Tag Archives: PETA

We don’t give a fig about football …

… so we’ll be taking a road trip to eat a yummy late lunch. But we do give a fig about animal rights. … If you’re into Tim Brady and amigos and are gonna throw a party, why not forgo the meat and try some healthy veggie eats, courtesy of PETA.ORG?

Before we get to the snacks … here are some NFL players who love and stand up for animals!

From PETA:

We’re this close to the Super Bowl, and football is on everyone’s minds. So we thought we’d satiate our yard-line yearnings with a look at some of the super studs who are scoring one for animals. PETA’s brand-new compilation video features gridiron guys who show no mercy to their opponents or to animal abusers.

Take it from some of the toughest guys around: Real men are kind to animals.

CLICK HERE to see PETA’S FAVE NFL PLAYERS! 

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YUM YUMS

CLICK HERE to see all the recipes!

 Perfect Vegan Pizza

Vegan Fried Chicken Sandwiches

PETA sues Massachusetts

STATE SUED FOR IDENTITIES OF LABORATORIES IMPORTING MONKEYS FOR EXPERIMENTS

PETA Argues That Massachusetts Is Unlawfully Concealing Which Companies Imported Monkeys Possibly to Be Poisoned, Infected, and Killed

 Boston — PETA filed a lawsuit today in the Suffolk County Superior Court to compel the state’s Department of Agricultural Resources (DAR) to release information on the companies, universities, and individuals involved in the importation of 141 monkeys into the state in 2013, many of whom were likely headed to laboratories for invasive and painful experiments.

PETA sought this information in February through a Freedom of Information Act request. The DAR withheld the information on documents it released to PETA, and PETA’s lawsuit argues that it failed to provide an adequate justification for doing so. PETA contends that access to information about the origin and destination of these animals is critical because primates in laboratories are sometimes imported to the U.S. unlawfully, can carry infectious diseases such as herpes or Ebola, or are sometimes supplied by dealers who have violated animal welfare laws. 

“Thousands of monkeys are cut into, sickened, and killed in Massachusetts laboratories each year, and the public has a right to know where these animals came from, where they went, and how they got there,” says PETA Director of Laboratory Investigations Justin Goodman. “PETA wants the state of Massachusetts to stop insulating universities, drug companies, animal dealers, and others from much-deserved public scrutiny about the use of monkeys in deadly experiments.”

Each year, thousands of monkeys are taken from the wild or bred on squalid breeding farms in Asia and Africa, crammed into tiny wooden crates, transported on long-haul flights to the U.S., and trucked across the country to laboratories in Massachusetts and elsewhere. In recent studies, monkeys confined to Massachusetts facilities had holes drilled into their skulls, were addicted to cocaine, and were restrained and forced to pull burning-hot metal levers heated to 140 degrees.

According to the most recent federal data available, thousands of primates were confined to Massachusetts laboratories in 2011, including at Boston University, Charles River Laboratories, Harvard University, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. During recent inspections, the U.S. Department of Agriculture cited Massachusetts laboratories for dozens of violations of the Animal Welfare Act.

A copy of PETA’s complaint is available upon request. For more information, please visit PETA.org.

All-American (vegan!) apple pie …

… from PETA! Yum, yum, yum, yum …. – R.T.

For the Crust: 
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1/4 cup cold water
3/4 cup solid vegetable shortening

For the Filling: 
1 3/4 lbs. Golden Delicious apples, thinly sliced
1 3/4 lbs. Granny Smith apples, thinly sliced
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 Tbsp. unbleached flour

3 Tbsp. Earth Balance margarine, diced
1 Tbsp. soy milk
1 Tbsp. Florida Crystals sugar
Large pinch of ground cinnamon

For the Crust: 
• In a bowl, combine the flour and the salt. Mix the water with 1/3 cup of the flour mixture to make a paste. Set aside.
• With a pastry cutter or a fork, cut the vegetable shortening into the remaining flour mixture until the texture is “pebbly.” Add the paste and mix well. Shape into a ball and divide into 2 parts.
• Lightly flour a clean countertop and rolling pin. Roll 1 portion of the dough at a time. Roll from the center out, lifting the roller at the end of the dough (rather than rolling back and forth). Roll to a 1/8-inch thickness.
• Have an 8- or 9-inch pie pan ready. The rolled dough should be at least 2 inches larger than your pie pan. Loosen from the rolling surface, fold in half, and place in the center of the pie pan. Unfold and gently work into the pan, pressing lightly. Trim any excess dough with a knife.

