Team PETA does it again! After losing last year by a scant half a point, PETA has reclaimed the crown in the Sixth Annual GlobalBee International Quiz trivia challenge sponsored by the Sister Cities of Newport News. Team PETA blew away the competition—which consisted of a field of 16 teams representing Hampton Roads–area colleges, high schools, civic groups, and other organizations—besting the second-place team by a comfortable margin of 13 points.

Team PETA members Emily Bowling, Chris Holbein, Hannah Schein, and Lauren Stroyeck aced the diverse topics, which included geography, cultural traditions, current affairs, and science. The team walked away with a handsome trophy, which will be engraved with Team PETA's name and kept proudly for a year.

Holbein attributes the team's success to its members' self-described status as news junkies but also gives a nod to their healthy vegan diets, which he says helps keep their arteries clear and their wits razor sharp.

Are vegetarians really smarter? According to a 2012 analysis of nine studies, eating lots of vegetables is associated with a lower risk of dementia and age-related cognitive decline. And a study by Southampton University linked a high IQ with being vegetarian after finding that schoolchildren who tested high on IQ tests were more likely to become vegetarian later in life.

Want to protect your health, animals, and the environment all at the same time? It's a no-brainer—go vegan. 

We knew our Sexiest Vegetarian Celebrity nominee Rooney Mara was meat-free, but it seems that the girl with the dragon tattoo is also the girl who bid dairy adieu. The buzz from the Sundance Film Festival is that Rooney has been noshing on vegan eats. Perhaps Casey Affleck rubbed off on her while they were filming Ain't Them Bodies Saints. 

They'll both have plenty to munch on at the Screen Actors Guild Awards and the Oscars. To satisfy vegan nominees, such as Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, and Joaquin Phoenix, the SAG awards will offer roasted beets with blood oranges, mint, and black olives; cauliflower couscous with pomegranate salsa; and farro with kale, young broccoli, currants, and pine nuts and the Oscars menu will include vegan pizza. 

Original fun girl Cyndi Lauper is also working on being a vegan fun girl and is tweeting about her progress. "I got to admit," she wrote, "my voice sounds grt frm this diet." PETA has been tweeting Cyndi some yummy recipes to try, suggesting good restaurants to stop at while she's on the road, and, of course, keeping up with all the buzz that Cyndi and other celebs are stirring up for animals on Twitter:

With the big game fast approaching, we're betting that Rooney Mara's family full of football fanatics—as well as scores of other folks—will be taking PETA's advice and serving up vegan wings on Super Bowl Sunday. What else would be appropriate while cheering on animal defender Terrell Suggs and the Ravens?

But it will be a bittersweet end to the season for us if our buddy Tony Gonzalez really is hanging up his cleats for good. Tony is reportedly considering retirement, and while we hope we get to cheer for our favorite Falcons player again, we're proud that he will go down in history as the greatest tight end in the NFL. 

To keep up with what all your favorite stars are doing for animals, follow @PETA on Twitter.

The Federal Bureau of Investigations just released preliminary data of America's most violent cities, and Flint, Michigan, had more reported crimes per capita than any other large city. Number two, Detroit, trailed by a wide margin. So to help Flint stop resembling scenes from The Godfather, PETA has made the city an offer it can't refuse—or at least it shouldn't. We offered to pay the cash-strapped city to display this banner across City Hall and other government buildings:

As we explained in our letter to Mayor Dayne Walling:

But eating vegan means making a conscious effort to be compassionate three times a day.

And because people who deliberately abuse animals often go on to commit violent acts against human beings, Flint might also help stem the flow of violence by advocating respect for animals—and encouraging citizens to report any suspected acts of cruelty. 

Reducing violence in Flint means helping people to put down their weapons, starting with the steak knife. 

Rosa Parks is remembered as one of the most fearless civil rights activists in history. So it's fitting that her birthday, February 4, has been deemed the National Day of Courage, when we are all encouraged to raise our voices against injustice.

The Henry Ford Museum in the Detroit area, where Parks spent the latter half of her life, plans to pay tribute to her with a day of special events. But the museum overlooked an important detail: Parks didn't harm animals for food. She was a vegetarian. And a celebration of her life and her legacy should be, too. So PETA raised our voices and asked the museum to honor all of Parks' convictions by serving vegetarian food.

Parks is, of course, best known for her work to end segregation and racism. But like her friend, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Parks soon broadened her base to advocate for all socially disadvantaged people. And she, like Dr. King's widow, Coretta Scott King, and his son, Dexter Scott King, went on to embrace other disadvantaged species. Believing that animals should also be free from being subjugated and abused, Parks became a vegetarian and King's widow and son both went vegan.

Not only did Rosa Parks refuse to give up her seat on the bus, she also refused to go along with the idea that it's OK to inflict suffering on others for her own ends. In honoring her legacy, we should do the same.  

Would PETA miss the chance to educate nearly 1 million people about the benefits of vegan eating? Kale no!

