We Got Into Harvard! September 16, 2009
Posted by Ryan at September 16, 2009 9:24 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 4 ) | TrackBack
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As you may have seen in our long-running and much-adored "Dumb Comments" series, meat-eaters can sometimes have a hard time coming up with much of an argument in favor of eating animals (aside from everyone's favorite crusher—"it's tasty"). So we were curious—can America's best and brightest do any better?
To find out, we set up a debate on the topic at the top-ranked college in the world—Harvard University. Working with the school's resident veg-heads from the campus vegetarian society, we arranged for a representative from the Harvard debate team to face off against PETA vice president Bruce Friedrich, to answer the question "Is Eating Animals Ethical?"
Ahead of the event, peta2 was everywhere on campus. In the student newspaper, walking around campus in a chicken costume, and even stopping by the dining halls at dinner time to remind students to attend the debate!
The result? A packed room, with more than 250 students ... well, I'll let the pictures do the talking:
Well, as the Harvard Crimson newspaper reported, "Throughout most of the debate, though a slim majority of the packed Science Center audience admitted to eating meat, [the debate team] conceded [the PETA VP's] arguments about the immorality of being a carnivore in today's world. PETA seemed downright reasonable." In other words, we made an unbeatable case for vegetarianism. :)
Pretty cool, eh?
So what do you say to convince meat-eaters to change their ways?
How Much Can You Watch? (WARNING: Graphic Video) August 25, 2009
Posted by Ryan at August 25, 2009 11:23 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 85 ) | TrackBackWe see a lot of gruesome footage around the peta2 office—whether it's bastards boiling birds, only to sell them to McDonald's, or what happens when military higher-ups seem to think that soldier training sessions should be a bloody battlefield for animals.
There are however, on occasion, videos that even some peta2 staffers have trouble viewing. Videos so horrific that we have to force our callused eyes to watch it all the way through, because we know that if we turn away, nothing will change. This is one of those circumstances.
A new video from inside a slaughterhouse in Turkey, shows ... well, you'll just have to watch ...
This is where meat comes from, folks. Don't let anyone tell you differently.
Make sure to comment below, letting us know how much of the video you could watch and what you witnessed.
Describe This Cruelty in Two Words or Less ... August 13, 2009
Posted by Ryan at August 13, 2009 12:37 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 84 ) | TrackBack
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Check out this new undercover investigation, operated by Animal Equality—an animal rights organization based in Spain—and then let us know your reaction below.
How would you describe what you just watched—in two words or less?
I'm going to have to go with "fucking barbaric". What about you?
Makes You Think July 6, 2009
Posted by Pulin Modi at July 6, 2009 3:09 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 11 ) | TrackBackLaura Lee-Conboy sent us these photos from Ireland! Reminds me of the human meat-tray demonstrations we sometimes do here in the States.
Take a look!
Photographer: Christine Redmond
Make Up: Gemma Horan
Model: Laura Lee-Conboy
If you have any photos or artwork you've done to spread the word about animal rights, please e-mail us pictures to StreetTeam@peta2.com or upload them here.
What do you think? Why do most people have such a hard time realizing that the animals they call dinner were once living, feeling beings just like you and me?
Study: More Vegetarian Lunches in Schools Than Ever! June 23, 2009
Posted by Ryan at June 23, 2009 11:38 AM | Permalink | Comments ( 2 ) | TrackBack
Say goodbye to mystery meat.
An exciting new report from the School Nutrition Association has concluded that "almost two thirds of school nutrition programs now offer a vegetarian school lunch on a consistent basis, up from 22% in 2003." That's a 41% increase!
Want to know what I think the best part of the report is though? According to the news coverage, "the United States Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service received over 10,000 comments on the need for increased availability of vegetarian meals in schools." [Emphasis mine]
They hear you! All of those comment cards you're filling out and petition signatures you're gathering are making a difference, in a big way. Keep it up!
The Most Terrifying Foods in the World June 1, 2009
Posted by Ryan at June 1, 2009 12:45 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 18 ) | TrackBackSpoiler: They're all animal products. Who da thunk it? :)
Being a bit of a world traveler, I've seen people eat some downright strange things (*cough* McNuggets *cough*).
As if ingesting chicken periods and pus-filled cow's milk weren't bad enough, now Cracked.com has gone and put together a list of six dishes that make eating periods seem almost normal.
6) Escamoles - Served primarily in Mexico, this dish consists of the eggs of the giant black Liometopum ant. Cracked.com reports that the eggs "have the consistency of cottage cheese".
5) Casu marzu - Hailing from Sardinia (Italy), this dish—which is actually illegal in the country—consists of sheep milk cheese that has been intentionally infested by "cheese flies". Are you ready for this though? According to Cracked, "Its translucent larvae are able to jump about 6 inches into the air, making this the only cheese that requires eye protection while eating."
4) Lutefisk - Imagine placing a cod fish into lye (you know, that powerful chemical that cleans drains, kills plants, and powers batteries), and letting it sit there for several days. If you were to place the chemicals used in this Norwegian dish in your eyes, it could cause blindness and permanent scarring. Gee, I wonder if it's healthy to eat?
3) Baby mice wine - I don't think this one needs much explanation. Korean rice wine, stuffed with baby mice, who according to Cracked "are left to ferment while their parents wring their tiny mouse paws in despair, tears drooping sadly from the tips of their whiskers."
2) Pacha - Regularly served in Iraq, this dish is nothing more than boiled sheep's head. 'Nuff said.
1) Balut - The king of all disgusting "foods", this Filipino street dish consists of "duck eggs that have been incubated until the fetus is all feathery and beaky, and then boiled alive. The bones give the eggs a uniquely crunchy texture."
