A Vegan Wedding in Photos May 29, 2009

Posted by Marta at May 29, 2009 2:31 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 32 ) | TrackBack

I went to my first-ever vegan wedding recently, and it was so fun! It was amazing to go to a cruelty-free wedding—it sends such a positive message. Check out the happy bride and groom—two of my favorite people ever—on the big day (they know that Meat's Not Green!):

You better believe lots of deliciousness graced my plate (and eventually, my happy stomach): General Tso's vegan chicken, stuffed tomato, Tofurky brat, sushi, avocado wrap, falafel with hummus, veggie pate, and fruit. Also, notice the super-cute cupcake-cookie wedding favor. Anyone who doesn't think vegan food is delicious definitely hasn't been to a vegan wedding!


There were beautiful (and tasty!) veggie pates:


And loads of veggie sushi, too.


And not to rub it in or anything (OK, to rub it in a little), there were vegan cupcake towers! Check out the vanilla cupcakes with strawberry frosting and the chocolate cupcakes with mocha frosting from Sticky Fingers Bakery! Jealous?




Who wishes they had a cupcake right now?



P.S. Check out the delish chocolate dipped strawberries we had at the rehearsal dinner!

peta2 Gets Extreme May 22, 2009

Posted by Marta at May 22, 2009 1:17 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 2 ) | TrackBack

Hello readers!

We're back out on the road preparing for our summer tour season by hitting up a couple events over this past weekend. Some of us were in Portland last weekend to spread the word that Meat's Not Green at the Portland Action Sports Expo. We've been working hard on this campaign since last September, and we will stop at nothing to make sure as many people as possible are reached and learn about our planet and the effect factory farming has on it. Want to help spread the word or find out how you can help save the environment? The easiest way to do so is to go veg!

While we were in Portland we also spotted a line for the Twiztid show going on one night, so we decided to hit it up. We had a ton of success and a great time telling the crowd about our Meat's Not Green campaign.


We, of course, also stopped in Portland for some delicious vegan food. We found some mouthwatering vegan donuts at Voodoo Donuts and a scrumptious vegan sloppy joe sandwich at Paradox. Not sure where to find great vegan food in your hometown? Just head here to find an easy guide to the best local vegan friendly restaurants and grocery stores.




This weekend we were also able to team up with our friends at Shirts for a Cure, Bane and Strike Anywhere for a benefit show. Both bands have members up for our World's Sexiest Vegetarian.

Also, our UK friend Benny from Dead Swans was in attendance playing drums for This is Hell and reppin a peta2/Atticus Free for all Shirt. Unfortunately I (Paige) am not a great photographer and none of the 50 pics I took turned out right—sad for me. So if you have any or find any share them with the class!

Keep on the look out for us at events this weekend like Detroit Electronic Music Festival (DEMF) and Soundset.

See you soon!

Joey and Paige

Ghent, Belgium, Starts Saving Animals! May 20, 2009

Posted by Rachel-O at May 20, 2009 3:02 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 7 ) | TrackBack

igougo / CC

Everyone knows that the number one thing you can do to fight global warming and help the environment is to go vegetarian right?

In an attempt to shrink its carbon footprint, a town named Ghent, in Belgium, is taking it seriously—they've decided to go vegetarian for one day a week! They'll get things started with their city employees and then spread the good behavior on to the students in their schools come September.

Instead of just feeling bad that meat production leads to more greenhouse-gas emissions than all the vehicles with engines in the world combined, this town has decided to act—and that's what change is made of. By doing this, countless animals will be spared intense suffering on factory farms only to end up on someone's plate. I bet a whole lot of these Ghent residents will be taking to veggie meals more than once a week when they realize how much better they feel without eating dead animals.

Delighted at this news, PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk has written some letters of encouragement to a few cities in the United States in an effort to nudge them forward in the fight against climate change. This is such a simple, lifesaving step—why would anyone not agree?

