It's Halloween! What Should You Do? October 31, 2008

Posted by Marta at October 31, 2008 3:47 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 15 ) | TrackBack

Happy Halloween, everyone!

Here are four easy ways to celebrate the spookiest of holidays:

• Mars continues to fund tests on animals. Ask the company to stop. And don't buy Mars candy (like M&Ms and Snickers)!
• Send Halloween-y greetings to your friends and family with our fun Halloween e-card. Franken-Nugget? Heck yeah!
• E-mail us pictures of you wearing your Hairy-Kate and Trashley masks! We want to see you all Trollsened-out.
• Ooh and ahh over the picture of Nola below. Dogs dressed as skeletons are super cute!

So, what's your costume this year? I'm a modern-day Pippi Longstocking!

♥ Marta

Free Stuff Friday: V-Day Candy Giveaway! February 8, 2008

Posted by Ashleigh at February 8, 2008 10:46 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 52 ) | TrackBack

TGIF my friends! I have a super sweet giveaway today . . .

Hopefully by now you have all told Mars Inc. to drop deadly animal tests. If not, then get to it! Everyone deserves a sweet Valentine's Day, especially the poor animals that are forced to undergo Mars' cruel tests.

Check out the new web banner we made for Mars and Valentine's Day and put it on your page:

<a href="http://www.marscandykills.com" target=_blank><img src="http://blog.peta2.com/mars_main_valentines_2008.gif"></a>

Now, what to do about Valentine's Day treats? Snickers, Twix, Mars Bars, M&Ms, Skittles, and Starburst are all OUT (because they are made by Mars), so what should you get your human honey? Well, a lot of companies have pledged not to fund or conduct experiments on animals (like Hershey's). Look here for a list of vegan candy. Yum!



Looking for something a little more . . .free? I have you covered. We've teamed up with Pangea to give you an AMAZING gift-basket filled with cruelty-free vegan treats!

Looks delicious! I want my Valentine to give me one of these (hint hint).

What do you have to do to win, you ask? Comment below with how you are going to celebrate your V-day cruelty-free! And get going, this contest ends in exactly one week (February 15, 2008) and winners will be chosen and notified by February 22, 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.

Good Luck!

-Ashleigh

Hit Up Mars Candy Before Valentine's Day February 1, 2008

Posted by Pulin Modi at February 1, 2008 11:16 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 6 ) | TrackBack

We have some leaflets and stickers to help educate consumers about the horrors of animal testing and the ways in which Mars has funded this cruelty to animals.

In case you don't remember, the candy company Mars has:

• Funded cruel experiments in which mice were fed a candy ingredient and forced to swim in a pool of paint. The mice had to find a platform to try to avoid drowning, only to be later killed and dissected.
• Supported an experiment where rats were fed cocoa and then sedated with carbon dioxide so that blood could be collected through a needle that punctured their hearts!
• Funded a test in which experimenters forced rabbits to eat a high-cholesterol diet with varying amounts of cocoa, then cut out and examined tissue from the rabbits' primary blood vessel to the heart to determine the effect of cocoa on rabbits' muscle tissue.
• Supported a test in which experimenters attached plastic tubes to arteries in guinea pigs' necks and injected cocoa ingredients into their jugular veins to examine the effect of cocoa ingredients on their blood pressure.

As the candy company which is behind Snickers, Twix, Mars Bars, M&Ms, Skittles, Starburst and more, they are responsible for the pain and suffering animals in laboratories have suffered through. Contact Mars and tell them to sign a pledge to use only non-animal testing methods for their ingredients and products.

<a href="http://www.marscandykills.com" target=_blank><img src="http://blog.peta2.com/mars_main_valentines_2008.gif"></a>

And with Valentine's Day quickly approaching, we'd love your help spreading the word about the Mars Candy Kills campaign. Email us at peta2@peta2.com to request a pack of free stickers and leaflets to hand out to your friends, family, and store managers! Be sure to include your full name and mailing address (no PO boxes, please). We'll get that out to you ASAP.

Thanks so much!

Learn more at MarsCandyKills.com.

-Pulin

More about Mars December 20, 2007

Posted by Marta at December 20, 2007 2:54 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 ) | TrackBack

You may or may not have heard about our campaign against candy-maker Mars yet, so if you haven't, let me warn you that when you do your Christmas candy shopping, Mars is not a company you should support. Why not? They fund cruel tests on animals.

Yep, that's right. Mars has funded unnecessary and deadly studies on mice, rats, rabbits, and guinea pigs, and yet the company continues to deceive consumers about its animal-testing policy. Testing on animals for candy is absolutely ridiculous! Please urge the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to investigate Mars' deceitful claims.

Help us get the word out about boycotting Mars candy by putting the below banner on your page. Just copy the code below and paste it onto your MySpace or other Web page—it's really easy!

<a target=_blank href="http://www.marscandykills.com/"><img src="http://blog.peta2.com/mars_holiday.bmp"></a>

Thanks so much!

♥ Marta

PS - Have you been sweet to animals yet?

Launching MarsCandyKills.com December 10, 2007

Posted by Pulin Modi at December 10, 2007 5:04 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 4 ) | TrackBack

Many of you have heard about our campaign to pressure Mars to stop sponsoring animal tests. We've just launched a site specifically for the campaign so please check it out at MarsCandyKills.com.

Please think twice before picking up a Mars candy bar! You should know that candymaker Mars, Inc.—creator of M&M's, Snickers, Twix, Dove, Three Musketeers, Starburst, Skittles, and other candies—funds deadly animal tests, even though there are more reliable human studies and not one of the tests is required by law.

