Spain to Grant Legal Rights to Great Apes June 30, 2008

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Los animals no son nuestros para comer, llevar, experimentar, o usar para diversión!

Any Spanish speakers in the house? If so, please join me in a huge round of felicitaciones for our friends over in Spain. No, not for their big Euro 08 soccer win, although that was pretty sweet too. The Spanish Parliament have begun the process of passing groundbreaking legislation granting great apes the rights to life and freedom. Read that sentence again. Great apes. The right to life and freedom. I know. It's incredible.

Susanad813 / Creative Commons
It'll be a while before the law passes, but once it does, it means that it'll be illegal to perform harmful experiments on great apes in Spain, as well as use them in circuses or movies & television. In Germany, the basic rights of animals have been guaranteed by the federal constitution since 2002, but this new law in Spain marks the first time specific rights have been granted to individual non-human animals.

For a country where some people still get their kicks by forcing pissed-off bulls to chase them around town, this is a pretty amazing step forward. The world is changing as we speak, people. Viva la revolución!

—Dan

Free Stuff Friday: Woof! Prize Pack June 27, 2008

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Lots of people saying "Woof!" lately, eh? That's because pigs and dogs have more in common than most people are aware of. The dogs of the world have it lucky, while the pigs . . . not so much. For the pigs' sake, sign our petition saying that pigs deserve the same protection as dogs.

Now that you've helped the pigs, it's time to spread the word like Ryan and Rachel:

To make this easy for you we are giving away a Woof! prize pack complete with a tee, hat, and a whole bunch of stickers to one lucky winner!

To win, comment below with what you would name this pig:



I would go with Oliver. Or Gordon . . .

This contest ends July 18, 2008 and the winner will be chosen and notified by July 25, 2008!

Just so you know...by commenting here, we're taking that as acknowledgment that you've read and agreed to our privacy policy.

Also by commenting, you are agreeing to the following terms and conditions.

I love pigs!

-Ashleigh

Independence For Animals June 27, 2008

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July 4th is Independence Day in the United States. And while we know not everyone reading this is from America, we are positive that each of you around the world cares about making sure animals are free from the atrocities of slaughterhouses, laboratories, fur farms, and circuses. "With liberty and justice for all" should include animals, too, right?

So here's a reminder to:
1) Print out some peta2 flags.
2) Take a photo of yourself with one or more of them.
3) Send the photo(s) over to us by emailing StreetTeam@peta2.com.

You'll get 1000 Street Team points for doing this.

Some of you did this for Flag Day, and we'd love to get even more photos!

Click each of the photos below to get the featured flag. Easy enough? Do it up!

Which is your favorite flag?

-Pulin

Introducing the peta2 Advice Blog! June 26, 2008

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If you're anything like us, you're constantly looking for advice about the many different relationships you deal with in your life—boyfriends, girlfriends, best friends, parents, sisters, brothers, whatever! It can get tricky, though, when animal rights issues come into play with those relationships. That's where the peta2 advice blog comes in—we're here to answer your questions in a bi-weekly advice blog. Enjoy our very first installment, and keep an eye on the blog for future posts!

"I really like this guy but he refuses to listen to me about animal rights at all! What should I do?"

-Desperately Seeking Vegan Love

I feel ya. This can be a rough situation. Try sneaking animal rights into conversations. For example, say he says something like, "Cars are so bad for the environment! I wish people rode their bikes more." You can respond with, "I agree! And did you know that going vegetarian is better for the environment (and animals) than switching to a hybrid car? Really makes you think twice, doesn't it?" Or you can sit down and explain that you think it's unfair that he won't listen to you talk about something that's so important to you—find out why he feels uncomfortable. Maybe you just need to go easy on the brutal stuff at first and ease into it. Meet him halfway! - Marta

Animal rights issues seem to be a huge part of who you are. If this guy likes you then he should like everything about you—including your activism for animals! I agree with Marta—let him ease into animal rights. Let him get to know you, and your views, gradually. Don't forget that at one point you too were probably oblivious when it came to animals! If after a few months he shows absolutely no interest in learning about the plight of animals and seems to genuinely not care about animals or your views then I say ditch him and find someone who has a heart! - Ashleigh

What's there to like about someone who refuses to listen to you about animal rights? You think someone who supports cruelty to animals will be a fun date? Heck no. It's one thing if the person is too shy to go to a protest with you, but there's no excuse for total ignorance. Compassion = Hot. Ignorance = Not. - Pulin

Have a relationship question (that relates to animal rights, of course) that you're dying for us to answer? E-mail peta2@peta2.com with the subject line "Help me peta2! I need advice!" and your question just may be answered by us in our next advice blog!

