Trey Songz and Kesha onstage during the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards at NOKIA Theatre L.A. LIVE on Sept. 12, 2010 in Los Angeles, Calif.: Photo by www.chicagofabulousblog.com

Meaty accessories, garbage bag gowns and fingernail portraits. The 2010 MTV VMA awards were certainly not lacking the bold, the beautiful nor the controversial. But, it was missing a bit of humanitarian spirit (although, it’s worth noting that Chelsea Handler was the first woman in 16 years to host, as she mentioned on the awards show).

Here’s our list of what the stars could have spotlighted while parading down the white carpet.

1. Hollywood is ablaze with gossip about Lady Gaga’s mock meat frock, complete with a meat coif, meat boots and a meat purse. Why the provocative artist chose to dress in what appeared to be rare flank has baffled most. The move that made many cringe simply at imagining the smell, was daring if not consequential. Unsurprisingly, the stunt upset animal rights group PETA. But, spun in a different light, the over-the-top actress could have used the ensemble as an in-your-face statement that spoke out against animal abuse. Currently, more than 100 million animals are used in product testing around the world each year. Yet, the FDA does not require testing on animals for many of the products who use the method, including make-up.

Get involved:

• PETA
• Beauty Without Cruelty
• Animal Defenders International

2. Kesha arrived at the Kodak Theatre dressed in garbage bags. Though her low-cost get-up wasn’t meant to show off more than creativity, the female who “talk sings” could have used the garbage bag gown to start talk singing about the Great Pacific Garbage Patch or recycling. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch, or the Pacific Trash Vortex, is a system of rotating currents in the North Pacific that is filled plastics, chemical sludge and other debris. The patch is said to range is size being anywhere from the size of the state of Texas to a gyre larger than the continental United States.

Get involved:

• Recycle City
• Great Garbage Patch

3. Photographers at the MTV award show got the friendly finger from Kate Perry.  The pop-star flashed the bird to show off fingernail-sized portraits of her fiancé Russell Brand. While such sweet devotion may make fans croon with ooo’s and aww’s, the ploy could have been a little more clever. What if she had flipped the bird for, well, birds – endangered birds? (I know, a bit of a stretch..) Though often considered as symbols for love and peace, many birds of flight are in plight. There are some 25 endangered birds in the U.S. alone. And, if you wonder might what might be the big deal about having our friends of flight around ponder this:

According to ecologist and conservation biologist Ivette Perfecto, insect-eating birds have a positive effect on coffee plantations by reducing the number of insects that munch on the coffee plants. So all you coffee-addicts out there, it might be worth investing a little in the protection of birds.

Get involved:

• The Nature Conservancy – Wings of the Americas
• The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds

Finally, props to 30 Seconds to Mars. The L.A. rock band set a new eco-standard when they rumbled up to the VMAs pre-show on their custom bikes.

What did you think of this year’s VMAs?