I'm all about cultural sensitivity, but just as with slavery and child labor, culture doesn't excuse cruelty. Call me crazy, but I don't think the mother mouse watching her babies drowning in rice wine cares which country she's in. She's just wondering why on Earth someone would want to drink her children?
P.S. Sad that the good ol' U.S. of A. didn't make the list? Rest assured, the country that concocted the carcinogen-filled grilled chicken is surely running a strong 7th place.
Meat in an Ice Cream Cone? April 29, 2009
Posted by Ryan at April 29, 2009 1:28 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 15 ) | TrackBack
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We regularly receive fabulous art submissions from you lucky folks out there blessed with talent, skills, and other things I lack. Many of them are then posted on our wonderful DeviantArt page. Some pieces are just so gosh darned creative though that we have to share them with you to keep from bursting with excitement!
Take, for example, this submission from Nevada Buckley—a student at the Herron School of Art and Design. Nevada, who has been vegetarian for six years, aimed to design a concept piece that would show situations where meat looks out of place. She hopes to show people that when we look at meat from any other angle besides in flashy fast food commercials and advertisements created by people who profit from the abuse of animals, we realize how gross and unappealing it truly is.
Cool concept, eh?
What do you think of Nevada's piece? Will it help people look at meat differently? Leave your thoughts below!
ECC Student Group Broadcasts "Meet Your Meat" On Campus! April 5, 2009
Posted by Ryan at April 5, 2009 1:48 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 ) | TrackBack
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Written by Jason Levy, President of Students for the Ethical Treatment of Animals at Elgin Community College
On March 20, I organized a Meatout event at Elgin Community College. A couple weeks before the event was to take place, I requested a laptop with a projector, the largest screen they had available, and a table directly in front of the college’s cafeteria. Without any trouble, they let my group, Students for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, have everything that we were asking for. We were able to set up our table right in front of the cafeteria (which is by far the busiest part of the campus), and project “Meet Your Meat” onto a huge screen. Everyone that walked past the cafeteria that day saw what happens to the animals that are used for food, and what was being served in the cafeteria.
We also continued to gain student support for our “KFC-Free Zone” campaign. KFC has refused to adopt the most basic animal welfare standards to protect the 850 million animals that they kill every year from suffering, and recently, KFC has been trying to move onto college campuses around the country. So, while showing our fellow students where their lunch came from, we urged them to sign our petition to ban KFC from campus. This campaign has been extremely successful, largely due to the hundreds of signatures that we have collected. We have only been working on this campaign for a couple weeks, and already, I will be presenting our proposed ban at the next Student Government meeting.
Tabling an Eco-Fair at the University of Ottawa! April 5, 2009
Posted by Ryan at April 5, 2009 1:41 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 ) | TrackBack
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Written by Melissa Galianos of Concordia University in Montreal, QC
When my friend Lucas and I were offered to table for peta2 at the University of Ottawa, we knew we couldn’t refuse! The event was an eco-fair, so of course we discussed the issue of global warming and what can be done about this crisis. Since it’s been well-documented that going vegetarian is better for the environment than switching to a hybrid car, it was a natural fit!
The event was part of the University of Ottawa's "Green Week"! Our booth attracted lots of attention to not only the plight of animals, but on the green benefits of a vegan diet on the planet. We also handed out Tofurky, vegan cheese and "egg" salad sandwiches to hungry students while informing them about the impact of a meat-based diet. Everyone loves free food!
Stunned students watched PETA's "Meet Your Meat" in horror as they learned about the horror behind factory farming! Many students were happy to take action and sign our "Fight Global Warming With Your Fork" petition, which was a huge success!
All in all, it was a great day of raising awareness and eating awesome vegan food!
The Princeton Naked Demo! April 5, 2009
Posted by Ryan at April 5, 2009 1:23 PM | Permalink | Comments ( 0 ) | TrackBackby Jenny Palmer, president of the Princeton Animal Welfare Society (PAWS)
How do you get a school—seemingly full of self-focused, wannabe investment bankers—to stop for a moment and think about the plight of animals? You strip down to your undies, cover yourself with stage blood, and lie in human-sized meat trays right outside the dining hall windows.
Now Showing on peta2 TV:
Princeton Naked Demonstration
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At least that’s what we, the Princeton Animal Welfare Society did this May with the help of PETA and PETA VP Dan Mathews. The human meat tray demonstration shocked passersby into realizing that animals' flesh and bones are the same as ours. With the paint melting off their bodies and forming puddles of "blood" and sweat on the trays, the Princeton students looked disturbingly like the chicken breasts you find in the supermarket.
After seeing 11 nearly-nude students baking in these trays under the hot sun, one student told us, "You'll be pleased to know that I can't look at meat the same way anymore. Your demonstration produced a visceral change in my viscera: My gut churns sometimes when I see bloody flesh in shrink wrap at the stores. I consume much less meat, only sandwich meats if anything. I'm gradually phasing it out of my life."
Of course, not all the reactions were positive. It's easy to dismiss a provocative demonstration as just a publicity stunt by crazy animal rights activists. We worked hard to back up our demonstration with strong facts and reasoning by handing out informative leaflets, hosting a talk by Dan Mathews that evening explaining why these tactics are unfortunately necessary, and talking to people one-on-one about why we believe so strongly that "meat is murder."
I would encourage all of you who care about animals to do a similar demonstration on your campus. Organizing a demo requires work, but if you want to make an impression, it's well worth the effort. All it takes is coordination of everything from the props to the human chickens, an administration that is willing to grant permission, and, most importantly, brave students who will put themselves on display for a cause they believe in.
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