Well, today is March 15th and if you know PETA, then you should know what day it is. Yep, it's Eat a Tasty Animal for PETA day.

Oh, you thought I meant the other PETA. Nah, I meant People for the Eating of Tasty Animals. You can look them up on Face Book. The group even posted an event page for the occasion.

Check it out. And eat a tasty animal tonight!

[Via So Good]

The Food and Drug Administration has concluded that "meat and milk from clones and their progeny is as safe to eat as corresponding products derived from animals produced using contemporary agricultural practices," meaning that not only is the meat likely to be approved for human consumption and sold at stores, but that there will be no label to distinguish it from natural meat. Consumer groups want to see a label on the meat because most (64%) people are uncomfortable with the idea of eating cloned food, but the FDA's decision is based on the fact that there is no food safety issue in question, and no need to "warn" people about what they're eating in this case. "The bottom line is, we don't want to misinform consumers with some sort of implied message of difference," said one researcher, although this does seem to be at odds with existence of labels that indicate the difference between organic/nonorganic produce and grass fed beef, where there is not necessarily a health risk or benefit in question.

The Consumer Federation of America said that they, along with other groups, will ask food companies and supermarkets not to carry food from clones. "Meat and milk from cloned animals have no benefit for consumers, and consumers don't want them in their foods."

Animal welfare is clearly a hot topic in the supermarket these days, as anyone can see just by taking a look at all the different types of labels and certifications that are meant to convince us that the animals we are eating led full, happy lives before they became dinner. The current list includes labels such as "free farmed," "certified humane," "cage free" and "free range," among others. Whole Foods is adding a new term to this group: animal compassionate.

"Animal compassionate" sets some of the following standards of care for animals: "Castration of sheep prohibited; electric prod on beef cattle permitted in emergencies; tail docking of pigs not allowed."

But in the end, these labels - many of which are developed by animal welfare groups or, as in this case, the stores that carry the products - are really just another security blanket for consumers who like the idea of an animal playing in a field and looking happy. It makes them feel good, like they're doing the right thing from the animal's perspective. It might also confuse consumers, many of whom already have difficulty choosing between organic, hormone/antibiotic free and grass fed animals.

It's something of a mystery as to where the FOX network gets some of their programming ideas, so the original inspiration for this particular segment is anyone's guess. Since Takeru Kobayshi can out-eat just about anybody, FOX decided to have him face off against a Kodiak bear - an 8-ft tall, 1000-lb animal - in a hot dog eating competition.

The clip is pretty funny, actually. The announcers treat it almost like a wrestling match and the best line is when they start to talk about the bear's technique vs. Kobayashi's. "[The bear] has a very different approach to eating. See, he looks away and he takes a break. He doesn't know it's a competition. He's just a natural eating machine." For his part, Kobayashi definitely knew it was a competition and didn't take his eyes off the bear.

Who emerged victorious? You'll have to watch the clip to find out, but I will say that someone is already eagerly awaiting a rematch.

When school season starts up, kids and parents will find themselves dealing with a lot more cake. Even in the face of various school restrictions, there will be cakes in class when birthdays come up and sheet cakes every few weekends at various parties. This cake knife animal is exactly what it sounds like - a plastic, serrated cutter that looks like an animal - and we suspect that it would be a big hit at kids' parties. After all, it is brightly colored and silly looking, and the idea of some sort of cartoon critter biting into a cake is probably enough to put a smile on any child's face. Because it is made of plastic, it is also safe enough to kids to handle on their own, although you'll probably want to supervise the cutting just to make sure the whole sheet cake doesn't end up in only 8 pieces.

Even though this is a story about an animal and we primarily concentrate on food for people here at Slashfood, it could be used to teach a valuable lesson to kids whose eyes are bigger than their stomachs.

An 18-ft long python was rendered unable to move after swallowing a pregnant sheep whole. Pythons do not eat more than once per week and when they do, they can unhinge their jaws to devour the first thing they come across. This particular python was captured by firefighters in Kuala Lumpur where it was blocking the road after its meal and is now being held by conservationists.

In the past, pythons have encountered some serious problems when they have employed poor judgment in food choices. Last year, for example, a surgeon (also in Kuala Lumpur ) had to operate on a python to remove a queen-sized electric blanket that it had consumed. A snake in Florida actually exploded after attempting to eat an alligator.

The lesson is to really consider your food choices. Even though you may not explode after having that triple hot fudge sundae, it might be best to stick to a single scoop just to be on the safe side.

A bill that bans the sale of horses for human consumption passed in the House yesterday and is an important step in protecting an animal that is an icon of American culture. Though they are classified as livestock, most regard horses are companion animals due to the unique working relationships that they form with people, through work as cart and police horses and their performance in sports and recreational activities. There are three slaughterhouses in the US, all foreign-owned, that process horse meat for human consumption in places like Japan and parts of Europe. About 90,000 horses from the US are killed each year, either at those plants or after being shipped across borders to slaughterhouses in Mexico and Canada.

The bill still has to pass through the Senate before it becomes law, but this is generally regarded as a huge victory for those in the horse industry - except for those who profit from the horse slaughter industry, of course - across the country.

