take home the prize.

The contest ends on October 22, 2009, and we'll choose one winner on October 26, 2009. Be sure to read our privacy policy and terms and conditions, as you're agreeing to both by commenting. Que le meilleur gagne!*

Posted by Amanda Schinke

*That's how the French-speaking Québecois might say, "May the best one win," mes amis.

Erysipelothrix rhusiopathiae is a bacterium that infects pigs—usually on crowded, inhumane factory farms, where infectious diseases such as swine flu spread like wildfire. Erysipelas causes fever, chronic arthritis, heart inflammation, painful skin lesions, and often death. Up until a few weeks ago, most of us at PETA had never heard of erysipelas either.

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There is a vaccine for erysipelas, but each batch produced was tested by infecting pigs with the disease. The test caused the animals immense suffering, which was often followed by death. Enter PETA's scientists, whose heads are no doubt getting a little big right now, what with two big victories in one week.

In August, PETA's Regulatory Testing Division wrote to the USDA asking the agency to follow Europe's example and adopt a non-animal in vitro test for the erysipelas vaccine. We pointed out that the in vitro ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay—try saying that three times fast) test is more humane and is also much more reliable than simply administering the vaccine and seeing whether or not the pigs die. It also helps to ensure vaccine consistency.

Last week, we received a response from the USDA announcing that the test involving the use of pigs will no longer be used. The icing on the cake is that the USDA also said that it is moving away from a hideously cruel method that uses mice to produce antibodies and will instead use a cell culture–based system that is humane and reliable.

Not ones to rest on our laurels, we at PETA are also working to replace animal tests with in vitro tests for tetanus, hepatitis B, whooping cough, clostridium, and leptospirosis vaccines. Already, pharmaceutical giant Pfizer is on board when it comes to ending the use of hamsters in the manufacture of leptospirosis vaccines—a decision that will save the lives of about 40,000 hamsters a year. Hopefully, we'll be able to report back with another victory soon.

Posted by Alisa Mullins

In case you forgot how smart, social, and absolutely adorable pigs are, meet Sherlock. Found wandering down a rural road in Suffolk, Virginia, this little guy was captured and taken to the local animal shelter:

When he was found, Sherlock was still a baby, but he was already castrated and his tail had obviously been docked. That means that this plucky little piglet likely fell off a truck headed to a growing/finishing barn—which is what the piggy flesh industry calls the factories that are used to fatten up little pigs like Sherlock for slaughter. On factory farms, piglets are taken away from their moms when they are less than 1 month old. Workers cut off their tails, clip their teeth with pliers, and castrate the males—all without painkillers. The animals spend their entire lives in extremely crowded pens on tiny slabs of filthy concrete. It gets even more heartbreaking when you factor in the abuse that these animals face: A recent undercover investigation of an Iowa pig factory farm, which supplies piglets to Hormel, documented that workers beat pigs with metal rods and sexually abused them with canes.

When one of our fieldworkers saw the headline about Sherlock in the Suffolk paper, she immediately went to work to find this guy a wonderful home. Click here to see how Sherlock's story ends!

Posted by Amy Elizabeth

Who needs a spa treatment when you can rejuvenate your soul by nuzzling 800-pound piggies at an animal sanctuary?

Well, a group of us kids from PETA and the PETA Foundation were lucky enough to do just that over the weekend. An hour north of D.C. lies a spectacular oasis called Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary. It consists of 400 acres devoted entirely to the rehabilitation of abused and/or neglected animals. This past Sunday, Poplar Spring hosted its annual Open House and Fundraiser. I don't think anyone could turn down yummy vegan nosh and cuddle time with the cuties pictured below, do you?

This is Bobby and yours truly. Before coming to the sanctuary, he and his friend Harry had lived their entire lives in cages and were used in insulin experiments. When they arrived at Poplar Spring, both of them were white as snow because they had never seen a single ray of sunshine. The first thing they did when they arrived at Poplar? They dove into a mud pool and stared up in amazement at the trees and stars. What a lucky guy, and such a looker too!

I'm telling you, folks, I highly recommend finding your nearest animal sanctuary and visiting. Or better yet, volunteer! With Thanksgiving coming up, most farm sanctuaries have special Thanksgiving celebrations that honor their turkeys. If my picture doesn't convince you, maybe these will.

Posted by Missy Lane

When I was in elementary school, I had a friend named Katie. We slept over at each other's houses, hung out during recess, and wore the same clothes, pretending to be twins. I was so ready to give her the other half of my best-friend necklace—but then I heard her talking smack about me in the lunch room. Backstabber.

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The CEO of Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, California, is a lot like Katie. While the aquarium's mission is supposedly "to instill a sense of wonder, respect, and stewardship for the Pacific Ocean, its inhabitants, and ecosystems," CEO Dr. Jerry Schubel has just launched a new program called "Seafood for the Future"—which encourages people to eat specific kinds of fish in order to qualify for a free ticket to the aquarium.

If Dr. Schubel really knew what was best for fish, he'd know that eating them isn't an option. Fish communicate and develop relationships with one another. They experience fear, show affection by gently rubbing against other fish, and even grieve when their companions die. When they are dragged from the ocean's depths, they undergo excruciating decompression, which often causes their internal organs to rupture.

