PETA, Don Imus, and "meatballs"

This morning I was getting ready to send 4 of my books - Blame it on
Peaches to Vicki who lives in LaGrange, Ohio which I believe is in Lorain
County. She and her husband are taking care of 13 dogs and 13 cats.
I believe these are rescues but she didn't say and I forgot to ask. How-
ever, she told me that both she and her husband love animals.

Vicki also told me that her friend shared my book with her and that
she liked it very much and was eager to learn more about animal
welfare issues. Music to my ears - I told her I was happy to oblige.

As the box of 4 books had room for some Animal People and PETA
newsletters I thought she would like to read, I decided to peruse
them before I sent them on. I learned about PETA in the 80's and I
had been very impressed with both Ingrid Newkirk and Alex Pacheco
(a former seminarian) who started People for the Ethical Treatment
of Animals. For a long time I sent them my membership dues and
looked forward to their newsletters and taking action for the animals
whenever I could.

Sadly, for reasons unknown to me, Alex decided to leave PETA. Maybe,
he, as I, had become disillusioned with some of the shock tactics being
employed by PETA to make people more aware of the many animal
suffering issues.

I even told them one time that I did not think PETA should use naked
models in their protest of the running of the bulls. The e-mail respondent
told me to keep my morals to myself. Then I also objected to their billboards
which said that Jesus was vegetarian. I thought that a very arrogant
presumption on their part. Their speciality is animal rights not religion.
I would love to say that Jesus was vegetarian but a biblical passage
during the Easter season speaks of a risen Jesus asking to eat some
fish to prove to his astonished apostles that yes, it was He -risen from the
dead.

Though I personally have some issues with PETA, I am in no way saying
that those who support them should stop. Imperfect we all are-- individually
or in groups, they still are doing a lot of good for the animals.

Well Don Imus has been in the news of late, and to tell the truth, I don't
know what HO means but I guess it is just as well. It is said to be an offensive
word which should not be used to describe black women. However, I was quite
disappointed to hear one black woman say that it was all right for a
black man to use the term but not a white one. Balderhash. If it is an
unsavory term it should not be used by anyone including the black hip
hop "star" who does.

Even though Don Imus had been on Cleveland radio, since I don't listen
to radio jocks, I probably never heard him, but of late I have learned that
he is use to using a lot of unsavory language. Given that, I believe that
he was sincere and contrite re his Rutgers' faux pas. You might wonder
why I believe him. This is why- aside from yearly sponsoring some kind of
charitable campaign on radio which his wife is running in his place this
year, I found him in PETA's newsletter!

Anyone who said what he did in 2002 on his radio program re the factory
farm animals has redeeming qualities, and in my view, he should be
re-instated on the radio. This was in PETA's "Purrs and Grrrs" section of
their newsletter:
"Purrs to radio talk show host Don Imus for a provocative morning
lecture that exposed his listeners to the horrors that billions of animals
every year face in factory farms and slaughterhouses-from burning off
the tips of baby chicks' beaks to skinning cows alive. If people knew how
animals are tortured as they are turned into food, they would never eat
them again, Imus said."
PETA asked for thank-yous to be sent to Don Imus, c/o Imus in the
Morning, 3412 36th St., Astoria, NY 11106-1229.

Well, I'm five years late, but I will send my thank you to him now with a
wish and a prayer that these wonderful sentiments were heartfelt. If so,
in my opinion he deserves redemption and re-instatement - potty-mouth
or no. Who of us is perfect? And hopefully
he has learned his lesson.

And now this is for vegans and vegetarians whose mouth waters at the thought of a meatball sub. At least mine did, the time my sister
Anna took me to a Sub shop for the first time. True my veggie sub was delicious but the person's "tomatoey" meatball sub in front of me looked scrumptuous. Well, guess what - I found a "Meatball Sub" in this same PETA newsletter. Yes, I made it and it is delicioso.

For vegans/vegetarians and the brave here it is:

1 lb. ground beef substitute (I used Boca Ground Meat)
2 slices white bread, crumbled
1 small onion finely chopped
2 tbsp. ketchup
1/8 tsp.oregano
1/8 tsp.garlic salt
1-2 cups spaghetti sauce

Mix together faux ground beef, bread, onion, ketchup, garlic salt,pepper and oregano and roll into meatballs. Place in a single layer
in a large, lightly oiled baking dish and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Pour spahgetti sauce over the meatballs and heat for an additional 15 minutes. Sprinkle with soy parmesan and serve in sub rolls, "Meatballs" can be reheated in the microwave for lunch.

Thanx PETA. There's "redemption" for you too.
And for those of us who worry about Global warming - did you know that not only coal-burning factories and gas-guzzling cars cause harmful greenhouse gas emissions but METHANE-PRODUCING LIVESTOCK do as well. Chicago researchers Eshel and Martin made the astounding assertion that American meat-eaters are responsible for 1.5 more tons of carbon dioxide per person than vegetarians every year.

Even the Food and Agriculture Organization of
the United Nations bolstered their findings by issuing a report saying that land-use changes, especially deforestation to expand pastures and to create arable land for feed crops is a big part of this problem.

Dr. Eshel whose family raises beef cattle in Israel knows that not everyone can adopt a vegan lifestyle, but notes that any reduction in this area can make a substantial difference.

And for many of us there may be the added blessing of slaughter houses being less pressured to move cattle along at breakneck speed -sometimes causing unlucky cows to go through the slaughter line alive. Is this not unconsionable for a "humane" society?

Perhaps we should say goodbye to the "good life" if it means we are systematically destroying it as a result of unbridled consumption of goods resulting in the "poisoning" of our earth's treasures - our land, water, and the atmosphere which at one time were pristine and pure.

P.S. I had the dickens getting in the ingredients for the "meatballs." Three of
them which just kept refusing to be typed in are: PINCH OF PEPPER, SOY PARMESAN CHEESE, SUB ROLLS. Sorry!

Story ID:	1970
Written by:	Suzana Margaret Megles (bio, contact, other stories)
Story type:	Musings, Essays and Such
Location:	Lakewood Ohio USA
Year:	2007
Person:	miscellaneous