For the Filling: 
• Preheat the oven to 400°F.
• In a large bowl, combine the apples, sugar, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and cinnamon. Let stand for approximately 15 minutes, or until juices form. Add the flour and mix.

To Assemble:
• Spoon the filling into the bottom crust and dot with margarine.
• Roll out the second ball of dough to form a 13-inch round circle. Drape over the filling.
• Seal the top and bottom crust edges together and trim any excess dough, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang. Fold under and crimp decoratively with a greased fork.
• Brush the pie with the soy milk. Combine the sugar and the cinnamon in a small bowl and sprinkle over the pie.
• Transfer to a baking sheet and place in the oven.
• Immediately reduce the temperature to 375°F. Bake for approximately 2 hours, or until the crust is golden brown, the apples are tender, and the filling is thick and bubbling. If the edges are browning too quickly, cover with foil.
• Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes 8 servings

Read more: http://www.peta.org/recipes/american-apple-pie/#ixzz3E04F99W7

Getcha Easter Baskets in Quinsig Village … and some cool food news!

Fear No Art art gallery and studio in Quinsig Village is running Make-Your-Very-Own-Easter-Basket classes, now until Easter.

Here is co-owner Dave, outside the Greenwood Street store. For more info., call 508.527.7306.

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Order your yummy chocolate bunnies!

Vegan Delights Easter Basket

Wanna be kind to critters AND give a loved one a great Easter basket? Order a vegan basket from PETA! A few years ago an ICT reader gave me a vegan chocolate bar! Deelish!! Couldn’t tell there was no milk or other animal products in my candy bar!

When you buy anything from PETA you’re supporting their FANTASTIC efforts to change the world. Save factory farm animals, stop needless animal experimentation, keep wild animals out of travelling shows AND lose weight/get healthy! Support PETA!!!!

Click here to order your yummy Easter baskets!

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Cool development … From The New York Times.

What with the state minimum wage going up and their NEW committment to offering organic produce to customers, I may start shopping at Walmart.

Have only shopped there twice, as they are so regressive when it comes to workers’ rights. That may change. Organic prouduce is SO expensive! I, and lots of working class folks, can’t afford it. Now we may be able to eat better foods – for not a whole lot of $!     – R. Tirella

Wal-Mart Eyes Organic Food

By Melanie Warner

Starting this summer, there will be a lot more organic food on supermarket shelves, and it should cost a lot less.

Michelle Philips and her daughter Madison at a Wal-Mart in Plano, Tex. Wal-Mart has decided that organic food will help modernize its image.

Wal-Mart has asked suppliers to help it offer more organic food.

Most of the nation’s major food producers are hard at work developing organic versions of their best-selling products, likeKellogg’s Rice Krispies and Kraft’s macaroni and cheese.

Why the sudden activity? In large part because Wal-Martwants to sell more organic food — and because of its size and power, Wal-Mart usually gets what it wants.

As the nation’s largest grocery retailer, Wal-Mart has decided that offering more organic food will help modernize its image and broaden its appeal to urban and other upscale consumers. It has asked its large suppliers to help.

Wal-Mart’s interest is expected to change organic food production in substantial ways.

Some organic food advocates applaud the development, saying Wal-Mart’s efforts will help expand the amount of land that is farmed organically and the quantities of organic food available to the public.

But others say the initiative will ultimately hurt organic farmers, will lower standards for the production of organic food and will undercut the environmental benefits of organic farming. And some nutritionists question the health benefits of the new organic products. “It’s better for the planet, but not from a nutritional standpoint,” said Marion Nestle, a professor of nutrition, food studies and public health at New York University. “It’s a ploy to be able to charge more for junk food.”

Shoppers who have been buying organic food in steadily greater quantities consider it healthier and better for the environment. Organic food — whether produce, meat or grain — must be grown without pesticides, chemical fertilizers and antibiotics. Then, before it is sold, the food cannot be treated with artificial preservatives, flavors or colors, among other things. …

To read entire story, click here!