Encouraging aquarium visitors to eat fish seems a little bit like serving poodle burgers at a dog show. Wouldn't you think the best way for visitors to safeguard and respect the ocean's sea life is to adopt a vegan diet? We've fired off a letter to Dr. Schubel asking him to cancel this program immediately.

Is it obvious yet that aquariums really don't care about the animals they're supposedly protecting?

Posted by Liz Graffeo

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In a chilling reminder to all meat-eaters, Saturday's New York Times recounted the tragic story of Stephanie Smith, whose meatborne illness almost killed her and left her paralyzed.

Two years ago, Smith was a dance instructor who ate a hamburger contaminated by E. coli bacteria, which happens when feces from cattle comes into contact with their flesh during the slaughter process—something that's hard to avoid when the animals are forced to lie in their own urine and feces in barren feedlots and when they are hacked apart in filthy slaughterhouses.

Stephanie experienced stomach cramping that turned into bloody diarrhea. Then her kidneys shut down. Seizures, which knocked her unconscious, were so frequent that doctors had to force her into a coma. Nine weeks later, she woke up. The virus had ravaged Stephanie's nervous system to the point that she can no longer walk, and doctors believe she will be bound to a wheelchair for the rest of her life.

The name "E. coli" comes from "colon," where E. coli is found. In other words, anything that comes into contact with feces can be contaminated. While raw vegetables can be cross-contaminated with meat or with waste runoff from factory farms, ground beef is the most common source of E. coli poisoning.

Ground beef is usually a mixture of the flesh of many cattle from several slaughterhouses. Stephanie Smith's deadly burger contained "trimmings" from one slaughterhouse in Nebraska that kills 2,600 cattle each day. Other bits of the burger came from a slaughterhouse in Texas that kills discarded dairy cows and old bulls.

According to the Times, there isn't any federal law requiring meat-grinding companies to test for E. coli. Many slaughterhouses put the fear of losing money in recalls before public safety and will only sell to grinders who agree not to do testing.

The company that made Stephanie Smith's burger continues to sell its cheap bits and pieces of dead cattle to supermarkets, fast-food restaurants, and the school lunch program, so if a dose of E. coli doesn't sound appealing, go vegan.

Posted by Heather Drennan

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

It's almost time for Halloween: my favorite holiday. Every year, I'm eager to gorge on vegan Swedish Fish Sea Kittens and decide on a costume.

This year, I've been thinking about going as Evil Ronald McDonald, with frizzed-out red hair, a hatchet, and a blood-splattered yellow jumpsuit—all topped off with PETA's Ronald mask.

Now PETA's quirky "Tofu Never Screams" tee and tote, which just happen to be this week's "Win It" Wednesday prize, have me thinking about a second costume idea. I may finally have a perfect use for that big, horrible block of Styrofoam in my hall closet.

How do you win one of this week's prize packages? Share your most creative, animal-friendly costume idea and the tote (perfect for carrying home that mountain of candy) and the T-shirt can be yours.

The contest ends on October 14, 2009, and we'll choose the three most creative comments as winners on October 16, 2009. Be sure to read our privacy policy and terms and conditions, as you're agreeing to both by commenting. Good luck!

Posted by Karin Bennett

tusb.stanford.edu / CC

Vegan prisoners in the U.K. have just won the right to order cruelty-free hygiene products, including essentials such as shampoo and sunscreen. So, you might say that the incarcerated vegans¹ will now be protected in their right to bare arms (ba-dum, ching!).

The Vegan Prisoners Support Group has successfully petitioned for inmates to have access to nuts and dairy alternatives as well. Next up? Vegetarian shoes, of course.

While I don't know the state of lip balm in U.S. prisons, I do know which states have the tastiest vegetarian prison food²—and you can check out our celebrated Top 10 List here.

Posted by Amanda Schinke

1. Incidentally, the name of my next band.
2. Spoiler: It's Idaho.

As a result of budget slashes in Los Angeles, 15 fire trucks and six ambulances will be collecting dust instead of responding to emergencies. That news got our wheels turning.

Faster than a team of strapping firemen could slide down a pole and hop into their non-decomissioned truck, we had an idea. PETA's sexy "nurse" should grace the side of the one of the ambulances in our "Bypass Heart Surgery—Go Vegan" ad, which would be seen all over Los Angeles.

The L.A. Fire Department gets money for the ad, an ambulance gets back on the road, and residents get the lifesaving message that a vegan diet can help prevent heart attacks—and even reverse existing heart disease. Everybody wins!

Posted by Karin Bennett

I'm willing to bet my last Goldenberg Peanut Chew that you love comedian/writer Carol Leifer just as much as I do. Even if her name doesn't sound familiar, millions of Seinfeld fans can thank her for penning countless "I-laughed-so-hard-vino-shot-out-of-my-nose!" moments.

