Because a hurricane warning has been issued in the Charleston area, PETA reminds not to leave animals to fend for themselves during Hurricane Ian. PETA’s Animal Rescue Team has found drowning and dead animals left outside during storms or abandoned during evacuations, and these simple tips could save an animal’s life.
Keep all animals indoors with you if you choose not to evacuate. Never leave them tethered, penned, or crated.
If you evacuate, plan your destination in advance and do not leave animals behind or unsupervised in a car.
Be prepared: Use secure carriers, leashes, and harnesses. Bring along water and food bowls, a favorite toy, a blanket, a towel, and enough food for a week. Have your animals microchipped, and put secure, legible ID tags on them.
Watch for other animals in trouble. If you see any animals in distress and can’t help, note their location and call authorities immediately.
PETA has released a natural disaster–preparedness PSA featuring “Mayhem” actor Dean Winters. It will remind people to make plans early to ensure the safety of their animal companions before an evacuation. For more information, please visit PETA.org.
In a shocking twist, the U.S. Army Medical Research and Development Command (USAMRDC)—in its “Policy 84”—is now explicitly permitting formerly banned laboratory experiments involving the wounding of dogs, cats, marine animals, and primates using weapons. And to add insult to injury (of our fellow animals), the military branch is refusing to disclose details of these secretive taxpayer-funded tests to PETA.
In March 2022, PETA filed a Freedom of Information Act request for photos, videos, and other documentation of tests approved by the USAMRDC “that involve the use of a weapon … to inflict wounds” on animals.
Even though the command initially stated that it had at least 2,000 responsive records, it later backtracked, claiming to have only one—which the Army conveniently claims is “classified … in the interest of national defense or foreign policy.”
PETA Demands Answers on Behalf of Our Fellow Animals and the Public
Taxpayers deserve to know if their money is going toward torturing dogs, cats, marine animals, and primates in pointless and cruel weapon-wounding experiments. That’s why PETA filed an appeal with the Army, calling for the release of public information on weapons testing in which wounds are inflicted on such animals. We also sent a letter to Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth urging her to reinstate the previous ban on such tests.
The Army Needs to Restore the Ban on Weapon-Wounding Tests on Animals
In 1983, PETA exposed and successfully campaigned to shut down a U.S. Department of Defense “wound lab” in which dogs, goats, and other animals were shot with high-powered weapons, resulting in the first-ever permanent ban on the shooting of dogs and cats in wound labs, which was issued by then Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger.
Following a successful PETA campaign that exposed a U.S. Department of Defense “wound lab,” the shooting of dogs and cats in wound labs was banned.
In 2005, the Army issued Regulation 40-33, which banned the use of dogs, cats, marine animals, and primates in “[r]esearch conducted for development of biological, chemical, or nuclear weapons.” Yet in 2020, the Army apparently reversed its position by permitting “[t]he purchase or use of dogs, cats, nonhuman primates, or marine mammals to inflict wounds upon using a weapon for the purpose of conducting medical research, development, testing, or evaluation.”
PETA is leading the push for the Army to disclose the details of these horrific experiments and renew the ban on weapon-wounding experiments on animals.
Here’s What You Can Do
While we push for transparency from the USAMRDC and a ban on these weapon-wounding tests, other branches of the U.S. military are using our fellow animals in cruel experiments.
The U.S. Navy is squeezing the life out of sheep and other animals in gruesome and often deadly decompression sickness/illness and oxygen toxicity experiments that are as pointless as they are out of step with international standards. PETA has sent letters to the secretary of the Navy and the secretary of defense urging an end to these painful experiments.
Join us in telling the Navy and the U.S. Department of Defense to stop funding and conducting cruel decompression and oxygen toxicity experiments on animals:
People always tell you what happens if you go vegan, but have you ever thought about what might happen if you don’t? If you think choosing not to be vegan affects only you, think again. PETA did some research, and here’s what we found.
You’ll Be Responsible for the Deaths of Many Animals
By choosing not to go vegan, you’ll be responsible for the deaths of at least 14,200 animals in your lifetime. The industries that raise cows, pigs, and chickens for their flesh aren’t the only ones that kill animals. The U.S. egg industry exploits and kills more than 305 million sensitive hens every year—and that doesn’t even include the hundreds of millions of male chicks workers kill at hatcheries. The dairy industry is responsible for the deaths of thousands of cows each year. It separates loving mothers from their babies shortly after birth. Our fellow animals are individuals who deserve happy and healthy lives.
