Starbucks has a solid history of working with PETA to reduce suffering for animals used for food and to offer its customers cruelty-free options. So when we heard that the nation's premier coffee chain had begun using beetle juice to color its Strawberries and Crème Vegan Frappuccinos, we knew something was amiss.

We went straight to the source. True to form, Starbucks committed to making the switch back to a plant-based colorant.

It will soon be Starbucks vegan strawberry Frapps all 'round at PETA headquarters in celebration of the settling of the Frappaccino flap by what PETA calls "a corporation with a conscience." We appreciate that Starbucks clearly learned from its error, and since no one, vegetarian or not, wants beetle juice in their Frapp, we are glad that everyone will soon be able to celebrate the fact that it's gone for good.

I'll drink (a Strawberries and Crème Vegan Frappuccino) to that.

In its former incarnation as a sports and concert venue, the building that now houses Houston's Lakewood Church must have been witness to the consumption of countless hot dogs, hamburgers, and other meaty foods. But if a recent PETA proposal is accepted, a bit of that carnivorous record could be offset.

After Lakewood pastor Joel Osteen expressed an aversion to pork products, PETA offered to prepare a faux-ham dinner for Lakewood congregants on Easter Sunday if Osteen displays this banner in the church's sanctuary:

Pig: (c) iStockphoto.com/Eric Isselee Wall: (c) iStockphoto.com/kyoshino

Of course, anyone can celebrate a cruelty-free Easter dinner—and PETA can help!

The Lorax is what? The Lorax is whose?

The Lorax is property of late Dr. Seuss!

Yes, he is the Lorax who speaks for the trees,

Which factory farms will chop down as they please.

Now someone has taken the Lorax away

From the doctor's dear widow, or so people say.

OK, it's a statue—though that hardly counts

Since our planet still suffers in massive amounts.

The Lorax may speak for the truffula trees,

But the Amazon basin plants—who speaks for these?

It's meat and it's dairy—it's honey and eggs,

While the Earth hardly stands on its last pair of legs.

Buckets of chicken are bad like those big SUVs;

No cutlet's as lovely as truffula trees.

No more should the wild plants all be cut down

When tofu's available all over town.

So PETA has offered a bird figurine

To stand in for the Lorax, who's so pure and so "green."

We hope Mrs. Geisel will take in our bust,

Before piglets and chickens all crumble to dust.

For he is the Lorax—he'll yell and he'll shout

'Til all Earth's animals will run out.

You want to be friends with the air, Earth, and water?

Then simply go vegan—with son and with daughter.

P.S. For another take on Dr. Seuss and vegan living, check this out.

They say everyone's a bit Irish on St. Patrick's Day. You know—just like everyone's a little gay during Pride Week. Or is that just me? Whatever. The point is that even if you could never pass for a resident of the Emerald Isle, March 17 is a great day to go vegan. After all, why settle for the "wearin' of the green" once a year when you can eat your greens every day?

Photo: Hillary.Ryland | cc by 2.0

Need more convincing? Here, in no particular order, are seven lucky reasons why you should go vegan on St. Paddy's Day: 

Green beer is OK, but green veggies are even better.

1. Green meat? Ewww!
2. Speaking of green, meat isn't.
   Vegan foods are the most eco-friendly—you'll be so green that you won't have to worry about getting pinched on St. Paddy's, no matter what color you're wearing.
3. What's more Irish than potatoes and cabbage?
   Put 'em together (with some leeks, soy milk, and seasonings) and you get colcannon—a dish so Irish it'll make you name your daughters Faith and Begorrah.
4. Even the Irish can't live on colcannon alone.
   Happily, vegan foods are as varied as they are delicious—try bean burritos, sesame noodles, falafel, spinach lasagne, spicy coconut-pineapple curry, and roasted veggie pizza, just to name a few. Is it time for lunch yet?
5. Ready to raise a pint?
   Guinness Extra Stout is vegan (in North America, at least), and there are plenty of other vegan beers, ales, stouts, lagers, etc.—any one of which will be better for you than drinking fat-, cholesterol-, and sugar-laden milk.
6. If your health is a concern (as it should be), you won't need the luck o' the Irish to stay fit if you're eating the vegan way.
   Folks who eat balanced vegan meals are generally leaner, live longer, and have a lower risk of heart disease, cancer, and strokes.
7. Animals on factory farms suffer.
   They're crammed into crates, deprived of exercise and sunlight, pumped full of hormones, fed unnatural junk, and then violently slaughtered. By going vegan, you'll give them cause for celebration too!