Care about the planet? Check out the many reasons why "meat's not green" and go vegetarian already!

Meat's Not Green Week April 20, 2009

Posted by Pulin Modi at April 20, 2009 12:25 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 11 ) | TrackBack

Earth Day is this Wednesday so let's all try to take some extra steps to speak out for animals and the environment this whole week, OK? Let's spread the word about why meat's not green online, at school, and even sitting down for a meal with your family.

Here are some pictures to inspire you into action!

Superstar college student, Kirby


peta2 Assistant Street Team Coordinator, Jackie


Street Teamer named Tuesday Michaela Khristine Kellogg
(and I thought I have a unique name!)

How do you plan to spread the word about the devastating impact the meat industry has on the planet? At the very least, put up some flyers and share the Meat's Not Green page on Facebook, will you?

peta2 Visits Colleges in CA, UT, and MT April 16, 2009

Posted by Marta at April 16, 2009 11:39 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 2 ) | TrackBack

Hey Yo!

The peta2 Road Warriors have been hard at work going to college campuses this past week. Whether it's been helping students get better menu items in their dining halls or helping spread the word about the connection between greenhouse gases and factory farms, we've gone to exhausting levels to make sure animals are being protected.

We hit up the campus of UC Santa Cruz to let students know that raising animals for food is the number one contributor to global warming. The campus was gorgeous and set on land secluded from the city with forest and nature everywhere. The students seem to love the surreal environment so we felt it necessary to make sure they knew how to keep their landscape as clean as possible.

It's not just this campus that needs to be protected but our entire planet—and the main enemy we should be fighting is factory farming. According to a study done by the United Nations, raising animals in massive numbers for food is the single leading cause of greenhouse gases. Forest depletion is also occurring because of this industry. In fact, 70% of rainforests that are cut down is for space needed to house animals that are raised for meat consumption. That's gotta stop! The main way to help end this problem is to go veg. It's healthier for you and the planet and animals aren't harmed. It's a win win!

We could also be found at Brigham Young University in Salt Lake City, Utah, and Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana, this week. In an attempt to get their students better and more diverse veg meal options in their dining halls, we hit those campuses hard to get as much student support as possible. Those two campuses hardly had any options for their veg students so it was nice to talk to hundreds of students and gain their support on this issue. If your campus is in dire need of healthier and meat-free foods, check this out!


That's it from us for now. We'll be checking in next week with more tales from the road and more ways that you can help save our animal friends. See ya around!

Keep rockin'!

Joey

Nugget Has A Mustache April 14, 2009

Posted by Pulin Modi at April 14, 2009 9:03 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 15 ) | TrackBack

One of the things I love about working here is all the random, fun stuff that happens around the office. For instance, someone decided to see what Nugget would look like with a mustache. And so you have this photo ...

Anyway, while we're on the subject of Nugget photos, check out this one which features Nugget with the autographed Dillinger Escape Plan bass guitar which one lucky winner will receive for taking part in our Meat's Not Green mission. There's still time for you to try to win it, so get details now!



I hope you're enjoying your week. Anything exciting going on?

Vegan Doughnuts, Silverstein, and More April 10, 2009

Posted by Marta at April 10, 2009 3:55 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 5 ) | TrackBack

Hellooooo readers!!!

Geez what a week! All of us peta2 Road Warriors have been quite busy helping out our animal friends. Whether it's been festival or college work, or rocking it with our friends Silverstein, we've been busting our humps to make sure the good word of animal rights is being spread. It's tiring work at times but man is it a BLAST! Ever considered going out on the road to save animals and inform folks of how to do so? Well stop wasting time and apply!

We visited the campuses of Portland State University, CSU-Chico and UCLA to help the student animal rights groups there get better, more diverse veg options on their cafeteria menus. I mean seriously what's better than more food? Let alone more VEG food! If you're having difficulty stomaching the options your school is passing off as "food", we can help get you on the way to veg bliss.