It looks like meat ice cream isn't the only tasty treat that zoo animals are getting this summer. The giant panda Xin Xin, who resides at the Wild Animal Rescue and Breeding Center in Xi'an, China, celebrated his first birthday this month with apples, watermelon and - of course - birthday cake. We have no doubt that the cake was made with panda-friendly ingredients, but it actually looks pretty good. And Xin Xin is certainly enjoying it.

He's not the only panda to get served birthday cake, though. Click past the jump for some more pictures of pandas with their cakes.

In truth, no studies have confirmed that all grass-fed beef is better for you than regular beef - the majority of which is "finished" on a diet of other grains, like corn, and soybeans. There are two things that make grass-fed beef appealing, though: the flavor and the idea that the cow is living a healthier, happier life in some field, not crammed onto a feed lot.

Under current regulations, any beef can be labeled "grass fed." The cattle industry says that the diet of most cows is about 75% grass, more than likely consumed as they are growing and before they are shipped to a feed lot. Farmers who raise their cattle entirely on grass and natural forage want to implement a labeling system that recognizes beef that is at least 99% grass-fed. This beef is not necessarily organic, though it can be.

Italy has some of the toughest animal protection laws in the world. Turin, the site of this year's winter Olympic games, actually has a law that imposes a fine if you fail to walk your dog three times a day. Given this, it's not all that surprising to hear that they are regarding lobsters with the same feelings most reserve for cats and dogs.

A restaurant in Vicenza, Italy, was fined $855 for attempting to subject a lobster to a prolonged death, though the restaurant owners had no direct intention of killing the creature. They were displaying the live lobster on ice as a promotion for their seafood business. The case was first brought to the Italian courts in 2002 when a former environmental activist took his two small children to the restaurant, where they were "shocked by the display."

Lobsters can live out of water for at least 24 hours and up to several days. They have a specialized gill that allows them to utilize oxygen from the air and, as the restaurant would have returned the lobster to its tank at the end of the day, the lobster would most likely have been unharmed by the ordeal.

 

Most people are already aware that you should not give your dog chocolates - but what about your elephant? Elephants are largely vegetarian and apparently like chocolate quite a lot. That doesn't mean you should let them indulge, though. Raja, who at 45 is the most famous elephant in Sri Lanka, has become very ill after eating too much chocolate and other fattening foods. The chocolates, deep-fried cookies, sweet rice and fermented pineapple slices were fed to him by fans while celebrating the Buddhist New Year.

The monks who care for the elephant found him in great distress, writhing on the ground, the day after the celebration. A vet said that his digestive system could not cope with the fattened and processed foods or "the cookies... literally are soaked in oil." There is now a sign outside his enclosure which reads "Do not feed the elephant."

[Image Yahoo!]

The British Food Standards Agency estimates that there are 3.5-million vegetarians and 250,000 vegans in the UK and, after consultation with both vegetarian and vegan groups, have decided to formulate labeling guidelines to food producers to follow. There is lots of confusion about the definitions of the terms among consumers, as well as manufacturers. Generally speaking, vegetarians refrain from eating meat products and vegans avoid all animal-derived products, including dairy and eggs. The purpose of introducing such guidelines is to prevent manufacturers from incorrectly identifying products as "vegetarian" or "vegan" when they actually contain meat-based or animal derived ingredients. To be sure all their bases were covered, the also defined the term "animals." With standards in place, consumers no longer need to worry that what they are picking up might contain undisclosed ingredients. The official guidelines are:

"Vegetarian: The term 'vegetarian' should not be applied to foods that are, or are made from, or with, the aid of products derived from animals that have died, have been slaughtered, or animals that die as a result of being eaten.

Animals means farmed, wild or domestic animals, including for example, livestock poultry, game, fish, shellfish, crustacea, amphibians, tunicates, echinoderms, mollusks and insects.

Vegan: The term 'vegan' should not be applied to foods that are, or are made from, or with, the aid of animals or animal products (including products from living animals)."

Last fall, Congress passed legislation  that ceased federal, tax-generated funding for the inspections of facilities used to slaughter horses for human consumption. Because all facilities must be inspected to operate, this effectively shut them down. They could not pay the inspection fees themselves. While not illegal in the US to eat horse meat, it is a disgusting idea to many diners, so the horse meat produced was typically exported to Japan or European countries, like France, Belgium and Italy.

This week, in response to aggressive lobbying efforts from pro-slaughter groups and the owners of the slaughtering plants, the Department of Agriculture amended its policy, which has essentially reversed the federal spending ban on equine slaughterhouse inspections by allowing the slaughterhouse inspection fees to be paid by the slaughterhouse or a third party. This means that they will once again be open for business. On of the congressional bill's sponsor's, said that the Department of Agriculture was "intent on going against what was very clearly the purpose of passing the amendment ... to end horse slaughter."

While there has been a great deal of controversy in the past over the treatment of horses destined for slaughter, the primary sticking point is whether horses should be considered to be companion animals, like cats and dogs, or livestock, like cows. The majority of people lean towards the former viewpoint, especially because almost all horses in the US are kept for pleasure and recreational purposes. This move on the part of the Department of Agriculture shows the pull of the slaughtering industry's money over both animal activists and popular opinion.

California is the only state to have a law completely banning the slaughter of horses for human consumption.