Written by Heather Faraid Drennan
Maybe being able to see the Hollywood sign from my living room makes everything remind me of a bad horror movie, but seeing the headline "New Strain of 'Mad Cow' Disease" is enough to make anyone (especially meat-eaters) shriek like a celluloid scream queen. That's right—bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) has struck again!
Mad cow disease first captured the world's attention when it appeared on the scene in the United Kingdom, and it has since been found in cows in Canada, the U.S., and now Japan—although the latest stricken animals are believed to have come from Australia. One cow who tested positive was only 23 months old, the youngest ever found with BSE, and officials believe that this may be a new strain of the disease that can't always be detected with Japan's current monitoring system.
Since the prions that cause BSE can be found in all parts of an affected animal's flesh, staying away from meat is really the only sure-fire way to avoid mad cow disease.
Written by PETA
Telemundo host Natalia Villaveces' new PETA ad was unveiled in South Beach yesterday, and Spanish-language media, including People en Español and CNN en Español went a little, well, bananas.
Villaveces credits PETA's Alec Baldwin-narrated video "Meet Your Meat" with convincing her to switch to a vegan diet. "Once I made that connection between loving an animal and eating an animal is when things click[ed] in my brain," she says.
Want to help someone you know relate to who's on their plate? Send them a link to "Meet Your Meat" or post it on your Facebook page.
Written by Alisa Mullins
Bleary-eyed and barely out of bed, I woke up to this morning's Oscar nominations delightfully unsurprised. Every year, the nominees for the Best Documentary Academy Award manage to reflect concerns that stir Americans most, so I wasn't shocked to see that two of this year's five nominated films are The Cove—the critically acclaimed examination of Japan's bloody dolphin trade and slaughter—and Food Inc., the eye-opening examination of the nation's grossly inhumane and environmentally unsustainable production of meat.
Alec Baldwin—who, coincidentally, narrated PETA's iconic documentary, "Meet Your Meat"—is hosting this year's award show, so on March 7, I'm going to be sitting on my couch, waiting for him to give a gold statue to The Cove or Food Inc. with his best Jack Donaghy swagger. I'll be happy if either movie wins, although I am partial to The Cove. How about you? Which do you think will take home the gold?
Written by Logan Scherer
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.
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.
Written by Karin Bennett
If you have a general question for PETA and would like a response, please e-mail Info@peta.org. If you need to report cruelty to an animal, please click here. If you are reporting an animal in imminent danger and know where to find the animal and if the abuse is taking place right now, please call your local police department. If the police are unresponsive, please call PETA immediately at 757-622-7382 and press 2.
Follow PETA on Twitter!