Not only do better veg options mean happier students and safer animals, but it also keeps our environment clean. According to a study done by the United Nations, raising animals for food is the number one cause of green house gases. Yuck! Therefore, going veg is the number one way to save the planet. This was the message we took to the crowd at Paid Dues where our pals P.O.S. and Atmosphere performed. Aside from amazing performers, concert attendees also heard the sweet sounds of how to make the planet cleaner and better to live on. For instance, water is important right? Well 50% of the water consumed in the U.S. goes to the animals that are on factory farms. Check out all the facts on how this business is hurting our environment—it's worth it!

We also spent another week out with our boys in Silverstein (check them out below at Watercourse vegetarian restaurant in Denver)! These guys are always down to spread the word. Thanks to Billy for bringing us delicious vegan doughnuts from Voodoo in Portland.


Shane and Billy from Silverstein


Enjoying vegan doughnuts from Voodoo

Stay Brutal,

Joey and Paige!

Star Street Teamers: Brendan and Ayden Elworthy April 8, 2009

Posted by Pulin Modi at April 8, 2009 12:01 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 13 ) | TrackBack

The Elworthy brothers, Brendan (sixteen years old) and Ayden (eight years old), are a force! I remember meeting them at a peta2 conference in Toronto where they were full of positivity and compassion. We've stayed in touch since then chatting about how to reach people at concerts and school, the Meat's Not Green campaign, and our love for bands like Rise Against and Silverstein. They're doing so much to help animals that we decided to give them an award for outstanding activism!

Here's an interview with both brothers to give you a sense of just how dedicated they are to creating a kinder world for us all.

Why are you vegetarian/vegan?
Brendan: I went vegetarian in grade 9 when my geography teacher did a unit on food. He talked about grain production, and how much of it goes into livestock, and that got me thinking, "Why isn't that food going to those who are in dire hunger?" After that I researched more on the topic and came across PETA's "Meet Your Meat". I decided that if vegetarianism was easy I would go vegan, and three months later that I turned vegan.

Ayden: I went vegetarian after my brother went. When he went vegan that got me thinking, but I kept eating my burgers. One night I overheard Brendan showing Mom "Meet Your Meat," and then I became vegetarian. It was just the sound that made me change, I didn't even see the graphic images.

What's your favorite part about peta2?
Brendan: I think I'd have to say the band interviews/contests. I also like the humour that peta2 brings to the animal rights movement—we need more humour in this movement.

Ayden: The stickers! It's fun to poster them everywhere, and they have a good message and they all look really cool. I use them to hang stuff up in my room.

Why do you feel animal rights is an important issue?
Brendan: I think it's an important issue because it's tied into so many other social justice movements. Also, animals suffer the most out of all the groups of those who are exploited, and more animals suffer than humans suffer. It's something like 27 billion animals suffer and die a year in North America alone.

Ayden: It's an important issue because it's not nice or humane to hurt animals.

Are you working on the campaign against the Canadian seal slaughter and if so, how?
Brendan: Yup, we're working to raise awareness about the hunt. We've done a couple videos against the seal hunt, wrote letters to the editor about the hunt, and sent letters to our members of Parliament about the proposed Canadian bill that would shut down the hunt (I got a letter back, but it was just BS claiming that the hunt is humane). We plan on getting signatures for a petition against the seal hunt as well.

Is your family supportive of your animal rights beliefs?
Brendan: Mom and Dad are, but our sister is less than supportive. It's cool that Mom and Dad do though, Dad cooks all vegan dinners and Mom came to a couple of our KFC protests, and they are both vegetarian now as well.

What are some animal rights activities that you and Ayden have done together?
Brendan: We love making videos, we've gone leafleting together, we've held/organized KFC protests, we've been part of circus protests, we like to make vegan food for other non-veggie people, we've tabled at events, collected petition signatures and we like to debate with other non-vegetarians about animal rights.

