I love Halloween. Perhaps it’s because fall is my favorite season. I love the burnt orange leaves in the trees, and the bright orange pumpkins. The cool, refreshing air, and the orange glow of the fireplace. But it’s easy for vegans to see Halloween as one big stress fest, because you’re bombarded by goodies you simply can’t eat. But, clever vegan that you are, you’re going to overcome this battle with glee and confidence! Don’t feel like you have to deny yourself a good time for the sake of being vegan. There are plenty of ways to partake in the fun, without compromising your ethics.

Check out the Natural Candy Store for some vegan candies (no bone char refined sugar!) you can safely nosh on. And award winning Crispy Cat Bars are organic and vegan, created by a vegan. Sold at most Whole Foods.

I watched the Food Network show Unwrapped and they had a special on organic cotton candy by Pure Fun. The people they interviewed said it tasted much better than your average cotton candy. The natural ingredients create a very rich and refreshing flavor. I’m excited to try it! I’ve been told they sell it at Whole Foods. I’ll have to see if I can find any next time I’m there. It comes in a variety of unique flavors (besides original) like root beer, licorice, maple, and cinnamon.

In the mood for a little DIY?
Here’s a recipe for Vegan Caramel Apples!
And one for Vegan Chocolate Pumpkin Pie!
A weakness of mine, Peanut Butter Cups!
And who can forget about Rice Crispy Treats!

Whether you choose to curl up on your couch with your black cat, a hot cup of cider and cheesy old b-movie horror classics like Bloodlust, Blood Thirst, Bloody Pit of Horror, or A Bucket of Blood (corn syrup o’ plenty)…

…or you choose to party with friends dressed in the most ridiculous outfits imaginable, have fun this year! You deserve it!

photo by Andrew Stawarz

In September, I posted very disturbing footage of an Iowa pig farm that supplies for Hormel. I still get tears in my eyes when I think about the pile of little piglets that were slammed onto the concrete floor, in attempts to kill them. PETA president, Ingrid Newkirk, has some hopeful news to report in regards to that investigation.

Dear Emily,

We have very important news. Last month, we told you about our new undercover investigation on an Iowa pig farm that breeds piglets to supply Hormel. Our investigation revealed that pregnant pigs were confined to barren gestation crates, beaten with metal gate rods, and kicked by farm workers. Workers were documented shocking pigs and spraying toxic paint around their eyes and up their noses, and one supervisor even raped a pig with a cane.

We are pleased to announce that the Greene County Sheriff stated in a news release yesterday that six individuals employed by the farm at the time of PETA’s investigation now face a total of 22 counts of livestock neglect and abuse.

Those charged include a former farm manager and a supervisor. Fourteen of the counts are aggravated misdemeanors—the stiffest possible charges under Iowa state law for crimes committed against farmed animals—and each carry up to two years behind bars. Such charges are unprecedented.

PETA is on the front lines, fighting as hard as ever to expose and end cruelty to animals. We can’t and won’t let animal suffering and abuse be ignored or forgotten. Please take heart in the results of this investigation and the fact that your help and support makes this victory and everything that we do to help animals possible. And please know that we will continue to expose and end these abuses until the day comes when we bring an end to factory farming.

You can still help! Please forward the video to everyone you know and urge them not to eat pigs or any animals. And if you haven’t already written to Hormel to demand that the company follow PETA’s eight-point policy to govern future pig-farming operations, please do so now.

Thank you for all that you do for animals!

With kind regards,

Ingrid E. Newkirk
President
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals

It’s a relief to see that the police are taking this issue seriously. And thanks to PETA for going undercover to investigate this horrid abuse. The people who abuse these animals clearly are disturbed and deserve a just punishment. Often times people who are violent towards animals are violent towards humans. I hope these abusers undergo a psychiatric evaluation in order to understand why they do what they do and to determine if they will continue to be a danger to society. We need to get to the root of this violence.