And if you have any advice for Desperately Seeking Vegan Love, be sure to comment with it!

Why Are Pigs Dancing at Warped Tour? June 26, 2008

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This week in the lives of road warriors we kicked off Warped Tour in California, spreading the word about pigs being abused in factory farms.

You may remember that Alida from 1997 is beginning to blog her experiences being vegetarian on the road for peta2. Well, we were lucky enough to have the band play an acoustic set in OUR TENT. Um...hell yea!

Even the pigs were rocking out.


We also had some AMAZING Street Teamers come out and help save some animals—like Leonard, voted Cutest Vegetarian Alive, and Tyler.


Make sure you come say hi to us at one of the other Vans Warped Tour dates. Did you win your tickets yet?

Stay Brutal,

Paige

Power 106 Hip Hop Festival June 25, 2008

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Hey all! peta2 road warriors checking in after participating in our first Power 106 hip-hop festival in Anaheim, CA. While sharing an arena with names such as Chris Brown, T-Pain, Lil Wayne, and the legendary Ice Cube, we are stoked to say we also found hoards of people who care about animals and wanted to help them by signing our petition.

This type of festival is a newer crowd of people we're getting the chance to talk to and new faces are lining up to watch our videos about animals on factory farms, which is completely exciting in many ways. On behalf of the WOOF! campaign and pigs everywhere, we say thank you to the eager people who signed up and talked to us in Anaheim. Now it's back to some Warped Tour dates and looking forward to the start of the Mayhem Festival next month.

Come say hi—we're excited to meet you all!

-The peta2 tour kids

Leave Chickens Alone (Video Contest Winner) June 25, 2008

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Hello buddies. How's freedom fighting for the animals going this week? It's been pretty good for me, and I've even got a trip planned out to Portland, so I'm excited for that. I'll be screening I Am An Animal at Portland State University for free, so drop me a line if you need details. We can totally hang out and eat vegan doughnuts.

The point of this blog, though, is to announce the winner of the peta2 video contest. After reviewing dozens and dozens of great entries, I'm happy to announce that Claudia from Miami, Florida, has won the contest. Along with this honor, she'll get her own chicken costume and some rad merch from our store. Claudia's video, "Leave Chickens Alone" defends chickens in a creative way that plays off of the viral video "Leave Britney Alone" by Chris Crocker. I think it's brilliant. What do you think?

Here's her video:

Claudia tells me that she loves Oldies music and speaking up for animals and the environment. She first got interested in animal rights after hearing about the Iams Cruelty campaign, and she continues to also be interested in that as well as campaigns against PetSmart and KFC. She's not even halfway through her time in high school, so I know she'll influence a lot of other students in the next few years.

Congrats, Claudia, and thanks to everyone else on the Street Team who entered! The videos were really inspiring, so make sure you send them to all your friends so they can see your great work.

-Pulin

Make Starbucks Even More Vegan-Friendly June 24, 2008

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Those of you coffee-addicted vegans out there are, I'm sure, well-aware of the fact that Starbucks offers soymilk at every location. It's the world's largest chain of coffee shops, so it's pretty sweet that you can go get your caffeine fix in a very vegan way practically anywhere in the world. Wouldn't it be so amazing if you could get a tasty vegan snack while guzzling down your drink? Yup, we thought so, too.

Have you guys seen MyStarbucksIdea.com? Basically it's a site where anyone can go to suggest their ideas for Starbucks. Starbucks has told PETA that it takes the comments received from the web site very seriously, so please take a few minutes today to ask the company to start offering vegan pastries, snacks, and sandwiches! After all, if companies don't know there's a demand for vegan options, they don't have any incentive to carry them—so it's that much more important to make your voice heard.