Carol recently tossed all animal products from her fridge—no more milk stolen from calves, no more eggs from miserable hens, and no more bacon from pigs gone crazy from confinement—and she sat down with PETA to film the following vegetarian testimonial (Before you watch it, I suggest you put that wine down, lest you spray Chardonnay all over your keyboard):

One of my favorite lines: "I recently became vegan because I felt that as a Jewish lesbian, I wasn't part of a small enough minority. So now I'm a Jewish lesbian vegan."

If that video wasn't enough hilarity for you, you can check out here and here for other versions of the video. Plus, we've got 10 copies of Carol's book—When You Lie About Your Age, The Terrorists Win: Reflections on Looking in the Mirror—to give away too. Win yours by letting us know, in the comments section below, the funniest thing you tell people when they ask why you went vegetarian.

The contest ends on July 23, 2009, and we'll choose the 10 most hilarious comments as the winners on July 24, 2009. Be sure to read our privacy policy and terms and conditions, as you're agreeing to both by commenting. Good luck!

Posted by Karin Bennett

So long, So You Think You Can Dance?!

Tonight at 9 p.m. EST, I'll be watching the series premiere of ABC's animated sitcom, The Goode Family. Mike Judge, creator of King of the Hill and Beavis and Butt-head, is bringing vegans to primetime. The entire Goode family, including the dog, Che, is vegan, and you can bet that their obsessive efforts to be politically correct will create some awkward and hilarious scenarios.

If you can't laugh at a reflection of your own efforts to be green—mine include raising two perfectly happy, healthy vegetarian dogs who don't attack their friend, Frank the cat—what can you find humor in these days?

Posted by Karin Bennett

Why has Cheers star Kirstie Alley packed on 83 pounds after her widely publicized diet as a spokesperson for Jenny Craig in 2007?

dailymail.co / CC

She told People magazine, "A vegetarian would probably be eating vegetables. But to me being a vegetarian meant I'm going to eat enchiladas with no meat, and I'm going to eat lots of bread, lots of carbs."

Hey, Kirstie: put the slimy, butter-slicked fork down! Vegans are, on average, 10 to 20 pounds lighter than meat-eaters are, so we promise you'll see results!

If Nia Vardalos can drop 40 pounds by kicking cheese, Kirstie surely would slim down if she said, "Bye, bye, butter!" and gave vegan fare a shot. To help her in this endeavor, a copy of Skinny Bitch is on its way to her, courtesy of PETA.

Posted by Karin Bennett

1. Scrum-diddly-umptious Vegan Chocolates
   Ensure that it will be a very happy Valentine's Day with a big box full of edible aphrodisiacs.



2. Shiny-Sparkly for Your Honey Bunny
   Nothing says "I love you" like bunny bling. PETA's silver-plated necklace features two rabbits touching noses and toes-es to form a heart. Awww …



3. Died and Gone to Vegan Heaven
   Your snookums is lovely at any time, but that sweetie of yours will look even better with vegan caramel dribbling down his or her chin.



4. A Little Somethin' for Your Real True Love
   PETA's Dog Bone Cookie Cutter Set comes with tail-wagging recipes and seven drool-inducing designs. And remember, treats are sweet, but nothing says "Be My Furry Valentine" like cuddling up on the couch.



5. Vegan Fire and Spice
   If you want to hook up with a hot dish this Valentine's Day, catch this smokin' cookbook by Robin Robertson. Her ready-for-romance recipes are sure to turn up the heat. After all, everybody knows that vegetarians make better lovers.

But wait—there's more! If you order $40 or more worth of goodies before Monday at PETACatalog.org, enter the promotion code VALFB, and you'll get $5 off. Consider it a Valentine's Day present to yourself.

Posted by Amy Elizabeth

dd258 / CC

I was already aware that cheese is a glob of coagulated goo that comes from cow's udders (complete with all the bovine misery inherent in milk production). Apparently, it's much, much more than that.

I'm horrified to inform you that behind the taste of this slimy, smelly concoction lies stomach lining, pesticides, and pure fat. And if that doesn't sound bad enough, experts say that no cheese would taste quite the same without the thousands of bacteria that are in and on it. And the fat is what gives cheese its flavor! Worse? Many of the bacteria in cheese are unidentified by scientists, and nobody knows what effects they may have. If your dinner plans included mac and cheese, you may wish to reconsider. Personally, I'll be ordering one large pizza, with extra soy cheese. To find the best soy-cheese pizza in your area, check out our Top 10 Vegan-Friendly Pizzerias.

Posted by Liz Graffeo

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After Alanis went vegan, she lost 20 pounds and looks more stunning and healthy than ever. She's also proud to show off her new body and even says, "I'm back to what I was born to be, at my best. … I feel very alive. … I have no more aches and pains, and my allergies are gone, too."

Well Amen to that! I've always loved Alanis, especially since Jagged Little Pill came out, and now I hope she can inspire others to take a look at their dinner plates and make the healthy and compassionate decision.

And hey, you know what the next step is, don't you? We're all on pins and needles hoping she'll bare some skin for a sexy veggie testimonial. Fingers crossed, y'all!