You May Die Sooner
The average human life expectancy is 71 years, but by not going vegan, you’ll lower your chances of making it past 61. Not being vegan, on average, gives you a higher chance of premature death by six to 10 years.
Your life isn’t the only one cut short: Slaughterhouse workers kill animals when they’re just babies. Chickens can live for up to five to 10 years naturally, but in the meat industry workers slaughter them at 6 to 7 weeks old. Hens exploited for their eggs rarely make it past 2 years old.
You’ll Kill the Planet Faster
A University of Oxford study published in the journal Climatic Change shows that meat-eaters are responsible for as much as 7.19 kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent (kgCO2e) per day. However, vegans are responsible for only 2.89 kgCO2e per day, which means that by opting not to go vegan, you’ll be producing nearly 2.5 times the greenhouse gas emissions. That’s the equivalent carbon footprint of driving nearly 13,000 miles, or almost a year’s worth of driving for an average American.
You’ll Waste a Lot of Water
A person who eats vegan saves approximately 1,100 gallons of water every day and drastically reduces his or her environmental footprint. This means that over a lifetime, you’ll use 28,506,500 extra gallons of water—the equivalent of 43 Olympic-size swimming pools—if you don’t go vegan.
You’ll Destroy Acres of Land
The baseline American diet uses 2.67 acres of land per year, whereas a vegan diet uses only around 0.32 acres per year. This means that in a lifetime, you’ll use around 166 additional acres of farmland if you decide not to go vegan. That’s more than an entire golf course’s worth of land, or more than an entire farm to feed a family of four.
You’ll Spend More Money on Healthcare
In the U.S. alone, one person who eats a meat-based diet will spend $848,095 on medical costs in their lifetime, whereas vegans save 15% a year on medical costs. That’s $127,214 saved in a lifetime, or roughly $150 a month, just by making the decision to go vegan.
You’ll Overspend on Groceries
Going vegan can save you around $38,482 on groceries in your lifetime. That means one person pays $542 extra a year to eat animal-based products. For a family of four, that’s an additional $2,168 per year.
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There you have it. If you don’t go vegan, you’ll be causing harm not only to animals but also to yourself and the planet. Isn’t it time you started saving lives while taking care of yourself and the world you live in? Request a free vegan starter kit to help you begin.
What do the Jonas Brothers, Travis Barker, Venus Williams, and Kevin Hart have in common? They started vegan companies! Some of these businesses focus on cruelty-free beauty products or animal-friendly fashion, while others are developing delicious plant-based foods. Actors are starting wine labels, musicians are creating food brands, and athletes are starting their own protein companies.
These compassionate celebrities are putting their fame and money to good use by starting vegan companies that don’t profit off the suffering of animals:
In addition to producing albums for stars such as Mariah Carey and TLC, Grammy-winning music producer Jermaine Dupri is a passionate vegan. So it’s not surprising that he started a cruelty-free ice cream company, which makes delightfully creamy desserts that don’t require cows to produce milk until their bodies give out. You can find JD’s Vegan at Walmart along with a ton of other vegan options.
Christie Brinkley is just one of many celebrities who owns a wine label. Her line of vegan wines, Bellisima, offers Prosecco and sparkling wines as well as zero sugar still wines. All the offerings are certified vegan, so you can sip your wine knowing that you aren’t drinking something that was filtered using the body parts of once-living animals.
Drummer and longtime vegan Travis Barker started this all-natural, cruelty-free wellness business to help nurture both mind and body. Other gummy companies may use gelatin in their products, but Barker uses fruit pectin instead. Gelatin is a protein created by boiling the skin, tendons, cartilage, and bones of animals in water.
Stranger Things actor Noah Schnapp turned the vegan world upside down when he introduced this plant-based hazelnut cocoa spread from his company, TBH. To be honest, PETA is thrilled to have another animal-friendly hazelnut spread. Some brands still use milk stolen from playful cows in their recipes—which, if you ask us, is one of the stranger things companies still do. Thank goodness for celebrities who want to change the world.
