PETA Updates

For all the readers of this specific blog, please understand that I receive PETA emails almost daily and it's so hard to keep track so instead, I'm going to publish a weekly PETA Updates blog with all the weekly news. Of course, last week there wasn't one so this will be from the past 2 - 3 weeks.




Newest Ads & Supporters:
Gwyneth Paltrow -

At the reopening of the Fontainebleau Hotel, Gwyneth Paltrow explained how she regretted having posed in a fur stole in an ad for Tod's. She says, "That was awkward, and I'm glad you asked, because I do not wear fur at all. It was a daylong photo shoot on a boat near Capri, and there were all sorts of poses with all kinds of clothes—none with fur. During one set-up, a stylist came up from behind and draped a stole around my shoulders. I didn't pay much attention to it, and when I noticed it was fur I assumed it was fake fur but did not ask, so it's my fault. I was very surprised when they ended up using that one shot out of hundreds for the centerpiece of the Tod's ads. I know it's not a great excuse, but I hope you and your members understand," when asked why an eco-friendly and pro-veggie person such as herself would promote fur.






John Salley -
The basketball star recently took up an opportunity to help elephants in Chicago. He wrote a letter to the City Council asking to vote yes to the piece of legislation that would ban chaining elephants. By clicking his name (above) you can read his letter to the city council and his thoughts and opinions.




Mama Kills Animals -

PETA has a new parody of Majesco's cooking games called Mama Kills Animals. The gamers get to play as bloodthirsty Mama, who plucks turkeys, chops off turkey heads, and more. Gamers witness firsthand how gruesome and bloody a turkey's thanksgiving really is. Click here to play the game. On November 19th, PETA was extremely happy with Majesco's public response. It stated "Cooking Mama World Kitchen includes more than 25 vegetarian-friendly recipes... Mama is not a vegetarian, she fully supports the humane treatment of animals, particularly for her canine protégé Max who makes his doggie debut in World Kitchen." They also released a statement from the character Mama herself, to which PETA responded with a letter. It explains that they love the games and they are happy to hear of the response, also urging to pledge to be vegetarian for 30 days. To read the full letter, click here.






Thanksgiving, Tofu & Turkey:

With the American Thanksgiving up and coming, of course every organization has been encouraging people to go vegetarian and save thousands of turkeys. PETA has released quite a few undercover videos and posted quite a few blogs about turkeys and, in relation, Thanksgiving. Click here for some vegetarian holdiay recipes. :)






President Bush shows support for turkeys.

This year, President Bush is greeting 1-888-VEG-FOOD and is asking everyone to pardon all turkeys fromt he horrible fate of Thanksgiving. Each year the president pardons two turkeys. There's also a video, giving information about turkeys and why we should not be eating turkeys!






Turkey pardon fail, starring my favourite governor, Sarah Palin

In a recent video where Palin talks about the post-election, turkeys are being slaughtered behind her ON CAMERA. She says that she is "promoting a local business" and doing something that will not "invite critiscim" but what worse way to promote a local business than to show the reality of slaughter? Hopefully, this video will go vegetarian.






Sexy pilgrim costumes go missing!

After supplies for a demo go missing, campaigners were forced to improvise and find waitress costumes for their demo. Their costumes arrived later, and the demo was in full swing. They helped defend our turkey friends and convinced people to go veg. :D






PETA's recent undercover investigation reveals horrors!

Here are the links you can click to read up on this:

http://getactive.peta.org/campaign/p2_turkey_investigation

http://getactive.peta.org/campaign/turkey_investigation?c=weekly_enews

http://blog.peta.org/archives/2008/11/undercover_inve.php

(Above links will be summarized below)



The investigator also wrote a blog, that can be read by clicking here. He tells the horrors of the turkeys. From 600-800 turkeys are crammed into pens, with almost 8000 turkeys in one barn and two to three barns at each turkey farm. The barns are dusty, causing the turkeys to pant and making it hard for them to breathe. Male turkeys are bred to weight at least 80 pounds, and are slammed into cages in temperatures near 20 F. The workers stomp turkeys' heads on the concrete, creating sounds of breaking beaks and bones. He ends with a paragraph saying, "They [turkey farms] sell death. They make money on abuse..." Make sure to WATCH THE VIDEO! The video includes footage that is absolutely horrifying and heart wrenching. Also, remember to stop this turkey abuse by eating vegetarian!

Every year, in the US alone, more than 72 million of the nearly 270 million turkeys killed for food are killed for Thanksgiving. PETA conducted an undercover investigation lasting more than two months at the factory farms of Aviagen Turkeys Inc. PETA's investigator documented the horrors, the torture, the mutilation and the killing. Workers stomped on turkeys heads, punched turkeys, hit them on the head with a can of spray paint and pliers, struck turkeys heads against metal scaffolding, shoved feces into turkeys' mouths and held turkeys' heads under water. Turkeys were often kicked, killed by being hit with pieces of lumber and pipes, leaving them to suffer for several minutes and hens’ beaks were cut with pliers. A worker bragged about jamming a broomstick 2 ft down a turkey's throat because the turkey pecked at his back. This same worker mimicked raping a turkey hen, which he had pinned against the floor. A supervisor said he saw workers kill 450 turkeys with 2-by-4s. One worker said he saw a coworker fatally inject turkey semen and sulfuric acid into turkeys’ heads. The investigator repeatedly brought up the issues to the supervisor who merely responded, “Every once in a while, everybody gets agitated and has to kill a bird." PETA also brought the abuse to the attention of Aviagen, and although the company made assurances and instituted some new rules, the cruelty did not stop. Living conditions were also horrible, disgusting and cramped. Birds had to climb over the rotting remains of about 70 hens for more than a day. Supervisors urinated in turkey pens and workers spat tobacco. Birds collapsed and died of exhaustion or heart attacks and were brutally thrown into inhumane transport cages.
To help these turkeys, please go vegetarian and write to the National Turkey Federation, asking it to support PETA's 7-point animal welfare plan, which will help to reduce the suffering of turkeys.



In other PETA news...

Fake Bacon for James Bond

While Daniel Craig was filming the new James Bond film, Quantum of Solace in Italy, he had English bacon shipped in internationally for breakfast! PETA Europe sent him the best faux bacon available. It is much healthier than bacon, because it doesn't contain heart-clogging cholesterol and it doesn't cause impotence. Also, pigs don't have their teeth, tails and testicles cut off without painkillers! Hopefully he'll change his mind about bacon.




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TreeHugger