It’s the end of winter and we’re feeling a little funky, a little …


Rosalie – February 23, 2014

By Rosalie Tirella

… chubby, a little droopy, a little bored. Mainly, WE’RE FREAKIN’ SICK OF WINTER!!!!!!!!!!! AURGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Quick pick-me-up? NEW MAKE UP, OF COURSE! I get all my products at the drugstore (where else would a blue-collar gal like me shop for make-up, Laura Bush, not withstanding?). My wet ‘n’ wild black mascara can be traded in for the more natural-looking brown. My ELF pink lip gloss can be replaced with something a bit … orange-y, spring’s go-to lip color. All cruelty-free, not tested on rabbits.

You can get a bunch of good drug store make up that HAS NOT BEEN TESTED ON cute white rabbits! Lots of times you will see the cruelty-free bunny logo (below) on the cruelty-free make-up package. Click here to read a PETA story on cruelty-free drugstore make up.

AND … To find cruelty-free companies, click here!

 

 

 

 

 

Cold enough for ya? It is for your dog!

By Alisa Mullins

I like to joke that my rescued greyhound, Jasper, is like a canine Barbie doll. He has an outfit for every occasion: two fleece jackets, a lightweight winter coat, a heavyweight winter coat, a raincoat and even pajamas. I sometimes get ribbed by friends about Jasper’s extensive wardrobe, but greyhounds, like other short-coated dogs, are extremely sensitive to the cold.

Unfortunately, not all animals are as well-outfitted to withstand winter weather as Jasper is. PETA’s Community Animal Project fieldworkers encounter animals all winter long who are suffering outdoors. Dogs are often tied up outside 24 hours a day, sometimes with nothing more than a card table, a plastic carrier or an overturned trashcan for shelter. Some dogs have no shelter whatsoever, even in freezing temperatures and blinding snowstorms.

One example of the latter is Noel, a starving pit bull mix who was found by PETA fieldworkers tethered to the trunk of a holly bush and shivering violently in the December cold. Noel had no shelter, no water and no food unless you count the few pieces of kibble scattered on the ground, out of her reach. PETA rushed her to a vet, who estimated that she was roughly half her healthy weight.

Sadly, Noel’s case is not unique. In December, PETA assisted with the rescue of a dog in Nebraska who had been left outside during a snowstorm and had icicles dripping from his face.

That same month, two dogs froze to death after being dumped outside the Terre Haute, Ind., animal shelter after hours during a cold snap.

A stray cat named Trooper was found frozen to a driveway in Newfoundland after apparently being hit by a car and breaking his hip. His body temperature was so low that it didn’t register on a thermometer. His tail and one leg had to be amputated because of frostbite.

A kitten dubbed Rocky Balboa by Sioux City, Iowa, shelter staff because of his fighting spirit was found near death, frozen to a garbage can.

Two dead pit bulls were found frozen to the ground—one in Memphis, Tenn., and the other in Philadelphia, Pa.—after neighbors called police. “It makes me want to cry. I hate animal cruelty. … [I]t hurts my heart,” said one neighbor.

Dogs may have fur coats, but they are not immune to the cold any more than a person wearing a coat would be if he or she were to sit outside on the frozen ground all day. Many dogs, including short-haired breeds such as pointers and pit bulls, young or elderly dogs and small dogs such as Chihuahuas, dachshunds and beagles, are even less able to handle the cold than humans are. As Indianapolis animal control staffer Dawn Contos says, if it’s too cold for a human to be comfortable outside, even with a coat on, “It’s probably too cold for your dog to be outside.”

Stray, feral and “outside” cats are also at risk. One stray cat in Boston was found suffering from frostbite so severe that one of her ears fell off while she was being transported to the animal shelter.

Neglected and abandoned animals need our help in order to survive. Stray and feral cats should be captured and taken indoors. If a dog is being denied adequate food, water or shelter, please alert authorities right away.

In Noel’s case, a call from a concerned neighbor saved her life, and her abusive owner was charged and banned from ever owning animals again. Today, Noel is thriving in her new home. She may not have quite as many coats as Jasper has, but she never has to worry about being left out in the cold again.

 

It’s great …

… when this happens: You deliver your papers – two seconds later, someone has picked up a copy and is reading it! Biggest compliment you can pay this gal!