Of course, whether or not it's St. Patrick's Day, the best time to go vegan is always the same—right now!

Update: Trenton Mayor Tony Mack has accepted PETA's offer to "TP" city hall and other government buildings in Trenton, saying in a news release, "I am pleased that an organization that stands against animal cruelty is willing to cross over and invest in a fundamental issue in our community." No problem, Mayor Mack—we're happy to be able to help get Trenton out of this sticky situation.

Trenton, New Jersey, has a going growing problem. A budget stalemate has prevented the city from approving a $42,573 paper-products purchase, and supplies are running low. Trenton will likely run out of toilet paper for its government buildings next week, so we're rolling out our solution. We've offered to send Trenton a 6-month supply of toilet paper that is so decorative the rolls won't need Jonathan Adler–designed covers.

This bathroom reading material could keep Trentonians clean in more ways than one. By going vegan, city employees would avoid ingesting the feces, vomit, and bacteria that contaminates much meat.

I can't think of a better reason to skip to the loo.

Photo of the Day:

Like Van Halen said, "Go ahead and jump."

After learning that Detroit was the second-saddest city in America, the leaping "Lettuce Ladies" made Detroiters hoppy by telling them about the cure for the blues: going vegan. Studies show that vegetarians have lower rates of depression and anxiety than meat-eaters do. The receptive residents grabbed up our "Think Before You Eat" leaflets like they were vinyl copies of 1984. 

Ready to eat your way to happiness? "You say you don't know—you won't know … until you begin…"

Hip-hop artist—and defender of animals—J Fields recently sat down with a PETA video crew to answer some questions about his involvement with PETA, why he went vegan (hint: It involved a KFC protest), his take on using animal skins and fur for clothing and accessories, and the importance of adopting companion animals (like his own pampered cat) instead of buying from pet stores and breeders.

The inspiring musician—who has his own independent label, Black Polarbare Game—also modeled PETA's McCruelty T-shirt:

Want to look sharp and combat cruelty like J Fields does? Sport a shirt of your own from the PETA Catalog!

Photo of the Day

If there's one universal truth about vegans, it's that we love to eat. So when PETA learned that the National Mustard Museum, located in Middleton, Wisconsin, was in financial trouble, we wanted to help.

We wrote to the colonel of mustard, the museum's founder and curator Barry Levenson, and offered to pay to place this ad at the troubled condiment capital:

Photo: Julie McCullough by Robert Sebree

Not only would the ad help the mustard museum's finances pass muster now, it would also give future museum attendance a boost—if meat-eating patrons started spreading their mustard on veggie dogs instead, they would enjoy lower rates of obesity, cancer, heart disease, and diabetes, meaning that they'd be healthy enough to keep visiting in the years to come.

PHOTO OF THE DAY

In case you've ever wondered what meat looks like before it's processed, here are some calf and goat remains spotted outside a restaurant in Queens, New York.

Lost your appetite? Try this instead.

We all know how easy it is for vegans to dine out, with options popping up everywhere from five-star resorts to Chipotle. But people who are just coming around to the vegan way of eating or are thinking about making the switch could probably use some helpful hints about which restaurant dishes are vegan or could easily be made so.

Enter foursquare, an app for iPhone, Android, and more that allows users to "check in" when they are at restaurants or other public places and leave helpful comments.

How can you use foursquare to help animals? Simply share vegan tips with prospective patrons—comments such as "The vegan chicken fajitas rock" or "The faux-sausage and vegan-cheese pizza is awesome."

Share Your Tips!

Got a good  recommendation? Then share it!

It's easy. Just check in on the restaurant's foursquare page:

Leave your tips:

And other users can see your tip when they check in:

It's handy for seasoned vegans, too, when we're traveling or just trying out a new restaurant. And if you check in at your favorite place often enough, you can become the "mayor" of the venue on foursquare. Some restaurants give discounts and freebies to their mayors. Who doesn't love free food?

Let Us Know!

Did you share a foursquare tip? Let us know by sharing your link in the comments below.