"Ronald McDonald" Kills Chickens and Texas Tech Kills Cats November 12, 2009

Posted by Larisa Proulx at November 12, 2009 11:08 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 ) | TrackBack

Hey ladies and gents! It's been a great week so far on the Tech N9ne tour! We're back on the east coast handing out stickers, dvds, and information, and really making a push for McDonald's to stop torturing animals. So how can we combine a culture of Juggalos and Juggalettes with animal rights?

Face painting! Free at our table every night!

Not only have we gained support from our crowd, but also from the amazing guys in Slaughterhouse.



Royce da 5'9" was rockin' our McCruelty t-shirt on stage in Rochester, NY, over the weekend. We couldn't be more pleased! As for "Ronald McDonald"—he reared his ugly mug in Little Rock, AR, and explained how he personally likes to torture and slaughter chickens. Since he was in the area ...

Why not make the most of it with a group shot?

Keep an eye out for us as we slide down the coast to Florida! But, in the meantime, read about our trip to Texas: peta2 College Outreach finds itself in the northern Texas city of Lubbock this week at Texas Tech University where the medical school has been purchasing cats from local shelters every year for medical students to perform dissections and emergency medical procedure training on. These routines are part of a curriculum that is supposed to prepare students for surgery procedures on people, but in reality the procedures just maim our feline friends while denying students the most modern and accurate methods of medical training. Despite PETA's previous complaints against the school for this kind of foul practice against animals and the miseducation of Texas Tech's medical students, Texas Tech has continued these practices on Lubbock's unfortunate cat population year after year. This, of course, left peta2 no other choice but to roll into town, kick some ass, take some names, and spread the word about why using animals in laboratories is counterproductive for everyone.


We gathered support from over 1,300 students in the past two days to end this cruel habit of butchering Lubbock's cats for pseudoscience. We send out a big thank you to all Texas Tech students compassionate enough to look out for the cats who don't have a voice to consent to what happens to themselves in those medical labs.

—Daniel and Renee

peta2 Continues Cross Country Fight Against McCruelty November 4, 2009

Posted by Marta at November 4, 2009 12:55 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 1 ) | TrackBack

Hey there peta2 guys and gals!

Renee here on the K.O.D. Tech N9ne tour. We've been working our way down through the central plains over to Texas. We had a great time this Halloween in Wichita, KS, at The Cotillion. Rob and his new friends are definitely down with the wicked clown!

We then headed over to the historic Cain's Ballroom in Tulsa, OK.


Throughout the tour we've gained a lot of support against the way McDonald's suppliers torture and slaughter billions of chickens each year.

Keep it real and keep helping animals!

The winning streak continues for peta2 college outreach. This is Daniel reporting in from Oxford, Mississippi, home of the Ole Miss Rebels. Considering that northern Mississippi is relatively uncharted terrain for animal rights outreach, we've been surprised by the overwhelmingly positive response to our campaign to introduce more vegan options in the Ole Miss dining halls. But I guess we were fools to expect any other reaction from people here—this part of the country is well known for 'southern hospitality.'


Our time in Miami at Florida International University last week was also a great success. The student body there was very fond of our McCruelty petition. More than 2,000 students stood up to make a statement against what happens to chickens in American slaughterhouses.


It was a long ride to Mississippi from southern Florida, so we had to prepare ourselves properly. First we had to stop in to fuel up at our favorite Miami-area vegan restaurant, Garden Eat'in, which serves some of the best Jamaican vegan food we've ever had (Jamiacan jerk fish, curry and coconut pumpkin, 5 spice tofu, and more!).


Then we took a nice dip in the warm turquoise waters of Hallandale Beach. As always, we're livin' large and helping animals on the road. We hope you had a fun and animal-friendly Halloween!

Hey kids! This is Joey reporting from California to let you know about our Halloween. We worked at the Halos and Horns show in Costa Mesa, CA, to inform the event's attendees about McCruelty. We got a lot of support from the crowd, and they definitely loved the creepy masks we brought along with us.


Thanks for stopping by guys!

-Renee, Daniel and Joey

Nugget Speaks Out Against McCruelty! November 2, 2009

Posted by Pulin Modi at November 2, 2009 8:58 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 24 ) | TrackBack

Here's the latest way for you to take action against McCruelty!

Step 1. Print out this cute Nugget and letter to McDonald's.

Step 2. Since chickens can't speak in their own defense (at least not in a way we can understand), write your own message in the speech bubble for them! Some suggestions include, "I Am Not A Nugget," "McCruelty Sucks," and "Help Me!" But be as creative (just keep it polite!) as you'd like!

Step 3. Sign your name to the bottom of this letter!

Step 4. Take a picture of you with Nugget speaking up for animals and e-mail it to us at StreetTeam@peta2.com to get 2,500 Street Team points!

Step 5. Mail your Nugget and letter to McDonald's! The address is on the file you printed out!

We'll feature some of our favorite photos on upcoming blogs, too, so make sure you send those in as soon as possible!

It's Almost Halloween!! October 30, 2009

Posted by Pulin Modi at October 30, 2009 12:23 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 9 ) | TrackBack

Are you excited? What are you going to be for Halloween?

