I’m sure more than a few of you are still on the fence—and some of you are even offended by me saying that no, you can’t really eat meat and care about animals—but the point I’m trying to get across is that we are all powerful. Every gURL has choices to make in her life, and you can either choose to live compassionately, or support an industry no one really agrees with.

|Check out Rachel’s tips on going veg the easy way!|

I once ate meat, wore leather, bought dogs from breeders, and used products that were tested on animals; I once argued that we were on the “top of the food chain” and that animals on factory farms “were treated well” … but then I learned. It’s OK to admit your mistakes—all gURLs have them, but now that you know how animals are treated on factory farms before they make it to your plate, you have a choice.

I feel good every day knowing that I’m living by my values. I consider myself a caring, compassionate, understanding person. The meat, dairy, egg, animal testing, circus, and other industries that exploit animals are against those values. They go against everything I hold dear—and I think everything most of you value as well. As gURLs, we should stand up and fight for what we know is right, and against things we know are wrong—no matter how unpopular it may be.

|Stand up for what you believe in on the Shout Out Boards!|

If you have questions, need help, or want to continue the debate with me—add me on Facebook at Facebook.com/Rachelatpeta2 or e-mail me at RachelO@peta2.com. <3

Stay loud!

-Rachel

What’s the easiest way to start transitioning to vegetarianism?

This is a tough one! Everyone has a different way of going about giving up animal products. Some people go cold tofurky right away, and others slowly transition by eating less meat over time. There are lots of vegan products on the market that make it super easy to transition—things like vegan chicken, vegan riblets, non-dairy cheese, vegan ice cream, etc—and you can even find vegan food at places like Taco Bell and other chain restaurants. My personal tip is to start trying lots of new foods, new fruits and veggies, and try out some recipes. I replaced foods I had once thought I couldn’t live without with new ones, that way I didn’t miss anything but found all new favorite foods instead!

|Wanna see how one gURL made the switch to go veg? Check out this Comix!|

One important thing to help you stay on track is to keep in mind why you’re making the transition—whether it’s for health reasons, because you care about the environment, or (most commonly) because you love animals and know it’s wrong to hurt them. If you’re ever feeling like giving up meat is too hard or you forget why you’re doing it, watch this: http://www.meat.org, check out the peta2 blog for tips, contests, and advice, and e-mail us at peta2@peta2.com for help! That’s what we’re here for .

|You can get veggie (and everything!) support on the Shout Out Boards, too!|

Are you thinking about becoming a vegetarian? What inspired you to it? And if you’re a vegetarian already, what are your best tips? Share below.

-Rachel from peta2

Can a person really care about animal rights and still eat meat/wear leather and fur/use products tested on animals?

Some people may think that yes, this is possible, but peta2 and I disagree. Consider this: Anyone can say they care about animals, but if they pay for them to be mutilated, tortured, and killed for a reason as silly as taste buds, lipstick, or a new coat, then how much do they really care?  We think eating and wearing animal products is directly participating in the abuse of animals—unfortunately, there’s no way around it.

|Wanna win cool animal-friendly peta2 merch for free? Get on it!|

Luckily for us, buying products that weren’t tested on animals, avoiding fur, leather, and wool, and going vegan have never been easier, with vegan options and alternatives at places like Target, Wal-Mart, Kroger, and more.

We should all remember that as consumers, we have the power to influence corporations that exploit animals. Every time we open up our wallet and pay money for a product, we have a choice; It can be a compassionate one, or one that hurts animals.

|Want to take the first step to helping animals? Take the quiz and see how you should get started!|

How do you feel about loving animals but still eating meat? Do you agree or disagree with me? I’d love to hear your thoughts below.

-Rachel from peta2

If everyone in the world were vegan/vegetarian, wouldn’t farm animals go extinct because no one would be there to breed them? Aren’t we kind of keeping them alive?

The simple answer? No. Animals are bred on factory farms (often on things called “rape racks”… yep) only to be mutilated, tortured, and killed to end up on a plate. Every person who takes a stand against cruelty to animals and stops eating animals lessens the demand for these animals to be killed, therefore lessening the number of animals bred. The world isn’t going to go vegan overnight, so animals won’t be overpopulated and “taking over” as some people think.

|WDYT about going veg? Discuss on the Shout Out Boards!|

Yes, factory farms are keeping animals alive, technically—but they live in their own waste, in filthy cages and sheds, bred to be so heavy they can’t walk, confined to cages so small they can’t ever lie down, and are just waiting to have their throats slit or to be dismembered while fully conscious. This is no kind of life for anyone, and animals simply shouldn’t be treated this way.