It’s interesting when you compare this situation to that of the Humane Society’s undercorver footage for Westland/Hallmark. That made the news and was a huge deal. Why is this case less important to the media? This is just as bad, and quite possibly worse abuse. I guess with Hallmark, people feared the risk of consuming contaminated meat from sick cows. Either way, I feel this footage and all the other disturbing footage PETA and other animal rights groups have captured over the years deserves that media attention. Perhaps some day…  In any case, this is a great achievement, and we can view it as a glimmer of hope for decreasing animal abuse in the future.

photo by rephotography

I mentioned in an earlier post, and many of you may be aware of, PETA’s settlement with KFC Canada to, not only sell a meatless “chicken” option, but also to adhere to more humane methods of killing. KFC Canada has agreed to purchase chickens solely from suppliers that administer gas-based controlled-atmosphere killing, or CAK. The standard practice of killing chickens is to dip their heads in a pool of electrified water. This method often times leaves the birds paralyzed but conscious at the time of entering the throat slitting. Some birds even manage to avoid the throat cutting by wriggling around and are ultimately burned alive in scalding water tanks. The CAK method is thought to be the most humane method of killing because it involves little pain, while guaranteeing that the birds are dead before the slaughter and processing. Though I must admit, putting animals in a gas-chamber makes me think holocaust and genocide and it puts very frightening images in my head.

Ideally, no animals would be slaughtered for human consumption. Realistically, we have a long way to go before we reach that milestone. So, along the way, can we at lease make sure the animals that do die feel as little pain as possible? Those who object make a valid point in saying no method of killing animals is humane. And I do agree that it is important to continue to promote meat-free diets and bring the demand for meat down so less animals are slaughtered. But between now and the one beautiful day in the future when the general population realizes how wrong it is to eat meat, we must look out for the well-being of the animals destined for slaughter.

Obviously this is a pretty heated moral debate and I’d love to hear your thoughts. How do you feel about controlled-atmosphere killing? Is this progress or a compromise of ethics?

Mmmmoist. Yummmm. Seriously, this ‘nana bread is tops. The crust is so sweet and chewy.

• 3 tsp Egg Replacer (mixed with 4 tablespoons warm water) equivalent to 2 eggs
• 1.5 C sugar (I like Sugar In The Raw brand)
• 1/2 C oil
• 3/4 C mashed bananas (or one medium sized banana)
• 1/3 C water
• 1.5 C flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350°. Mix all ingredients together, blender recommended. Grease loaf pan. Bake for about an hour, or until done.

Batter can also be used to make muffins, in which case bake at 375° for 20 minutes.

This dish is so tasty. If you like curry, you’ll love this. It’s got a lovely sweetness to it, and there’s no denying that wild rice and sweet potatoes are good for you!

• 2 C cooked wild rice
• 2 sweet potatoes, peeled, cut in half and baked for 1 hour at 350° in 1 tsp. oil
• 3 green onions, chopped

Marinade

• 1/3 C vegetable oil
• 1.5 tsp. white wine vinegar
• 1.5 tsp. dijon mustard
• 1.5 tsp. curry powder
• salt and pepper to taste

Mix all together. Allow to chill and marinate for at least 10 minutes. Serve!

Thanks, Mom!

Can you believe this mouth-watering dessert is not only vegan, but RAW? And what does that mean? Oh yeah, it’s healthy! This is Ecopolitan’s Berry Parfait. It’s coconut date cream topped with seasonal berries, whipped frozen banana, pecans and raisins. It’s as cold and creamy as ice cream and the crunchy brown stuff underneath is like a graham-cracker crust. Yum yum.

Ecopolitan has a wide variety of dishes, all of which sound heavenly. And all incredibly good for you. You can’t lose. Even if the whole raw thing freaks you out and sounds horrible, you should check it out. You’ll be amazed by the orgasmic potential raw food can have when prepared by experts.

And if the food’s not tempting enough, they also have an infared sauna, oxygen bar, eco-art gallery, eco-shop, and eco-clinic. Find out more on their website: http://ecopolitan.com/ And it all takes place in a cute vintage house. We had a great time when we went and the wait staff was incredibly friendly. We showed up for a late dinner and the place was still hopping. My sister brought her baby along and they mashed up bananas for him (his first time trying bananas), which he absolutely loved!

