The bizarre, blood-soaked Thanksgiving exchange between PETA and Mama continues…
A surprising back and forth volley between the animal right’s activist organization and the fictional cooking game character this week culminated in a request for Majesco to produce a vegetarian-only version of the publisher’s popular Cooking Mama series.
Spurred by the inclusion of numerous meat dishes in the Cooking Mama games and the approaching Thanksgiving holiday, PETA threw the first punch earlier this week, when it released Cooking Mama: Mama Kills Animals. Packed with militant vegetarian propaganda, the satirical Flash game depicts Mama as a knife-wielding, turkey massacring psychopath and features more blood spray than a slasher film. In Mama Kills Animals, players assemble a Thanksgiving dinner by violently disemboweling a turkey in a particularly sadistic manner.
Rather than opening a can of legal whup-ass, Majesco responded by plugging Cooking Mama World Kitchen and stating Mama believes good home cooking prepared with the best ingredients can make the world a happier place. The virtual culinary matron herself even chimed in, adding she supports the humane treatment of animals and would never put rat in her Ratatouille.
In a blog post yesterday, PETA’s assistant marketing director Joel Bartlett dished out another heaping spoonful of meat is murder rhetoric at Mama. However, it didn’t feature gore this time. “Based on your and Majesco’s good-natured responses to PETA’s game, I think you understand that although we made you into a demonic, knife-wielding maniac in Cooking Mama: Mama Kills Animals, we still love you,” he said. “While we had a good time roasting you, the real purpose of our game, of course, was to bring to light some of the horrific practices of the turkey industry.”
Additionally, Bartlett thanked Mama on behalf of the PETA team members who produced Mama Kills Animals for the hours of enjoyment they derived from playing through the different Cooking Mama games to prepare for making the parody. Just curious: If hardcore militant vegetarians played Cooking Mama games where they prepared meat in a virtual setting, isn’t that like…blasphemy?
PETA also said it would ardently support and help promote a vegetarian Cooking Mama game. It urged Majesco to move forward with Cooking Mama: Vegetarian Kitchen. Can I smell a strangely lucrative partnership brewing in the kitchen?
