Wonderful Cartoons Provide Food for Thought...

This is a wonderful video compilation of Dan Piraro's vegan and animal rights-themed cartoons from his syndicated cartoon panel Bizarro. Born in 1958, Piraro had been an artist and musician for years and began drawing Bizarro in 1985. Like Gary Larson's enormously popular cartoon panel The Far Side, Bizarro often incorporated surreal or dark or edgy themes. By 2006, 250 newspapers were regularly running Bizarro, so the cartoon was getting out to a wide audience. Piraro has long considered himself to be a liberal with progressive politics, and in 2002 he became a vegan. Veganism and animal rights issues are frequently incorporated into his cartoons. When you watch this video, you'll see a true artist - and a true humanitarian - at his best.

Betty Boop & Grampy: Two Pioneering Animal Rights Activists!

I adore this 1936 Max Fleischer cartoon starring Betty Boop and her partner in crime, Grampy, as a couple of Depression-era animal rights activists who relentlessly go after a mean goon of a farmer who's abusing his animals. At the start of the cartoon, Betty is playing the piano, singing and minding her own business when she hears an awful noise coming through the window. It turns out to be her nasty neighbor, whipping a poor, defenseless dog. Like Billy Joe Gregg, who abused numerous cows and calves at the Conklin Dairy Farms in Ohio earlier this year, the jerk in this cartoon goes from one harmless animal to the next, taking out his wrath. Thanks to the intervention of Betty Boop and Grampy, the prick is stopped dead in his tracks. I won't give away the ending, but its absolutely priceless - and uplifting. Check it out if you get a chance. This black-and-white '36 cartoon, with the interesting title "Be Human," is a reminder that in all periods of history, you can find examples of compassionate people trying to help animals - even at moments when you'd least expect to find such goodness.