A couple of weeks ago, I was chuffed to see the panel on The Gruen Transfer discussing Animals Australia and RSPCA Australia's very own Ban Live Export television ad!

Not only that but they discussed quite a few ads from different groups on really important topics like fur, battery hens, going veg and an ultra clever ad on the destruction caused by unsustainable palm oil. Check out the discussion – it gets pretty heavy!

I'd love to hear your thoughts on all the ads. Which was your fave? What tactics do you think work better than others and why? Do you have any great ideas for tv commercials that raise awareness for animals?

Oh, and check out Animals Australia and RSPCA Australia's latest joint ad to ban live export here!

Have you heard? They're predicting that the current generation of Aussie teenagers will be the first to have a shorter life expectancy. Isn't that disturbing!

The recent study by the Cancer Council and Heart Foundation estimates that 1 in 4 highschool students are overweight or obese - putting them at greater risk of heart disease, cancer and other chronic illnesses. (btw, this cartoon does a great job of illustrating the problem)

I don't get it! We know the facts and people still eat junk! I mean, we know that unhealthy meat-centric diets have been linked to heart disease, strokes, diabetes, cancer - our country's top killers. We know that on average vegetarians and vegans are less likely to be overweight or obese, and have a longer life expectancy than meat eaters. We know that most fast food is junk, and is bad for us and the environment. Yet Australia is one of the largest countries in the world (and I'm not talking about the size of our land mass) and it seems we may only be getting larger

Speaking of fast food and junk, this recent ad takes an interesting approach to trying to combat the problem of childhood obesity:

What do you think of the ad? How do you feel about the prediction that the next gen might be the first to live a shorter life? Is this the scariest news you've heard all day? Leave a comment below!

It reads like a news headline doesn't it? No doubt when people realise that the animal products they consume are literally killing them, it will be a headline. Anyway, this is the story of Rocco – a meat-lovin' cowboy from Arizona who was literally eating himself into a grave.

Rocco's 53 years old, but had the heart of an 85 year old. He's overweight and severely diabetic.

Rocco appeared on the TV show The Dr. Oz Show with the wish to change his life. After some clinical assessments, Dr. Oz recommended that Rocco should go vegan for 28 days to see how dramatically his health improves.

Ever heard of someone being paralyzed by their food? I hadn't. Ok, I could imagine it happening if someone slipped on a banana peel ;) But seriously, I wouldn't have thought it possible.

But then I read about Stephanie Smith – a 22 year old dance instructor who suffered such severe seizures from eating a hamburger that doctors had to put her in a coma for 9 weeks. And when she woke up, she was paralyzed!

What could Stephanie have possibly eaten to cause that? An 'Angus Beef Patty' contaminated with E. coli – a bacteria found in faecal matter (or should I say poo particles). And how would faecal matter end up in food? Take your pick: rubbed onto the meat from dirty skin, from unclean tools, or from an intestine being knicked whilst carving up the corpse.

Granted, not all E. coli is harmful to humans, and Stephanie's reaction was severe, but all the same … EEK! And while E. coli contamination may be a gamble, one thing that is a sure bet is increased risk of heart disease, diabetes, cancer and strokes. Hmm .. no thanks!

So anyway, if you've got some time to spare, the NY Times article about Stephanie and food safety is very interesting. As is this one by Jonathon Safran Foer (author of Everything is Illuminated) about his experience of becoming vegetarian. They're both long, but they're worth the read.

And if you've still got some time to burn after that, then you probably need to find yourself some friends (yes I know that includes me!). But also, you might like to check out the Larry King Live debate on the safety of eating meat in response to these articles.

Now that oughta keep you out of trouble for a while ;)

Earlier this month I mentioned Jackie O's 'fat bet'. Australia's leading lady of the airwaves had been challenged on air: lose 4 kilos and Kyle Sandilands would donate $5K to her favourite charity, Animals Australia (or, don't – and the money goes to a factory farm!).

An absurd bet, you might think (particularly when we all knew Jackie was perfectly proportioned already! Sheesh!!) But absurdities aside, Jackie knuckled down for the animals' sake, worked hard, and held Kyle to his word… And the result? Well it was a verrrry close call, but I'm glad to report that despite being 200g short of her target weight, Kyle saw the light and wrote out one big phat cheque to Animals Australia – that will be used to expose the cruelty of factory farming!

How did Jackie lose the weight? It's no secret that it's easy to shed excess weight on a healthy vegetarian diet – and that's exactly what she did!

Whilst Australia wrestles with the dubious title of "world's fattest nation", we salute Kyle for inspiring us all to fight our collective waste-line. But next time Kyle, perhaps you might like to challenge yourself to lose 4 kilos (or maybe 10?). We could run a new ad campaign about the link between obesity and the consumption of animal products with the proceeds ;-)

If you're a 2DayFM listener you're probably aware by now of Kyle's "fat challenge". But if you're not, the self-admittedly rotund co-host of the Kyle and Jackie O show has accused the ever-gorgeous Jackie of being fat! (Yes, it's a topsy turvy world we live in).

It seems that Kyle is so concerned about Jackie's health and belt size that he's issued his vegetarian co-host a challenge: lose 4 Kg and he'll donate $5,000 to her favourite charity: Animals Australia! And if she fails...? Kyle says he'll give the $5,000 to a pig factory farm -- Jackie's worst nightmare!

Now, I don't know where this mic-slinging diva will even find 4 Kg to lose... but if anyone can do it for the pigs, I'm willing to bet that Jackie O can.

The outspoken radio personality and former Big Brother host has already shown her commitment to helping animals by not eating them. She also posted information on her website to inform listeners about the miserable lives of animals trapped in factory farms in Australia. Go Jackie!

Who do you think will win the fat challenge? You can have your say and pass on your encouragement to Jackie on the 2day fm website. :-)