Ecopolitan
2409 Lyndale Avenue South
Minneapolis, MN 55405
(612)-874-7336

photo by d&e

Many animal rights activists are protesting this new rent-a-dog business called FlexPetz that allows busy people to rent pets to take care of without maintaining the long-term responsibility of keeping a companion animal full time. I can see problems right off the bat: it can be an emotional roller coaster for animals to be shipped from one home to the next, never being able to form a steady bond with one person or family. However, there are also many many neglected animals out there whose owners just don’t have the time to be full-time pet owners. Is this a good compromise for otherwise neglected animals? Animals that would ultimately be returned to the shelter due to lack of care?

The owner of FlexPetz, Shari Gonzales, prefers the term “shared ownership” versus rent-a-pet. If the dogs are able to be cared for by multiple families versus spending a great deal of time at home or in kennels, wouldn’t that be better? And the time dogs spend at FlexPetz apparently is in cage-free kennels. When they are “rented” out, the owners are given care-kits with food, leashes, beds, etc to ensure that the dog has what he needs.

I know plenty of people, including myself, who would love to have a dog but, for one reason or another (like living in an apartment or never being home), cannot. Some important things I think must be required for such a service to work:
1. The “owner” has a decent amount of knowledge when it comes to animal care.
2. Making sure the owner will not be cruel to the animal. That the renter is very responsible and caring.
3. The living situation at FlexPetz as well as in their adopted homes is a happy and positive one for the animals.
4. The animals are never treated like a product.
5. Constant monitoring of the animal’s stress levels. If the dog seems very unhappy with the switching of families, he probably isn’t an ideal candidate for this lifestyle.

Gonzales claims that the pets are only shared with two or three families, which seems like an ideal situation. I would certainly be more concerned if it was a free-for-all where you could pick out a new pet each week and the dogs never had a steady family to return to. Gonzales also says that the owner spends hour-long sessions with the dog to make sure they get along well. The dogs featured on the FlexPetz website are dogs that would otherwise be in animal shelters because they were abandoned by the owner or were given up. And the dogs are monitored very closely for any health problems they may have had when they arrived.

But I can also understand the nay-sayers’ claim that “you wouldn’t rent out a child.” And if a dog is having a really great time with his family and then gets sent back, is he getting a message that he is being punished? It may be very hard to cope with.

I guess what it boils down to in my mind is, as long as the situation is treated with a great deal of care and sensitivity and isn’t some money-making animal exploitation situation, it’s better to have a few families to go home to that pepper you with love, versus ending up in a shelter or living with one family that’s never around. Read CBS article.

I created a wikizine on Zimbio (am I speaking alien?) about veganism, if anyone wants to go check it out. I’ve been gathering up vegan blogs and resources so you can pop over there at your leisure and deeply engross yourself in all things vegan. It’s got articles, news, videos, pictures, polls and more. The link is: http://www.zimbio.com/Veganism

Oh! And also, I just added a video into the playlist on zimbio that I think is a really positive and refreshing view of vegan parenting. Check it out:

Sue Coe, Untitled, 2004 Source

Sue Coe is an artist who grew up living next to a slaughterhouse. She was deeply impacted by this and, as a result, dedicated herself to fighting animal cruelty. She goes all over the world visiting factory farms, slaughterhouses, meat-packing plants, circuses, labs etc. Often times, she will sketch right on location which would explain the chillingly real depictions. Her work is highly political and highly controversial. In addition to animal cruelty, she fights other injustices as well, but the majority of her work seems to be focused on the animals. Some critics feel politics have no place in art museums, like Joanna Shaw-Eagle. But I happen to think art is a fantastic medium for political opinions and moral stances. Her work has appeared in such publications as New York Times, The New Yorker, Time, Newsweek, Rolling Stone, and Artforum. The strength it takes to see the things she has seen throughout her life, and the work she produces as a result, are admirable. The innocent animals that are victims of such unnecessary torture need a strong woman like Sue Coe on their side.

sources: http://www.brown.edu/Facilities/David_Winton_Bell_Gallery/coe.html, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sue_Coe, http://www.flashpointmag.com/suecoe.htm

Did anyone else happen to catch SNL this weekend? The lead singer of The Killers was wearing a coat that would best be described in a story: “I once had two pet birds, one perched upon each shoulder. Then one day I decided to do a dance move that involved crossing my arms in order to perform rigorous shoulder slaps… and thus is the story of how my coat was made.” It was a pretty embarassingly bad coat that distracted me from the music and ultimately just bummed me out.