Mars is currently funding a deadly experiment on rats to determine the effects of chocolate ingredients on their blood vessels. Experimenters force-feed the rats by shoving plastic tubes down their throats and then cut open the rats' legs to expose an artery, which is clamped shut to block blood flow. After the experiment, the animals are killed. Mars has also funded cruel experiments in which mice were fed a candy ingredient and forced to swim in a pool of a water mixed with white paint. The mice had to find a hidden platform to avoid drowning, only to be killed and dissected later on. In yet another experiment supported by Mars, rats were fed cocoa and anesthetized with carbon dioxide so that their blood could be collected by injecting a needle directly into their hearts, which can lead to internal bleeding and other deadly complications.

Please visit MarsCandyKills.com and take action to stop these deadly animal tests.

-Pulin

Don't Let Mars Candy Cash In Off Animal Testing October 25, 2007

Posted by Marta at October 25, 2007 4:20 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 11 ) | TrackBack

Halloween is less than a week away and that means trick-or-treating, school parties, and the consumption of an obscene amount of sugar.

Since the candy company Mars has refused to stop supporting animal tests, it's important that we all help spread the word about this completely horrendous and ridiculous situation.

First, click here to send a message to Mars demanding that they stop animal tests for some candy!

Next, click here to download some leaflets to hand out at school, at stores where it's permitted, and on Halloween itself (both at your house and if you're going door to door).

We'll probably remind you a bit closer to All Hallows Eve, but that's the deal for now. Spread the word. It may be that Mars executives have too much chocolate clogging their decision making ability, so we need everyone to tell them that these experiments are totally unnecessary and cruel.

Thanks!

-Pulin

Boycott Mars Candy This Halloween! October 16, 2007

Posted by Marta at October 16, 2007 3:02 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 16 ) | TrackBack

With Halloween creeping up on us like I creep up on people in dark alleys (wait...okay, I'm not that creepy), trick-or-treating candy is selling out like mad. I plan on buying my candy soon, and let me tell you, I will not be purchasing any candy that Mars manufactures. Why?

Mars—maker of M&M's, Snickers, and Three Musketeers, among other candy—has funded cruel experiments in which mice were fed a candy ingredient and forced to swim in a pool of paint and water. The mice had to find a platform to try to avoid drowning, only to be later killed and dissected. Sick, right? Click here to read more and to send Mars a message urging the company to end all support of animal tests.

Please encourage your parents—and your friends, teachers, and classmates—to boycott Mars candy. Here are just a few options to buy instead (click here for a more complete list):

Airheads Taffy
Dum Dums
Fireballs
Goldenberg's Peanut Chews
Jolly Ranchers
Lemonheads
Mambas
Swedish Fish
Sweet Tarts

Have your parents already bought their Halloween candy? Ask them to return it to the store (and make sure the store knows exactly why the candy is being returned). Let all of your friends know not to buy Mars candy, either, by putting one of these banners on your MySpace or other page.

<a target=_blank href="http://getactive.peta.org/campaign/mars_testing_peta2?c=p22602"><img src="http://blog.peta2.com/mars_button.bmp"></a>




<a target=_blank href="http://getactive.peta.org/campaign/mars_testing_peta2?c=p22603"><img src="http://blog.peta2.com/mars_button_2.jpg"></a>


And now, to leave you with some delicious vegan cupcake loveliness, check out the monster cupcakes that Lara made recently:



Adorable, right?

♥ Marta

Mars: Killing Animals For Candy - Seriously. September 25, 2007

Posted by Pulin Modi at September 25, 2007 11:28 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 86 ) | TrackBack

I think you know by now that we try to bring really eye-opening information to the public because industries which exploit animals want people to remain ignorant. We have found that when people learn the truth, they're horrified by cruelty to animals and want to help stop it!

So with that said, we recently uncovered evidence that chocolate-maker Mars Inc.— creator of M&M's, Snickers, and other candies—continues to fund deadly animal tests!

Mars has funded cruel experiments in which mice were fed a candy ingredient and forced to swim in a pool of paint. The mice had to find a platform to try to avoid drowning, only to be later killed and dissected. In another gruesome experiment supported by Mars, rats were fed cocoa and then sedated with carbon dioxide so that blood could be collected through a needle that punctured their hearts!

How messed up is that? And you want proof? Just check out these studies:

*Elizabeth Paisley et al., "Temporal-Regulation of Serum Lipids and Stearoyl CoA Desaturase and Lipoprotein Lipase mRNA in BALB/cHnn Mice," Journal of Nutrition (1996) 126.11: 2730-2737.

*Timothy Orozco et al., "Chronic consumption of a flavanol- and procyanindin-rich diet is associated with reduced levels of 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine in rat testes," Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry (2003) 14: 104-10.

*Francene Steinberg et al., "Pyrroloquinoline Quinone Improves Growth and Reproductive Performance in Mice Fed Chemically Defined Diets," Experimental Biology and Medicine (2003) 228: 160-66.

*Henriette van Praag I et al., "Plant-derived flavanol (-)epicatechin enhances angiogenesis and retention of spatial memory in mice." Journal of Neuroscience (2007) 27: 5869-5878.

I will be the first to admit that testing on animals for candy is one of the most moronic things imaginable. But then again, consider that beverage companies including Coca-Cola and PepsiCo were sponsoring animal tests not too long ago (that is before we all pressured them to stop this insanity).

Mars' top competitor, Hershey's, has pledged to PETA that it will not fund or conduct experiments on animals, yet Mars has not adopted this same, humane stance despite our polite letters which you can read here and here. Please send a letter to urge Mars to follow Hershey's lead and immediately end all support for animal tests! Click on the image below to help animals.

-Pulin