Animal-rights activists and vegetarian advocates PETA are at it again, this time co-opting the impossibly cute look and feel of Taito's Cooking Mama franchise as a means to an end. Here at Popzara, we love the Mama, so its with a heavy heart to see our beloved rendered with so much bloodlust in her eyes, bullying gamers to give up the turkey this Thanksgiving holiday for something a bit less...alive.
Calling it "The Unauthorized PETA Edition: Cooking Mama - Mama Kills Animals", the group hopes to educate gamers on how the busy holiday season helps kill over 40 million turkeys, claiming "Demonic 'Mama' Takes Delight in Cruelty to Animals, but She's All Smiles When Players Complete the Vegan Thanksgiving Feast". Apparently, the original Mama relies on animal flesh a bit too much, and its time to even the score. Bonus videos include documentary footage of a turkey slaughterhouse. Wonderful.
The full Flash-based game can be found right HERE! Also, keep reading for some additional commentary from a fallen son...
A special word: I sympathize with PETA's plight, as a fellow traveller on this planet and lover of all animals. I don't even kill insects (its true), not even the scary looking ones. When I was sick a few years back, a strict vegetarian diet helped me recover, and I'm never hesitant to recommend to anyone that a reduced-meat diet (particularly one saturated with red meats) can benefit anyone. I love my fruits and berries, and my fridge is always stocked with leafy greens and plenty of vegetables.
With that qualifier out of the way, what I can't condone are PETA's absurd way of going about it. They've come to symbolize the crazy protester for many in this country (unless you count those 9-11 Truthers), and I can't help but think how damaging their system of in-your-face tactics in order to prove a point will register with most people. Recently, the organization mailed 'doggy death bags' to unsuspecting Dog Fancy readers, as well as participating in many public displays intended to shock people into discovering the horrors of animal breeding. These actions border of psychotic, and a primary reason that - despite the support of many public heroes of mine - I cannot join their organization.
Regarding their use of the Cooking Mama license, I hope at the very least they're ordered to take it down. Clearly this wasn't done to parody the original game as it was to piggyback (no pigs or their backs harmed, I assume) their message of turkey-free Thanksgiving dinners as entertainment. The footage of the turkey slaugherhouses are indeed shocking, as is the 'demonic' image of Mama as she cruelly eviscorates and guts her fleshy friends. While I never hope a non-profit advocacy group is litigated for money, PETA - like everyone else - must learn the boundaries of good taste and copyright/trademark protections.
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