These celebrity siblings fell in love with a unique popcorn recipe after a rained-out concert in 2011. Created by the father of a longtime friend, it quickly became a backstage staple on their tours. Rob’s Backstage Popcorn, named after its creator, is made using sunflower oil instead of butter. You can buy the sweet and savory snack online or at Walmart stores nationwide. Crank your favorite JoBros song and chow down on some vegan popcorn.
Model and actor Cara Delevingne and her sisters started this Prosecco company with sustainability in mind. A few wines still filter their product using various animal-derived ingredients such as casein (milk protein), gelatin (protein from boiling animal parts), or isinglass (gelatin from fish bladder membranes). But this sustainable brand uses 100% vegan processes to keep its Prosecco both eco-conscious and animal-friendly.
Actors and musicians aren’t the only ones starting vegan companies—professional athletes are jumping in, too. Tennis superstar Venus Williams switched to plant-based eating after being diagnosed with an autoimmune disease in 2011. After seeing the benefits of going vegan, she decided to help others do the same.
Made with fruits, vegetables, and other superfoods, Happy Viking’s protein powder proves that you don’t need to steal the flesh of sensitive animals in order to thrive.
Entrepreneur and legendary TV personality Rob Dyrdek created a vegan superfood company with his business partner Chris “Bernie” Bernard in order to strengthen people’s minds through what they eat. Not only was this brain-boosting food company started by a celebrity, several other celebrities have also invested in it. Including ingredients such as blueberries, dates, and pea protein, the company focuses on using only the good stuff and leaves out the cruel stuff, such as dairy and eggs, both of which are stolen from loving mothers.
Vegan comedian and actor Kevin Hart joined other celebrities starting cruelty-free companies with his VitaHustle. Hart and his wife, Eniko, created a vegan superfood drink after realizing that other such drinks, laden with added sugar, just weren’t doing it for them. They use fruits, vegetables, and other vegan superfoods to make a product that has all the benefits you’d expect but without the crash. Hart also owns a vegan burger restaurant in Los Angeles called Hart House.
NBA star Chris Paul entered the game with his own vegan snack company. Its starting lineup includes Cookies N Creme Popcorn and Classic BBQ Porkless Rinds. These craveable game-day snacks don’t hurt animals and are sure to be a slam dunk at your next watch party.
In addition to starting their own vegan companies, some celebrities have become ambassadors for brands they love:
Kim Kardashian, Snoop Dogg, and Kevin Hart (Beyond Meat)
One of the most widely known vegan companies, Beyond Meat has some serious star power behind it. The list of famous financial investors is impressive, but influencer Kim Kardashian, rap icon Snoop Dogg, and comedian Kevin Hart take it a step further. All three ambassadors star in advertisements for the vegan meat brand.
Travis Barker and Kourtney Kardashian (Daring Foods)
Daring Foods, the company behind a growing number of vegan chicken options, is backed by many celebrities. Various celebrities invest in the company, and both musician Travis Barker and influencer Kourtney Kardashian act as ambassadors for it.
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It’s a sign of the times that celebrities are choosing compassion when creating or promoting companies—something PETA has been working for since our inception.
Animals are individuals who deserve respect. They aren’t products or machines to be exploited for profit. The vegan companies listed on this page are proof that using animals is unnecessary and that choosing kindness can save lives.
You can join these celebrities in making a difference by ditching dairy and leaving animals off your plate: Go vegan!
Need some tips or inspiration? You can order a free vegan starter kit now to take the first step:
On Friday, costumed “cows” will dump wheelbarrows of manure and plant a sign in the middle of it reading, “Starbucks’ Vegan Upcharge Stinks!” outside the home of the company’s chief sustainability officer, Michael Kobori, to make the point that the dairy industry is a top producer of the greenhouse gases that contribute to the climate catastrophe. The action is the latest in PETA’s campaign calling on Starbucks to stop charging customers extra for vegan milks, which prevent day-old calves from being torn away from their mothers and—as Starbucks already agrees—are better for the planet.
When: Friday, September 30, 5:30 p.m.
Where: Near the intersection of Halkin Lane and Alamo Avenue, Berkeley
“If Michael Kobori really cares about sustainability, he’ll steer Starbucks away from milking customers who choose vegan options that leave mother cows and their calves in peace and slash carbon emissions,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA is urging Starbucks to make a compassionate, environmentally positive impact by finally dumping the vegan upcharge.”
PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat or abuse in any other way”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview.