Attendees of President Barack Obama's inauguration were so smitten by Chris P. Carrot, Celery Stalk, and Mother Earth that they actually lined up to have their pictures taken with the patriotic trio and snatched up vegetarian/vegan starter kits and copies of "Glass Walls"—a video narrated by Paul McCartney—while they were at it.

The vociferous vegetables even managed to win over a woman who was willing to consider eating fewer animals than she was wearing:

In his inaugural speech, President Obama promised to "respond to the threat of climate change." We can't think of an easier—or tastier—way to do that than by going vegan.

When Amar'e Stoudemire shot his anti-fur ad for PETA, he said, "I wouldn't want to see anything cruel happen to any animals just for fashion." Now the New York Knicks' star forward is showing that he doesn't want to see anything cruel happen to animals just for food, either. Amar'e says his new vegetarian diet is helping him stay healthy after he had to have a third surgery on his knees.

Amar'e didn't go vegetarian in time to make Shape's list of the 25 Sexiest Vegan and Vegetarian Celebrities, but there's always next year. The mag did give a shout-out to PETA's reigning Sexiest Male Vegetarian Celebrity, Woody Harrelson, as well as our buds Mickey Madden, Casey Affleck, Russell Brand, Steve-O, and Mac Danzig. 

Maybe Chicago's Rahm Emanuel will  make Shape's list next year. "America's Fittest Mayor" is endorsing Rip Esselstyn's vegan Engine 2 Diet. 

And these sexy stars made PETA's list of our favorite animal tweethearts:

To keep up with what all your favorite stars are doing for animals, follow @PETA on Twitter. 

Are you still trying to cool off from the scorcher that was 2012? Scientists report that it was the hottest year on record for the U.S.—but instead of blaming Mother Nature, we can point the finger at ourselves. "It is abundantly clear that we are seeing [human-caused] climate change in action," according to Kevin Trenberth, a senior scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research.

So PETA sent the greenest gals we know on a jaunt across Canada to show people how easy it is to go green—no bodypaint required. Since carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide together are the biggest contributors to climate change and raising animals for food is one of the largest sources of carbon dioxide emissions and the single largest source of both methane and nitrous oxide emissions, going vegan has been called the "single most effective thing you can do" to combat climate change. 

People eagerly posed for pictures with the lime ladies, and they took home PETA's "Meat's Not Green" leaflets and copies of legendary animal and environmental advocate Paul McCartney's meat industry exposé, "Glass Walls." 

By simply opting for faux meats and dairy products over animal-based ones, we can make 2013 a lucky year for animals and help reduce climate change. And that's pretty cool.

At last night's Golden Globe Awards, the hot topic on the red carpet was the cold snap in L.A.: Temps had dropped to 37 degrees. But not one of the nominees (and no other celebrity we could find) wore fur. Hollywood has had quite the animal-friendly makeover over the past generation with PETA on the scene!

The majority of fur today comes from fur farms, where animals slowly go insane from the intense confinement. Many animals on fur farms circle frantically in their cages, a sign of severe psychological stress.

© StarMaxInc.com

Not only was the glitzy event fur-free, it also showcased a few of today's most vibrant vegans! Jessica Chastain—PETA's reigning Sexiest Vegetarian Celebrity—and previous champ Anne Hathaway nabbed the top actress awards.

PETA made sure that grocery shoppers didn't wind up in a pickle when the eco-friendly ban on plastic bags went into effect in Oakland, California. A convivial carrot and personable pickle offered shoppers at one grocery store free tote bags that were greener than a cucumber salad.

That's because not only did the bags help shoppers stop contributing to plastic-bag pollution, they also illustrated how much the meat industry pollutes the air, water, and soil. Inside their new bags, shoppers found a DVD of Paul McCartney's meat industry exposé "Glass Walls" and a vegetarian/vegan starter kit.

Many shoppers told the pair of produce that they were trying to be greener or were thinking about going vegan. And the green goodies were such a hit that employees came out of the store to ask if they could take some inside because customers were asking for them.

If you didn't get one of the totes, don't go out of your gourd. Pick up a vegetarian/vegan starter kit, a "Glass Walls" DVD, and a PETA bunny tote to help you be healthier and more Earth-friendly, and make your friends go green with envy. 

We know that there weren't any pigs on your table this Christmas, but were there pigs at it? At a festive Christmas party in Goa, India, not only were pigs at the table, they were also the guests of honor.

The Panjim Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) had intercepted a group of people who were illegally transporting about 100 pigs and who intended to slaughter and sell them for holiday meals. But PAWS rescued all the pigs and took them to safety at its shelter. So, since the pigs were no longer becoming the feast, PAWS and PETA India decided to throw them one instead.

The gleeful pigs happily munched on corn, spinach, strawberries, grapes, and other treats, while their proud rescuers doted on them. And as news cameras caught the pigs' mirthful antics, they also captured the not-so-subtle message that PETA India had prominently displayed at the table: a sign that implored, "Give Pigs the Gift of Life: Go Vegan."