Here are some pictures I thought you'd enjoy ...

Zoe dressed like a turtle.


A McCruelty protest in Virginia!


A protest in Arizona!

Did you have a party at school? Any cool photos of your costume? Let us know!

Remember there's still time to carve a pumpkin or make some amazing vegan treats for Halloween. Yes!!!

Free Stuff Friday: 'Not a Nugget' Jewelry! October 30, 2009

Posted by Tiffany Wright at October 30, 2009 9:10 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 170 ) | TrackBack

Boy, are you in for a treat! This week you have the chance to win some amazing jewelry pieces from Christy Robinson. Christy Robinson creates one of a kind, earth and animal-friendly jewelry. And, because we know how much you love the peta2 nugget (I mean, what's not to love? Is he not the cutest thing ever?!), we're giving away these two pieces from her collection:

The chick and heart pendant is made of Earth-friendly recycled aluminum, so it's super lightweight. The ring (size 6) is made of recycled copper and aluminum. And guess what! The top of the ring SPINS! Um yea ... it doesn't get much cooler than that. Since we have two necklaces and two rings to give away, your chances of winning are pretty damn good.

You're all familiar with our McCruelty campaign right? Pretend you're talking to the CEO of McDonald's and comment below with what you'd say to convince him to adopt a more humane method of slaughter. The four people with the most convincing comments will be chosen as our winners and notified on November 9. Two will receive the 'Not a Nugget' necklace and two will receive the 'Not a Nugget' ring.

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

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

GOOD LUCK!

A Creepy Clown and Vegan Ice Cream October 29, 2009

Posted by Marta at October 29, 2009 3:27 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 3 ) | TrackBack

Greetings, everyone. Daniel reporting in from southern Florida. It's been a strenuous but rewarding week of college outreach since the last blog. We were in Kent, Ohio, at Kent State University helping students expand vegan options in their dining halls. The campaign was an overwhelming success, as we gathered over 2,500 signatures from KSU students in two days. Faculty and dining service personnel were accepting and enthusiastic about our campaign as well.

From Ohio, we had a long trek down to humid Florida. On the way down we stopped to treat ourselves at the renowned Karma Cream near the University of Florida campus. Karma Cream is a 24 hour ice cream shop which makes life in Gainesville just a bit sweeter by featuring 16 flavors of vegan ice cream! As always, it wouldn't be a peta2 tour if we weren't stopping to indulge in some kind of vegan decadence.


We now find ourselves in Boca Raton, Florida, where we've been helping the student group at Florida Atlantic University to push forward with an intense campaign to get FAU to cease involvement with a neighboring lab that does cruel experiments on primates. We're raising awareness about the cruelty and futility of animal testing on the wider scale. According to the lab itself, one of its experiments involved intentionally infecting macaque monkeys with Mad Cow Disease and then killing them and dissecting their brains. Clearly, this must be stopped. This campaign has certainly sparked some heated debates about animal testing here on the FAU campus, but overall the students at FAU have been supportive and sympathetic to our monkey friends in the laboratories. Of course, we will continue to kick ass and take names to prevent this kind of madness from continuing wherever we find it.


Hey everyone! This is Renee and I have to tell you ... every night of Tech N9ne keeps getting better and better! We hit up the lines at The Marquee Theatre in Tempe, AZ, and found something a little interesting ...


Ronald stopped by! This little clown of a man represents the millions of brutal deaths to our chicken friends each and every year. The peta2 tour crew is working hard to let the country know what really happens in the slaughterhouses of McDonald's suppliers. Fortunately, this wasn't the real creep Ronald McDonald ... just our fellow tour leader, Joey, helping out our crew.

We've already gathered thousands of signatures demanding that McDonald's put an end to the suffering.

See you next week ... who knows what will happen by then!

—Daniel and Renee

We Heart Jacob George October 27, 2009

Posted by Marta at October 27, 2009 11:45 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 1 ) | TrackBack

By now, you probably know how much we absolutely adore our Street Teamers. Jacob George, a 15-year-old from Virginia Beach, VA, is pretty awesome. Since he lives so close to the PETA office, he's always here volunteering with his brother Joseph, and everyone loves them! Jacob was kind enough to answer some questions for me recently, so check out what he's got to say!

Why did you get involved with peta2/PETA?
I decided to get involved with PETA because I see animal rights as the most important issue in the nation right now. Not only is eating meat inhumane and wrong, especially factory farm meat, but there's also glue traps, animal testing, frog dissection, the use of animals in military training, fur, and many other issues that fall under the animal rights umbrella.

How long have you been a vegetarian? Do you have a favorite food?
I've been a vegetarian for pretty much my entire life. There was one time when I was eight, when I ate bacon because I was trying to be more normal, but that was only once. I like black bean burgers. They are amazing and taste good with anything.