What do you think, gURLs? Do you know anyone who has a farm and treats their animals well? What’s it like? Share your thoughts in the comments below, and keep your questions comin’! See you soon!

-Rachel from peta2

Do chickens really know that they’re living in “harsh conditions”?

If you were taken from your mom when you were just a little kid, had your nose cut off without any painkillers, and were thrown into a dark, tiny room with six other girls (who you didn’t know and didn’t necessarily like), and kept there for your whole life, would you know? Imagine living in the same room day after day, being forced to go to the bathroom right where you (try to) sleep, standing in other people’s waste, and not even being able to lie down or stretch your arms… until you’re grabbed out of the room, packed into a truck with all of those other girls (and hundreds more), and sent to be killed. Seriously.

|What’s on your mind? Talk about it on the Shout Out Boards!|

Some people claim that animals never know how awful they’re being treated, but think about that—could that really be true? Think about it this way: Children who are born into poverty and never know a running water faucet… do they never desire clean water? Of course they do! Even animals who have been on factory farms their entire lives don’t enjoy being abused, neglected, denied veterinary care, food and water, and affection. No one does.

How do you feel, gURLs? Do you agree or disagree? Share your thoughts in the comments below, and keep your questions comin’! See you soon!

-Rachel from peta2

Why is PETA so extreme in their campaigns?

We wish our ads could just contain the facts.  We wish we could show everyone a photo of a chicken on a factory farm–her wings broken and her beak seared off–and tell people they could help by simply not eating meat, but unfortunately, ads like that don’t always work.

|How do you feel about going vegetarian? Talk about it on the Shout Out Boards!|

We all know that sex sells, that edgy and quirky things get attention–so PETA works to do things that are compelling, even if a little risqué or controversial. If you think PETA is extreme, you should watch this video of animals literally being skinned alive for someone to wear a fur coat. Is PETA really extreme for trying to tell people about how they can stop this?

|See how some of your favorite celebs support animal rights in their own personal ways!|

What do you think, gURLs? Share your thoughts in the comments below, and keep your questions comin’! See you soon!

-Rachel from peta2

Sophia told me she recently watched a video and decided she wanted to go vegetarian, but that her mom is standing in her way and she’s not sure how to break it to her that she wants to stop eating meat.

Dear Sophia,

This is actually a pretty common problem–you’re not alone! First of all, congratulations on seeing something that was wrong and taking a stand against it.

|What should you do to help animals? Quiz it and see!|

The best thing to do to break it to your mom is to sit her down and talk to her about why you’ve decided not to eat animals. Videos can speak for themselves–so show her the video at http://www.meat.org and tell her you feel passionately about becoming a healthy vegetarian.

Most likely she’ll be concerned about your health (even though there is little reason to be!) and maybe she’ll wonder what you can eat. Luckily, peta2 has tons of resources that you can share with her! Show her this two week meal plan, our Recipe of the Week blogs, and this guide put together by doctors on eating vegetarian. Giving up animals products can be the best thing you can do for your body–and lessens your chances of heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, and obesity, along with saving lots of animals every year.

|Talk about what’s bugging you on the Shout Out Boards!|

She also doesn’t have to worry about you having a lack of options–there are veggie burgers, veggie hot dogs, vegan cheeses, vegan ice creams, and more! You aren’t giving anything up, just choosing the veggie alternatives.

Alright gURLs! Comment below with what YOU think. I’ll be back soon to give you the how-to on answering some common vegan myths (and answering more of your questions!).

-Rachel from peta2

Anonymous Girl said she’s against the testing of animals for cosmetic purposes (great!), and doesn’t approve of animal cruelty without cause–but she doesn’t see why eating animals is such a cruel thing to do because it’s the way of nature, and how things have always been. She also had some concerns about the health aspect of a vegetarian diet.

You’re right. Animals have killed for food for a long time–but just because something’s been done for a long time doesn’t make it right. Consider slavery or child labor–both things that had “always been that way” and were considered normal at one time, but were they morally correct? Absolutely not! Both of those things were brought to light and ended because of the voices of a small group of people who stood up, against opposition, and fought for what was right.

|Talk about more hot button issues on the Shout Out Boards!|

The factory farming system–where animals are “stored” in urine, feces, and corpse infested sheds, have their teeth ripped out without any painkillers, their testicles ripped out while fully able to feel pain, and who are beaten, neglected, and killed–couldn’t be further from the way of nature. On factory farms, animals are denied clean air, sunshine, the ability to roam (and in most cases, the ability to turn around or lie down comfortably) and are sexually abused, beaten, and killed in ways that are deplorable and utterly shocking.

