6 Ways to be kinder to animals (without going vegetarian)

Not everyone is cut out to be vegetarian or vegan. Some people just can’t live without eating meat, or don’t think they should.

If that applies to you it doesn’t mean you can’t do your bit to make the world a kinder place for animals.

1. Don’t bet on or attend the Grand National. Between 2000 and 2011, 20 horses have died on the world famous Grand National course at Aintree in Liverpool in the UK.
2. Don’t eat Foie gras. If there wasn’t a demand for this ‘French delicacy’ ducks and geese wouldn’t be force-fed until their livers smell to several times their natural size. Imagine how painful that must be.
3. Eat free range wherever you can. This doesn’t guarantee that animals have lived a better standard of life than their caged counterparts, but there is more change than they haven’t lived their lives out in cramped cages in dark sheds.
4. Don’t buy fur. There is NO humane way to produce fur. Animals die in agony, without any pain relief. And it’s not just wild animals that suffer that fate: in China, dogs and cats are killed for their fur. Most of that fur finds its way to the USA and the UK.
5. Consider adopting a retired greyhound. Many greyhounds who don’t make the grade are killed. Animal rescue centres have the ones who are lucky enough to be given away.
6. Don’t get Botox. Every batch of Botox is tested on animals because it is treated like a medicine. Yet whilst medicine is essential, having a wrinkly free forehead is not. And, let’s face it, it never looks natural.

Top Bananas a.k.a the celebrities standing up for animal rights

Awards for top services to animals

1. Forest Whitaker. Fine actor, fine man. He’s been a vegetarian for 25 years and his son is a vegan.

Reason he’s a top banana – He’s a Hollywood top hitter and an unlikely vegetarian.

He and his daughter did a short film for PETA http://www.peta.org/features/Forest-Whitaker-Vegetarian-Testimonial.aspx  promoting a vegetarian diet.

2. Leona Lewis. Great singer, great gal. A vegetarian herself, she speaks out about everything from fur to the industrial farming of dairy cows in Britain in mega dairies where cows would be treated like battery hens.

Reason she’s a top banana – Shunned a whopping £1million the opening of Harrods because they sell fur - http://tinyurl.com/3mvrhy

Lewis also has her own vegan friendly clothing range - http://tinyurl.com/5twb3qa

She made sure that the cruelest food on the planet, foie gras, was taken off the menu at the Brits - http://tinyurl.com/6za5u52

3. Joaquin Phoenix. Quite possibly the sexist vegan on the planet. Phoenix is so strict about his beliefs that he insists that for all his movies all ‘leather’ garments are synthetic.

Reason he’s a top banana – He’s a spokesman for PETA and in a photo shoot for Prada, he refused to wear shoes because they were made out of leather.

He has fronted a number of PETA campaigns, including one highlighting the trade in exotic skins - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxbrMk4-ZmA&tracker=False

4. Alicia Silverstone. The beautiful actress looks so healthy and is a great advert for veganism. She’s been vegan for over ten years.

Reason she’s a top banana – A staunch supporter of PETA, see this link

http://features.peta.org/AliciaSilverstoneVeganPSA/index.asp

she wrote a book about her diet aptly called The Kind Diet, that was crammed full of recipes.

5. Paul McCartney. Animals have a friend in the Beatle.

Reason he’s a top banana – What could be better for animals that having such a high profile advocate? This is an example of a man using his power for the tight reasons. Other stars take note.

Macca helped publicize the use of cat and dog fur in clothing - http://tinyurl.com/exmyw