You recently participated in your first demonstration. How was it? (Note: That's Jacob at his first McCruelty protest in the photo above!)
My first demonstration was amazing. It always feels good to be active and to make a statement that is meant to be heard. I think that peaceful activism, like a PETA demo, is the most beneficial thing one can do for his or her society. Protests like this, along with media recognition, which PETA often receives, puts pressure on the men of power to do what is right. This makes them more likely to sacrifice their fatass paychecks for the greater good.

You come in to volunteer at PETA's weekly work party. What do you do there, and what's your favorite part about it?
Work party is really fun. It's a good opportunity to meet new individuals with similar ideological opinions as you. Every work party, we stuff envelopes with letters, stickers, and flyers to go out to those who order them. It feels good to do things that you know will save the lives of others.

Have any advice for students like you who want to help animals but aren't sure how to start?
I think it's important to understand that a lot of the time, simply quitting meat just doesn't work. I recommend taking it slowly and giving up what is easiest first. That's what I'm trying to do with dairy.

Thanks, Jacob! Have any of you participated in a protest yet? If not, are you excited to?

peta2 Loves Slaughterhouse? October 23, 2009

Posted by Marta at October 23, 2009 10:09 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 2 ) | TrackBack

Hey there ladies and gents! Renee here, on the road with Tech N9ne. We've been combing our way out west through Seattle, Spokane, and Portland on our way to California. We've met a lot of interesting people along the way ...

The hard work is paying off in our efforts to promote awareness of the suffering that occurs in McDonald's suppliers' slaughterhouses. I'm hatin' it! Each night we make new friends and couldn't be happier with the amazing guys in Slaughterhouse. The guys were cool enough to stop by to check out the table and say hello!


The road has been treating us well ... off to Cali!

Greetings everyone. Daniel here! Glad to be back on the road with peta2. It's been a rowdy week since I've been back with the team doing college outreach. First we hit up Hunter College in Manhattan, New York, to help students expand the vegan options in their dining halls, and we even risked our health passing out McCruelty leaflets outside of McDonald's in the cold rain.


While in NYC we were able to catch some great eats all around town. We visited the unearthly Foodswings vegan fast food joint in Brooklyn on multiple occasions for some intense faux-wing eating sessions. On Friday Joey, Franny, Tyler, and I all participated in a food challenge of gluttonous proportions: Back to back vegan lunches at the world famous Red Bamboo and Vegetarian's Paradise 2 restaurants in Greenwich Village. This consisted of delicious soul-chicken sandwiches, malaysian mango chicken, and pepper steak dishes, to name a few. Tyler and I officially won the challenge because we topped off our two hefty meals with vegan Oreo cheesecake. Our travels then took us to Columbus, Ohio, where we reached out to the Buckeyes at Ohio State University about what happens to chickens in McDonald's suppliers' slaughterhouses.


We fueled ourselves for these outreach operations with the great pastries, cookies, and muffins of Pattycake vegan bakery just up the road from the school. We passed through Akron, Ohio, earlier on our way to Kent State University, and we had some hearty vegan pizza at the elegant Vegiterranean restaurant.


Life is good out on the road. We're reaching people everyday for the animals and we're downing some serious meals all along the way—which goes to show that being vegan is fun and easy no matter where you are. Get stuffed!

-Renee and Daniel

Who Likes To Smile? October 19, 2009

Posted by Pulin Modi at October 19, 2009 9:32 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 1 ) | TrackBack

Remember when a giant "chicken" hit "Ronald McDonald" in the face with a tofu pie? Yea, here's a video of that!

We don't want you to do that, but we do want you to visit McCruelty.com to get more involved! Remember to join the Street Team, too!

McCruelty Call-In Day. Take Action Now! October 16, 2009

Posted by Pulin Modi at October 16, 2009 9:54 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 4 ) | TrackBack

Today is World Anti-McCruelty Day, and we need your help! Please politely call McDonald's at (630) 623-3000 and tell them to listen to PETA and adopt a less cruel form of slaughter.

You'll get 1,000 Street Team points for e-mailing us at StreetTeam@peta2.com to let us know what time you called and what the response was to your phone call!

If you need any more information about why we're specifically asking McDonald's to take these steps, check this out. The basic idea is that as the biggest seller of chicken meat in the U.S., McDonald's has the responsibility and the ability to reduce suffering by demanding that its suppliers use a less cruel method of slaughter. Pretty simple, right?

Really, what kind of company would allow suppliers to break birds' wings and legs and scald animals to death? Imagine if we were talking about the dogs and cats in our homes (who suffer and feel pain just the same as the chickens slaughtered for McDonald's), and I'm sure you can see how crazy it is that there aren't better standards for a corporation as huge as McDonald's. You should ask why they refuse to make these demands! Call them at (630) 623-3000.

Stuck on what to say? The following are some ideas to get you started:

• I refuse to spend money at McDonald's until your company demands that its chicken suppliers adopt controlled-atmosphere killing (CAK).
• Please stop supporting practices that allow chickens to suffer broken limbs, endure abuse by workers, have their throats cut while they are still conscious, and be scalded to death.
• I just watched the video on McCruelty.com, and I was shocked to learn that McDonald's is refusing to ask its suppliers to switch to a less cruel slaughter method even though it wouldn't cost your company any money to do so.

Spread the word!