Interesting … this hardworking young man said he and his friends aren’t into circuses that use exotic animals. He frowned when he talked about them. And his buddy/co-worker (not in pic) agreed, saying the touring wild animal thing would be history within 10 years … .

It’s funny, Ringling is in town and they are downplaying the horrific way they make their dough. As if they know the end is near … . Their ads are very Cirque de Soleil: a print of a lady riding a dragon. Their theme is dragons. Bull shit. It’s elephants and tigers and … enslaving them and breaking their spirit and feeding them crap and making them experience and do everything that is totally unnatural to them. THE ANIMALS ARE NOT DOMESTICATED, LIKE HORSES OR DOGS. THEY ARE WILD – LIKE WOLVES OR COYOTES. THEY ARE BEING FORCED TO BE WITH HUMANS AND PERFORM FOR THEM. It is wrong to enslave any wild thing … .

This young guy is the new Worcester and America. The kids don’t want to enslave wild animals! The Kids Are All Right!

– R. Tirella

Gifts for pets … and a song

By Deb Young
Sixty-two percent of U.S. households have pets, according to a 2011 survey by the American Pet Products Association. Many of these furry friends also will get a little something extra under the tree this holiday season.
All though they may not be able to unwrap presents with their paws,something special is guaranteed to earn you extra kisses and snuggles.
No matter the dog breed, these dog gift ideas are always a hit.
The basic idea: choose something that benefits the dog and the dog owner. Because happy dogs make happy owners (and vice versa).
Some gift ideas:
1. No pull Harnesses, If you have a dog that likes to pull on walks, it might be time to try . Theyare favorites of professional dog trainers around the world.
Your walks will be more enjoyable and in turn, you’ll probably end up walking your dog more often.
2. Doggles , Protective eyewear for dogs ,Whether he’s riding on the back of a bike or in a boat, make sure Rover’s eyes are properly protected.
3. Kongs are great for mental stimulation , Remember, don’t make it too hard for dogs who are soft. Keep the stuffing to their levels, or they will get frustrated and not try.
4. Clothes for dogs,  If you are still on the fence, consider this: Sure, dogs come equipped with their own external layering system, but some dogs have lighter layers of fur than others, and some are not genetically suited to the environments in which they find themselves transplanted. So your dog may in fact be extremely uncomfortable with the winter temperatures , as uncomfortable as you would be if you went outside without clothing.
5. Home made treats, The fact is, dog treats can be expensive. Plus, the ingredients in them aren’t always best for your dog. Commercial dog treats can have preservatives, food coloring and other things that you may not want your dog to eat.

That being the case, making your own homemade dog treats can be one of the best ways to not only be sure of what you are feeding your dog, but it can actually save you money too. Thousands of recipes can be found online.

For felines..
1. Thermal cat cushion, this is a comfy, cozy place for your cat to sleep. As kitty curls up in it, the cushion is warmed by his own body heat.
2. Expandable Cat Tunnel, Cats love to play and this multi-colored tunnel is great for hide and seek.
3. Feline “Greenies” , nothing is better or easier in promoting good dental care. These are textured treats that will also help scrape away tarter and cats love them.
4. Cat Cottage,This is top of the line! A 2-story decorated cottage, extra strong, accommodating cats up to 20 pounds. Includes two top floor lookouts, four hide and seek windows and two bottom level entry doors.
5. Laser light, You can get one at Wal-Mart, Petco, or probably any store that sells cat toys and supplies for under $10. This is a good way to engage your cat in interactive play with you.

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And for 2013 … try to eat way less meat … or go veggie! A song by one of our fave vegetarians (you thought we were gonna pick Paul McCartney, didn’t you?) Click on link below. – R. Tirella

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xL5spALs-eA

Protesters will draw attention to Ringling Bros. Circus’ violent treatment of baby elephants!

PETA’S ‘ INJURED ELEPHANT’  TO  CONFRONT POTENTIAL CIRCUS GOERS IN WORCESTER!

What: An “injured elephant” will lead PETA protesters on Wednesday as Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus prepares for its opening show in Worcester. The protesters will display signs that read, “This Is Ringling Baby-Elephant Training,” alongside banners emblazoned with compelling photos taken inside Ringling’s training center. The photos expose how baby elephants used by Ringling are stretched out, slammed to the ground, gouged with steel-tipped bull hooks, and shocked with electric prods. These abusive sessions go on for several hours a day in order to force the baby elephants to learn to perform circus tricks out of fear of punishment. Actor Alec Baldwin recently narrated avideo  exposé that focuses on how circuses abuse elephants.

