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.

I was invited to submit a post about my blog on a site called food-and-beverage.net. Of course I jump at the chance to help veganism become more prominent in the wide world o’ food. To view the post, go here: http://food-and-beverage.net/2008/09/22/veganism-the-happy-vegetable/

Also, while browsing the site, I happened upon another post that might be of interest to the raw foodies out there. It’s about a raw food restaurant guide. Which reminds me, I recently went to a FANTASTIC raw restaurant called Ecopolitan that I’ll have to tell you about soon! If you’re around Minneapolis, you can’t pass it up. My berry parfait dessert was pure heaven.

Many thanks to the mustlovefood social network for contacting me! On their site you can meet other foodies, find recipes, plan events and a lot more. And it’s free to join.

photo by bobster1985

Yes, we get it. Palin is a tough chick. She’s just one of the guys. She’s a mother of five, a hardcore politician with a wide array of talents under her belt, and a youthful, Tina Fey-like appearance.

Pretty impressive. But even feminists, like ‘Vagina Monologues’ creator Eve Ensler, are steering clear. Now, I’m not going to preach my political views here. But I am going to explain why, as a vegan, you should fight against Palin’s savage methods.

photo by xoque

Let’s start with Palin’s father, the varmint hunter, who’s pickup truck, according to Newsweek, has a sticker that says “VEGETARIAN–OLD INDIAN WORD FOR BAD HUNTER.” Palin’s father also shot a grizzly bear, the skin of which is displayed proudly on Palin’s couch. Also in Newsweek is a photo of Palin holding the large sockeye salmon she caught. Now, one thing I must note is that she and her husband used to kill all of the animals they ate. If the only way people could get meat was by killing the animals themselves, I know there would be far more vegetarians in the world. But she clearly has no problem with this, which actually scares me even more. She loves to hunt. She enjoys watching animals suffer. And it’s quite clear that she kills animals, not just for food, but for sport. She kills far more animals than she could possibly consume.

photo by peupleloup

“She has been known to kill 40 caribou at a clip. She has shot hundreds of wolves from the air.” (Eve Ensler) Aerial hunting is a method of hunting from an airplane, which gives the hunter an unfair advantage over the animal (I mean, even more unfair than just using a weapon). In addition “animal rights activists call it inhumane, since airborne gunmen rarely get a clean (i.e., relatively painless) kill.” source This lifetime member of the NRA offered cash incentives for hunting wolves.

photo by dobak

According to journalist Glenn Hurowitz in his Huffington Post exposé on Palin, one of her first acts in office was to offer a $150 bounty for “private hunters [to] take a small plane and chase down wolf packs until they’re exhausted and can’t move” and then “shoot them from the air or land and execute them at point blank range” and then “strap the wolf to a plane, cut off the wolf’s left forearm, and bring it to the state Department of Fish and Game for their cash reward.” for more of this interesting CityBeat article go here.

This “hunting” includes allowing the Department of Wildlife Conservation to enter wolf dens and shoot wolf pups in the head. The reason she wants the wolves gone is because they prey on moose and caribou, animals which hunters like to kill for their own dinner. She claims it’s “wolf control”. New York Times Article.

photo by ucumari

Polar bears are clearly suffering the effects of global warming and are dying rapidly, yet Palin feels they should be taken off the endangered species list. Even if she does think global warming is a myth, can she deny the fact that this beautiful species is clearly approaching extinction? NWF article.

The polar bear should be removed from the endangered species list because its protected status will hamper drilling for oil and gas in Alaska, the state’s Republican Governor has demanded.

Sarah Palin is suing the Bush Administration over its decision last week to place the animal under the protection of the Endangered Species Act, claiming that climate models predicting the continued loss of sea ice - the main habitat of polar bears - are unreliable.
-Tim Reid, The Times

Her complete disregard for wildlife preservation is nothing short of frightening. In addition to polar bears, she wants beluga whales removed from the endangered species list. When asked about environmental issues, Palin said, “Having a clean record on environmental regulation is critical to getting ANWR open and maintaining our fisheries, mining, timber, and tourism industries.”source

In honor of unnecessary drilling, she is willing to risk the extinction of several species. She encourages people to eliminate wolves while elsewhere in the country people struggle to preserve the drastically diminishing wolf populations. Not to mention it’s cruel and unnecessary. PETA Article.

For the sake of the animals, for the sake of wildlife, and for the sake of humane practices, we cannot allow this woman any more power than she already posesses. We’ve come so far and have much more work left to do. We cannot afford go backwards.