Posted by Christine Doré

Last week's season premiere of America's Next Top Model brought something a little different to the fashionable catwalk. Elina, a super-hot Seattleite, is a vegan who is very involved with animal rights! In fact, she went vegan at the age of 7 and has since dedicated her life to avenging the cruelty done to animals in this world. The 18-year-old is the first vegan to appear on ANTM, which is now in its 11th cycle.

As an avid fan of the show, I must admit that I've been a bit bummed that a few episodes have featured fur and leather in some of the shoots, especially since Tyra doesn't wear it and the lovely and lovable Nigel Barker is staunchly anti-fur! How MUCH do we love him?!

We were also bummed when the models were asked to pose wearing meat. Then again, meat is so gross we think that we might have gotten a few extra vegetarians out of it—hope springs eternal. When asked by Tyra if she would have been able to participate in the slaughterhouse photo shoot, Elina unwaveringly said "No!"

It will no doubt be interesting to see what Tyra throws Elina's way this season. We wish you the best of luck, Elina. Go rock the runway with vegan style!

Posted by Jennifer Cierlitsky

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It seems that cast member Sandra Oh has been up to a little plot-scheming of her own in the offseason. The vegan vixen has recently divulged her not-so-super-secret plan to turn her costars vegan too!

The television doctor recently treated a group of cast and crew members to a 100 percent cruelty-free lunch at Truly Vegan in Hollywood. Has it worked? Turns out Mr. McDreamy himself, Patrick Dempsey, thoroughly enjoyed the restaurant's chocolate vegan cake, and Ellen Pompeo has become a frequent customer!

Maybe all those script readings and hours on the Grey's set has taught the cast and crew a thing or two about the health benefits of a plant-based diet! Oh yeah, and it probably helps that vegan food doesn't taste like grass and soggy sticks, contrary to what some meatheads and unweaned grownups believe.

One can only wait and see if Sandra's plot will play out in the new season! In the meantime, though, why not make your friends swoon with a delicious cruelty-free concoction of your own?

Posted by Jennifer Cierlitsky

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"As of right now I am a vegan," she told reporters.

Rousey, whose favorite foods include imitation crab meat, comes from a family with an athletic history—her mother, AnnMaria, is a former U.S. world champion judoka. AnnMaria is very supportive of her daughter, explaining to reporters that there is no reason why a vegan lifestyle can't mix with an intense physical sport like judo: "I mean, we're tough but we don't kill our opponents and eat them."

Rousey is joining many other athletes—like John Salley and Mac Danzig, just to name a few—who have realized that the health benefits of going vegetarian or vegan are ideal for athletes as well as for average Gym Joes and Janes. Benefits like lower cholesterol, lower blood pressure, and a heightened immune system are certainly of use to athletes, right?

We think so—and so do Tony Gonzales, Carl Lewis, Scott Jurek, Chris Evert, and Ricky Williams. … You get the idea.

Congratulations, Ronda! If you're inspired by Rousey (and who isn't?) to try out a veggie diet for yourself, leap over to GoVeg.com, where you can order a free copy of our "Vegetarian Starter Kit."

Posted by Amanda Schinke

You know what it's like—you get started with something, thinking you'll have just this one or do it just this once, and then you think, "One more wouldn't hurt, right?" And before you know it, it's all out of hand.

Of course, when I do it, I end up eating half a package of Newman-Os, not egging 400 people's houses and cars.

That's right—a couple in Pennsylvania have recently been charged with perpetrating an 18-month "egging spree" that resulted in $7,000 worth of damage.

This news article explains that the couple started egging because they "wanted to retaliate against friends for damages they said were inflicted upon them" but moved on to other targets to avoid suspicion.

Hate to break it to you (geddit?), but 400 targets might arouse a little suspicion, don't you think?

Now, the county's district attorney is urging the victims of the spree to come forward, saying, "We have an obligation under the law to seek to make them whole and to get restitution for them."

Sure, the people who had to wash their cars and hose down their driveways deserve "restitution." But let's take this further: What is washing your car compared to being crammed into battery cages and having your beak cut off with a hot wire?

When you think about it that way, aren't the hens the number one victims here?

We think that all the victims of this crime deserve restitution. For this reason, we've written a letter to the DA with a logical suggestion: It takes up to 34 hours for a hen to produce a single egg, and during that time, she isn't watching TV—she's crammed into a cage that doesn't allow her to take a step or stretch one wing, and she has to balance on wire and do her business on the backs of other birds. If the DA has an "obligation" to "get restitution" for the victims of this crime, wouldn't justice best be served by sentencing the perpetrators to 34 hours of community service in a vegan soup kitchen or doing bird rescues for each egg wasted? We think so!

Check out our letter to the DA:

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Wonder how Gonzalez has such a knack for saving lives? Well, the 247 lb., 6'5", nine-time Pro Bowl selection eats a diet rich with foods that also spare the animals’ lives—to stay strong he adheres to a mostly vegan diet! How ironic that out of a restaurant full of animal eaters, it was Gonzalez who stepped in and did the "save," huh? If anyone knows where Mr. Hunter is, let's send him a "Vegetarian Starter Kit" so he can learn about some other foods that are less likely to kill him.