Check out former Starbucks barista turned peta2 staffer Rachel enjoying a soy iced coffee espresso:

And wouldn't a vegan brownie to go with that drink be delicious? It's a reality at some Starbucks locations in Canada. Check out these brownies that Ryan took a picture of at a Starbucks in Kitchener, Ontario:


It only takes a second to register to submit your idea, and this could go a long way in making Starbucks even more vegan-friendly. I mean, who doesn't want vegan brownies (and other deliciousness) at all Starbucks locations?

♥ Marta

If You Like Metal, Check Out This Tour June 24, 2008

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You might remember the interview I did with George from Rise of Caligula a little while back. Well, the guys are headed out on some insane number of dates this summer everywhere from Arkansas and Iowa to New York and California. Chances are, they are coming to a local venue near you, so if you're into metal or hardcore, check it out.

Of course, we're fans of the band and their support for animal rights. And they'll have some peta2 stickers and info out at their table including stuff about the Woof campaign. Rise of Caligula even included a peta2 logo on their tour promo materials to help support the cause.

Good dudes. Don't forget to check out other tours which we'll actually have some staffers on including Warped Tour and Mayhem Fest. The dates are on our MySpace.

-Pulin

Woof: A Widget For Your Page June 23, 2008

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Do you know what a widget is? It's sort of a cooler version of a web banner. I say cooler because instead of having the same thing all the time, you can actually customize it and add in cool features like blogs, videos, and more. We have one for the Woof campaign on our MySpace page right now, and we'd love it if you put one on your page, too.

So there's this company called Gydget which allows bands, organizations like peta2, and other people to make their own widgets. peta2 is one of the most popular this month, and if you all help us by putting the widget on your own pages, we could win $500 from Gydget for being the most popular! Save animals and help raise some money?! Sweet.

Click 'grab it' to add this Gydget to your page!

Thanks, everyone.

-Pulin

1997 Checking In June 23, 2008

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I'm happy to let you in on the first of some exclusive blogs about being vegetarian out on the road from sweet band 1997. Check out what Alida has to say below, and keep an eye out for future blogs from the band! - Marta

Hey guys!

So I'm going to start my blog out by explaining a little about myself and why this blog is so significant to me. I'm Alida and I play the keyboards and sing in a band called 1997. We're made up of Caleb (guitars, vocals), Alan (bass), Kevin (vocals), Nick (drums), and Cody (guitar). We're signed with Victory Records and have been touring and sharing our music for about a year and a half so far. We have two albums out right now, one of which just came out on May 27th. It's called "On the Run" and I've never been so proud of something before.

I'm writing this blog because my band and I are vegetarians who are always on the road. I just wanted to let you know what my band's about and how I deal with being a vegetarian in a touring band. I've grown up eating right my whole life, have worked in health food stores, master cleansed, and care very much about what I eat, or don't eat. Here are a couple of pictures to get this started. They're just some funny candids of the boys and me over the last couple weeks.

We've left for Warped Tour and began on June 20th, in Pomona, CA, on the Skate Ramp and Kevin Says stages. We'll be hanging out at the peta2 tent from June 20-26th, and July 1-3. We'll also be at the Glamour Kills tent on June 28th and 29th. I'd love to meet you guys, so come say hey! If you want to check out my band, check out myspace.com/nineteenninetyseven. Message me anytime!

xoxo,

Alida

Free Stuff Friday: Wake Up Screaming DVD! June 20, 2008

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Today is the day that Van's Warped Tour 2008 starts! The lucky kids in Pomona, CA get to experience this crazy music fest before anyone else. Don't have tickets yet? Enter our contest and win two tickets to any stop on the tour!

peta2's own Jason Bayless made a documentary about his experience on Warped Tour 2005. Bayless and his crew (David Bergthold of Blockhead Skateboards and pro skateboarder Laban Pheidias) spent nine weeks traveling around 48 cities being crazy. The result? Wake Up Screaming.

We're celebrating the start of the tour by giving away FIVE copies of this DVD! To win, comment below with why you are so excited to go to Warped Tour this year! I am excited for Warped Tour 2008 because I get to table four shows with peta2! If you're going to be at the VA Beach, DC, Cleveland, or Detroit shows make sure to come say "hi"!

