PETA Takes Aim and Sterotypes Many Women

PETA has a new billboard and a campaign to go with it.

Florida residents are raising eyebrows as well as anger among women and health groups.

The drawing on billboards in Jacksonville shows an obese woman with the reading,
"Save The Whales, Lose The Blubber: Go Vegetarian."

PETA stated in it's press release:
A new PETA billboard campaign that was just launched in Jacksonville reminds people who are struggling to lose weight -- and who want to have enough energy to chase a beach ball -- that going vegetarian can be an effective way to shed those extra pounds that keep them from looking good in a bikini.
Anyone wishing to achieve a hot "beach bod" is reminded that studies show that vegetarians are, on average, about 10 to 20 pounds lighter than meat-eaters.

"Trying to hide your thunder thighs and balloon belly is no day at the beach," says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman.

PETA is not new with tactics involving scantily clad-women, like this veggie dog eat-in on Capitol Hill wearing only lettuce bikinis.
When asked to comment on the charges that the ad is sexist and mocking of overweight people, Ashley Byrne, a senior campaigner for PETA stated, "Our goal is help overweight Jacksonville residents - the best way to do that is to go vegetarian. We're not trying to insult anyone. Vegetarians look and feel better than meat eaters. This is a life-saving message."
When asked specifically if the billboard shames overweight people, Byrne stated, "If the billboard is shocking, hopefully it will gets people's attention, and help them improve quality of life for themselves and their families.... it's designed to help people."

But we want to know what is PETA going to do about their fat head?

The Silent Scream of Plants and Vegetables

PETA says animals are not ours to eat and Beatle Paul McCartney tells us if we want to save the planet, we should stop eating meat.

But we keep hearing how plants and vegetables have feelings, so maybe we shouldn't eat them either.

THE DEBATE over whether plants and vegetables have feelings is something worth looking at.

Even the Swiss have gotten involved. At the request of the Swiss government, an ethics panel has weighed in on the "dignity" of plants and opined that the arbitrary killing of flora is morally wrong. The concept of what could be called "plant rights" is being seriously debated.
A few years ago the Swiss added to their national Constitution a provision requiring "account to be taken of the dignity of creation when handling animals, plants and other organisms."

A "clear majority" of the panel adopted what it called a "biocentric" moral view, meaning that "living organisms should be considered morally for their own sake because they are alive." Thus, the panel determined that we cannot claim "absolute ownership" over plants and, moreover, that "individual plants have an inherent worth." This means that "we may not use them just as we please..."

Additionally, plant and vegetable findings suggest that under threat, plants communicate the danger to other plants nearby; and also call in help from other creatures.
Biologists at the University of Turin and the Max Planck Institute in Jena reported to have found evidence that plants sensed — and reacted to — the presence of hungry, leaf-chomping enemies. Their response was to emit an odour similar to lavender. This alerted other plants to the presence of a predator.
But it also served to call in what modern military planners would term air support. Wasps, the natural enemies of many predators, were drawn by the odour to the plant where they either devoured the intruder or injected it with eggs that later killed it.

Then there is the music aspect. For decades, people have been experimenting with music and plant growth. Many amateur plant growers claim that classical music helps their development.

That proves there is some kind of intelligence, but until we know for certain we have no right to eat them.

Really now, with all this evidence mounting how can we eat plants, vegetables and to be on the safe side, even fruits?

Perhaps we would be wise to eat nothing until all the evidence is in.

As The Michael Butter Churns

You may remember we ran a story about the Iowa State Fair and the Michael Jackson butter sculpture. We all saw how big everything about Michael was last week, and just after his death the fair butter people announced that they would be honoring Jackson by creating his buttery image. (and no, this is not the Michael Jackson butter statue you see here)

Butter organizers have decided to have a vote at their website because of the many protests they have received. "We've had a lot of feedback, mostly negative" since an announcement on the Fair's website a week ago that the traditional butter statue of a cow would "share the spotlight this year with a salute to the late Michael Jackson," the Fair's general manager Gary Slater said.

If you want to cast your ballot; VOTE NOW.

And as if PETA didn't have enough to do, they have called for the statue to be made out of Earth Balance buttery spread, not real butter. . In a PETA statement: We do respect Iowans' right to honor the late icon, so we've come up with a solution—one that's good for children, cows and Michael's legacy. We're suggesting that the fair make the statue out of Earth Balance, a dairy-free natural "buttery" spread, instead. By keeping their tribute to Mr. Jackson dairy-free, they'd be honoring his memory in a (cholesterol-free) way that's fit for a king.

Tune in tommorow for perhaps another episode of: As The Michael Butter Churns.