Pigs go Woof

I'm such an awful person. I was going to save the world this summer and all I've done is...definitely not that. It wasn't quite saving the world that I wanted to do, though I wouldn't turn down the opportunity if I got it, but I was planning on demonstrating against KFC, leafleting at the circus while they were here, and putting anti- Mars Inc. and KFC flyers in as many books in the library as I could (and here it is, almost August and I've been trying since the beginning of June to get to the library. I'd say that's failure right there). I don't know if doing any of that would make a difference in anybody's lives, but it doesn't hurt to try and let everybody know exactly where I stand on certain issues.

I guess I should explain some for those confused people. I'm an animal rights activist and I have been since 1st grade when I took stickers portraying an evil Ronald McDonald holding up a bloody chicken to school and handed them out to people. I joined PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) when I was eight and have been advocating animal rights since. Now before you get all "Omg! She's a PETA supporter! Everything she says is radical b.s.!" I have to say that I agree that PETA is radical and can go overboard sometimes with their protests, but their information is always right and they get stuff done. They thoroughly investigate all claims and get video, pictures, primary sources, etc. as proof so I know that the information I get from them is good. I supplement with my own research too in some cases so I can be sure that what I'm saying is true. I've also been vegetarian for nearly two years. I've gone vegetarian several times before that, but it was always difficult with the way my family ate until I was old enough to handle my own food. I'll be going vegan eventually when I have complete control over what food is in my household.

The issue that I'm working on the most right now is that of Mars Inc.'s abuse of animals. Mars makes all tons of candy including M&Ms, Skittles, Twix, Dove, and Snickers and a few pet products. There have been allegations that Mars is doing cruel animal testing. I researched on my own and found primary source articles listing Mars Inc. as a contributor that detailed animal testing for reasons such as angiogenesis (regrowth of blood vessels). Can you tell me what a candy company needs with angiogenesis research? All they're doing is torturing baby mice to get money and then denying every bit of it when they're confronted. Performing excruciatingly painful and dangerous experiments on mice aren't going to make their products any better. I've been boycotting Mars for almost a year now, which was a huge sacrifice because I used to go through several bags of M&Ms a week and there are no good, readily available replacements for those. And to make it worse, dark chocolate M&Ms came out right after I started boycotting.

I also boycott KFC because their suppliers are horribly cruel and there's a ton of corruption within the corporation itself. The facts would take too long to tell, but I'd advise all of you to boycott too. That grandfather-y old Colonel has some deadly horns hiding underneath that white hair. Some other campaigns I'm fond of are the Fur is Dead campaign, and the Woof campaign. Fur is Dead is quite self-explanatory, but Woof is pretty interesting. The basic principle behind it is if pigs said "woof", they wouldn't be treated like they are. Pigs and dogs are surprisingly similar, but dogs aren't packed into crates, aren't castrated, don't have their teeth ripped out and their tails cut off without painkillers, and then killed for food. Pigs are as smart as a three year old child and take it from someone who lives with a three year old, they're freaking smart.

I've got strong opinions on animal treatment (and a whole ton of other stuff) and I could talk forever, but my mom has been trying to get me to go to bed for like 2 hours. So off I go.

♥ j.j.