"We are challenging people to really think about what 'meat' is," says PETA's manager of vegan campaigns, Lindsay Rajt. "When you eat flesh, you're eating the corpse of an abused animal who did not want to die. We're encouraging kind consumers to try going vegan."

Chickens, fish, cows, and pigs feel pain and fear just as intensely as the animals who share our homes with us do, yet they are abused in ways that would be illegal if dogs and cats were the victims. On today's factory farms, chickens and turkeys have their throats cut while they're still conscious, piglets are castrated and have their tails cut off without being given any painkillers, and cows are hung upside down and are often skinned while they're still able to feel pain. On the decks of fishing boats, fish suffocate or are cut open while they're still alive.

The three biggest killer diseases in this country are heart disease, cancer, and strokes—all of which can largely be prevented through lifestyle changes such as adopting a low-fat vegan diet.