What's your average dinner like?
Brendan: Dad mostly cooks, and we'll usually have something like an Indian dinner with rice, naan bread, and lots of curry! We also love Lick's veggie burgers as well as tacos. We have them a lot!

Do you have any suggestions for other peta2 Street Teamers who want to get active for animals?
Brendan: Be persistent and positive. I've learned the hard way that more than 1/2 the things you do won't work or won't be effective, but we have to keep trying! Also, know the animal rights theory—lots of things become easier once you know your argument. There are plenty animal rights philosophy books out there, pick up a book and start reading! Opposingviews.com also has a section on Animal Rights, which I find quite interesting.

Ayden: Make your activism friendly, people will be more open to your message if you smile and give stickers! Go stickers!



Thanks so much to Brendan and Ayden! If you're inspired to do even more for animals, make sure you get active with the peta2 Street Team and keep checking our Take Charge page for the latest campaigns!

Wolverhampton Students Go Green April 3, 2009

Posted by Marta at April 3, 2009 8:51 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 3 ) | TrackBack

Sarah from peta2 UK wants to let you know about her time at Wolverhampton University last week—take it away, Sar!
-Marta

Last week I got to attend Wolverhampton Universities' 'Go Green' Week. I was excited to be invited along by the Welfare and Ethics Officer, Caroline, to talk to students about how they can drastically cut their green house gas emissions by switching to a vegetarian diet.

Lots of students weren't aware that the meat industry causes almost 40% more greenhouse gas emissions than all the world's transportation systems combined. So whilst our government promotes switching lights off and not leaving anything on standby to help fight global warming, the easiest and most effective way you can help our planet is by adopting a vegetarian—or a vegan—diet.

Did you hear that a recent study has shown that feeding sea kitten (fish!) oil to livestock such as cows cuts the amount of greenhouse gas they release? But we all know the best (and easiest) thing to do is to just go vegetarian! Killing sea kittens to use in feed for livestock is not the answer to solving our global climate change.

Street Teamers Taste the Chaos March 27, 2009

Posted by Marta at March 27, 2009 2:49 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 3 ) | TrackBack

Hey yo!

The one and only peta2 Road Crew is reporting again from the road as we continue to rip through the country on the Rockstar Taste of Chaos Tour. We've been on tour with our friends in Thursday and Bring Me the Horizon informing audiences across the U.S. about the effect factory farming has on the environment. Thousands have signed our "Meat's Not Green" petition during this tour and hopefully you're one of those thousands, but if you're not, you can sign it here.

What's all this talk about the environment and slaughter houses? Well according to a study done by the United Nations, the factory farming business is the number one contributor to the global warming problem our planet is experiencing. Want proof? Factory farm raised animals use 50% of the water consumed in the U.S. Want more? To make one pound of hamburger it takes the same amount of water as 17 showers. That's nuts right?! I know I know, you might be thinking "What can little ol' me do to stop this? I mean the planet is HUGE!" Well the best way to help is to go vegetarian. Not only would you be saving the planet but you'd also be saving animals. It's a win win! To find delicious recipes and ways to make your veg transition easier, hop over here.

This week on tour we've had a variety of friends come help spread the word about saving our planet and animal friends. Street Teamers Laura and Kelly came out to the Orlando and San Antonio shows, and assisted us in completely rocking those crowds. Those girls really know their stuff and made a major impact on how many people we reached on those dates. Thanks ladies for caring so much and kicking butt! Want to come help us at a show? It's easy, just join the peta2 Street Team and join a community of awesome-ness and animal saving!




Our friend Luis Dubuc from The Secret Handshake was at the Dallas TOC show and he signed the petition as well.


Well that's it for now from us on the Taste of Chaos Tour. Come out to the show when it rolls into your town and don't forget to sign our petition and say hi. Keep animals in your hearts and minds!

Keep rockin'!

Joey

P.S. Meat SUCKS!