Author’s New Cookbook Aims to Satirize Animal Rights Groups with Recipes Using Household Pets

In PEOPLE EATING TASTY ANIMALS, author Robert Arlen uses black humor to create a recipe book meant to shock and amuse.

VIRGINIA BEACH, VA - In PEOPLE EATING TASTY ANIMALS, Robert Arlen takes on what he feels is one animal rights group's over-the-top stance on animal rights by producing a cookbook for meals made from whales, poodles and more. Author Robert Arlen is an animal lover who has also owned two different pet stores. Yet, he increasingly found fault with the way the animal rights agencies do business to achieve their goals. Wanting to have some fun, he created PEOPLE EATING TASTY ANIMALS, a book of recipeshe intends to poke fun at such groups and generate lauther.

Arlen provides real-sounding, intricate recipes for such dishes as Cheetah Chimichanga, Barbecued Beaver and Cat Tacos. He suggests people savemoney by eating the meat of their 50-pound poodle when it dies, and he points out that a beached whale could be an economical meal choicethat could simply supple enough meat for an entire family reunion. Filled with color illustrations, the book is designedto be placed on the coffee table, opened at any page and shared with friends.

PEOPLE EATING TASTY ANIMALS is available for sale at Amazon.com, Booksurge and through additional wholesale and retail channels worldwide.

About the author Robert Arlen has owned two pet shops, loves animals and wishes PETA had a sense of humor. He currently lives in Virginia Beach, VA and he says he has personally never tried any of the recipes in PEOPLE EATING TASTY ANIMALS.

Monday, November 21, 2011

PETA's latest Thanksgiving scare tactic

By MIKE JONES Associate Editor




Someone tell the folks over at People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals that Halloween is over and they can stop scaring the kids, although it won't do any good.



PETA abides by the old Hollywood axiom of, "I don't care what you say about me as long as you spell my name right." I know that and I'm probably falling right into that trap, but, despite giving PETA publicity, sometimes the things it does simply can't go unnoticed or uncriticized.

PETA has outraged a lot of folks over the years. It is good at it - and it knows it. It hasn't let us down this holiday season. This year PETA is introducing new billboards. A few cities have been targeted, including Tulsa. The billboards are supposed to show up near schools.

The billboard depicts an animal that is a cross between a turkey and a cute black and white dog. It has a dog face and turkey body. The billboard's message: "Kids: If You Wouldn't Eat Your Dog, Why Eat a Turkey?" Seriously, that's what it says.

Baloney

PETA innocently says it hopes to establish a dialogue between kids and parents about becoming a vegetarian rather than eating meat. Baloney. What PETA is trying to do, what it is always trying to do, is frighten kids. It wants to plant a horrible picture in the heads' of prepubescents that will give them nightmares and ruin everybody's Thanksgiving dinner. Does PETA somehow expect such crass behavior to set little ones along the path to the righteousness of veganism?

As of Friday, there had been no reports of PETA's billboards in Tulsa. Maybe PETA had a change of heart. I doubt it. It's more likely it couldn't get the billboard space or is waiting until closer to Thanksgiving.

Let's get something straight. I love animals. I have two rescue dogs in my home. I have always had pets and I've always treated them well. My dogs, these two and previous dogs, are a part of my family. There was a time when cats also resided in my house. All but one of those was a rescue pet. I no longer hunt. I no longer fish. I don't kill spiders (except for black widows) or snakes. I even have trouble doing in the mouse that wanders around my house. (The dogs certainly are no help.) I don't wear fur.

But I have no problems with those who do hunt or fish. I'm not too crazy about people wearing fur and it upsets me when someone kills a snake for no good reason. And I believe that everyone ought get their dogs and cats from the pound or at least someone's unwanted litter.

On the other hand, I grew up around a farm. There were ducks, chickens, dogs, cats, pigs, milk cows, beef cattle, sheep, horses and a few other critters I have forgotten. Back then I hunted and fished. We ate what we killed - squirrels, rabbits, quail, fish and maybe a few other things that my grandpa figured I was better off not knowing about.

One piece of advice I have given my son (maybe the only good advice and likely the only bit he paid attention to) is never give a name to something you might end up eating.

A purpose

Yes, I have seen slaughter houses. I know what goes on there. I've witnessed the process from start to finish. It's not pretty. Admittedly, most of my up-close encounters were with the food we raised and ate. We sent one steer a year off to slaughter, as well as hogs. The chickens we dismissed ourselves on Sundays. I know there are issues with some big corporate farms where cattle, hogs, chickens and turkeys are raised in some pretty sad conditions. I would hope that those conditions can change. I can't bring myself to eat veal.

When you grow up on or around a farm, you learn pretty quickly that everything there has a purpose. Most of those purposes have something to do with eating.

Obviously, I am not against eating meat or poultry or fish or cheese or drinking milk. Neither do I condemn those who don't. I have friends and family members who are or have been vegetarians or vegans. They don't try to convert me nor I them. They certainly don't try to scare the hell out of the kids.

For PETA, however, there is no middle ground, no compromising. Its tactics can be despicable. Taunting customers, again, mostly kids, at burger joints or at fishing derbies. This latest one that puts a turkey on equal footing with a dog does no good toward the cause of vegetarianism. It will do no more than confuse and frighten kids. As far as I'm concerned, it borders on abuse.

The people at PETA ought to be ashamed, but I'm sure they won't be. And they can send me the thank-you note for giving them the publicity for another one of their whacky, tasteless promotions.

Sometimes, however, stupid and mean-spirited simply can't be ignored.

Pass the turkey. Pet the dogs.


Tulsa World

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