Posted by Sean Conner

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The ever-lovely Pamela Anderson is back on television, and to the delight of all her fans—including those of us right here at PETA—this time, she'll be playing the person that she knows best: herself! Her documentary series, Pam: Girl On the Loose, premiers August 3 on E!, and it's sure to satiate the needs of gossip queens everywhere.

Pam says, "Aside from keeping up with my kids, I don't exercise much, so I credit my veggie diet for my good health. Los Angeles is the easiest place in the world to eat vegan."

So while you're anxiously waiting for a hugely fun dose of Anderson reality, check out some of Pam's favorite places to eat at in Los Angeles. And if you don't live in the City of Angels, well, don't fret! It doesn't mean your future is full of boring green salads. Just visit HappyCow.net, and search for vegetarian restaurants in your city. Here's the list from Pam herself:

1. Flore Vegan Cuisine
   You've never—even when you ate meat—eaten a Rueben sandwich as rich and yummy as the one Flore cooks up.
   
2. Madeline Bistro
   Beet tartare to beat the band and you don't have to like beets! And vegan chocolate soufflé.
3. Pure Luck Restaurant
   Fried pickles, vegan sloppy joes and BBQ sandwiches. And they cook with jack fruit, which is an amazing fruit they use to make the mock meat tangy.
4. Astro Burger
   Lastly, if you are a fast food junkie you can always count on the Astro Burger on Melrose near Paramount Studios for veggie chili dogs and soy chicken fajitas.

Posted by Jennifer Cierlitsky

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has found a new hotbed of activist networking to infiltrate: vegan potlucks.

From this City Pages article, it seems that the FBI has taken particular interest in finding informants to report back to them on potential protest activities regarding the upcoming Republican National Convention. In order to do so, they are trying to get moles to attend vegan potlucks in the Minneapolis area and keep tabs on any demonstration plans they may have.

Not one to be fooled into believing these elaborate conspiracy theories, I propose a simpler and much more believable reason for these suspicious activities: the FBI is finally gearing up its efforts to obtain my super-secret recipe for vegan apple turnovers with homemade icing. If you ever tasted one of these little pockets of soft and squishy apple goodness wrapped in a flaky, melt-in-your-mouth puff pastry, you would understand and wholeheartedly support their extreme efforts.

All this aside, try not to worry. Continue to welcome newbies to your potlucks and make only nominal efforts to check your friends for hidden recording, transmission, or other devices related to espionage. But if you do find yourself breaking bread with Mulder and Scully, let me know.

—Sean

Posted by Sean Conner, Laboratory Investigations Special Projects Coordinator

Update: Some more Oprah-related news for you – if you didn’t get a chance to see Oprah’s puppy mill exposé last month, she’s running it again tonight. More on that here.

Author Kathy Freston's fantastic new book, Quantum Wellness, has been getting a ton of buzz lately, not least because it inspired Oprah Winfrey herself to try veganism for three weeks. Kathy also appeared on Ellen yesterday, and a lot of people have been asking about the book, so by way of an introduction, here's PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk with a quick review:

No matter where on the "wellness continuum" you may be, Kathy Freston's new book, Quantum Wellness, is an absolute must-read.

The concept is simple: You just have to make one small change, and before you know it, you're on the road to getting your spiritual, mental, and physical act—or "wellness," as Kathy likes to call it—together. This may sound like a tall order, but that's the point of the book—tall orders turn into small orders when you break them down into achievable goals. What could be easier?

My favorite parts of the book are the two chapters that Kathy devotes to "conscious eating." I challenge anyone to read these chapters and look at a package of ground beef or drumsticks the same way again. Chapter Five, in which she talks about the now-famous "21-day cleanse" that Oprah has embarked on, also deserves an honorable mention. Who knew that casein, an ingredient in dairy products, is also used to make industrial-strength glue? Try digesting that!

Best of all, Kathy devotes 55 pages to putting conscious eating into practice with mouthwatering recipes such as seared "chicken" strips with shitake mushrooms, stir-fried veggies, and teriyaki sauce over brown rice. Yum!

And in other important news, here's Oprah on Week 2 of the new diet.

-Jack

… But, as our friend Moby shows in this sketch, sometimes you also need to be, like, interesting. This one’s just for fun.

virginmedia/Creative Commons

This is the second time in recent months that Tobey has been in the news standing up for animals: In a recent interview, the Spidey star told Parade magazine:

“I’ve never had any desire to eat meat. In fact, when I was a kid I would have a really difficult time eating meat at all. It had to be the perfect bite, with no fat or gristle or bone or anything like that…. I don’t judge people who eat meat—that’s not for me to say—but the whole thing just sort of bums me out.”