This contest ends July 4, 2008 and the winner will be chosen and notified by July 11, 2008!

Just so you know...by commenting here, we're taking that as acknowledgment that you've read and agreed to our privacy policy.

Also by commenting, you are agreeing to the following terms and conditions.

Do it!
-Ashleigh

10% Wool! June 19, 2008

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Haha! Jeff Corriveau is amazing. For more info on mulesing, check this out.

Click for a larger version
To check out past installments of the strips, click here.

♥ Marta

Rock Climbing Pig June 19, 2008

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Did you know baby male pigs are castrated using no pain killers? Pigs also have their teeth, ears, and tails mutilated. WTF is up with that? Pigs are smarter than and just as social as dogs and no one would do these things to a dog, why do people do them to pigs? Help end this cruelty by signing to tell the lame meat industry to get with it and end these practices.

We have some new road warriors and some veterans, so make sure you come out to Warped Tour (want to win tickets?), Rockstar's Mayhem Festival, and Alkaline Trio to say what's up and sign the petition to help pigs on factory farms.

In Chicago this weekend, the Road Warriors hung out at the B96 Festival, where our pig was very popular and climbing walls! Believe it my friend.




Jam out.

-Paige

Kevin Garnett Has Transcended the PB&J June 18, 2008

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So did y'all see the game last night? The one where my Boston Celtics took apart the Los Angeles Lakers like they were made out of Legos and won their first NBA title since 1986? If you did, you might have caught an interview where my man Kevin Garnett talked about how he transferred (he actually said "transcended", which was awesome) his tradition of eating a whole mess of PB&Js before every game over to his Celtic teammates when he was traded there in the off-season.

Professional athletes? Eating peanut butter & jelly sandwiches?

[Wait for it...]

WHERE DO THEY GET THEIR PROTEIN!?!?!?!?!?!?!?1/1/1

Themikelee / Get With The Program / Creative Commons
I found this fascinating. The reaction to the interview was pretty much: "Look at KG and his wholesome, nutritious pre-game snack. It's so wholesome! And nutritious!" But PB&J is as much of a vegetarian staple as the Boca burger—I think I ate them for lunch every day for my first 8 years as a vegan. So why do I feel like if KG had said "I eat a vegan meal before every big game," the reaction would have been... different? It's like, everyone is cool with eating healthy, but for some reason eating vegan has this whole different connotation for some people... even though it's exactly the same thing.

I read an article on ESPN.com yesterday (while I was, uh, totally working hard and not on the interwebs) where Prince Fielder, Tony Gonzalez, Mac Danzig, and a bunch of other vegetarian athletes were talking about how being vegetarian has affected their game. No surprises: Gonzalez talks about having more energy in the 4th quarter of games and being able to blow by tired, meat-eating defenders, and Danzig talks about recovering faster from workouts. You can't argue with results. I figure, if a vegetarian diet is good enough for some of the top athletes on the planet, it's good enough for anyone.

So, note to the Lakers: maybe some PB&J will help next time. Although grabbing a few offensive boards wouldn't hurt either. Just sayin'.

- Dan

30 Days - Did You Watch It? June 18, 2008

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Did you watch the "Animal Rights" episode of 30 Days last night? If so, I told you! Wasn't it amazing? Sugar!

If you didn't watch, I disown you. No, not really, but I will if you don't catch the rerun!

Want to know what George (the hunter) had to say about the show? Look below!

When you were first selected to participate in this show, what did you expect the experience to be like?

I was pretty scared. I expected to be surrounded by people that just wanted to argue for a whole month. I'm not afraid of an argument, but I thought the numbers were stacked against me. All I was told was that I would be totally immersed in the animal rights movement. As far as the people I would meet, I expected a lot of angry people that yelled a lot. I figured girls and guys alike would be hairy-legged sandal-wearing hippies. For the most part, I was mistaken.

How did your opinion of animal rights activists change after your 30 days with the Karpels?

