Eating candy shaped like dead animals promotes animal cruelty?

[Deuce]

http://news.sympatico.msn.ca/OddNews/ContentPosting.aspx?contentid=aa5c2bfa3c5d48a587c9631ba0ca7a29&show=False&number=0&showbyline=False&subtitle=&detect=&abc=abc

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - Production of candy shaped like roadkill has come to a screeching halt. The decision, announced Friday by Kraft Foods Inc., was the result of an outcry by New Jersey animal rights activists who said the candy encouraged children to be cruel to animals.



"We take comments from our consumers really seriously and, in hindsight, we understand that this product could be misunderstood," said Kraft spokesman Larry Baumann.

Kraft plans to stop production as soon as possible and then sell off remaining inventory, Baumann said.

The fruity-flavoured Trolli Road Kill Gummi Candy - shaped like flattened snakes, chickens and squirrels, complete with tire treads - hit store shelves last summer and was supposed to be another offbeat and unusual addition to Kraft's Gummi candy line.

But the nonprofit New Jersey Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals thought differently. Earlier this week, it threatened petition drives, boycotts and letter-writing campaigns.

Stuart Rhodes, the organization's president, said he never thought his group's efforts would be so successful.

"Did I think it would happen as fast as I did? No. I guess like most people I've become very cynical. All too often it seems that profit rules all. This was refreshing," Rhodes said.

The state of New Jersey designates the NJSPCA the enforcer of its animal cruelty laws. Law enforcement takes up a large part of the group's efforts, but Rhodes has stressed more public advocacy since he took over a year ago.

This is the first time the organization has complained to a company about a product, Rhodes said.

Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. is in the process of acquiring the Trolli brand along with other Kraft candy lines as part of a $1.48 billion US deal.

I don't know about you, but I think this is rediculous. I also wonder why Kraft would want to shape gummy candy like roadkill? Weird.

 

[FearlessFreep]

said the candy encouraged children to be cruel to animals.

They have examples of this? Rise in animal cruelty reports against kids who had eaten the candy?

 

[Ray]

Gee, maybe "animal crackers" was what caused Ozzie Osbourn to begin biting heads off of bats?

Personally, I'm a fan of iced animal shaped cookies. And if I ever meet a polar bear his head is mine.

 

[Flatlander]

I don't know, guys. I'm inclined to understand the grounds of this complaint. Ever since I started eating goldfish crackers, I'm compelled to stick my head in my friends' aquariums and bob for fishes. :rofl:

 

[Deuce]

I don't know, guys. I'm inclined to understand the grounds of this complaint. Ever since I started eating goldfish crackers, I'm compelled to stick my head in my friends' aquariums and bob for fishes. :rofl:

I see your point. If I ever see a dinosour or a blue whale, I'm gonna kicks its a**!

 

[pete]

i think they will actually save lives by preventing accidents caused by drivers swerving into oncoming traffic trying to avoid these rodents... now they'll just run 'em over to see what they taste like!

save the green squirrels for me~

pete

 

[Bester]

Bobs doing what with the Fishes?
Was there a coup and nobody called?

So, will we also be removing choc. bunnies, marshmallow peeps too?
Does eating a Kiss indicate something more fecal?
Are Tootsie Rolls racist?

Some people are stupid, others, they abuse the right.

 

[ginshun]

I heard this on the radio. Don't people have anything better to worry about?

 

[Baytor]

This is where it starts.

But this is the tragic end:

Oh, the humanity!!

 

[RRouuselot]

I like biting the heads of Animal Crackers

 

[FearlessFreep]

Don't people have anything better to worry about?

Unfortunately, probably not.

I have this theory in American that sorta says that we need to keep as many people busy for 8 hours a day as we can, even though we really don't have that much to do. Too many real estate agents and lawyers and marketing executives and what have you. A lot more than we need, but...we gotta keep 'em all busy somehow so...they go around trying to covince people they are needed and we end up spending a lot of money of what they convince us we need so we need more high-paying jobs to support it and so...well...a vicious cycle. We could probably get on just fine in this country if everyone only worked 4 hours a day or took a half year off or something...but we've been doing full time work for a few thousand years so we really don't know how to transition to a part-time work economy that takes advantage of all our technlogy advances to really make all our lives simpler and easier so we get advertising people trying to really convince us that Pepsi is *so much* better than Coke or Budweiser is better thah Miller or whataver, and you get lawyers doing stupid stuff like this, just to justify that they actually have a place and a use in society, when we'd probably all be much better off if they all worked not nearly so hard.




*yeah, very close to the Golgafrinchian's realization they could probably ship off all the telephone sanitzers

 

[Lisa]

I don't know, guys. I'm inclined to understand the grounds of this complaint. Ever since I started eating goldfish crackers, I'm compelled to stick my head in my friends' aquariums and bob for fishes. :rofl:

The wholesome snack that smiles back until you bite their heads off...

I don't know... at least road kill candy is already dead and not living a happy little life until somebody comes along and viciously attacks it for no reason

 

[ginshun]

I tend to agree with Fearless.

I really wish people would just lighten up a little bit. Aren't there more important things that we could be worrying about than whether or not the shape of our candy offends a small minority of people.

Than again, that is a whole other thing, if you are really that offended by a piece of candy shaped like a dead skunk, then you've got some major issues IMO.

 

[TonyM.]

Once again. Why does Japan which has the most graphic violence in some of it's television programming have the least actual violence as a nation?

 

[loki09789]

Yes the exotic meat/game market has gone on the rise because of the Animal Crackers brand creation....I just had me a Bengal Tiger Burger the other day and it was GRRREEEEAAAAAT!

Sorry for the groaner joke, I just had to .

 

[loki09789]

Once again. Why does Japan which has the most graphic violence in some of it's television programming have the least actual violence as a nation?

A much more homogenous culture, only relatively recently in history has the Japanese culture moved from the Caste system of feudalims to the more social/democratic form of government (after imperialism of course).....

I don't know how many here have actually scene the cartoons/comic books that are readily available to kids in Japan, but they are pretty messed up by American Standards and would probably be packaged in brown paper here in the states. Japan actually is a perfect example of the 'Cathartic' affect of entertainment/media violence instead of the 'gateway' idea that we seem to hear about in the state.

Get it out of your system through fantasy and fiction and your less likely to seek satisfaction in the real world? I don't know if I buy that anymore than I do the "gateway" theory...but Japan does have something going for it in that department.

 

[Melissa426]

It's them dang good-fer-nuffin environmentalists agin!
Can't chop down trees to build me a shack.
Can't wear fur coats to keep me warm.
Now I can't even run over them varmints to put supper on the table for my yung-uns!

What's a gal supposed to do? :idunno:

(PS, this is meant to be amusing, not serious. I am not in favor of animal cruelty)

 

[DarrenJew]

People are too sensitive about ridiculous things. How does road kill shaped animal gummi candy promote animal abuse? Some people hear have mentioned animal cookies, gummy worms… does that promote eating live animals? How about Gingerbread men what does that promote? Oh not to mention Santa at the Shopping mall… Hey he’s not made of Chocolate…. I guess we are restricted to making candies in the shape of real foods. Why does this gummy pot roast taste like sour lime?

Auggh, it’s a crazy world we live in.:erg:

 

[MissTwisties]

From my understanding, those people were against those candies because of the "shapes" of the animals...animals being run over by tires...dead animals. But either way...why waste people's time with things like this? There is far more serious stuff going on out there.