Yeah, it kind of bums me out too, honestly. Anyway, thanks, Tobey, for sticking up for your beliefs.

austinchronicle/Creative Commons

1. The dude speaks, like, five languages.
2. That actually was him and his drummer Tommy Larkins doing the musical interludes in There’s Something About Mary.
3. Jonathan Richman is a vegan. I confirmed this indirectly when I ran into him at the amazing vegetarian restaurant The Grit (yet another reason why Athens is the greatest town in the country) and mumbled incoherently at him. Here’s what he says in a 2004 interview:

Do you identify yourself as a vegetarian?
JR: It’s a great question. Right now I identify as vegan. I’m not strict, 100%. Every once in a while in some country, someone’s mother will make somethin’ and I’m not gonna ask grandma...you know like she’s there, she’s got her apron on and she spent four hours and I’m a guest at her house. I’m not gonna say, “Excuse me is there oleo Margarine and is there hydrogenated this-and-that. Nah, I eat somethin’. You know, I do the best I can. Left to my own devices I’m mostly a vegan.

Right on, Jonathan. No need to get vegan police-y with the grandmas. Anyway, here he is, doing his thing. Enjoy.

Seriously, our letter pretty much wrote itself after that.

If you’ve been following the Clemens hearings, you may have caught a surreal moment yesterday when a Congressman asked Roger whether he was vegan or not. Honestly, I’d be happy if this were a mandatory question at all congressional hearings, but I have to admit that it was a little odd in context. Nonetheless, Roger’s response (essentially “Dude, WTF is a vegan?”) more or less mandated another letter from our corner, and this time we’re sending him a gift basket full of steroid-free vegan goodies to sweeten the deal. It’s an established fact that a letter from PETA goes down a lot easier with a couple of vegan cookies and some faux-beef jerky. Check it out.

P.S. Thanks to PETA Files reader Tamara for sending in a transcript of this exchange!

It’s a new dawn, people. A fresh, vibrant world full of hope. The storm clouds have dispersed and the sun is shining on a happier future, where anything is possible…

On a trial basis, in the fine city of Philadelphia, 7-Eleven is offering vegan sandwiches.

To celebrate this glorious news, and to help make sure this trial is a big success, PETA dispatched our lovely lettuce ladies to the city last week to offer samples of the tasty meatless sandwiches (varieties include "chicken," "steak," and mock egg salad) to passersby. ‘Cuz that’s just how we roll. Check out the pics, and if you live in Philadelphia, be sure to give the sandwiches a try. Word on the street is that they’re pretty damn good.

Oh, brave new world that hath such people in it.

When we announced our top 10 vegetarian-friendly ballparks, part of the idea was to encourage more people to check out a game or two at those stadiums and sample their vegetarian fare. Same sort of deal with our top 10 colleges—one effect of publicizing their veg-friendly cafeterias was that more people would want to go there. I’m going to go out on a limb and say that if this latest top 10 list gets you all amped about the prospect of going to one of these prisons, you may want to set some slightly more ambitious goals for yourself … but for the people who—through bad luck or poor planning—are on their way there, this will come as some very good news.

We get calls all the time from inmates who want to make a positive change in their lives by going vegetarian, and in the course of responding to these individuals, we’ve assembled the following list of the top 10 vegetarian-friendly prisons in the United States as a tidbit for curious citizens, a resource for prisoners’ rights groups, and, well, a menu for future inmates. Whichever category you fall into, I hope you enjoy it.

Click here to read Newsweek’s coverage of the story, and check out the top 10 below:

1. Idaho offers a lentil shepherd’s pie, vegan pizza, vegan Mexican pie, soy patties, soy sausage, veggie loaf, veggie lasagna, veggie meatballs, vegan hot cakes, vegan biscuits, cookies, cakes, pies, and puddings.
2. Massachusetts offers meatless chicken macaroni casserole, vegetable bologna, veggie burger, veggie meatballs, meatless chicken cutlet, meatless chicken nuggets, vegetable chop suey, vegetarian chicken stew.
3. Pennsylvania offers tofu cacciatore, soy BBQ, tofu stir fry, veggie burger, soy Salisbury steak, soy meatballs, tofu scramble, soy croquette, soy sausage patties, soy loaf, soy pasta casserole, soy stuffed cabbage and soy stew.
4. Georgia offers vegan BBQ, meatless deli slices, veggie patty, vegan breakfast patties, vegan chili, baked macaroni crumble, stir fried vegetables and oriental sauce, tofu scramble, vegan cornbread, vegan cookies, vegan cakes, vegan pies, vegan brownies, vegan muffins, vegan peach cobbler.
5. New Hampshire offers chili with texturized vegetable protein, chop suey with texturized vegetable protein, shepherd’s pie with texturized vegetable protein, veggie links, lentil meatballs, grilled tofu sandwich, vegetarian pot pie, veg stir fry, hummus, veg tacos, veg chow mein, veg stew, and several veg soups.
6. Utah offers sweet and sour tofu, tofu taco rice casserole, vegetable and tofu chow mein, veggie burgers, veggie dogs, veggie meatballs, tofu ala king, lots of tofu dishes.
7. Hawaii offers vegetarian shepherd’s pie with texturized vegetable protein, vegetarian stuffed cabbage with texturized vegetable protein, vegetarian stew with texturized vegetable protein, grilled tofu slices, vegetarian teriyaki burger, vegetarian long rice with tofu.
8. Tennessee offers texturized vegetable protein ala king, vegetarian sweet and sour, veggie burger, veg chili, veg stir fry, texturized vegetable protein country gravy.
9. Kansas offers a veggie burger, taco crunch, burrito, meatless pasta, meatless chili, loaded baked potato, vegetable rice soup.
10. North Dakota offers a veggie burger, meatless sloppy joes, veg fajitas, veg noodle stew, veg potato soup.