“Worcester residents would run screaming from the big top if they knew how baby elephants are violently forced to perform difficult, confusing, and sometimes painful tricks,” says PETA Foundation Director of Captive Animal Law Enforcement Delcianna Winders. “Since children love  animals, the last place that parents and grandparents should take them to is the circus.”

Late last year, Ringling Bros. paid the largest fine in circus history—$270,000—for violations of the Animal Welfare Act.

Where: DCU Center, at the intersection of Major Taylor Boulevard and Foster Street, Worcester

When: Wednesday, October 3, 12 noon

For more info,  call or email, David Perle at 202-483-7382, extension 2194, orDavidP@peta.org.

For more information, please visit PETA’s website RinglingBeatsAnimals.com.

 

 

There’s been a delay … / ICT PETA op ed

The Housing Report (for the City of Worcester) is not ready. Should be coming out around Oct. 18. – R. T.
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Starving monkeys won’t help humans live longer

By Alka Chandna, Ph.D.

Since the late 1980s, experimenters at the National Institute on Aging (NIA) and the University of Wisconsin–Madison have isolated monkeys in tiny barren cages and kept them chronically underfed—giving them a whopping 30 percent fewer calories than they needed—to see if this would make the animals live longer. Now, more than two decades later, the NIA experimenters report that 20-plus years of unrelieved deprivation had no effect on the monkeys’ life spans.

This hideous experiment may not have extended the animals’ lives, but it certainly made their pitifully caged lives more miserable.

While it is always unethical to confine and kill animals for experimentation, condemning smart, social animals to a lifetime of hunger and isolation, just to prove a point, is especially egregious. It’s time for these so-called “caloric-restriction”—read, “starvation”—experiments to end and for the government to stop paying for this cruelty.

Primates are extremely intelligent animals who form intricate relationships, experience the same wide range of emotions as we do and exhibit a capacity for suffering similar to that of humans. And like us, rhesus macaque monkeys—the species used in the starvation experiments—are highly social animals who need companionship in order to thrive.

In their natural homes, these gregarious animals live in multigenerational troops with up to 200 other monkeys. They spend their days traveling miles through lush forest terrain and grooming one another. In the caloric-restriction experiments, they are confined alone in metal cages so small that they can take only a step or two in any given direction. Most likely, they will die in these cages. The cheap plastic toys and scratched mirrors commonly given to monkeys in laboratories as “environmental enrichment” are poor substitutes for the companionship of another living being.

Rhesus monkeys also have impressive intellectual abilities. They can count, use tools, communicate complex information and express empathy, and they possess a sense of fairness—something that many experimenters seem to lack.

In one particularly horrible experiment, described in Carl Sagan and Ann Druyan’s book Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors, macaques were fed only if they pulled a chain that electrically shocked another monkey, whose agony was in plain view through a one-way mirror. The majority of the monkeys preferred to go hungry rather than pulling the chain. One refused to eat for 14 days.

Sadly, these astonishing traits have not saved monkeys from being abused in laboratories.

When the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s experiments were first made public in 2009, PETA filed complaints with both the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the university’s Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee. Our concerns were dismissed, and the monkeys remain in their barren cages, waiting to die.

Even if the results of the starvation experiments had turned out differently, if the researchers had discovered that chronic deprivation prolongs life, so what? What difference would it make? When most of us eat too much rather than too little, is it realistic to expect that people will voluntarily go hungry—not for weeks or months but for years and decades—even if it means adding a few years to their lives?

Previous studies have shown us that being obese can shorten a person’s life span by as much as a decade and that the cholesterol, saturated fat and toxins in meat and fish increase the risk of early death. According to the American Cancer Society, one-third of all cancer deaths in the United States can be attributed to nutritional factors. And still we gorge ourselves on meat, dairy products, sugar, soda and heavily processed foods and wonder why we get sick.

We already know how to improve our health and prevent many of the ills often associated with aging. Locking up animals for decades in cruel and pointless experiments is not the answer.