We missed it again! Every year we say we’re going to encourage vegetarianism during The Great American (and International) Meatout and every year it passes by. Better late than never – especially when lives hang in the balance! Hey, at least this counts toward Meatout Monday.

On (or around) March 20 — the first day of spring — thousands of caring people in all 50 U.S. states and two dozen other countries get active to host educational Meatout events. Activities include colorful festivals, lectures, public dinners, feed-ins, cooking demos, food samplings, leafleting, information tables and more.

The occasion is Meatout, the world’s largest and oldest annual grassroots diet education campaign. Meatout 2010 is the 25th Anniversary! Every spring, thousands of caring Meatout supporters educate their communities and ask their friends, families, and neighbors to pledge to “kick the meat habit (at least for a day) and explore a wholesome, compassionate diet of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.”

Source: Meatout.org

Avoiding meat has a bigger impact than you might think…

U.S. Slaughter Totals 2008

Cattle: 34,369,000
Chickens: 9,069,382,000
Ducks: 24,165,000
Pigs: 116,458,000
Sheep/Lambs: 2,555,000
Turkeys: 271,625,000
TOTAL: 9.5 billion

Source: The Humane Society of the United States and The National Agricultural Statistics Service

You CAN make a difference! Need a little help going meatless in the kitchen? Try the Post Punk Kitchen & Recipe Zaar!

Our latest design features the charming tent top of the traveling circus, cheerful flag and all…but it also carries a very important message: The Circus is no Circus for the Animals.

As a child I used to see circus tents and get all excited about the elephants, tigers and bears that I might see inside. Even then, I remember feeling sad that they were trapped in tiny cages and kept shackled up like prisoners. Now, as an adult, I see the true suffering that occurs far too often under the guise of entertainment, some say “the Greatest Show on Earth.”

If your life wouldn’t be the same without the circus, go to see an animal free circus. They are every bit as entertaining (more so in my opinion) and don’t cause animal suffering.

Learn about the lives of circus animals from the Humane Society…

Shed Your Fur – The Animals Need it More is new in the Animal Welfare lineup at Veggie’s Shop. As if eating dead animals wasn’t bad enough, people actually wear them…and brag about it!

People are more violently opposed to fur than leather because it’s safer to harass rich women than motorcycle gangs. Anonymous

Personally, we don’t care who’s wearing it. The bottom line is: NOBODY should. It’s the animal’s – not ours. Learn more at FurIsDead.com!

A new day for dogs: Pa. law targets puppy mills
By Martha Raffaele – Oct 10, 2008

Harrisburg, PA (AP) – Sammy, a Shetland sheepdog, wouldn’t touch his food, retreating to a corner of the yard and devouring mouthfuls of dirt – behavioral oddities his owner later learned came from a lifetime of abuse as a “stud” in a large puppy mill.

The 10 years of caged confinement Sammy endured would have been illegal under a bill signed late Thursday by Gov. Ed Rendell. The governor, who owns two rescued golden retrievers, and other dog advocates hope the new law will help Pennsylvania shed its reputation as the puppy mill capital of the East.

Read the full article…