I think you might benefit from watching this video, which will show you what happens behind the scenes at a factory farm near you: http://www.meat.org. [ED NOTE: This video is definitely sad for animals, but quite gruesome.] (Also consider that 97-99% of all animals eaten come from these conditions.)

In the real circle of life, animals would hunt, forage, play with other animals, form relationships and bonds, be with their families, and get to roam freely. On factory farms, they are denied every single thing they would ever desire to do–and often feel the sunshine on their back for the very first time as they’re thrown onto the back of transport trucks bound for slaughter. Animals on factory farms are sick, neglected, and tortured in ways that would be illegal if done to dogs and cats. On the flip side, it’s actually so unnatural to raise and kill animals this way that it’s literally killing the planet as the number ONE cause of climate change (and that’s from the United Nations, not PETA).

|Think you’re really eco-friendly? Quiz it, plz.|

In addition–it’s actually wholly unnatural for us to eat animals. Our teeth are designed not for ripping and tearing like a true carnivore, but are more like an herbivore–for grinding and chewing. There are about ten very clear differences between humans and carnivores, including that our intestines are the wrong length, our stomach the wrong acidity, and more. You can read all of the differences here. We eat animals not to survive, but simply because we can–and because they don’t fight back.

As for health concerns, any diet can be unhealthy, and surely vegetarians and vegans shouldn’t survive on chips and candy alone (which is practically the only way one could be completely devoid of nutrients as claimed). Vegans can get protein through almost anything–broccoli, leafy greens, beans, tofu, and more, and did you know that milk and dairy products actually LEECH calcium from your bones? More efficient ways to get calcium are through black and other beans, leafy greens, broccoli, tofu, and fortified soy and almond milks. You can read more about protein and calcium here.

|Enter to win an all-natural, animal-friendly, PETA-approved set of vegan lip balms!|

Alright gURLs! Comment below with what YOU think. I’ll be back soon to give you the how-to on answering some common vegan myths (and answering more of your questions!).

-Rachel from peta2

Hi! Rachel from peta2 here—your animal rights expert! peta2 and gURL have partnered up to answer some of your questions about animal rights … but before we get into the nitty gritty, let’s discuss the basic idea. So …”Should animals have rights?”

Your dog doesn’t want to vote in the presidential election, does he? And my cat, she couldn’t care less about driving a car … so what’s with this animal rights talk? Do animals really need rights? I mean … they’re just so much different than us.

The fight for animal rights isn’t the fight to give your dog the right to vote, or my cat the right to drive a car—it’s about basic rights. Things like the right to live free, the right to be free from suffering, and the right to their own interests and desires. Makes sense, right?

|Whether it woofs, meow, swims, or just pees on the floor, show off your pet on the Shout Out Boards!|

Animals are definitely different from us in some ways—they sure do look different. But they’re the same as us in other, more important ways. Did you know elephants mourn the death of someone in their close group of friends? Or that chicken moms “sing” to their young? Did you know that pigs are actually smarter than 3-year-old kids? Animals—whether dog, cat, pig, sheep, or fish—all desire freedom, want to spend time with their friends and family, feel pain and fear, and most importantly, do not want to die.

Differences (and likenesses) aside, isn’t judging whether someone should live, die, or be tortured to death on how they look a little … I don’t know, wrong? Although we may want to, we don’t subject our worst enemies to the kinds of things that animals go through (like being thrown into grinders while still alive, being kept in crates so small they can never even lie down, or having their bodies hacked apart while they’re still struggling) … so why do we think it’s OK to do this to animals?

If the argument is because “they’re just … different” or “they can’t talk!” or “I don’t think they feel pain”, then our logic is flawed. Babies can’t express themselves, and neither can people with certain disabilities, but we wouldn’t torture, kill, and eat them.

If our logic is that eating animals, testing on them, or using them for our entertainment is legal, so it must be right, then you should think back to a day when slavery, sexism and child labor were all considered legal and morally just. The point here is that just because someone tells you it’s OK—whether it’s the law or your parents—it doesn’t always mean that it’s right. Our real reasons for eating and exploiting animals sound a little more like this: “They can’t fight back!” or “They’re small and I’m stronger!” and that just isn’t OK.

|Whether it’s against animals or people, abuse is really bad. Take the quiz and find out if you know the signs.|

Throughout the month of April, I’ll be hanging out here on the gURL.com blog to answer your questions about animal rights, going vegan, helping animals at your school, and more! Leave your comments and questions below!

See you next week!

-Rachel from peta2