I get to write about this because Thom Yorke, in addition to fronting the greatest band in the history of the world, is an ethical vegan. So take note — go vegan and your band could be the next Radiohead (there may be a few steps in between.)

Anyway, in case you missed it, the amazing new Radiohead album came out yesterday, and their innovative approach to releasing it (you can download it for any price you care to pay for it on their website) has people in the Marketing world talking up a storm, (and a few record industry execs getting pretty nervous). Maybe there is something to the theory that vegetarians are smarter . . .

I've been annoying my colleagues all day talking about this album, so I'll let the subject go for the time being and leave you with this excerpt from a video that Thom Yorke made a while back to encourage young people to think critically about the ethics of what they're consuming. You can download the whole documentary that this was a part of here.

Chrissie Hynde and PETA VP Dan Mathews

Reflecting Hynde’s commitment to animal advocacy and vegan living, VegiTerranean’s gourmet menu will include no meat or animal products. Hynde wanted Akron to be part of the national trend toward meatless dining, and at nearly every stop of her recent concert tour, she visited vegan hotspots, including Sublime in Ft. Lauderdale and Veganopolis in Portland to make sure her menu features the most delectable veggie dishes possible. The eatery will have a modern, Italian flair, and will feature three distinct areas: a coffee bar, bakery and lounge.

Of course, Hynde arrived at the ribbon cutting ceremony on the back of a Harley—and wearing a waitress uniform, just like in her "Brass in Pocket" video. Outside the restaurant she passed out hors d'oeuvres, implored the crowd to consider going vegan, and gave a speech, along with Akron mayor Donald Plusquellic and PETA’s Dan Mathews.

Here’s a great story about the whole event. Weekend road trip to Akron, anyone?

I think it may be time for a Gladiator, Quills, and Walk the Line marathon this weekend, because two-time Oscar nominee Joaquin Phoenix has taken time away from promoting his upcoming films We Own the Night and Reservation Road to write to Australian Agriculture Minister Peter McGauran about the cruel treatment of sheep by the Australian wool industry.

Phoenix focused his letter on the two worst abuses sheep face in Australia: mulesing and live export. In case you’re not familiar with these two terms, here’s a quick explanation. Mulesing is a painful procedure in which gardening shears are used to cut skin and flesh from lambs' backsides without any painkillers. It is a crude and cheap effort to reduce maggot infestation, even though humane methods exist. Every year, millions of Australian sheep discarded by the wool industry are shipped to the Middle East and North Africa. They are crammed onto multi-tiered ships where they suffer amid the waste of thousands of other animals for weeks on end. Many suffer and die from smothering, starvation, heatstroke, injuries and disease. Each year, tens of thousands of animals die en route—almost 40,000 sheep died in 2005 alone.

Check out Phoenix’s full letter here, and join him in writing Peter McGauran here.

This vegansexuals story just won’t die. I can’t believe all the play it’s getting, especially on the Internet. There was a film crew in the office the other day shooting for this local piece, and it really got me thinking about how, at least here at PETA HQ, the vegansexual thing just doesn’t play. If anything, it’s the exact opposite. I’ve even heard rumors from old timers that Ingrid once forbade intra-office dating, simply on the grounds that she wanted the staff out meeting new people to make vegan.

Take my old boss, for instance. She has a foolproof system for taking the average unsuspecting meat-eating sailor or merchant marine under her wing and turning him into a hardcore vegan animal rights activist within a month. No joke. She’ll show up with these dudes and you can just tell that they’re completely helpless under her vegan goddess natural foods tantric love spell. Of course, once she gets them good and indoctrinated, she cuts them loose and finds her next prey, and with Norfolk being a big Navy town, with new guys arriving in port all the time, there is always another “victim” in line. Sometimes I feel a little bad for them, especially the ones that roll up wearing dress blues in their fancy raised pick-ups and by the time they leave they’re well on their way to joining an organic commune or living in a van and playing hacky sack all day. OK, so maybe I’m exaggerating a little bit, but seriously, you can’t make this stuff up.

Anyway, enjoy the video. And fair warning to the meat-eating readers out there, most animal rights folks aren’t of the vegansexual persuasion, so that hot guy or gal you’re eyeing at the bar just may be on their own personal mission to turn the world vegan one person at a time . . . by any means necessary.

Sooooooo, a lot of blogs have been talking about this weird new concept of "Vegansexuals". Some psychologist in New Zealand coined the word after conducting a study which found that some vegans just don't really like to do it with meat-eaters. A high percentage of respondents evidently reported that meat-eaters smell funky. Tucker Carlson reported on the story last week, and made the claim out of left field that being a vegan kills your sex drive. I have no idea where Tucker pulled this myth from (maybe a bad experience with a lethargic hippie in college?), but I can guarantee that if he just finds the right vegan girl, he'll change his mind quicker than it takes him to put on that dapper new tie of his in the morning.