I realized almost immediately that animal rights activists, PETA members specifically, were very normal folks. That being said, there are some out there, just as with the factory farms, that give everyone involved a bad name. I learned about several examples of the abuse, neglect, and suffering that occur in factory farming. It's not a pretty industry, and if people were able to experience what I did, you might see a major change.

Are there any animal rights issues that are particularly important to you now that you hadn't thought about before staying with Melissa and her family?

I am aware that there need to be changes in factory farming, but aside from veganism, I haven't heard about a practical alternative. I personally prefer to buy my meat and produce from grocers that support the smaller local farms. The Burberry demonstration was hard-hitting, but we don't have very many fur coats in North Carolina. The one subject that I find the most offensive is vivisection. I can't give away anything about the show, but I had no idea how unnecessary it was. Tissue samples are infinitely more effective. For the sake of money, it seems people are abusing animals just because they can. They should be ashamed of themselves and pray that they never have to answer for their actions.

What are your views on the tactics that PETA uses to draw attention to the suffering of animals?

One area where I think PETA could use some P.R. work is separating themselves from some of the other animal rights groups out there. The term most people relate to animal rights is PETA. Anything that happens for the sake of animals, regardless of how offensive it is, gets hung on the neck of PETA. Consequently, most people think PETA people are nuts. I believe PETA does it the right way: education. They keep it fun and provide people with information.

***

Thanks George!

Did any of you watch the show? If so, what did you think?

xoxo- Lara

peta2 UK Summer Staff - Holly Thompson June 18, 2008

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Here's a special guest blog from Martin with peta2 UK.

Well it's the second instalment of the UK summer staff introductions and we have already been out on the road at NASS. It went real great. We collected a ton of sign ups (apart from me as I got my feet tattooed like an idiot the day before) and it was awesome to meet you guys. Make sure if you are at Glastonbury, Wakestock, T in the Park or Rip Curl Boardmasters that you drop by and say hi. So without further adieu I will introduce Holly.

Holly

1. How did you get active in animal rights?
I think I started getting into activism when I was 16. I saw a competition that peta2 UK were running to table on Pitchshifter's last ever tour. I entered the competition and won. I was sent a huge box full of animal rights leaflets, stickers and sign up sheets. So there was me, alone and barely 16 years old, standing with a box full of materials, not knowing what on Earth to do! I set up my stuff and started thinking of ways to attract attention. I then found myself traveling to Spain three years in a row for The Running of The Nudes protests and tabling for such bands as Stretch Armstrong, Anti-Flag, Rise Against, Silverstein and bigger events including Taste of Chaos!

2. Why did you become vegan/vegetarian?
I turned veggie when I was about 13 years old. I couldn't face eating something that once had feelings and a family. Even the thought of eating meat made me heave. I made friends with a guy who was vegan. He told me all about veganism and his reasons for making the change to an animal free lifestyle. He opened my eyes to the cruelty that goes on in factory farms and the torture that these animals endure, just to give us food. To me, this was shocking and disgusting to find out. I didn't want to contribute to the suffering and agony these animals had to go through just for human consumption. By the time I was 17, with help and advice from peta2, friends and basically anything I could get my hands on that had information, I had made the change to veganism. I felt healthier and I really think I could never change back.

3. Tell us a useless fact about yourself.
Since the age of 12, I've had my hair dyed every colour of the rainbow (plus a few more!)

4. Favourite bands?
The Cure, Flogging Molly, Anti-Flag, He Is Legend, This Is Hell, Strike Anywhere, Set Your Goals, Atlas&I, Paramore, Rise Against, Hellogoodbye, Comeback Kid, Plain White T's, Miasma & The Carousel of Headless Horses...

6. Song that always cheers you up?
The Eels - Mr E's Beautiful Blues

5. Name two superhero qualities you would like to possess.
Time Travel and Super speed!!

-Martin

Jessica Simpson T-Shirt Slogan Contest! June 18, 2008

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By now I'm sure you've seen the photos of Jessica Simpson in her "Real girls eat meat" T-shirt. Another classy move and truthfully I wouldn't expect anything less from her.

I wonder if she even understands what it says...remember she did have trouble with that whole tuna vs. chicken concept. Who doesn't know that tuna and chicken are two very different animals? Oh, Jess, you give blonds a bad name in so many ways.