Chuck Grassley, PETA, and the Battle Over Meatless Monday

Chuck Grassley is one carnivore the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals would like to see go extinct.

Grassley, a longtime farmer and Republican senator, bristled on Twitter earlier this month about the United States Department of Agriculture's statement in its interoffice newsletter posted on its website that participating in Meatless Mondays would be "one simple way to reduce your environmental impact while dining at our cafeterias."

"I will eat more meat on Monday to compensate for stupid USDA recommendation abt a meatless Monday," Grassley wrote in response on on July 12.

After an outcry from livestock producers and legislators such as Grassley and Rep. Steve King, the USDA later retracted its statement.

In response, PETA said on its website that it was taking bets on how long it would be before Grassley died of a meat-related illness, accusing the senator of cow-towing to beef lobbyists.

We're taking bets (place yours in the comments section below) on how long it will take Sen. Grassley to succumb to heart disease, diabetes, cancer, or some other meat-related disease.

This riled up conservative news outlets, and in response Sen. Grassley and Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) announced today that they have decided to have a "Meat Monday," featuring barbeque beef brisket, ribs, and sausage from Hill Country BBQ restaurant.

"This is a reminder to USDA that it’s supposed to advocate for American agriculture, not against it,” Grassley said in the release.

And if that didn't make the point strong enough, Grassley continued to taunt PETA via his Twitter account.

"PETA : I'm at the CedarFalls Bible Conferennce91stAnnual banquet eating meat Pass along to USDA meatless Monday campaign"