Tucker did follow up the story the next day with a nice piece in which he read our statement on the topic—he claims he hasn’t changed his opinion yet, but he’ll come around. … Anyway, onto PETA's position: We're pro inter-dietary dating for about a million reasons; for one thing, if you're ever going to persuade someone that they need to stop eating animals, you need to be around them, talk to them, listen to their point of view, and, hell, sometimes even sleep with them. Being vegan isn't about being in a club, and while there's nothing wrong with having a preference for someone who shares your views, I wouldn't want anyone to think that giving up meat means you have to drain the ol’ dating pool at the same time. As Tucker pointed out, going vegetarian is supposed to get you girls, not cut off your options.

Finally, on a more personal note, sometimes it’s difficult enough as it is. I'll take it where I can damn well get it.

P.S. Eating meat causes impotence.

Is it me or does Czech supermodel Petra Nemcova look more beautiful than ever lately? Well, I think I know why. I just came across this story about how she recently went vegan to make a statement and to save fish, so there ya go.

OK, I guess maybe her perfect genes could have a little something to do with it, but still . . . Seriously though, I can’t think of a better spokesperson for veganism than Petra. You go girl.

AskMen/Creative Commons

The folks in our Vegan department have asked me to remind everyone that the deadline for our Sizzling Summer BBQ Recipe Contest is midnight on July 4. So, if you want to be in the running to win a new grill, among other cool prizes, get your recipes in soon. The winning recipes will also be featured on VegCooking.com.

The sky's the limit as long as the dish is vegan and suitable for a barbecue. Appetizers, salads, entrees, desserts—show us what you've got! Our panel of PETA chefs will select three winners based on taste, creativity and theme.

All this food talk is making me kind of hungry. I wonder if I can somehow scam my way onto the recipe judging committee . . .

My friend and colleague Melissa sent me a couple of pics of her baby sisters’ college graduation over the weekend, and when I opened the email, I was totally expecting to see a couple of the usual stock family photos and move on. But instead I saw these amazing shots . . .

World, meet Stephanie and Kimberly Carpel, animal activists extraordinaire. They both just graduated from California State University—Northridge, where they started Students for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. After the graduation ceremony, their Mom and Dad (both vegan as well) threw them a huge reception (all the food was vegan of course) that wowed both the vegans and non-vegans alike.

Kimberly and Stephanie have a pretty exciting summer ahead of them as well. They’re soon heading off to Spain for the annual Running of the Nudes and shortly thereafter, they’ll be arriving here in Norfolk to intern at PETA for the summer.

Can’t wait to meet y'all!

So I walked into my local Taco Bell today, psyched to order my usual lunch, the always delicious and satisfying combo of a bean and rice burrito and a beef and potato burrito (substitute beans for beef and salsa for sour cream). The cashier was excited to see me (yes, all the employees know me and my pal Joel Bartlett, we eat there that much) and point out that, lo and behold, the new specialty item they’re pushing is vegetarian. It’s called a 7-Layer Crunchwrap, and it’s basically like a double bean tostada thing wrapped in a tortilla and grilled. Of course, they’ll gladly make it vegan by nixing the cheese and sour cream, which I guess makes the vegan version a 5-Layer Crunchwrap, huh?

Anyway, just wanted to share my newfound favorite menu item at the ultimate purveyor of Mexican fast food goodness, and holler at my favorite girl at the register. See you tomorrow, Kim.

So I’ve been vegetarian for kind of a long time, and back in the day, my choices for nonleather shoes and belts and so forth were pretty much nonexistent. If I found a decent pair of vegan shoes in my size, I’d snap up a couple of pairs at a time. Honestly, it was a little tough. But that was back in the dark ages, and today it couldn’t be easier. I don’t have to look hard at all to find cruelty-free clothes anymore, and as you can see from the picture, the results are positively devastating.

But I digress. The point is that I was really excited to see this Today Show piece about modern cruelty-free fashions. It makes it clear how easy it is nowadays to be cruelty-free and super fashionable at the same time, if that's your thing. Check it out:

So every now and then, we have these meetings at PETA where everyone in my department talks about the new animal-friendly features they have lined up for the website, and we brainstorm a few good ways to promote them on the Internet. The highlight of these meetings is always when my good friend Mylie starts raving about her latest project and we all make fun of her. Mylie, bless her heart, is the kind of girl who brings in, like, lotus nuts and fennel seeds for everyone to snack on at work, and while I haven't been able to substantiate this rumor yet, it's possible that she may have been raised on a commune. Anyway, the point of all this is that Mylie is even more pumped than usual about her new "DIY Vegan Candles" giveaway (yes, apparently not only is there such a thing as a vegan candle, but it's possible to actually construct one yourself somehow … out of soy), so I thought I'd give her feature a little love on the blog. To be fair to Mylie, the giveaway is doing really well so far, and—though I hate myself for saying this—the candles actually look kind of cool. So there you have it—you can enter to win some kickass DIY, 100 percent vegan, soy candles here. If you don't want to do it for the animals, do it for Mylie.