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.

Whoever still thinks animals are not highly intelligent creatures should watch this cute video. And read this past post about an amazing cat. Do you have an amazing animal story? Do tell!

photo by Irargerich

Today, October 2nd, is World Farm Animals Day. This holiday, coordinated by the Farm Animal Rights Movement,

…is a time dedicated to exposing, mourning, and memorializing the needless suffering and slaughter of the more than 55 billion cows, pigs, turkeys, chickens, and other sentient land animals in the world’s factory farms and slaughterhouses. It is a time for all to speak out against the atrocities and brutalization of animals raised for meat, eggs, and dairy.

The annual occasion is observed with activities in all 50 U.S. states and two dozen other countries. The date marks the birthday of ethical vegetarian Mahatma Gandhi.

Here’s a link to the WFAD website to learn more: http://www.wfad.org/

As soon as you click on the site, a tally begins for the number of animals that have been killed for food since you opened the page. It’s pretty astounding. If you want to learn more about how horribly factory farm animals are treated, check out their factory farming page. Also on the site is an event list you can check to see if there are any WFAD events going on in your area.

A little side note,  Alternative Outfitters, a stylish vegan boutique, is having a 4 day sale for WFAD. So if you’re feeling guilty about buying new shoes, you can feel comforted in knowing that your purchase is in honor of this important holiday.

Don’t forget to visit the Happy Vegetable store! All vegan goodies with a new category: Veg Musicians! A library of music by veg-friendly musicians like Moby, Joan Jett, Erykah Badu, Propagandhi, Death Cab For Cutie and many more!

Also be sure to check out my Cafe Press store to get vegan promo goodies and t-shirts designed by me!

Are you feeling giving? You can donate money to Happy Vegetable- dedicated to keeping you up to date on vegan recipes, nutrition, current events, restaurant reviews, vegan fashion, and more, several times a week

Back in June I wrote a post about the cruelty of the horse-drawn carriage industry. I just learned that there is a documentary out now called “Blinders: The Truth Behind the Tradition” that focuses on the horse-drawn carriages of New York. I watched the trailer and am very excited about how it could help plead the case of this animal cruelty. Once upon a time, before automobiles, carriages were a means of transportation. But today they are a form of entertainment, and an abusive one at that. Circus animals have long been viewed as neglected creatures, but these horses that are also used for entertainment are malnourished, frightened and abused, and have not gotten enough attention. Hopefully this documentary will open people’s eyes to the fact that their joy ride in a carriage is anything but joyful for the poor creature in front. To get more details about the documentary, go here: http://www.blindersthemovie.com/

To buy the DVD, go here: http://www.blindersthemovie.com/buy-dvd/

As you’ve probably heard by now, Paul Newman, renowned actor and natural food empire owner, lost his battle with cancer. His food line, Newman’s Own, which has been around for 25 years, has done wonders for bringing organic foods into popularity (along with his daughter Nell who founded the all-organic line of Newman’s Own). His foods are all-natural and many of them are vegan.

Newman is a hero in charitable deeds, as his company has donated over $250 million to thousands of charities handpicked by Newman, and as mentioned in People magazine, “Newman and [his wife] Woodward established the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, named for the outlaws in Butch Cassidy. The camp permits seriously ill youngsters to enjoy the great outdoors – at no cost to the kids or their families.” He also founded the Scott Newman Center for drug abuse prevention in honor of his son, who died of an accidental drug overdose, and in 2007, he donated $10 million to Kenyon College, a college he used to attend. source, source2

He’s an inspirational person for his high energy and love of life, as well as his incredible selflessness. It may sound trivial, but next time you’re at the store, consider picking up a Newman’s Own product in honor of his legacy and in honor of charity.